THERE is a principle I learned many year ago, one that is repeated over and over again in scripture –and if you observe closely, in life itself, all around us – and that is “the way up is down.” In fact, I first came to be exposed to this principle from the little book we have commenced studying here, The Principle of Position. This principle will come up as we proceed, but I thought of it again following my previous comments about our need for daily mediations and time alone with our Lord. You see, there are times in our Lord’s purpose to see us grow, where we are taken down (John 12:24, Heb. 12:6, and elsewhere) before we are allowed to progress upward in the growth process.
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” Mark 1:35
IT occurred to me that in our Lord’s practice, and yes model, of rising each day for that quiet time of devotion was in fact a “pro-active” expression of “the way up is down.” Over the years I have used a great little instructional book with our school’s junior high students titled, The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism by Craig Brown. The premise is, since God is sovereign over all things, that fact does raise certain philosophical questions and dilemmas for human reasoning. Dilemma Three raises the issue of obedience regarding prayer and evangelism in the face of a Calvinistic perspective. Related to prayer, the author list six responses or reason for “why pray,”
• God commands it
• It is a means of worship
• It is a means of grace, blessing
• It keeps us humble
• It is a part of God’s means to fulfill His ends
• It teaches us dependence
NOW of course, all of these need explaining and expansion, and there is much more to this particular chapter on the point of prayer then these six items. But notice, “keeps me humble” and “teaches us dependence.” One of the reasons “the way up is down” principle is 1) so important, and 2) often difficult to learn is that it’s necessity confronts our sinful nature head-on, i.e. sinful pride and self sufficiency that must be dealt with at the only place sufficient for that task, the Cross. In a way, our meeting with the Lord each day can and will maintain that encounter with the Cross and the One in whom we live and move and have our being. Quality time with the Lord does keep us humble and reminds us of our dependence on Him, making a right start for each day in the task of remembering that indeed, the way up is down. …But again, you will see more on this as we proceed.
BEFORE we get back to our study, here is a needful review.
In the wondrous blessings of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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Chapter 19—Position Defined and Illustrated – Review:
So far we’ve looked at the following facts:
All spiritual life and growth is based upon the principle of position, summed up in one word: source, our union with Christ.
Our position that is the source of our Christian life is perfect and complete. It is eternally established in the Father’s presence, in Christ.
Our condition is what we are in our Christian walk, in which we develop from infancy to maturity. And although our position remains immutable (never changes), our condition is variable and ought to grow in time in Christ.
If we, the followers of Christ, do not know of our position in the Lord Jesus and how to abide in Him as our very life, there will be but one result, struggle in our un-Christlike condition rather than resting in our Christ-centered position.
In most cases, a believer is more aware of his condition than of his position, which is the reason for so much failure and stagnation.
Scripture based, fact-centered faith in the Lord Jesus as our position before the Father is the one means of experiencing that finished work in the growth of our daily condition.
There is the principle of life out of death, found in the parable The Grain of Wheat, “Except a corn (grain) of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24) … which is the last item we looked at in this section.
—SO with that rather lengthy intro and review, we will return to the text of study in the next installment.
