The Top of the Ladder

The Top of the Ladder

(No. 1755)

DELIVERED ON THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 25, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And to know the love of Christ, whichpasses knowledge, thatyou might
be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:19.

THIS is a part of Paul's prayer for the Ephesian believers. It is the
closing clause and consummation of it. It mentions the grandest gift
for which he prayed. His prayer was like that ladder which Jacob saw,
the top of which reached to Heaven and God–and the Apostle at the foot
of it was not asleep–but looking up with eager eyes and marking each
rising rung of light. Be it ours by sweet experience to ascend that
staircase of light! May the Holy Spirit reveal it to us even now! You
must begin to read at the 14th verse–"For this cause I bow my knees
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in
Heaven and earth is named, that"–this is one rung of the ladder. "That
He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that"– here
comes the second rung–one step helps you to reach the next and you are
strengthened that you may rise higher and enjoy a further privilege!

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that"–this is the
third rung. Oh, that the Holy Spirit may help you at once take a firm
footing upon it! "That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be
able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes
knowledge." Surely we are at the top of the ladder now, are we not?
What a height! How glorious is the view! How solid the standing! How
exhilarating the sense of communion with all saints and with the Lord
of saints! Yet this is not the top of it! Here is another step–"that
you might be filled with all the fullness of God." You see that the
prayer begins with the gracious petition that we may be
strengthened–"strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man,
according to the riches of His glory."

The objective is that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Before
the Lord can dwell in us, we must be strength-ened–mentally and
spiritually strengthened. To entertain the High and Holy One–to
receive into our soul the indwelling Christ–it is necessary that the
temple be strengthened, that there be more power put into every pillar
and into every stone of the edifice. It is taken for granted that we
have already been washed and cleansed and so made fit for Christ to
come and dwell within us. But we also need to be strengthened, for,
unless we become stronger in all spiritual life, how is Christ to dwell
in our hearts by faith? Unless we become stronger in love and in all
the Graces of the Spirit, how can we worthily entertain such a Guest as
the Lord Jesus?

Yes, and we even need that our spiritual perception should be
strengthened, that we may be able to know Him when He does come and
dwell in us. We need that our spirit should be elevated and lifted into
a higher condition than as yet it has known in order that we may be on
a platform where we can have communion with Christ and may, by a
heavenly enlargement of mind and heart, be made able, to the fullest,
to entertain the Lord of Glory! We must be strengthened into stability
of mind, that so Christ may dwell, abide, reside in our hearts by
faith. Oh, Brothers and Sisters, everything has to be done for us, for
even when we are made clean enough for Christ to enter us, we are not
strong enough! Even when the Lord has taken away the defilement so that
"sin no longer lies at the door" to shut Him out, yet even then we are
too feeble to entertain so great a Guest!

We should be like Peter, who, when Christ came into his boat and filled
it with fish, was too feeble to receive Him and, therefore, cried out
in an agony of weakness, "Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O
Lord." "Oh," says one, "I would never say that." I do not know,
Brother. If the Lord were to favor you with such Divine manifestations
as He has given to the stronger saints, you might be overcome and swoon
with inward faintness, almost desiring that Christ would not draw so
near to you. If the Lord should appear to you in His Glory, you would
be afraid and, like John in the Apoca-

lypse, fall at His feet as dead. You need to be strengthened, for how
else could you endure the vision of His splendor or the divine
excitement of His infinite love?

Paul, therefore, begins his requests for the Ephesians with a prayer
for more strength for their inner man. Let us pray it tonight–"O Holy
Spirit, strengthen my feeble mind that I may be able to receive more of
my Lord! Give me more capacity; give me a clearer perception; give me a
better memory; give me an intense affection; give me a larger faith."
This is the first prayer that you may be strengthened according to the
riches of His Glory with might, by His Spirit, in the inner man. Be
eager for this! Plead now with all your hearts for me and for
yourselves, that we may all be strengthened by the power of the Spirit
of our God!

Now, having stood on the first step of the ladder, Paul goes on to pray
that when we are strengthened, we may be inhabited–that Christ may
dwell in our hearts by faith. When the house is ready to receive Him
and strong enough for such a wondrous Inhabitant, may Jesus come, not
to look about Him as He did when He went into the Temple–for we read
that He looked round about Him with indignation and did not remain
there–but may He come on purpose to abide with us! May He come, not to
tarry for a night and give us some transient visits of His love, sweet
as that would be, but, "that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith."

This will make you living temples for the indwelling Lord! Oh, but this
is a great prayer! And when you are strengthened to receive so sacred a
Gift, may the Lord fulfill it to you till your communion with Christ
shall be constant all the while you are awake! And when you awake in
the night, may you still be with Him, being even now, "forever with the
Lord." I pray that you may no longer envy the disciples in their walk
to Emmaus, as though they were the most privileged of all mankind
because they had one walk with Jesus–but may your fellowship be such
that you entertain the Savior day and night! Going, may you take Him
where you go. And staying, find Him where you stay. May you have His
perpetual, unclouded Presence with you, being strengthened up to that
mark, for it is not every man that is capable of it.

Oh, Brothers and Sisters, you must aspire to the power of Grace at its
fullest! Pray to be strengthened by the Spirit of God until Christ
shall reside in your hearts by faith! Pray that you may always see Him
within you, having so clear a view of what Jesus is and what He has
done, that you may never again be vexed with doubts concerning Him or
His Word. May you have such familiar communion with Him that you may
believe Him implicitly and never dream of distrusting Him. As a child
lies on its mother's bosom, so may you rest upon the love of Christ,
leaning all your weight upon Him. May you never have to inquire for
your Well-Beloved, but know that He abides within you, as surely as
your heart remains in living energy within your body. Be not afraid to
ask, and seek, and believe for this–the ladder is meant to be climbed!
This experience is attainable! Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith!

This second step of the ladder is worth reaching. Rise to it, you
struggling Believers! The Lord bring us all to it by the Holy Spirit!
And when we climb thus far, what next? This third step is a broad one
and it has three parts to it. Its first part is establishment–"That
you, being rooted and grounded in love." When you are strengthened and
when Jesus dwells in your heart, then you are no longer "carried about
with every wind of doctrine," but you are rooted, like a cedar in
Lebanon which receives but fears not the stormy wind. You are no longer
upset by doubts and fears, as a bowing wall is thrown over by a breeze,
for you are grounded like a well-built house, settled on its rocky
foundation. Your wall has made its last settlement and has settled down
upon the eternal Foundation which can never be removed–"Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, today, and forever."

No man attains to this rooted and grounded state unless Christ dwells
in his heart. The indwelling is necessary to the settlement of the
house. He that has Jesus dwelling in him laughs to scorn the whimsies
and fancies which men call philosophies. He knows nothing about
"advanced thought," for, by the Grace of God, he has advanced as far as
he needs to advance since he has come to live in Christ and Christ has
come to live in him! What is there beyond this as to firmness of basis
and foundation? If there is anything beyond this, we do not know it,
nor want to know it! We are perfectly content and satisfied to remain
with the love of Christ abiding in our souls–"that Christ may dwell in
our hearts, that we may be rooted and grounded in love."

Oh, when the heart gets grounded in love–when it loves Christ and
feels the love of Christ shed abroad in it by the Holy Spirit, it says,
"To where do you invite me? To what fair havens could I sail? With what
do you tempt me? What can be sweeter under Heaven or in Heaven than
that which I now enjoy, namely, the love of an indwelling Christ? Oh,
evil sirens, you sing to me in vain! You might sooner tempt the angels
in Heaven to descend to Hell than persuade my spirit to

leave my Beloved who dwells in me and lives in me–and who has grounded
and settled me in a deep sense of His eternal

love."

Side by side with this very blessed establishment in the faith, for
which I would bow my knees as Paul did for the Ephesians, that you may
all have it, comes a comprehension of Divine love. How anxiously do I
desire your firm settlement in the Truth of God, for this is an age
which needs rooted and grounded saints! This is a time when men need to
be confirmed in the present Truth of God and to hold it as with an iron
hand. Side by side with that, however, we would have you receive this
further blessing, namely, a comprehension of the love of Christ–"That
you may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height"–that you may have no crude idea, but a
clear and definite understanding of what the love of Christ is to you.

As a mathematician makes calculations and arrives at clear ideas; as a
mechanic cubes a quantity and takes its length, and depth, and height,
so may the Lord Jesus Christ's love be to you no more an airy dream,
but a substantial fact about which you know distinctly, being taught of
the living God by the Holy Spirit. You know that Christ's love is an
eternal love, without beginning. It is an everlasting love, without
end. It is a love that knows no boundary. It is a love that never
lessens and cannot be increased. It is a love that burns freely in His
heart towards you as an unworthy, undeserving sinner! It is a love
which led Him to live for you in human nature and to die for you in His
own body on the Cross. It is a love which made Him stand Sponsor,
Surety and Substitute for you. It is a love which led Him to bear your
load of sin and die while doing so–and bury that sin of yours in a
sepulcher out of which it never shall rise!

You know that it is a love which made Him rise again and mount the
heavens and sit at the right hand of God, still doing all for
you–living, that you may live; pleading, that you may be preserved;
preparing Heaven, that you may come there to dwell with Him–and
intending to come, by-and-by, that He may receive you to Himself, that
where He is, there you may also be. Oh, Beloved, this is a delightful
thing! First, to be strengthened, then to have Christ dwelling in you,
and then to begin to know the measure of His immeasurable love! This is
to be taught of God–when you are able to speak of height, depth,
length, breadth and so see the Savior's love to be a tangible, real,
practical, efficient thing!

How blessed to comprehend that Divine love which, after all, is
incomprehensible! I know that some of you who have been lately
converted think that you know all about it, but you do not, for I tell
you freely that some of us who have now known the Lord for a third of a
century must still confess that we have only coasted along the shore of
this great world of love, while into the center of the bright continent
we have never yet been able to penetrate! I could introduce you to
friends who have been 50 years in Christ and though they hold a
constant jubilee in the sense of His love, yet they will tell you that
they are only scholars on the lowest form, beginning to spell out the
alphabet of the Grace of our Lord Jesus

Christ!

You do not know what lies before you, young saints–but press on–ask
the Lord to make you stronger and you shall then entertain your Lord as
a perpetual Guest within your bosom! And you shall come to know what
fathers in the Church have loved to learn–the heights and depths of
unsearchable love! Be this our prayer at this moment–

"Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell By faith and love in every
breast! Then shall we know, and taste, and feel The joys that cannot be
expressed! Come fill our hearts with inward strength Make our enlarged
souls possess And learn the height, and breadth, and length, Of your
immeasurable Grace!"

Do not overlook the third part of this subject, which is, "that you may
know the love of Christ, which passes knowl-edge"–that you may have
acquaintance with that love which can never be fully known! This is the
subject upon which I would briefly speak, taking the whole verse as a
step that leads to another step. "That you may know the love of Christ,
which passes knowledge, that"–and now we came to the top step of
all–"that you might be filled with all the fullness

of God."

Here are four things to talk about. First, to know the love of Christ.
Secondly, to know it so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.
Thirdly, to be filled with the fullness of God. And then, fourthly,
being full, what then? Does not

that mean that when we are full we shall overflow to the glory of Him
who filled us? God grant that we may! May the fullness of Jesus be
glorified by our holy and useful outpourings!

I. First, then, TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST. Observe that Paul was not
praying for people who did not know the love of Christ in the ordinary
meaning of the term. They did know it–they had heard all about it from
Paul. They had read about it in his Epistles and in other gracious
records. They knew the whole story of the love of Christ through
Apostolic teaching. Yes, and they knew it by faith, too. They had
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ unto the salvation of their souls, so
that in the first verse of this Epistle he calls them, "saints which
are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus."

What does he mean by his prayer that they might know the love of
Christ? He intended another kind of knowledge. I know very many people,
that is to say, I have read about them. I have heard of them. I have
seen them in the streets and they touch their hats to me and I do the
same to them. And thus I know them. This is a slender form of
knowledge, yet I fear it is the kind of knowledge which most men have
of Christ. They have seen Him. They have looked to Him and, blessed be
His name, there is life in a look–but they have gone no further. Even
such a knowledge as that which comes by trembling faith is a knowledge
that saves.

But I will tell you the people I know best. They live with me in my own
house. I see them every day. I am on the most familiar terms with
them–this is the knowledge here intended! Read our text again. "That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." And then–"that you may know
the love of Christ." Is not this the best way of knowing it? Jesus
resides in your heart, which is the center of your love, and then you
know His love! He teaches you to love Him and, as you learn the sweet
lesson, you begin to know how Jesus loves you. You come to know Him by
personal acquaintance, by having Christ dwelling in you so that you see
Him, hear Him, feel His touch and enjoy His blessed company! This kind
of knowledge is the most precious of all knowledge–whatever the
subject may be!

You see the method of this knowledge; the way in which it comes to us.
It is a sure and efficient way, for by having Jesus dwell in us and by
becoming rooted and grounded in love to Him, we come to know Him as we
can never know Him by being taught by our fellow men, or by all the
reading or study in the world. This is the highest style of the science
of Christ Crucified, for this comes of personal proof and experimental
test and, therefore, it is not to be taken from us, but is woven into
our consciousness. We have been taught by certain modern philosophers
that we do not know anything–I fancy our friends are not far off the
mark if they only speak for themselves, but I object to their
representing us. They tell us that we only know what our senses have
been operated upon and, perhaps, we may know that certain things do
thus operate, but we can hardly be sure.

One of these philosophers kindly says that religion is a matter of
belief, not of knowledge. This is in opposition to all the teaching of
Scripture! Take your pencil and read through all the Epistles of John
and mark the word, "know." It is repeated continually. In fact, it is
the key word of the Apostle's letters. He writes perpetually, "We know;
we know; we know; we know." Truly, Brethren, we know the love of
Christ! When Jesus dwells in us, we do not merely believe in His love
as a report, but we enjoy it as a fact! We have made its
acquaintance–we have tasted, we have handled, we have experienced this
heavenly gift! What a favor! To know the love of Christ! Do not forget
that this only comes of Christ's dwelling in us and of our being rooted
and grounded in love to Him.

"We cannot be certain of anything," someone says. Well, perhaps you
cannot. But the man who has Christ dwelling in him says, "There is one
thing I am certain of and that is the love of Christ to me. I am
assured of the loveliness of His Character and the affection of His
heart. I perceive that He, Himself, is Love and I am equally clear,
since He has come to live with me, that He loves me, for He would not
have lived in my heart at all if He had not loved me! He would not
cheer and encourage me. He would not rebuke and chasten me, as He does,
if He did not love me. He gives me every proof of His love and,
therefore, I am sure of it. I will have no question raised or if you
raise it, you will kindly understand that I do not, for I have come to
this–I know the love of Christ."

What a blessed knowledge this is! Do they talk of science? No science
can rival the science of Christ Crucified! Knowledge? No knowledge can
compare with the knowledge of the love that passes knowledge! How sweet
it is to know love! Who needs a better subject to exercise his mind
upon? And how precious is the love of Christ! The sweetest of all the
sweets that life can yield–the source of love, the mirror of love, the
model of love, the love which surpasses all love, as the knowledge of
it surpasses all knowledge! Who would not be a scholar when the book he
reads in is the heart of Christ?

Who would not be a student when the science is Christ Crucified; the
lesson book Christ manifested; the Tutor Christ glorified and the prize
Christ enthroned in the heart?

Jesus is most dear from every point of view, but how charming is it to
see Him in the light of love, so as "to know the love of Christ"! You
see, then, the way in which we come by our knowledge and the certainly
there is in it–and the sweetness of the Subject! I shall have to show
you, as we go on, the efficacy of this knowledge, for when we know the
love of Christ that passes knowledge, it follows, before long, that we
come to be filled with all the fullness of God. Here is a sweet perfume
brought into a man's house! For substance, it seems to be a little
thing–it can lie on his finger. Wait a few minutes and it has actually
filled the room! Everyone exclaims, "What sweetness!" The fragrance
perfumes all the chamber. They open the door–the delicious scent is in
the passage–it has gone upstairs into every bedroom till the fragrance
is diffused through all the house!

And if you open a window it invades the street and charms the
passersby. If the love of Christ is really known in the soul, it is
like a precious box of rarest aromatics–it diffuses itself till it
fills our entire being! I do not wonder to find my text saying, "And to
know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be
filled with all the fullness of God," for the love of the Lord Jesus is
the most filling thing in existence! In Him dwells all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily–and you are complete in Him, for of His fullness
have all you received and Grace for Grace–how can we be otherwise than
filled?

II. We must dwell a minute on that rung of the ladder to which we have
ascended–TO KNOW SO AS TO BE FILLED. It is not every kind of knowledge
that will fill a man. Many forms of knowledge make a man more empty
than he was before. The knowledge of earthly luxuries tends to make a
man hunger for them and so a new vacuum is created in his mind. When he
perceives that there is this or that delight to be had, he becomes
discontented till he gets it and so he is emptier than he was before.
Much of human knowledge is described by the Apostle, thus, "Knowledge
puffs up; but love builds up."

Sometimes the more men know, the greater fools they become, for
knowledge is not wisdom, though wisdom cannot be without knowledge.
Knowledge in the hands of a fool is but a means of publishing his
folly. Wisdom is the flower which grows out of knowledge, but all
knowledge does not bear that flower–much of it is barren. Brothers and
Sisters, if you get a knowledge of Christ's love, it is a filling
knowledge, for it contents the soul! When a man knows the love of
Christ to him, every part of his being is satisfied. We are made up, as
it were, of a number of horseleeches, every one of which cries, "Give!
Give!" Here is the heart craving for something to love. Oh, but when
you love Christ, you have a heart's love that will satisfy you for all
time! Where can such sweetness be? Your heart shall never go hungering
again. His charms shall hold you fast!

There is the intellect–what a horseleech it is! It is always craving
for more–more certainty, more novelty, more wonder. But when the
intellect comes to know Christ, it acknowledges that in Him dwells all
wisdom! To know the Eternal Son is to know the Father and this is a
knowledge which rests the understanding and fills up the mind.
Imagination itself is content with Jesus. Hope cannot conceive anything
more lovely–she gives up all attempts to paint a fairer than He and
she cries, "Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved and this
is my Friend. O you daughters of Jerusalem!" No power or passion that
is vital to our manhood is discontented with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before conversion we gad abroad and go to this house and to that to
pick up scanty meals. But when Christ comes home to dwell with us, we
sup with Him and no more go out since there is nowhere to be found
anything that is as good as He, much less anything that can be better
than He! When the love of Christ enters the heart, it is swiftly filled
with a perfect satisfaction. A certain man of renown, not a thousand
miles away, who has no very great love for the Gospel, says that he can
influence and enlighten most people except those who hold the views of
a certain "notorious individual." That epithet I take to myself!

He adds, "When once they receive his doctrinal teaching there is no
stirring them an inch." Blessed be God for that! I scarcely hoped that
the work was so well done and I am glad of the worthy gentleman's
certificate. So it is–when once you cast anchor in the port of
Christ's love, you wish for no more voyages! You will not change when
you feel that it is well with your soul. You are convinced that there
is no better article in the market than that which your soul has
learned to feed upon and so you are not inclined to go further and fare
worse!

Again, when the soul comes to enjoy Christ, it is filled in a most
emphatic sense. It is not merely satisfied, but overjoyed! One said to
me the other day, "I am sure that you have a contented heart." "Well,"
I replied, "if I were pinched with poverty you might talk of my
contentment, but God blesses me so richly that I have passed beyond
mere contentment–I have all things and abound! I feel as if I can
bless God all day long." Christ's people are not merely safe and
contented, they are filled! And well they may be, for there is enough
in Christ for millions–and yet He is altogether ours. He has given
Himself to us as a glorious whole!

A little patrimony may make a man contented, but what shall we say when
our heritage is Christ, Himself? Contented? Why, our heart leaps as we
survey our infinite portion–

"In the heavenly Lamb thrice happy I am And my heart does dance at the
sound of His name." When you live in the full enjoyment of the Lord's
Presence and abide under a sense of His love, you feel more happy than
tongue can tell. Your heart is too full to hold–it is like a vessel
needing vent–it possesses a joy unspeakable and full of glory. Once
more, when the love of Christ comes to work upon the soul–when it
brings with it all its choice treasures– then the mind of the Believer
is filled with the fullness of God. What is it that the love of Christ
gives to the objects of it? Let me ask another question. What is it
which is worth having that it does not give? He gives us light for our
darkness; eyes for our blindness; food for our hunger; cleansing for
our defilement; garments for our nakedness; healing for our sickness.
He gives us strength for our weakness, joy for our sorrow, comfort for
our distress, deliverance for our peril and triumph for our conflict!

When Jesus comes to dwell in the heart, He brings with Him such
furniture, such provision that our entire nature is equipped,
furnished, provided for–in a word, "filled with all the fullness of
God." Christ does not long dwell in an unfurnished house. Oh, you that
have a poor, poverty-stricken religion of which you have to say, like
the elder brother in the parable, "These many years did I serve you,
neither transgressed I at any time your commandment: and yet you never
gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends," I beseech you,
say so no more! Come, Friends, alter that tune and hear what the great
Father says–"Son, you are always with Me, and all that I have is
yours." If Christ dwells in your heart, His Father is your Father! His
God is your God! His Heaven is your Heaven! Yes, and His Throne shall
be your throne, for He will make you to sit where He sits at the right
hand of God in Glory! Oh, the blessedness of knowing the love of
Christ! It fills the spirit to the fullest!

III. In a sentence or two I will pass over the third point, namely,
WHAT IT IS TO BE FILLED WITH ALL THE

FULLNESS OF GOD. Does it not mean that self is banished, for if the
fullness of God has filled you, where is room for self? Does it not
mean that the soul is perfectly charmed with all that God does for it?
"Filled with all the fullness of God." Does it not mean that every
power of the entire nature is solaced and satisfied? Does it not mean
that the whole man is occupied and inhabited by God–that the whole
nature becomes permeated with Grace, saturated with love, satisfied
with favor and full of the goodness of the Lord? I will not talk more
of it at this time. I hope that you will know by experience what that
fullness means, if you do not know it already. May the Holy Spirit give
you this glad experience.

IV. I want to come to the practical point that WHEREVER CHRIST DWELLS
IN THE HEART BY FAITH WE RECEIVE THE FULLNESS OF GOD INTO OUR SPIRIT
WITH THE DESIGN THAT WE MAY OVERFLOW.

Brothers, Sisters, I dare say you know what it is to be empty. Have you
ever tried to pray when you are empty? Yes, and the result is a very
empty prayer. "Out of nothing comes nothing." And when there is no
prayer in you and you pray, why, it is no prayer at all! You try to
praise, but if there is no praise in you, your attempted hallelujahs
languish and expire. If true praise comes forth from you, it must first
have been within you.

But do you know what it is to pray when you are full of prayer? When
the Lord has filled you with hunger, thirst, desires, hopes and
expectations–what an overflowing of prayer is with you! When the
season of prayer is over and you go down to business, you cry, "Alas, I
never knew a quarter of an hour fly so quickly as this has done! How
refreshed I am! I made no effort to pray, but I poured out my soul like
water before the Lord." Yes, because you have been filled with all the
fullness of God, therefore you have prayed readily and with fullness.
In singing, you have felt the same plenitude of devotion. Sometimes
when you have been praising the Lord, you have wished that you had all
men's tongues in your mouth and that you had all the songs of birds at
your command, and all the music of the spheres! You have desired

to make the stars your keyboard, to play upon them a glorious Te
Deum–and yet you would not even then have praised your God as your
heart desired. When you are full of praise, then you praise, indeed!

It is a blessed thing for our heart to get full towards God, for then
we worship Him with a full soul. It may be only full of regrets,
repentance and desires, but yet if it is full, it is a blessed
fullness. Even if you are only full of groans, cries and entreaties, it
is well. When God dwells in you, by the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of
supplication and devotion, then you live towards God with vigorous
life. And, dear Brothers and Sisters, when you are all full of Divine
Grace, you are filled for all the circumstances of life. You have
lately buried a greatly beloved one. The news came upon you all of a
sudden, but you were not afraid of evil tidings. Why? Because your
heart was "fixed, trusting in the Lord." When the sad bereavement came,
it did not overwhelm you–at another time it might have done so–but
the Lord was pleased to fill you with His Presence that you were quite
prepared for the trouble.

Tomorrow morning if you go into the world filled with the fullness of
God, afflictions may come in business– perhaps an extra heavy account
will be sent in and you will be perplexed as to how to meet it–but you
will not mind. You will be ready for the difficulty because the
fullness of God will ballast you and save you from the rough winds.
Perhaps tomorrow you will meet with a great success and if you are not
full of Grace you will grow proud and lifted up. But if you are filled
with all the fullness of God, if the Lord should make you as rich as
Solomon, you would not grow worldly. If you are filled with all the
fullness of God, you are as ready for prosperity as you are for
adversity! Whatever happens to you in the future you will be prepared
for it. If you are called upon to confess His name, if you are filled
with all the fullness of God, courage will be yours!

And if you are called to endure great suffering, patience will be
ready, for the God of Patience will grant you strength equal to your
need. If a knotty problem poses you and you are filled with God's
wisdom, you will work it out. If you go forth filled with God, you are
provided for every emergency. Come calamity or prosperity, whatever
shape the temptation may assume, if the love of Christ has filled you
with the fullness of God, you are ready for it! Look how prepared you
will be to meet your Brethren and benefit them! Suppose you should meet
a little gathering of Believers and they should ask you to speak a
word? If you are full, your speech will be worth hearing. But if you
are empty, your communications will be also empty.

Sometimes when we preach we are conscious of unfitness for the work
because our soul is poverty-stricken. There cannot be much in our
mouths if there is little in our hearts. Out of an empty sack you
cannot shake a bushel of wheat, even if you shake it very hard. I have
heard a Brother pray a wearisome while and I believe he was long
because he had nothing to say. A horse can run many miles if he has
nothing to carry. Long prayers often mean wind and emptiness. If you
are full with a Divine fullness, your lips scatter gems more precious
than pearls and diamonds. Filled with all the fullness of God, your
paths, like God's paths, drop fatness!

Do you not know Christian men of that sort? They are millionaire
Christians who make others rich. I know saints whom I rejoice to visit
because I always learn from them. It is a privilege to be in the
company of full saints, just as it is a misery to hear the clatter of
empty professors. It is said that we English people feel delighted if
we sit by the side of a lord–this I know, that if I get into the
company of one of God's aristocracy and have a quarter of an hour's
talk with him, and a little prayer as well, I feel quite lifted up! My
heart is glad within me when I see the Grace of God abundant in a
Brother or Sister in Christ. I want you, Brothers and Sisters, to be
full of sympathy, full of pity, full of mercy, full of wisdom–and when
your Brethren hear you speak, they will be as men who have found
running springs and filled up their vessels!

Lastly, if the love of Jesus Christ is in us so that we are filled with
all the fullness of God, how ready we shall be to meet common folk that
are not the Lord's people as yet! We shall have a word on wheels for
all who cross our path. You find it difficult to get the right words at
the right time when you are talking to seekers? Just so, Brothers and
Sisters, but may not that be because you are not full up to the brim?
You are nearly empty and it takes you a long time to turn your tub up
and pour out the little drop which hangs at the bottom. It you were
full up to the brim, you would run over on all sides–and all around
you there would be a holy moisture. If you are so full of spiritual
life that you cannot help running over, you will, by the Holy Spirit's
power, pour out the right expressions when they are needed–and thirsty
souls will receive of the Living Water.

If we are quite full, we may move about among ungodly men and our
presence will be a benediction to them. I read the other day of one who
heard a man swear and tell a lie at the same time. He did not say
anything, but the swearer was aware that the listener was aware of his
falsehood. The reprover fixed his eye on the liar and was silent. That
glance went to the other's heart, for it said more than a dozen hard
names. What the reprover did not say had more power than what he might
have said! If you are only full of His life, the Lord will tell you
what to do and guide you as how to do it! "But I do not know how to
speak," says one. Just so. You know that you have only a little Living
Water at the bottom of your barrel and you do not know how to get it
out.

"Oh, but I feel such a difficulty in speaking." If there is only a
little in the tub, the difficulty is to get it out. But if you are
full, that difficulty will vanish. If the Lord has brought us to His
fullness, it is a very high state to be in. Look at our blessed Master.
Wherever He was and whatever happened–and wherever He went–He did the
right thing, then and there, and said the best thing that could be said
because the Holy Spirit rested upon Him without measure! Oh, that the
Holy Spirit would fill us, also, according to our capacity! If the
water carts go along the road in dusty weather with nothing in them,
they will not stop the dust! And if you Christians go about the world
empty, you will not stop the dust of sin which blinds and defiles
society!

If you go to a fountain and find no water flowing, that fountain mocks
your thirst–it is worse than useless. Likewise, therefore, do not
forget that if you ever become empty of Grace, you mock those who look
to you. Blessed is he of whom it is written, "Out of his belly shall
flow rivers of Living Water." This spoke Christ of the Spirit of God
dwelling in men. God grant that you and I may understand His meaning!
If anybody is saying, "This is out of my sphere–I have not come as far
as this." I know it is so. I have not been talking to you. Yet I will
not be altogether silent to you. Look to Jesus Christ at once and you
shall be saved. Trust Him! Trust Him wholly! By faith you will begin to
live.

After you begin to live, you will be strengthened by the Spirit of the
Lord. After you are strengthened, Christ will dwell in your heart.
After Christ has dwelt in your heart, you shall know the love that
passes knowledge–and after you know the love that passes knowledge,
you shall be filled with all the fullness of God! Do not begin at the
end, but take things according to God's order. A man who wishes to
climb a ladder does not expect to put his foot upon the top rung at the
first step–he ascends by degrees.

There is your first rung–"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you
shall be saved." Take that first step at once! May the Lord help you!
Beginning with faith in Jesus, you shall persevere and ascend till you
reach the top of the ladder. The Lord be with you and in you to the
fullest! Amen and Amen.