All my springs are in Thee. (Psa. lxxxvii. 7).-(5)

by Charles H. Welch

#5. “In Christ Jesus.”
“And a river went out of Eden to water the garden;
and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads” 
(Gen. ii. 10).


The Fountain of all being and all blessing is God, but in such overwhelming power that nothing but destruction would be the result of immediate contact with Him. In the person of Christ, infinite Power and Wisdom are mediated, and, thus, are found to be full of blessing. No man can look upon the face of GOD and live, yet to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is life. This therefore is our theme.

Over and over again in the epistles, we meet with such expressions as “in Christ”, “in the Lord”, “in Jesus Christ our Lord”, “in Christ Jesus” and other variations of the same blessed truth. These are the “heads” into which the river of life is “parted” for our sakes. Taking the epistles in the canonical order in which they are found in the N.T., the first occurrence of the phrase “in Christ Jesus” is in Rom. iii. 24, where we read “Redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. The phrase does not recur until we come to Rom. viii. There it occurs three times: “No condemnation in Christ Jesus”, “The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” and the blessed fact that nothing can separate us “from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. viii. 1, 2 and 39).

The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found in Ephesians (R.V.) seven times, and is associated with Paul’s apostleship (Eph. i. 1), and “the faithful” (Eph. i. 1). The peculiar privilege, granted alone to the church of the mystery, of being “seated together in heavenly places” is also “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. ii. 6). In the ages to come this favour is to be intensified, for “exceeding riches of grace in His kindness” are to be shown toward us “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. ii. 7), while we are declared to be “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” in Eph. ii. 10. Those who were the recipients of such overwhelming grace however, were, by nature, “far off” sinners of the Gentiles, but are “made nigh” in Christ Jesus (Eph. ii. 13). The title “Christ Jesus” is limited to the doctrinal section of Ephesians, the last occurrence being Eph. iii. 21, where the prayer ends in the doxology, “Unto Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of the ages. Amen”.

These aspects of truth “in Christ Jesus” lie at the root of the revelation of the mystery but no attempt can be made here to expand their teaching: at the moment all we insist upon is that they are ours only “in Christ Jesus”. Passing over the remainder of Paul’s epistles, we come to II Timothy, where the phrase “in Christ Jesus” occurs seven times. The teaching associated with these seven occurrences will be more appreciated if the passages are seen together. Accordingly we throw them into an alternate correspondence.

“In Christ Jesus” (II Timothy).
A | i. 1. The Promise of Life.
    B | i. 9. Purpose and Grace. Holy calling, not of works.
        C | i. 13. Form of sound words. Doctrine.
            D | ii. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
A | ii. 10. Salvation WITH glory.
    B | iii. 12. Persecution and godly living. Practice.
        C | iii. 15. Holy Scriptures. Salvation.

Turning to the briefer phrase “in Christ” we find it used in contrast to being “in Adam” and in other doctrinal and practical associations. It occurs seven times in II Corinthians where the passages may be taken to indicate the character of blessing that was found “in Christ” by the apostle.

The first sounds a note of triumph.

“Now thanks be unto God, which always leadeth us in triumph in Christ” (II Cor. ii. 14, R.V.).

The second avers faithfulness.

“But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ” (II Cor. ii. 17).

There follows the ministry of the new covenant and contrasts of liberty, life and glory, with the bondage, death and passing glory of the old covenant. Paul tells us that when Israel read the old covenant, a veil is upon their eyes and heart but that this veil “is done away in Christ” (II Cor. iii. 14). Pursuing the wondrous theme, he passes from the new covenant to the new creation, saying “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature” (II Cor. v. 17). From the new creation he proceeds to speak of the reconciliation, saying, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (II Cor. v. 19). To Paul, salvation was to be found “in Christ” and when referring to his conversion and commission, he says, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago” (II Cor. xii. 2). In his last use of this phrase in II Cor. xii. 19 he again refers to his ministry as “speaking before God in Christ”. In conclusion let us turn to Eph. i. 1-14, and, instead of limiting ourselves to one title, as “Christ” or “Christ Jesus”, let us observe how the word “in” is used.

The preposition en, “in”, occurs nineteen times in Eph. i. 1-14 and is translated “at” (i. 1); “with” (i. 3); “wherein” (i. 6); and sixteen times is rendered by the word “in”. Let us set out these verses, omitting those references that use the word “in” before such terms as “heavenly places” and marking only those which speak of blessing “IN Him”.

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace [be] to you, and peace, from God our Father, and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:
According as he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace . . . . . having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in Him:
In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance . . . . . that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
In Whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation:
In Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Here we see that the faithful in Christ Jesus find in Him Blessing, Choice, Acceptance, Redemption, Inheritance, and Hope; while at the same time and in association with these blessings, we find this great Purpose is in Him, and that in Him shall be gather together in one all things in heaven and on earth.

As he contemplates such riches of grace and glory, verily, every believer in the truth of the mystery, can exclaim,

“All my springs are in Thee.”

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 34, page 31).

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Time and Place. (2)

The Scriptural association of chronology and topography
with doctrine and purpose.

by Charles H. Welch

 #2. The purpose of the ages implied in Gen. i. 1.


The majestic opening words of Holy Scripture describe the first action of all time. “In the beginning” (B’reshith). The word reshith is the feminine form of rosh, “head”, and while primarily rosh means “head”, only incidentally “beginning”, reshith on the other hand, primarily means “beginning”, and incidentally “chief”, but is never translated in the A.V. “head”. The LXX translated it by the Greek arche, and so is parallel with John i. 1. That it is utterly futile to speculate upon what was “before” the beginning, our very language testifies, for, where time is not, “before” is meaningless.

An examination of the usage of reshith, “beginning”, leaves the mind with the impression that something more than “time” is implied. First we observe that there is no article (“the”), so that the Hebrew reads “In beginning”, and opens the door for the thought, “With what motive and with what ending?” There are two other occurrences of reshith in Genesis: the first is,

“And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel . . . . . in the land of Shinar, and he (Nimrod) went forth out of that land into Assyria (Asshur), and builded Nineveh, etc.” (Gen. x. 10, 11).

Here we have an illustration of the anticipatory character of reshith. Nimrod began with Babel, but he went on and added Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar, thereafter extending his conquest outside that land, including Nineveh and Calah.

The other reference to reshith is Gen. xlix. 3, 4:

“Reuben, thou art my firstborn, and the beginning of my strength . . . . . unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.”

Here again the “beginning of my strength” asks for its sequence, its correspondence, and the “end” is found to be failure and instability.

This word reshith is translated “firstfruits” eleven times (Lev. xxiii. 10, etc.), and it is the very essence of firstfruits that they anticipate a harvest to come. In Job viii. 7 and xlii. 12 the “beginning” is related to the “end”; as it is also in Isa. xlvi. 10.

By this time, most of our readers will have thought of the title given to Christ in the Revelation:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” (Rev. i. 8).
“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. iii. 14).
“It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (Rev. xxi. 6).
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Rev. xxii. 13).

With these glorious truths must be included the testimony of the apostle Paul:

“He is the head of the body, the church: Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Col. i. 18).

Let us examine these references more carefully. Rev. i. 8 associates the title, “the beginning”, with the great age-abiding name Jehovah: “The Lord which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME.” Here, in this Name, all time is comprehended, past, present and future, and He is the “Almighty”, so that what He “began” to do at the creation of heaven and earth, He will “finish” in the day of God. The “beginning” implies an end, or goal. In Rev. xxi. 6 the goal is reached: He that sat upon the throne said, “It is done.” When we ponder Rev. iii. 14 with Gen. i. 1, to what other conclusion can we come than that Christ is there in Gen. i. 1, the “beginning of the creation of God”, and in Him, the “first”, creation will at length reach its goal, for He is also the “last”, and He is the “Amen”, the faithful witness to the onward movement of the ages.

In Col. i. 18 there is a limitation. He is there seen, not so much in His relationship to creation, as to the church. True, all creation is the work of His hands (Col. i. 16, 17), but it is there in the background, while the new creation, already seen in the church, which is the body, sets forth in miniature the creation to come. Christ is undoubtedly “The beginning” of that new creation, which has as its goal what is vividly expressed in Col. iii.

“The image of Him that created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew . . . . .; but Christ is all, and in all” (Col. iii. 10, 11).

This, in its turn, exhibits the goal that is implied by the opening words of Gen. i. 1:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth . . . . . Then cometh the end . . . . . that God may be all in all” (Gen. i. 1 with I Cor. xv. 24-28).

Christ is “all and in all” to the church of the mystery: God shall be “all in all” when the complete new creation is laid at His feet. So, the words “It is done” of Rev. xxi. 6 refer to the works of Rev. xxi. 5: “Behold, I make all things new.” We observe also that in I Cor. xv. Christ is the “firstfruits”, a word which we have seen is implicit in Gen. i. 1.

We return to Gen. i. 1, and with increasing wonder look at those opening words, “In beginning”, could be expressed idiomatically, “As a beginning”, demanding, some time and somewhere, a sequel, an end, a harvest. God created the heaven and the earth with an object, and His purpose may be expressed thus:

In beginning God was ALL. Heaven and earth sprang into being at His command. But God is not merely Almighty, He is essentially “Love”. Creation therefore moved forward to the “Image”, in Whose likeness Adam was created. Adam however did not obey mechanically, as do the sun, moon and stars, and so the long discipline of sorrow accompanies the advent of man, leading irrevocably down to the “unspeakable” Gift of Love, and, at long last, up to the willing submission of a new creation.

We therefore complete our exhibition of the implication of Gen. i. 1 as follows:

In the beginning God was ALL, but when the end comes, God will be ALL IN ALL.

two vastly different things. He is indeed One that “declares the end from the beginning”, and worketh all things according to the counsel of His Own will.

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 34, page 169).

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All my springs are in Thee. (Psa. lxxxvii. 7).-(4)

by Charles H. Welch

#4. “Broken cisterns” (Jer. ii. 13).


“With Thee is the fountain of life”, said the Psalmist, and this blessed confession formed the basis of our last meditation together. This, sadly, was not the universal attitude of Israel; had it been, they would never have departed so wickedly from their God, nor would they have crucified the Lord of glory.

“My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer. ii. 13).

The chapter opens with a remembrance of “the love of thine espousals”, when “Israel was holiness unto the Lord” (Jer. ii. 1-3). The chapter ends with Israel as a “gad about” (Jer. ii. 36), a maid that has “forgotten her ornaments”, a “bride that has forgotten her attire”, “trimming” her way to seek illicit love (Jer. ii. 32, 33). Israel’s departure from the Lord is often likened to the sin of adultery and it is with such a figure that Jer. iii. opens.

“What iniquity”, said the Lord, “have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, and have walked after vanity and become vain?” (Jer. ii. 5).

Here are the “two evils” of verse 13. Israel went away from the Lord, the Fountains of living waters, “they followed after vanity”, likened to the hewing out for themselves cisterns; “they became vain”, for these cisterns could hold no water. So the charge is made throughout the chapter. We will not load the page with verse enumeration—the reader can follow better without—but here are the charges: “They are gone far from Me.” They did not say “Where is the Lord that brought us up out of Egypt?” “They walked after vanity”, “they walked after things that do not profit”, “Thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God when He led thee in the way”. Israel had not only hewn cisterns, instead of turning to the Lord as the Fountain of living waters, but, to change the figure without changing the fact, they had gone down to Egypt “to drink the waters of Sihor”. The Sihor, or Shihor, is a river of Egypt, probably on the southern boundary of Canaan, whose name means “turbid”, or “slimy”. It was to this that Israel turned rather than drink of the Fountain of life. Or, again, the prophet demands, “What hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?” Such is the sad context of this record to departure. Let us now come a little closer to the actual passage. Reduced to its barest simplicity the structure is:

A | ii. 1-3. Espousals.
    B | ii. 4-37. Remonstrance and Pleading.
A | iii. 1-11. Adultery.

Lifting out verses 11-18 from a great mass of detail we observe that it falls into the following disposition of subject-matter:--

Jeremiah ii. 11 - 18.
A | 11. | a | Changed gods.
                b | Yet no gods?
             a | Changed glory.
                b | For no profit?
    B | 12. Be astonished; horribly afraid; very desolate.
        C | 13. Two evils. | c | Forsaken Me, the Fountain.
                                        d | Hewed cisterns, no water.
A | 14. | a | Is Israel a servant?
                b | Is he a homeborn slave?
    B | 15, 16. Roar, yell, waste.
        C | 17, 18. Two evils. | c | The Lord. Forsaken.
                                              d | Water of Egypt in Assyria.

Until we acquaint ourselves with the statement of scripture on the subject, the question of “profit” appears to be somewhat remote as a spiritual motive, yet we observe that it finds a place in the Divine argument. Israel are said to have walked after Baal and those things that “do not profit” (Jer. ii. 8), and, in verse 11, “My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit”. So in chapter vii. verse 8 we read, “Behold ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit” and, again, in xxiii. 32, lying prophets “shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord”. It is right to ask, “What is the profit?” It is wrong to spend our money for that which is not bread and our strength for nought. The Saviour enforces the same question of profit in Matt. xvi. 26 and again and again Ecclesiastes asks, “What profit” is there in all the labour that man does “under the sun”? It could certainly not be deemed a profitable undertaking that forsook the Fountain of living waters, only to find that the cisterns hewn with such vast labour were useless.

“Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit” (Jer. ii. 11).

The reader is urged by the prophet to go over to the isles of Chittim, (probably Cyprus and the north coast line of the Mediterranean), or travel to Kedar, in Arabia: in other words, whether he goes West or East he will not discover such a senseless thing as Israel had done. Israel had followed in the way of the darkened heathen, “changed their glory”, (see Rom. i. 23), and corrupted themselves. Apart from the great labour involved in hewing cisterns out of the rock, the profitlessness of such labour is exposed by the fact that, when hewn, they were found to be “broken” and could “hold no water”. The spiritual teaching behind these figures may be seen when we find the same word, “to hold”, translated “comprehend” in Isa. xl. 12, and “abide” in Joel ii. 11 and Mal. iii. 2. The power of the living God cannot be contained by any man-made medium. The ONE Mediator is Christ; He alone is the Channel through which infinite power and Divine life can pass to man, without harm or fear. In view of the two evils here brought to light let us the more take to ourselves the language of faith:

“Lord, to Whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 34, page 29).

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Time and Place. (1)

The Scriptural association of chronology and topography
with doctrine and purpose.

by Charles H. Welch

#1. A definition and a vocabulary.


No experience is so fundamental to the human consciousness as the necessary relation of time, space and event. The human mind is so constructed that “an event” that took place at no time and in no place is inconceivable. Philosophy may entertain the idea that Absolute Being is unrelated to time and space, and the Scriptural title I AM suggests an eternal present, but the pursuit of this theme is forbidden by Scripture, for we read:

“He hath set the olam (age) in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Eccles. iii. 11).

If this is man’s limitation regarding the “work” of God, how much more must he be limited when the subject is the Person of God Himself.

The various attempts to define the fundamental conceptions of time and space have filled volumes. Time has been defined as “the measure of movement”, and this is certainly true, if not the whole truth. We cannot speak of a speed of “20 miles”; we must say “20 miles per minute, per hour, per day, etc.”. Time, therefore, in this definition, is indissolubly linked with space, which is implied by “movement”, for one can only move from one place to another. However, while recognizing this aspect of our subject, we have no intention of pursuing it. Our theme is by no means a philosophical inquiry.

Time and place, being two of the fundamental conceptions of human thought, must necessarily find their place in a book that purports to speak to the understanding, and we are sure that an acquaintance with the time “when” and the place “where” its events took place, will be a contribution to our understanding of its glorious doctrines. We shall also be obliged to take cognizance of Scriptural chronology, for the O.T. is vitally associated with a chronology that links Adam with Christ. We shall seek to demonstrate the accuracy of that chronology, and deal with some of the problems it raises. We make no pretence, however, to any special qualifications in this science, and shall be content to use the studies of others in so far as they are in harmony with the Scriptures. Where authorities differ and Scriptural harmony is not attainable, we shall be content to leave the matter.

The place where any event took place is also constantly noted in the Scriptures, and this will involve a knowledge of Ancient and Modern Geography. Like chronology, this, too, is a subject for the specialist, and where authorities differ, we must be content to wait. We believe, for example, most surely that a garden was planted in Eden, even though we may be bewildered by the variety of suggestions made by scholars as to the exact place on the map that should be assigned to it.

Before we begin our study of time and place and their relation to doctrine, let us first acquaint ourselves with the different words used by the inspired writers in connection with time. We will take the Hebrew first.

Zeman . . . Translated in the A.V. “season”, “time” and as a verb, “to prepare”.
Zaman . . . Translated in the A.V. “time”, “appointed time”, “season”; and as a verb, “consider”, “think”, “purpose”, “devise”, “imagine”, “plot”.
It is evident that the underlying meaning of this word is “time, with special reference to its fitness”; hence an “appointed time” or “season”.
Yom . . . Translated in the A.V. 116 times “day” and 65 times “time”, together with a great variety of other words, ranging from “weather” to “yearly”. “Day” may be accepted as the fundamental meaning of the word, with the understanding that it is not always limited to a period of twenty-four hours.
Moed . . . Translated in the A.V. “congregation” 149 times, and then “appointed time”, “appointed season”, “time”, “feast”, and allied ideas. This word is derived from yaad, “to appoint, as a place or time”, and so “to meet with others at an appointed place”.
Iddan . . . Translated in the A.V. “time” 13 times. The word is derived from adah, “to go or to pass”. From this comes ad, variously translated “for ever”, “perpetually”, etc. Its basic meaning may be seen in the adverb ad, “till”, “yet”, etc. From adah is also derived:
Eth . . . Translated in the A.V. “time” 257 times, “season”, etc.
Olam . . . Translated in the A.V. “ever” and many other words. The primary meaning of the word is “age”, and carries with it the idea of something hidden, from alam, “secret”—the length of the age being something beyond human knowledge.
Rosh . . . Translated in the A.V. “head” 349 times, and when used of time, “beginning” and “first”.
Dor . . . Translated in the A.V. mostly by “generation”.
Teledoth . . . Translated in the A.V. “generation”, “family”, “origin”, “family history”.

These are the most important words used in the O.T. to denote the conception of “time”. In the N.T. the most important corresponding Greek words are as follows:

Genea, “generation”; hemera, “day”; kairos, “season”; chronos, “time”;
hora, “hour”; aion, “age”; and arche, “beginning”.

With this introduction and list of words we must be satisfied for the present. In our next article we hope to take up the question of Time and Place in relation to Scriptural doctrine.

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 33, page 170).

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All my springs are in Thee. (Psa. lxxxvii. 7).-(3)

by Charles H. Welch

#3. “With Thee is the Fountain of Life” (Psa. xxvi. 9).


To the believer and the diligent student of Scripture, the statement that God Himself is and must be the Spring and Fountain of all blessing is so obvious a truth as to amount to a truism. This truth is taught by nature and by creation, but it awaits the revelation of Scripture to retranslate these facts into evangelical experiences, and to teach that even though the Ultimate Source of all being and blessing is God, these blessings are mediated to their unworthy recipients through the Person and Work of the Son of His love. Gospel grace does not come to man straight from God, as God; it comes to man as a sinner seeking salvation through God manifest in the flesh. As we read the words of John i. 16 we are reading a N.T. version of the acknowledgment, “All my springs are in Thee”. The passage reads: “And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.”

To appreciate the rich grace here indicated we must go back to the opening of the chapter in which the words occur. Even there, “in the beginning”, when the purpose of the ages was planned and when the redeeming Lamb was foreordained (I Pet. i. 19, 20) we are not taken into the presence of God in the absolute sense, but into the presence of the Mediator, “The Word”, “The Image of the invisible God”, “The express Image of His substance”, of Whom it is written, in the contexts of these several statements:

“All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John i. 3).
“By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible” (Col. i. 16).
“By Whom also He made the worlds (ages)” (Heb. i. 2).

The fabric of creation is the work of His hands, and the ages, during which the Divine purpose shall be attained, are all vested in Him.

Immediately following the statement of John i. that all things were made by Him, come the words of so great import to us, “In Him was life”. Of no creature can it be said that such has “life in itself”; inherent life is the prerogative of Deity. John goes on to say that this life “was the light of men”, revealing that in the beginning, even before man was created, it was Christ (in Whose “image” he was later formed), Who was the Fount and Source of Life, even as, in fullness of time, Christ was revealed to be the Spring of all the graces of redeeming love. But not until the Deity took another step in corresponding love could the Fountain flow in all its fullness to the sons of men; and so we read:

“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth” (John i. 14).

Here is the “fullness” out of which we all have received; here is the “grace for grace” that describes its nature.

However, before we further pursue this aspect, let us fortify our understanding by reading what is written concerning this One Who became “flesh”. Was such a descent accompanied by the loss of inherent life? Could it be said of Him Who was found in fashion as a man and Who had actually come to die for sin, that He still had “life in Himself”? Yes, blessed be God, it is so written; we are not left to inference, however sound may be our reasoning.

Because the Saviour had cured a man on the sabbath day, the Jews sought to slay Him, and, instead of placating, He added to their wrath by saying, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”. “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John v. 16-18).

Then follows a series of stupendous claims, any one of which is a wonder, and any one a proof of His Deity. He saw what the Father did, and did “likewise”. He quickened the dead, even as the Father raised up the dead and quickened them. He was the appointed Judge of all men, the Father judging no man. All men were required to give equal honour to the Son as to the Father.

“For, as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself” (John v. 26).

When He made Himself of no reputation and became man, He necessarily laid aside the insignia and the associations of Deity and, unless it had been revealed, we might have felt that although as “The Word” it could be written “In Him was life”, yet, when He became flesh, this mark of Deity would be absent. For our peace it is not so. As the “Son” and the “Word became flesh”, He possesses “life in Himself” and so is the Author and Fountain of life to all who believe. When therefore we read: “Of His fullness have all we received”, we know that once again we are at the Source of all life and blessing.

The confessed purpose of John in writing his Gospel is “life” (John xx. 31), and this last reference is the last link in a chain of thirty-six occurrences of zoe, “life”, in his Gospel. If to these we add the thirteen occurrences of the word in the first epistle, we have a total of 49, or 7*7, for perfection is indeed found here.

As we trace the use of zoe throughout John’s Gospel we find that the goal of the gospel there preached is everlasting life (iii. 15, 16), and that this life is ours only by virtue of the sacrifice of “His flesh, which” said He, “I will give for the life of the world” (John vi. 51). Further, this life is essentially “resurrection life”. Those who receive it “pass from death unto life” (John v. 24), and hear the voice of Him Who said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John xi. 25).

As we become conscious of our sin and consequent death, and as we perceive the fullness that dwells in Him, can we not, with a full heart, look up to Him Who is Himself “The Way, the Truth and the Life” and say, “All my springs are in Thee”.

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 34, page 27).

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Three Phases of Peace - by Charles H. Welch

Peace is an effect, and it must ever be held in mind that "the work of righteousness shall be peace" (Isa. 32:17). Consequently, "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isa. 57:21). Romans 3 declares, "the way of peace  have they not known".

PEACE WITH GOD -- A sick visitor once asked a man whether he had made his peace with God. "No", replied the man, "No, thank God, it was made for me". Peace with God can only be possible as a result of righteousness. Man by nature cannot produce this righteousness, and therefore cannot make his peace with God. Romans 5:1 gives the true position: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ". Note the "being" before the "having". 

PEACE OF GOD -- All who have peace with God, who are fully acquitted before God, are not always enjoying the peace of God. This is more in line with the second half of Isaiah 32:17, "The effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever". Philippians 4:5 to 7 shows us the path to this peace. Moderation or "yieldingness" to all; anxiety for nothing, for everything prayer and thanks, "and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall GARRISON your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". Colossians 3:15 says, "Let the peace of God RULE as UMPIRE in your hearts". Here we have a blessed guard and guide. 

THE GOD OF PEACE -- One might think that to reach the standard of Philippians 4:5 to 7 was high enough. Verse 9, however, pointing us to the example of that faithful follower of the Lord, says, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of Peace shall be with you". If the Giver is greater than His gifts, this is favour indeed. 

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All my springs are in Thee. (Psa. lxxxvii. 7).-(2)

by Charles H. Welch

#2. The confession of Asaph and of Peter.

“Fountains”, “wells” and “springs” are in constant reference in the Scriptures, where they are used as figures of life, fertility and blessing. This can well be understood when the geography of Palestine is considered. When the land of promise was described by Moses, it was not only called “a land flowing with milk and honey”, but “a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of the valleys and hills” (Deut. viii. 7). The particular word which is translated “springs” in Psalm lxxxvii. is the Hebrew word mayan, a word derived from ayin, “the eye”, from the supposed resemblance to the eye as “a fountain of tears”, a figure that is found in the Greek language also. These “fountains” may be as vast as those that cause the Deluge, when “the fountains of the great deep were broken up”, or as small as a fountain that waters a garden (Song of Sol. iv. 15), and Isaiah uses the word when he speaks of “the wells of salvation” (Isa. xii. 3). To any who lived in the East, therefore, the joyous exclamation at the close of Psalm lxxxvii. would need no explanation; it would come spontaneously to the mind.

The word mayan occurs but five times in the Psalms, and that with a certain evident connection of theme:

Mayan in the Psalms.

A | lxxiv. 15. Reference to dividing the waters and cleaving the fountains (13-15).
   B | lxxxiv. 6. Valley of Weeping turned to a well in blessing.
      C | lxxxvii. 7. All my springs are in Thee.
A | civ. 10. Waters rebuked, they fled. Not another deluge. Springs sent (6-10).
   B | cxiv. 8. The sea fled. Water from the rock in blessing.

The figurative use of a spring is common to most languages. In our own tongue it has a number of allied usages. A rising, as of a river; a source of anything; the beginning, as of the day or year; springtime. The act of springing or leaping, and so, the origin of movement, as by a steel “spring”.

To the believer, the Lord Himself is the spring, source and never-failing supply of all his needs, whether temporal or spiritual, and it is to this aspect of the subject that we direct our attention.

To any acquainted with the Scriptures, examples of this blessed fact come readily to the mind. We think of Asaph (Psa. lxxiii.) who had been envious at the apparent prosperity of the wicked and whose faith had been sorely tried, so much so that he had said, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency”. The turning point in Asaph’s spiritual experience was the vision he obtained in the sanctuary:

“Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” Asaph, now, could see how it was that he could say, “my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped”—“almost”, “well nigh”, but not quite, for he now confesses, “Thou hast holden my by my right hand”. The wicked still prospered, they still appeared to have “more than heart could wish”, but Asaph’s envy had given place to confident trust, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”. Providential mercies were guaranteed—“Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel”—and a blessed hope awaited fulfillment—“And afterward receive me to glory”. Asaph could surely say, “All my springs are in Thee”.

A New Testament example of this same recognition is provided by Peter. The Lord had revealed Himself as “the True Bread” which had been given by the Father, in contrast with the Manna, which, though given by God and eaten by the fathers in the wilderness, yet did not give those who partook of it everlasting life. Moses gave not that “True Bread”, “for the Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world”. “Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.”

The Lord emphasized that the “True Bread” was not to be considered apart from sacrifice. It involved His very flesh and blood, which, said He, “I will give for the life of the world”. Many of those who heard the Lord on this occasion declared His message to be “a hard saying”, and “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him”. It was at this point that the test was made; the Lord turned to the twelve and said to them, “Will ye also go away?” Then Peter, with the words of the Psalm, “All my springs are in Thee”, in heart, if not in mind, made the great confession, “To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou are that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John vi. 68, 69).

“Whom have I in heaven BUT THEE?”
“TO WHOM shall we go?”
“All my springs are in THEE.”

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 34, page 25).

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