\tIf we trace the goings of God throughout the history of man, we can see the flow of divine activity as it sweeps on from generation to generation; and we can see it in this generation --still uninterrupted, still steadily progressive.
\tSome time ago I was deeply impressed as I meditated on some of Wesley's writings. God did such a mighty thing through his instrumentality that it is doubtful if the effect of his labors could be matched today; but the fact remains that God has moved on since Wesley's day. The flow of the Spirit is ever onward. The spiritual tide is a rising tide.
\tThere is a principle to be noted here. If you in your day and generation fully respond to God's requirements, you will find yourself borne onward in the stream of His purpose. If, however, you hold on to the past, wanting God to do as He has formerly done; wanting Him to repeat something that in your estimation ranks high in spiritual value, you will find yourself out of the main stream of His goings. To be a Luther in the sixteenth century was a good thing, but to be a Luther in the twentieth century would not meet the need. To be a Wesley was of great value to the Lord in the eighteenth century, but it would be inadequate in the twentieth century. Every instrumentality raised up of God has a specific function, and the contribution made tithe Church by each one is exactly suited to the need of the hour; but it would not serve to build up the Church at a later stage in the Church's development.
\tUnfortunately many people fail to recognize the onward flow of the living stream all through the Church's history. We who are on the earth today have inherited vast wealth through the saints who have already made their contribution to the Church. We cannot overestimate the greatness of our heritage, nor can we be sufficiently thankful to God for it; but if today you try to be a Luther or a Wesley, you will be a complete failure. You will fall short of the purpose of God for this generation, for you will be moving backward while the tide of the Spirit is flowing steadily onward. The whole trend of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is an onward trend. The record from beginning to end is progressive unfolding of God's goings.
Once a brother asked me the significance of the epistle to the Hebrews. I asked him if he had noticed any significant difference between that book and the book of Acts. Even within the latter book the progressive nature of divine activity is clearly seen; but the revelation through the epistle to the Hebrews shows a still further advance in the unfolding of God’s purpose. The spiritual advance within Acts in obvious, and the way of the Spirit's advance follows the program clearly set frothing the first chapter -- "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." From Judea the stream flowed on to Samaria; but having reached Samaria it did not stagnate there; it flowed on to Rome, for it was bound for the ends of the earth.
\tAlthough we can watch the steady advance of divine purpose throughout the book of acts, yet even at its close we find that the Christian concept has not completely clarified. However, when we read the letter to the Hebrews we see that the Christian has emerged from a transition stage and his personality Has become thoroughly integrated. In the Acts he is both Jew and Christian. He meets for fellowship with other Christians outside the temple; nevertheless, he still visits the temple. But when welcome to the book of Hebrews we find that he is no longer both Jew and Christian; he is simply a Christian. And he no longer meets with his follow-Christians at times inside the temple, at times outside the temple. What he could do when the Spirit was newly poured out in Jerusalem, he cannot do now that the tide of the Spirit is sweeping onward to the ends of the earth. In Hebrews we find that he has forsaken the temple for "the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man", and he has forsaken the many sacrifices for the "one offering" by which the believer is” perfected for ever."
\tIn Acts we read that Paul went into the temple to perform
a vow. Do not let us hastily conclude that he was wrong. We dare
not apply God's ultimate standard to His saints in every age, for
God's movement toward His ultimate goal is progressive. What is
required of you and me today is not that we attain the ultimate,
but that our measure correspond to the stage reached in the
development of the divine purpose at this present time. You and I
must be found at that point which the tide of the Spirit has
reached today -- not the stage it reached at some date in the
past, nor the stage it will reach at some future date. It was all
right for Paul to purify himself in the temple in accordance with
the Old Covenant; but what was right then would have been wrong
later on. Therefore the writer to the Hebrews explains that the
realization of God's purpose in establishing the New Covenant
involved the complete abolition of the old order to which the
Jewish believers clung so tenaciously. Once the Old Covenant had
served God's purpose it had to give way to the New.
\tThe book of Acts is progressive from beginning to end,
and when the record closes with the 28th chapter, the movement of
the Spirit does not cease; the tide flows on throughout succeeding generations and all the while God keeps raising up instruments that will make the specific contribution needed at the specific stage the Spirit has reached in His mighty onward move.
\tIn the Old Testament we see that where God's good
pleasure rested there was no barrenness. God had purposed to have
a "seed"; so in no generation did He suffer the genealogical line
to be broken, for the securing of His purpose necessitated the
perpetuation of that seed. For this reason we are dependent on
our spiritual ancestors. But we not only need to accept the
heritage that comes to us from them; we have the solemn
responsibility of passing it on. The question today is not: Will
the tide of the Spirit flow on in this our generation? but: Will
you and I be caught up into that tide? If we fail to meet the
requirements of God's purpose for this present time, He will find
others who will meet His need. Where is the seal of the Spirit
today? Where is spiritual authority today? Is it with us or not?
Only if we have the authority of the Spirit shall we be found in
the onward-flowing tide.
\tAs we scan world history and Church history we see the
ways of God as He pursues His purpose. He raised up a Luther when
He needed a Luther, and though Luther had his weaknesses, he was
the instrument suited to the divine need at that time. You and I
owe much through God to Martin Luther for we are the fruit of his
labors. He in his day offered the on-flowing tide of the Spirit a
free way to pursue His course; and we, who have been reached by
that same tide, have the privilege of offering ourselves to Him
that He may speed a little further on in His course. If He can
cleave a way for Himself through these lives, that will be our
greatest glory. If not, He will turn in another direction; but
for us that will mean tragic loss. The spiritual stream may be
flowing this way at present, but where it will be flowing ten
years hence we cannot tell. Let us face the issue. Each day the
Spirit is by-passing this one and using that one. If we put up a
resistance to Him today, He may have to cleave a way for Himself
elsewhere. What a solemn thought!
\tSince the dark ages, when the light that illumined the
early Church had to a great extent been obscured, the Holy Spirit
has been active recovering lost truth through one instrumentality
and another, so that by now the whole body of truth has been
recovered to the Church. Over a century ago the need of corporate
ministry was brought to the notice of the saints, and more
recently this truth has been greatly stressed; but there has been
a sad lack in the practical outworking of what we know. Recovery
of the doctrine concerning corporate ministry is one thing; the
reality of corporate ministry expressed through the life of the
Church is quite another thing. Since it is our privilege to be
heirs of the vast wealth that has been recovered through the past
few centuries, we who live in this twentieth century must bear
the responsibility to which so rich a heritage challenges us. All
this wealth has been made available to us not merely for our
enrichment, but for the furtherance of the gospel. Our
inheritance of the whole body of truth challenges us to a
corporate ministry that will embrace every aspect of truth. When
a full-orbed corporate ministry has been secured, we believe it
will provide a condition for the Lord's return. It is not only
the proclamation of the whole truth that is needed today; it is
the release of the spiritual reality which the truth expresses
and that can only be realized as we allow ourselves to be caught
into the mighty on-flowing tide of the Spirit.