The following text is taken from the chapter entitled “The Chambers of The King” in Rev. F. B. Meyer’s Light on Life’s Duties, published in 1896 (Fleming H. Revell Co.) and now in public domain (see Source). This chapter describes the believer’s new life in Christ as a progression through the rooms of Christ’s Holy Palace, ending with the Throne room of His Presence and whole mansions beyond (see Notes). This particular chamber describes the dawning of the Lordship of Christ in the life of a believer.
The Chamber of a Surrendered Will.
Above the doorway stand the words: “From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus; whose I am, and whom I serve” (Gal. 6:17, R.V., and Acts 27:23). Consecration is giving Jesus His own. We are His by right, because He bought us with His blood. But, alas! He has not had His money’s worth! He paid for all, and He has had but a fragment of our energy, time and earnings. By an act of consecration, let us ask Him to forgive the robbery of the past, and let us profess our desire to be henceforth utterly and only for Him; His slaves, His chattels, owning no master other than Himself.
As soon as we say this, He will test our sincerity, as He did the young ruler’s, by asking something of us. He will lay His finger on something within us which He wants us to alter, obeying some command, or abstaining from some indulgence. If we instantly give up our will and way to Him, we pass the narrow doorway into the Chamber of Surrender, which has a southern aspect, and is ever warm and radiant with His presence, because obedience is the condition of manifested love (John 14:23).
The doorway is very narrow, and the entrance is only possible for those who will lay aside weights as well as sins. A weight is anything which, without being essentially wrong or hurtful to others, is yet a hindrance to ourselves. We may always know a weight by three signs:
- first, we are uneasy about it;
- second, we argue for it against our conscience;
- third, we go about asking people’s advice, whether we may not keep it without harm.
All these things must be laid aside in the strength which Jesus waits to give. Ask Him to deal with them for you, that you may be set in joint in every good work to do His will (Hebrews 13:21).
Source:
Meyer, F.B. (Frederick Brotherton, 1847-1929). 1896. Light on Life’s Duties. Public Domain. Retrieved from Hathi Trust Digital Library at babel.hathitrust.org. p11-12.
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NOTE:
It is helpful to understand that though our progression here is indeed linear, we daily
enter into new ground with Christ and find ourselves back at the beginning again
regarding that new challenge. We must walk this progression in every new challenge
that faces us here until that Day when we are made complete in Him in His holy habita-
tion.
The chambers represented in the first chapter are given below, abbreviated and
summarized by me. Please do venture over to Hathi Trust Digital Library and read the
entire work online.
1. The Chamber of New Birth. The portico to this chamber is known as Conviction for Sin. “Except a man be born again, he can not enter” (John 3:3,5). As we enter into this first chamber, we enter as newborns and we are nursed and cared for as we learn anew that we are now children of God (John 1:12-13). From here, as we grow in faith, we enter
2. The Chamber of Assurance. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God” (1 John 3:2). “For many assurance follows immediately on conversion, as a father’s kiss on his words of forgiveness to a the penitant child. But it is also true that there are some souls, truly saved, who pass through weeks, months and sometimes years without being sure of their standing in Jesus, or deriving any comfort from it. The assurance comes from the work of the Holy Spirit through the sacred Scriptures” (p9). Meyer calls us to read scripture, “think ten times of Christ for every once of yourself” and to “dwell much on the references to His finished work.” (Eph. 2:5,6; John 3:36; Romans 8:16).
3. The Chamber of Surrendered Will. (See full text above.)
4. The Chamber of the Filling of the Spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). The Spirit of grace is alive in the heart of every believer from the beginning (Romans 8:9). But there is a point in our maturity when we realize our need of the Holy Spirit and we seek His presence. We become aware that there is so much more that we have yet to experience of Him. We have kept Him in certain areas of our lives and kept Him out of others. We realize that we need more of Him and also that He needs more of us. We are called here to ask for more of His Spirit.
“Let us believe that we are filled, not because we feel it, but because we are sure that God is keeping His word with us: ‘Ye shall not see wind neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water.'” It is true that the filling of the Spirit involves a separation, a giving up, a going apart, which is keenly bitter to the flesh. The filling of Pentecost is a baptism of fire. But there is joy amid the flames as the bonds shrivel, and the limbs are free, and the Son of God walks beside.” (p11-12).
5. The Chamber of Abiding in Christ. “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4). The Holy Spirit never calls attention to Himself, but reveals Christ in all His beauty. For “there is an experience in which we do not only believethat He is near, but we perceive His presence by the instinct of the heart. He becomes a living, bright reality.” Here is where “abiding in the Vine” is realized and fruit is a natural byproduct of this life in Christ. Here, also, is where the deathly pruning of self-denial occurs, drawing the life-giving energy of Christ up into the “rare flowers and fruits grafted there by Heaven.” Not death to die, but death so all may live.
6. The Chamber of Victory over Sin. “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not” (1 John 3:6; also Eph. 6:13, Rev. 2 and 3). We cannot get to this chamber except through the previous one of yielding entirely to God. Each preceding chamber is prerequisite to this one; consecration is key. Here is where we reveal our trust in the Savior. “Is all power given Him in heaven and on earth, [yet] must He stand paralyzed before the devils that possess you, unable to cast them out?” He answers with this: “I am persuaded that He is able to keep…”(2 Timothy 1:12; 1 John 5:11). Yes, our sinful nature and temptation in this life will co-exist, however, if we abide in Christ and He is us, and “if we live under the power of the Holy Spirit”, we will have the victory. You must not, however, leave any door open to sin (Romans 8:29). The cross is our destiny for our self-life. Yet He is faithful: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that I have given unto thee”(Deuteronomy 11:24; Joshua 1:3).
7. The Chamber of Heart Rest. “Take My yoke, and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt 11:29). This is peace with God. While rest is ours from the beginning of our journey, “the rest of forgiveness passes into the rest of surrender and satisfaction.” “We lay our worries and cares where once we laid only our sins.” Not paying attention to praise nor censure, we are satisfied with God and ask nothing more than Him. All things pass through the filter of eternity with God. Our river of life passes into the ocean of its source, where there is a “stillness which bespeaks its depth, a serenity which foretells its destiny.”
8. The Chamber of Fellowship in Christ’s Sufferings. This is a chamber to which we are inevitably drawn. As we partake of Christ’s life, we share Christ’s love for the world for which He died. That love grows until we walk the Via Dolorosa of suffering for their sakes as He did ours. Yet “those who suffer thus are they who reign.” Their troubles are sweetened by the refreshing springs of God (Exodus 11:25). Beyond all these, “separated by a very slight interval”, are…
9. Mansions of the Father’s House. In all our journey, we have been led by the King Himself. And here we shall be in unending “chambers of delight”, and we shall be like Him. Meyer calls us to examine where we are with God. “If any door seems locked, knock and the door shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Don’t stop growing in the Lord, and thereby rob yourself of all that can be ours in Christ.