Lord, we do thank You that, as our brother reminded us when we opened, as we considered this morning, You have prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We thank You for that victory, Lord.
We thank You that the verse continues: “Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Lord, this morning, as we consider Your Word, we thank You for that anointing. We desire that, out of that anointing, our cups would overflow with the goodness of the Lord; that in a fresh way we would behold You, Lord.
Make these considerations of church history living and real within our hearts—not simply to gain information, but to see Your faithfulness, to know Your great love for the church, and to see Your great testimony that You will build Your church and that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
We look unto You for that anointing, and we thank You that by faith we can enter into all the overflow and goodness of Your life as we come into Your presence at this time, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This morning, we are continuing our consideration of the church in Sardis. We can turn to Revelation 3 and read these verses again.
As we have said in the past, we are looking at these seven letters to the churches in a prophetic nature, setting forth different periods in church history. The letter to the church in Sardis is, in a prophetic way, a picture of the Protestant system that began at the time of the Reformation and will continue until the Lord’s return.
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write:
He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, saith these things:
I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead.
Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die:
for I have found no works of thine perfected before My God.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent.
If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
But thou hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments:
and they shall walk with Me in white; for they are worthy.
He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments;
and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life,
and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
Looking again at Revelation 3:2:
Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die:
for I have found no works of thine perfected before My God.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent.
As we mentioned last time, we are considering this period represented by the letter to the church in Sardis on a century-by-century basis. Last time we looked at the sixteenth century and the Anabaptists. This time we will consider the seventeenth century.
A hundred or so years following the Reformation, many churches—the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican churches—had fallen into an outward form. A dead orthodoxy was developing within the churches.
Revelation 3:2 applies in a special way to this century: “Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die.” They had not died, but they were about to. The Lord, in His mercy, raised up certain ones to bring the people of God back to Him in an individual way.
There was a movement within the seventeenth century that we will consider today. It relates to two words about which we probably have preconceived ideas. By the grace of God, we want to set those ideas aside today. The two words are Puritan and pietism.
Those are not very popular words in our dictionary. If somebody asked, “Are you a Puritan or a Pietist?” we might say, “Absolutely not.” We imagine the old, stodgy ones, dressed in black, with prune-shaped faces, looking like death warmed over.
The sad thing is that, after the Lord moved among many of them at the beginning, that is what some of them eventually became. That is why we have that impression. We are seeing the after-product rather than the beginning.
In the beginning, there were many precious ones whom the Lord used to bring an outwardly dead church, which was about to die, back to a focus upon an inner life with the Lord—the inner light of His indwelling and a spiritual reality.
It was during this time that the Lord refocused the brethren upon this point. I would like to read a few familiar New Testament verses related to godliness and holiness, simply to set them before us today.
1 Timothy 4:8
For bodily exercise profiteth little;
but godliness is profitable for all things,
having promise of the life which now is,
and of that which is to come.
Now, we all love that first part: “Bodily exercise profiteth little.” Amen! That is the biggest amen of the day. But godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
Godliness is profitable. We often think of it in relation to the future, but this verse reminds us that godliness—a life of living like God, that godlike life within us—is profitable for this present age.
2 Peter 1:3-4
Seeing that His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue;
whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises;
that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.
He has given unto us all things pertaining to life and godliness.
2 Peter 3:11-12
Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,
looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?
What type of people ought we to be? In holy conduct and godliness, as we look for and hasten the coming of our Lord.
Brethren, there is a truth related to this whole matter of godliness that is greatly missing today in Christianity. As we consider this century, may the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see a life of godliness—not a form of godliness without power, but a life of godliness: the indwelling of His life within us, doing a transforming work and conforming us to His image.
Our Lord is not concerned merely about the outward. He wants that precious inner life. As we consider these ones today, this is one of the main points and lessons we want to see. May we allow the Lord to speak to us in a fresh way concerning these matters.
During this time there was a great reaction to Protestant orthodoxy. Many ministers were not even saved. The churches in the seventeenth century had become national churches. The gospel was not being preached, and lives were not being saved.
The Lord raised up two branches of the Puritan and Pietist movement to recover certain truths.
In a general sense, the Puritan movement occurred mainly in Great Britain, while pietism occurred mainly on the Continent. Another general characteristic is that the Puritans recovered more objective truth, while pietism was related more to subjective truth and experience.
This is a broad generality. There are exceptions and modifications, but in a broad sense Puritanism was related to an objective recovery of truth, and pietism to a subjective recovery of truth.
The Anglican Church had been established by Henry VIII in England. Yet, in His mercy, the Lord began touching different ones with a burden to purify the Anglican Church from the influences of Rome.
Though the Anglican Church had left the Roman Catholic system, there was still much influence of popery within it. The people were going through outward rituals, the priests retained certain rites, and many of the sacraments remained Catholic in nature.
The Lord raised up different ones who initially desired to purify the Anglican Church from within. But as they began asking, demanding, and seeking purity, they were forced out of the Anglican Church. Different groups familiar to us today resulted from this process.
Within the seventeenth century, there was a change in the way believers met. This was the period when the whole issue of denominations began to emerge.
The Congregational or Independent group believed that each local congregation or assembly should have its own separate government. It should be an independent entity unto itself, in contrast to the Presbyterian form of government, with presbyteries, synods, and general assemblies.
This first basic division between Congregationalism and Presbyterianism related to differences in church government. In a sad way, brethren divided over how an assembly should be governed.
At the same time, in Scotland, there were the Scottish Covenanters. They were desperately trying to remain free from England, and various wars were occurring between Scotland and England. There was a nationalistic spirit among the Covenanters.
Samuel Rutherford spent many years in prison because of his beliefs. Out of prison he penned many precious letters showing that, in spite of outward circumstances, the Lord was able to meet him and enable him to rise above those situations.
Many of us are encouraged by the writings of Madame Guyon and Fénelon. Samuel Rutherford’s letters are similar in that they encourage believers to return to Christ and seek Him. Yet the Covenanter movement could also be considered a nationalistic movement.
Then, finally, we have the Baptists. As their name indicates, they believed in believers’ baptism. The other three groups still believed in infant baptism.
A dividing line emerged as various believers began meeting around a truth or doctrine. This had not occurred in the same way in the past. Some met based upon church government, some based upon nationality, and some based upon doctrine, truth, or belief. The Lutherans had gathered around a man.
Let us relate these matters to ourselves today. Do we meet because of the type of government we have? Is our basis for meeting simply that we do not have an official pastor, or that we have a plurality of leadership? That is not what the Lord calls us to.
Do we meet here because we are in the United States? Thank the Lord, there is enough variety here to dispel that one. Do we meet because of a certain doctrine or belief? We simply desire to gather in the precious name of our Lord and to see what He has to lead us into and guide us in.
The first three groups were still comfortable with a church-state relationship. The Baptists, however, were also considered separatists. They held that the state should not have influence over the church, and that there should be a separation between church and state.
As these groups continued, they were greatly persecuted. Depending upon who was in power—whether Protestant or Catholic—sometimes they were free to gather and at other times they were not.
In 1662, the Act of Uniformity required pastors and churches to acknowledge the king as head of the church, use the Book of Common Prayer, and be ordained in the Episcopal system.
About two thousand ministers—many of the best ones, and ones who loved the Lord—left because they could not sign that declaration. They became known as the Nonconformists.
In 1689, after the Glorious Revolution, James II was removed and William of Orange came in. Religious toleration was granted to most of these established groups. There was still persecution at times, but they were granted greater liberty.
Most of us are familiar with John Bunyan through The Pilgrim’s Progress. Although he was called a Baptist, he never desired to be identified by that name. He did not want baptism to be the standard or basis for fellowship, but wanted to embrace all believers.
Bunyan said:
I will not let water baptism be the rule, the door, the bolt, the bar,
the wall of division between the righteous and the righteous.
Since you would know by what name I would be distinguished from others,
I tell you, I would be, and hope I am, a Christian;
and choose, if God should count me worthy, to be called a Christian,
a believer, or other such name which is approved by the Holy Ghost.
As long as Bunyan had that influence, the assembly at Bedford carried on in a full way and was a precious testimony. But when divisions begin to come in, we start focusing only on certain aspects of the gospel to the exclusion of others.
We set up systems following our own traditions and thinking, and we end up missing the lordship of Christ. We have another governmental entity that handles that. We miss the leading of the Holy Spirit, and we miss learning from the Word of God.
These are the three L’s:
Within the Catholic system, believers were denied direct fellowship with God because they had to go through the priest. But within the Protestant systems that developed, believers were denied fellowship with one another. Walls and barriers came up.
Sadly, we still see this today. Many of the beliefs held by assemblies today date from this period. The Westminster Confession of Faith, developed during this time, remains influential today. There has not always been ongoing progress into the fuller development of what the Lord desires.
May the Lord not allow us to stop, but enable us to press on into the full measure of His truth, that we may see Him manifested in a greater and fuller way.
As we move to the Continent and consider pietism, we find that the growth of Protestantism also produced a Counter-Reformation and revival within the Catholic system.
During this period, some mystics within the Roman Catholic system, with whom we are familiar today, touched and knew the Lord in a very special way.
Miguel de Molinos wrote The Spiritual Guide, showing how we deny ourselves, die with Christ, and grow by the life within. Madame Guyon wrote concerning complete obedience to the will of God and yielding ourselves to Him. Many of us have been encouraged by Fénelon.
Madame Guyon was imprisoned for many years. As the end of her life came, she said:
If my work is done, I think I am ready to go.
I already have one foot in the stirrup
and am ready to mount when my Father says, “Come home.”
She knew where her home was, and she knew that she was a pilgrim.
The Pietist movement may be divided into mystical and practical streams. The mystical stream focused upon the inner life. The practical stream emphasized not only inner life and subjective experience but also the Word of God.
The Roman Catholic mystics were also called Quietists. Yet, in the midst of a dark situation, there were those who genuinely touched the Lord.
During this time in England, the Lord raised up George Fox. Today we call his followers Quakers, but originally they called themselves Friends.
George Fox was born in 1624. At the age of nineteen, he was deeply distressed by the difference between Christian profession and Christian practice. He began seeking, and he described himself as a seeker for three years.
Our whole lives, actually, we should be seekers. To never be content, but always to be seeking after the things of the Lord, is one of the greatest professions there is.
As George Fox was walking alone, the voice of the Lord came to him and told him that in Christ alone every need could be satisfied. It was only in Christ, not outward things. At the age of twenty-two, he gave himself completely to the Lord, to serve Him and give his life for Him.
Later, Fox married Margaret Fell, a widow. Their home at Swarthmore became a Bethel—a place of refreshing and encouragement. Margaret herself had a tremendous ministry of encouraging and ministering to the brethren.
After George Fox had died, when the Friends movement was beginning to fall into a formal system, Margaret wrote a letter to the Friends calling them to return to the simplicity of the Lord.
By about 1660, within fifteen years of George Fox’s conversion, there were over fifty thousand Friends in England meeting in various groups. At the beginning they did not really try to form churches or assemblies, but simply met together.
They were greatly persecuted and imprisoned. The prisons were crowded beyond measure with Friends. Yet they turned the prisons into mission fields. There are wonderful stories of Friends going into prison, sharing the gospel, and many coming to the Lord.
At times, prisons in some cities were safer than the streets because the Lord was at work there. They were persecuted not only by the government but also by other believers.
Robert Barclay became the theologian of the movement and compiled much of its teaching. William Penn received the territory of Pennsylvania and established Philadelphia in 1681.
The name Philadelphia was not accidental. It was intended to be a city of brotherly love from the beginning. William Penn suffered much persecution before he came to America. Out of one imprisonment he wrote his book No Cross, No Crown.
What did the Friends, or Quakers, believe? No one knows for certain where the term Quaker came from. There are two primary explanations.
One explanation relates to the nature of their meetings. They would sit and wait upon the Lord for the Spirit to move. When the Spirit moved, they would break forth in worship. Outsiders observed this and called it “quaking.”
The other explanation is that George Fox, while under arrest, told a judge that the judge should tremble at the Word of God. The judge replied sarcastically, “Fox, I am no Quaker like you.” The phrase may have remained from that time.
It is interesting that Fox was telling the judge to tremble at the Word of God, because Quakers are often said not to have placed much value on Scripture. In reality, the early Friends placed a great value upon the Word of God.
They were sometimes misunderstood because they taught that the power of the Word comes not merely through the intellect but through the Spirit.
The Quakers recovered an emphasis upon the reality of the Holy Spirit dwelling within every believer. True life is spiritual, and the outward is worthless without true inner spiritual life.
Fellowship with God is not a matter of outward conformity but a matter of the heart.
We can say these phrases today and say “Amen.” But when they said them, they were persecuted and misunderstood.
John Bunyan, who desired fellowship with all Christians, was actually one of the greatest persecutors of the Quakers. He did not believe they were believers, and therefore he thought he could persecute them.
Many whom we might call fundamentalists did not believe in the Quaker movement because it was more experiential in orientation. Yet the Quakers were not seeking experience for its own sake. Out of their relationship with the Lord, experience came.
One lesson we can learn from the Quaker movement is not to be so dogmatic about the way God moves. He may move one way in one period and another way in another period.
We must always test the spirits, and the Holy Spirit loves to be tested. We do not accept everything, but neither do we reject everything.
I was reading in my devotions about Peter going to the house of Cornelius. The Lord chose to work in a different way. When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he asked, “Who was I, that I could withstand God?” We must not stand in the way of how God is moving.
George Fox was questioned by authorities concerning whether he believed in triumph over sin. He said that he believed in possible freedom from the power of sin through the indwelling power of the Lord.
His opponents distorted this into the claim that he was saying that he and his followers were inherently holy. His emphatic response was, “No. We are nothing. Christ is all.”
His life within us enables us to overcome the power of sin. Our Lord made Himself not only an offering for sin, but obtained for man power over sin, so that the believer, through the Spirit of God within him, might find an indwelling power making him victorious in the hour of temptation.
As Romans 6:14 declares:
For sin shall not have dominion over you:
for ye are not under law, but under grace.
This was something that had not been clearly brought out before: that by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and His life, we can resist and overcome temptation.
Those outside their realm said, “You are saying that you are a god.” They replied, “No, we are not. But we have a life within us that enables us to overcome.”
In the midst of a dead period, the Lord raised up these ones to recover the reality of what they called the inner light—the life within. As John writes often concerning the light, there was a life within the believer that enabled him, as the Lord worked, to overcome the temptations of this world.
Sadly, after a period of time, the Quakers became more and more experience-oriented. At first their meetings were very lively, but eventually they would come, sit quietly, and wait. If nothing happened in an hour or so, they would leave.
They shifted their eyes from looking to the Lord to looking for an experience. In seeking the experience, death came in, and the movement did not continue in the same way.
But thank the Lord, the truth they recovered continues on. Truth is immortal, and it continues on.
Within the more practical stream of pietism, we have the Pietists and the Moravians. Next time we will focus more on the Moravians, but this time we want to focus on the Pietists.
Jean de Labadie was training to be a Jesuit, one of the strictest orders within the Catholic system. During that training, he began studying the New Testament.
As he studied the New Testament, he was saved. He realized, “This is not what I am called to do.” He left his Jesuit training but remained within the Catholic Church for another fifteen years, seeking to reform it.
He held Bible studies and meetings, encouraging people. Many were saved and came to the Lord through the Bible studies and small groups he held in various cities.
Eventually, because of his popularity and impact, he was forced to leave the Catholic Church. He then began meeting with the Reformed Church and had the same effect: Bible studies, a return to the Word of God, and small groups throughout Switzerland and Geneva.
To me, this is a tremendous testimony of how the power of the Word of God can move in a mighty way whenever people simply consider it. Even in a dark time, one can see the truth and see the light.
Philip Jacob Spener was involved in Labadie’s Bible studies during this time. Labadie later moved from Switzerland to the Netherlands, where he again saw poor spiritual conditions in the church and encouraged believers to gather for fellowship and Bible study.
In his meetings, he encouraged open prayer. This was almost unheard of before: extemporaneous prayer and worship unto the Lord. Revival began to come, and groups were truly coming to the Lord.
Both governmental and church authorities eventually told him he had to leave there also. At that point, at the age of sixty-one, he concluded that systems which had become established in their dogmas could not be reformed.
He began establishing house churches. Yet, because of the poor spiritual condition in the churches, he made a mistake. His house churches were open only to believers whom he considered spiritually mature—only to those who had arrived.
This led to self-destruction because he did not see that the church is not a fellowship of Christian perfection or merely mature ones. It is a family of God, made up of sinners saved by grace.
In that family, we come together and learn of the Lord together. Labadie had become so fed up with coldness and insincerity that he went too far. He required believers to meet a certain spiritual standard before they could fellowship.
But who determines who is spiritual?
We all see something of the Lord at different points in our lives. When we first see it, we may think, “Now I see. I have finally found it.” Thank the Lord that we do see something.
But may the Lord continue to remind us that there is still much more to see, and that we need each other. When the Lord gives a revelation, it can feel as though the whole world has opened to us. We say, “Wow, this is it.”
The Lord, in His grace and mercy, allows us to experience that and shows us the treasure of His revelation. Yet, as we humble ourselves and return to Him, we say, “Lord, that revelation was great. Let me see more of Yourself.”
May we not be content, but go on and press on together as the family of God.
Labadie greatly influenced Philip Jacob Spener. Spener was born in Alsace, studied in Strasbourg, and became a Lutheran pastor in Frankfurt.
After he was saved, Spener began preaching concerning the priesthood of all believers and the need for each person to develop an individual walk with the Lord. He formed Bible studies called Pietatis, from which the name Pietist came into use.
Spener is especially known for his work Pia Desideria, subtitled A Heartfelt Desire for God-Pleasing Reform. The thoughts he set forth were earth-shattering at that time.
His proposals included the following:
The clergy of that time often knew very little of the Bible, and there was not much evidence of holy life. Spener’s proposals were revolutionary because they called people back to Scripture, the priesthood of believers, holiness, and the living practice of faith.
Truth is not established in disputes, but through repentance and holy life. We may argue with one another about truth, but when we repent and return to the Lord for Him to show us the way and the truth, He will show us.
Through Spener, another significant figure came to the Lord: August Hermann Francke. Francke was also within the Lutheran Church, but because he preached that people needed to be converted, he too was forced out.
If you began preaching that people had to be saved before they could be in the church, you were immediately put out.
In 1698, Francke was called to the faculty of a new university in Halle, Germany. Halle became a center for pietism.
Two great works were accomplished through this university. First, missionaries were sent out. Protestants had neglected missionary work for many years, but missionaries now began going forth.
Second, Francke was deeply distressed by the condition of the poor in Halle and the surrounding area. He opened an orphanage, schools, a library, a hospital, and a printing press.
He made no appeals for money but looked to the faithfulness of the Lord to meet every need. When he died, the orphan home had 134 children cared for by ten caretakers. In the schools, 2,200 children were being taught and fed daily by 175 teachers.
All this was done without a single appeal for money. In many ways, Francke was a forerunner of George Müller, whose work followed similar principles.
One of Francke’s students at Halle was Count Zinzendorf. This is where Zinzendorf received much of his Pietist training. We will talk more about Zinzendorf next time.
We often have the concept that Puritans and Pietists were stuffy old people who wanted to burden everyone with legalism. Yet there were many precious testimonies in these brothers’ lives.
Francke had wrestled with doubt. Though he was studying to become a Lutheran pastor, he did not even know whether there was a God. But he knelt down and cried out to the Lord.
He later wrote:
The Lord immediately heard me. My doubt vanished as quickly as one turns one’s hand.
I was assured in my heart of the grace of God in Christ Jesus,
and I knew God not only as God, but as my Father.
All sadness and unrest of my heart was taken away at once.
I was immediately overwhelmed as with a stream of joy,
so that with full joy I praised and gave honor to God,
who had shown me such great grace.I arose a completely different person from the one who had knelt down.
With great care and doubt, I had fallen to my knees;
but with unspeakable joy and great certainty, I stood up again.
As I went home that night, I was rejoicing and leaping as I walked down the street.Finally, when I got home, I went to bed. But because of the great joy, I could not sleep.
If I closed my eyes for a few minutes, I woke up again and began anew
to praise and give honor to the living God
who had given Himself to be known to my soul.
It was as if I had been dead, and now saw that I was alive.I could not stay in bed that night. I leapt from it for joy and praised the Lord my God.
I wished that everything around me might praise the name of the Lord with me.
I cried out, “You angels in heaven, praise the name of the Lord with me—
the Lord who has shown me such mercy.”
That is not the picture we usually have of a Pietist. This was one who was touched by the Lord, one whose heart had been captured by the overwhelming joy of the Lord. The love of God drew him in such a way that he gave his whole life to pursue the things of the Lord.
We sang the hymn, “Christian Hearts in Love United.” This hymn came out of the Pietist movement in the seventeenth century and was later compiled and printed by Zinzendorf.
Christian hearts in love united,
seek alone in Christ their head;
let His love, in us ignited,
by our love to all be spread.
Members on our Head depending,
lights reflecting Him, our Sun,
brethren His commands attending,
we in Him, our Lord, are one.
Grant, Lord, that with Thy direction,
love each other we comply,
aiming with unfeigned affection
Thy love to exemplify.
Let our mutual love be glowing,
thus will all men plainly see
that we, as one stem growing,
living branches are in Thee.
These brethren touched something of the living God. Their lives were transformed.
The Pietists and Puritans provided a bridge. In the sixteenth century, we considered the Anabaptists and Hutterites, who stood for the simplicity of God. In this century, the Pietists and Puritans continued that testimony.
Next time, as we consider Zinzendorf and Wesley, we will see how those we have considered today impacted Zinzendorf’s life, the Moravian movement, and Wesley’s life. Though this was a dark century, there were those whom the Lord used to continue His testimony.
As we look at this call to piety and simplicity, I think of the verse concerning being led away from the purity and simplicity that is toward Christ.
Man’s efforts to simplify often only complicate. We may try to share a simple meal, but even our efforts to be simple can become complicated. We can complicate the teachings of God and the thoughts of God.
Yet, as we turn back to the inner knowing of His life, we see one of the emphases of these Pietists and Puritans: the individual relationship with the Lord.
Not merely the group, but the individual—the necessity of each one of us knowing His indwelling power and knowing the revelation of His Word within our hearts.
Brothers and sisters, thoughts related to piety and godliness, when made real in Christ, are among the most liberating things on earth.
Richard shared this morning how we have been crucified to the world. That is liberating. If the reality of it touches our hearts in daily life, we no longer need to live under the pressure, condemnation, and chains of this world.
We have been crucified to Satan. We do not have to come under all his tactics. We are free in Christ.
We have also been crucified to the flesh. We are free from the nature that tries to drag us down. We are liberated in Christ.
As Galatians teaches, what is our liberty for? It is to serve one another, that He may be glorified in our midst.
1 Timothy 6:6 says:
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
There is great gain in the Lord when that godlike nature is within us. Brothers and sisters, may that be formed in us in a fresh and clear way.
Before we conclude, I want to share briefly concerning one other brother. He was not really in the Pietist movement, but he is significant.
In 1611, the King James Version was published. We are also familiar with the Thirty Years’ War, which was one of the final great conflicts between Protestants and Catholics.
The opposing sides saw that they could not defeat one another and eventually settled into a form of peaceful coexistence. Religious toleration was granted to some groups, though not to many of the groups seeking to walk in the truth, such as the Anabaptists and Moravians.
John Amos Comenius is known in the world for educational reform, but we are not interested in him primarily for that. He was a member of the Unity of Brethren in Bohemia.
The Unity of Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum, were followers of John Huss, who had been martyred in 1415. Yet his work continued in the area of Bohemia.
Because of the Thirty Years’ War, there was great persecution. In 1620, during the Battle of White Mountain, many believers were killed.
Subsequently, Comenius lost his wife, his daughter, and all their property when the city in which he lived was invaded by Catholic forces. In 1628, they were forced to flee Bohemia and went to Poland.
Comenius prayed that the seed of faith planted in Bohemia through Hus and others over the previous two centuries would be preserved. He prayed that this hidden seed of faith would later blossom into a further testimony for the Lord.
The Lord answered that prayer nearly one hundred years later. In 1722, a brother named Christian David came from Bohemia to Count Zinzendorf’s estate. He was a carpenter who helped establish Herrnhut, of which we will learn more next time.
We see how the Lord preserves His testimony in spite of persecution.
At the age of seventy-seven, in 1669, about a year before his death, Comenius wrote the following to believers. Christendom was in confusion, and he wrote this as a call back to Christ.
In short, Christendom has become a labyrinth.
The faith has been split into a thousand little parts,
and you are made a heretic if there is one of them you do not accept.What can help? Only the one thing needful: return to Christ.
Look to Christ as the only Leader, and walk in His footsteps,
setting aside all other ways until we all reach the goal
and have come to the unity of the faith.As the heavenly Master built everything on the ground of the Scriptures,
so should we leave all particularities of our special confessions
and be satisfied with the revealed Word of God, which belongs to us all.With the Bible in our hand, we should cry:
“I believe what God has revealed in this Book.
I will obediently keep His commands.
I hope for that which He has promised.”Christians, give ear. There is only one life,
but death comes to us in a thousand forms.
There is only one truth,
but error has a thousand forms.
There is only one Christ,
but a thousand antichrists.Thou knowest, O Christendom, what is the one thing needful.
Either thou turnest back to Christ,
or thou goest to destruction like the antichrist.If thou art wise and wilt live, follow the Leader of life.
But you Christians, rejoice in your being called.
Hear the words of your heavenly Leader: “Come unto Me.”
Answer with one voice: “Even so, we come.”
Even so, we come.
I am always touched by how, at the end of each letter to the churches in Revelation, there is an individual call. The letter was written to many, but there was an individual call to each one.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
Brothers and sisters, may we have that individual hearing ear to know what the Spirit is saying to us. May we know what He is saying concerning the indwelling life of our Lord, leading us on in a fresh way.
We need to know the preciousness of what this brother spoke of: that one thing is necessary—our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
There are thousands of things over which we can divide. There are thousands of things over which we can bicker. There are big things and little things. Some might not like a turkey sandwich.
There are many opportunities for division, but there is that one thing needful. If, in these days, we can keep our eyes fixed upon Him and have an ear to hear what He is saying, then we will also hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
May we have that ear and that heart to press on in Him to the fullness to which He is calling us in this time before Christ’s coming.
Lord, again we thank You for the encouragement and examples of those who have gone on before us.
We thank You for this reminder that each one of us needs to have an individual, real, experiential relationship with You, Lord. We thank You for Your indwelling Spirit.
We pray that the eyes of our hearts would be awakened to behold all that You have done for us. Awaken the eyes of our hearts to see the greatness of the power of Your life within.
As we see You in a fresh way, we will respond and follow our Leader. We will follow the Lamb of God wherever He goes.