This concerns God’s way of dealing with His children. What is God’s administration? God’s administration is God’s method or way by which He deals with man. Let us read several portions of the Scripture.
Second Samuel 22:26 and 27 say, “With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful,/and with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright./With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;/and with the froward thou wilt show thyself unsavory.” This shows the way of God’s administration. God deals with us according to the way we are. Galatians 6:7 and 8 say, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For he who sows unto his own flesh will reap corruption of the flesh, but he who sows unto the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life.” This also shows us God’s principle in dealing with man. He who sows unto his own flesh will reap corruption of the flesh; but he who sows unto the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life. Committing sin not only causes man to have a sinful record before God but also brings suffering as a consequence. The record of sins can be remitted by God, but suffering its consequence cannot be avoided. For example, a child may disobey his mother and steal candy all the time. If he is willing to repent, the sin of stealing can be forgiven, but his teeth may be ruined. Many times, even though the sins of God’s children are forgiven, the consequences of those sins still remain. We gain eternal forgiveness as soon as we believe; we gain forgiveness for the restoration of fellowship as soon as we repent. But the consequence of God’s discipline may be very hard.
For example, Samson was a judge, but he later fell and was ill-treated by the Philistines. Even though he cried to Jehovah in the end, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judg. 16:28), and even though he killed more at his death than when he was alive, his eyes were never restored. His hair grew back again, and the fellowship between him and God was restored, but his ministry as a judge was not recovered.
Second Samuel 11 and 12 record the two most evil sins of David: adultery and murder. After David committed these sins, God sent the prophet Nathan to David to rebuke him. God judged these sins most severely. He said, “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife...Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun” (12:10-12). This was the consequence of God’s discipline for David. Even though he confessed his sin and Nathan told him, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin,” David still had to bear the sufferings of God’s discipline. David confessed his sins before God and was forgiven; his fellowship with God was restored. Discipline, however, still followed the forgiveness. He killed only one person, Uriah, but four of his sons died (the first being the one born to Bathsheba, and also Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah). This is what God did with respect to righteousness. If we realize this, we will not dare to sin. God had to vindicate Himself by making it clear that He was displeased with David’s conduct. If God had not disciplined David, the whole world would have said that Jehovah was pleased with David in committing these sins. God could forgive David, but He had to manifest His hatred for David’s sin. We need to pay attention to the fact that if we sin against a brother, a sister, or someone, we must take care of the matter.
James 5:14 and 15 say, “Is anyone among you ill? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him.” The forgiveness spoken of in these verses is the forgiveness in God’s discipline. If it were eternal forgiveness, it could not be received through another’s prayer of faith. Nor is it forgiveness to restore fellowship, because the forgiveness of fellowship can be obtained as soon as one confesses his sins. The forgiveness of discipline requires that one call for the elders of the church to pray for him. If the Lord gives the elders faith to pray for such a one, he will be healed.
Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was pierced because of our transgressions; / He was crushed because of our iniquities; / The chastening for our peace was upon Him, / And by His stripes we have been healed.” This verse touches four aspects. The first aspect concerns conduct; the second, one’s condition before God; the third, the body; and the fourth is expressed in the sentence: “The chastening for our peace was upon Him.” Concerning God’s discipline, His chastening will continue even after one has repented. The Lord, however, has already been chastened for us; chastening is a part of the work of the Lord’s crucifixion. Therefore, we may ask God to acquit us of our chastening since the Lord was already chastened on our behalf.
James 4:7 says, “Be subject therefore to God; but withstand the devil, and he will flee from you.” First Peter 5:6 through 10 says, “Therefore be humbled under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you. Be sober; watch. Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking someone to devour. Him withstand, being firm in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being accomplished among your brotherhood in the world. But the God of all grace, He who has called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground you.” Whenever we are being disciplined, we need to submit under the mighty hand of God and tell Him, “I will not resist what You are giving to me. Your treatment is what I deserve.” We must, however, resist the devil. The minute we become careless, the devil will come and give us additional sufferings. While God scourges us, the devil will try to scourge us also. Therefore, we must resist the devil. Only when we submit ourselves under God’s chastening can we resist the devil. On the one hand, we need to submit to God. On the other hand, we need to exercise our will daily to resist the devil, proclaiming that we refuse to be sick or weak.
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