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144,001—And All Are Different
Diamonds One star differs from another in splendour.— 1 Corinthians 15:41, Moffatt
Ralph Gaunt {FOOTNOTE: Orginally given at a Our Lord is now making up his precious jewels and setting them in a royal diadem, a royal crown. This crown of purest gold represents the divine nature and it is set with 144,001 jewels or diamonds, each cut and polished in a slightly different way. This makes the whole crown shine with purest light: “They shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land” (Zechariah 9:16). When the Lord likens his faithful people to precious stones, it means they have an intrinsic value or beauty he appreciates. It also implies that such characters are, in comparison to the world, rare: a “little flock” (Luke 12:32). A diamond is the hardest natural substance known to man, many times harder than corundum, from which we obtain ruby and sapphire. Ancients considered this stone indestructible. The word diamond comes from the Greek adamas, meaning invincible, or unconquerable. A diamond will cut any other substance and it is unaffected by the strongest acids. The hardness of a diamond can be used to represent character. Hard crystallization corresponds to an individual’s inclination toward righteousness. Without a willingness toward righteousness, there would be none of the jewel qualities the Lord seeks. As “diamond” means invincible or unconquerable, so Christians should be invincible and unconquerable by sin and unrighteousness. These should have no power over them. Just as a diamond is unaffected by the strongest acids, a Christian whose character is firmly established in righteousness should be impervious to the persecutions and assaults of the world: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11, 12). People at times make “acid comments” or “acid remarks.” Acids can burn deeply into some substances, and completely dissolve others, but a diamond remains unaffected. Heat a diamond hot enough and it disappears as a gas. If the heat of our trials were more than we could bear, it would destroy us. If our trials were permitted to be too severe, we would break under them, and the new creature could even be destroyed. But our loving God knows just how much heat to apply and will not suffer us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear, but with the temptation, provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Tap a diamond in just the right spot, and it shatters. The pieces are still diamonds but they have no value as gems. So a diamond cutter studies an uncut stone for months under a north light. Since God dwells in the north (Isaiah 14:13), a north light aptly represents divine wisdom and knowledge. Our heavenly Father, the great diamond cutter, studies us with his infinite wisdom. He knows our frame, he knows just the proper way to cut and shape us, he knows just how to cut and polish each facet of our character so it will reflect light most beautifully. He grinds away as little of the precious stone as possible to get the most brilliance from it. The process of cutting and polishing takes great skill, otherwise most of the value of the stone would be lost. Diamond Characteristics Diamonds are rare. The Lord’s saints are also rare indeed among the teeming billions of earth’s peoples. Rare indeed is a saint who has seen the vision of truth, and in faithful consecration yields himself daily to the Father’s will. To illustrate how few are the true disciples of the master, let us suppose that each year from Pentecost until now, an equal number made their calling and election sure. We would arrive at a small group of about seventy brethren each year gaining their heavenly crowns. Realizing how few there have been during this Gospel age, should fill us with deep gratitude for the privilege of knowing the truth and hearing the call to be saints. Diamonds are precious.{FOOTNOTE: The most expensive gem ever purchased at auction is a 25-carat pink, emerald-cut diamond bought by a London jewelry dealer on Nov. 16, 2010, for $46-million.} As a man seeks and treasures precious gems, so the Lord is seeking his precious jewels. Can we really understand that we are precious to him? His domain reaches in all directions to the outer reaches of space and eternity. His power and wisdom can instantly create, and yet, when he speaks of his “special treasure,” his gaze passes by the heavenly hosts and rests upon earth. In this sin-sick and dark world, he has seen the occasional jewel reflecting his glory. These he calls his “precious” ones. As the psalmist declares: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). The death in this verse is not the moment when a saint gasps his last earthly breath. This death is the “baptism into death” (Romans 6:3-8) and spans a saint’s entire consecrated life. That death is the faithful walk in self-sacrifice and devotion to God. That sacrificial walk of loving obedience the Lord calls “precious.” Diamonds are pure. Only the purest of stones are used for gems; the remainder are industrial diamonds. The Lord’s jewels must become pure. We know we cannot reach perfection as earthly beings, yet perfect heart intention is required of us. The first duty of a child of God is to separate himself from the contaminating elements of the world in which he is found: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17). With the Father’s help, we attempt to cleanse ourselves, and especially our hearts. As we feed upon the truth, we begin to see the value of love. As we yield ourselves in sacrifice, prompted by love, our hearts start to become crystallized in righteousness. Since we are covered by the robe of Christ’s righteousness, God can look upon us as pure. Diamonds are beautiful. How often the clear sparkle of a diamond set in a ring or ornament catches our eye, and we follow its every movement. We are fascinated by the way the facets reflect the varying colors of the light that falls upon them. Often a large, well-cut diamond seems to possess an inner light apart from that which strikes it. It does not, of course, for no gem possesses light within itself. But with expert and skillful cutting, it can be made to reflect light so perfectly that it appears to possess light itself. So with us, a life of consecration and devotion will radiate the glory of God. But apart from God we are nothing, even as the beauty and brilliance of a diamond darkens and dies when taken out of the light. To reflect the glory of the Father necessitates our being sincere and pure in our heart desire and intent. Paul says we could give everything for the benefit of others, and our body to be burned, but if love is not the motivating principle, it profits us nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). One of the primary ways to reflect the glory of God is by telling others about him and his plan of salvation because the glory of his character radiates out from his plan. The Lord’s jewels must always remember that any glory that shines from them comes from a gracious Father. The glorious truth we hold forth is his truth, revealed to us: “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). The Lord’s saints will not necessarily be recognized by the world as jewels. To the world these saints are described in these poetic words:
“Full many a gem of purest ray serene But none of the heavenly jewels are unnoticed before the heavenly Father! For him to see them does not require that they appear great before others. As the Father watches his precious jewels, that which is especially approved is a heart lovingly dedicated to the doing of his will. Diamond Sources Where do these precious stones come from, and how did they become jewels? Africa produces more diamonds than any other place in the world. Africa is called the “dark continent” and is, therefore, a fitting illustration of the world in its present condition. Yet it is in Africa that priceless gems can be found. David spoke prophetically of the church, the Lord’s jewels, when he wrote: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:14-16) A diamond is pure carbon, the same basic element as coal, graphite, lampblack, and common soot. But in this case the carbon was forged by giant pressure and deep heat within the earth: “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect.” There is nothing useful in common soot: soft, black, dirty carbon. But when great heat and pressure are applied to it, the purest gem is formed. The gem quality of a Christian is formed by symbolic heat and pressure, thus crystallizing a desire for righteousness which forms strength of character: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23,24). In other words, purge out all of the “soot” and thus form the “gem.” A gem stone must first be blasted from deep within bedrock. A Christian usually is broken from his surrounding elements by some severe experience. After being blasted from the bedrock the ore is carried into a steel-jawed crusher in the depths of the mine. Because it is difficult for a Christian to separate himself from the world, many of these crushing experiences come from the world and its influence upon us. Broken to the size of eggs, the bluish ore is sent to a separation plant where a chain of vibrating screens, other crushers, whirling vats, and conveyors pass it along. It takes all of these varied experiences to separate a Christian from the worldly element, the “gravel.” But yet, these experiences alone will not separate him from the worthless elements; he must, as the conveyor pushes him along, find something to hold on to. Diamonds, in this form, possess a peculiar affinity for grease. So when the ore is carried across the sticky coating of a recovery table, diamonds adhere to it, but the worthless gravel continues on. This recovery table well represents the promises of God. The Christian in his experiences of being separated from the “gravel” element of society is brought into contact with the promises of God. A rough diamond character will hold on to these promises, while a gravel character will not be affected in any way. We might think it strange that sticky grease on the recovery table could represent such a beautiful thing as the promises of God, but to the world, these promises are anything but beautiful. The diamond has a peculiar affinity for the grease, as iron does for a magnet. But to so many others these promises appear as a trap to deprive them of their freedom by binding them to some organization: they are afraid they’ll get stuck! Washing, Cutting, Polishing After being separated from the gravel, the rough uncut stones are scraped off the grease table and washed. The first duty of a Christian when once he sees and appreciates the plans and promises of God is to cleanse himself: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). But the Christian is unable to wash himself sufficiently to be presentable to God. Our Lord Jesus, as our high priest, completes the cleansing before we are presented for sacrifice: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. … Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.” (Psalm 51:1-3,7-9). The washed but still uncut and unpolished diamonds pass into the hands of a diamond cutter. The cutter studies each diamond carefully. Some large stones require months of study to determine the grain and the appropriate cutting pattern. The grain of a diamond is composed of triangular pyramids, and it can be cleaved in four directions. If it is split in any other way, it will shatter. Thus the four attributes of Jehovah—wisdom, justice, love, and power—all come into play in the shaping of these precious gems of Christian character. If a Christian gem were cut out of line with these four attributes, it would shatter and lose its value as a gem. But we can have faith in the great Master Cutter: his wisdom, justice, love, and power will always be used in directing all our experiences. The cutting, grinding, and polishing of a single diamond sometimes takes as long as a year. Thus with the Christian: it sometimes takes the greater part of a lifetime for the cutting, shaping, and polishing of character to be completed. Sometimes a diamond cannot be cleaved along its natural grain because the necessary cut does not match this line. If this happens, the stone must be sawed. This is done with a paper-thin phosphor-bronze disk whose edge has been charged with diamond dust mixed in olive oil. This disk, spinning at high speed, sometimes takes weeks to make the necessary cut. So with the Christian: sometimes the shaping of our character into the form the Lord requires goes against our natural grain. We cannot be easily cleaved but must be subjected to laborious sawing. This sawing is done with particles of other diamonds mixed with olive oil. Some of these severe cutting experiences come from the brethren. for it takes a diamond to cut a diamond. The olive oil provides lubrication and represents Christian love. In all our experiences with the brethren, if love rules and controls the situation, the experiences are never so severe as to cause damage to the new creature. Lubrication reduces heat caused by friction. We know that the heat of our trials will never be so severe as to destroy us if love is present. When the cutting and shaping is done, a diamond is ready for the grinding of its facets. These many facets bring out a gem’s inner brilliance and beauty; they enhance its ability to reflect and refract light, to break it up into its rainbow colors. To do this the stone is held by large mechanical pincers against the face of a grinding wheel. The stone must be readjusted again and again as the wheel slowly grinds away the rough corners to form beautiful facets. Thus our loving heavenly Father knows just how much pressure is needed against the grinding wheel of experience to make us most beautiful in his sight. The pincers could represent his holy spirit or influence, carefully, yet firmly, guiding us in each experience. Then one by one come the facets—gentleness, patience, kindness, courteousness, sincerity, etc.—until the gem, when turned, shows a balanced cutting and polishing of all the graces of love. When the royal crown was worn by the queen at her coronation, its beauty was seen only by the royal guests and officials who attended the ceremony. So the beauty of this royal diadem, with its 144,001 precious gems, will never be seen by mankind. But just as the rule of the queen affects the entire nation, so the influence of this royal diadem in the hand of God will affect all mankind. The heavenly Father is now making up his jewels. As each precious stone is completed it is silently, unknown to man, being placed into this royal diadem: “Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God” (Isaiah 62:3). |