IS OUR NAME ICHABOD?

It was amidst fear, defeat and death that a child in the Old Testament scriptures, a grandson to tragic Eli, was named Ichabod, meaning “without glory.” A battle with the Philistines had not. only left Israel defeated, but had resulted in the death of Eli’s wayward sons and the capture of the ark of the Covenant. Aged Eli had himself fallen over dead upon hearing the sad news, and his daughter-in-law, giving birth to a son at that hour, saw Ichabod as the only appropriate name for the child, saying as she did, “Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Since it is such a magnificent concept, glory defies any simple definition. But one aspect of it is the presence of God in the human situation, as in Ex. 40:35: “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle,” and 1 Chron. 16:24: “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” In 1 Cor. 11:7 man is esteemed as “the image and glory of God,” indicating that God is in some way part and parcel of human nature.

Jesus makes reference to the glory of God in his prayer for the oneness of all his disciples, first for the apostles and then for all who believe because of their word, which of course includes all of us. “The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one as we are one,” prayed our Lord.

His prayer had already pointed to the end of unity: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. This shows that unity is more far-reaching than the joy and fellowship it makes possible among the saints. Its ultimate purpose is to be a testimony that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Lord of glory. “by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for another” (John 13:35). It is not by being baptized or by faithfully attending services that the world will be impressed, nor by being right or doctrinally sound. It is rather the magnificent Christian dynamic of love that will press the claims of Jesus upon men’s conscience. That woeful cry, “How these miserable creatures love one another!,” has come ringing through the centuries from Rome’s amphitheater as a testimonial of the difference Jesus makes when he resides in the human heart through the indwelling Guest of heaven. This is the glory of unity, and that unity witnesses to the love of Jesus in our hearts, and it is this that impresses an otherwise obdurate world.

Such is the purpose of unity and the fellowship of saints in the community of God. Then in the reference to glory the Lord gives us the source or means of unity. He gives us his glory that we may be one.

The glory he gives us is his own presence in our hearts. Our Lord was one with the Father because of the glory that God gave him, John 17:22 indicates. We in turn enjoy oneness by the glory that Jesus gives us, which is the glory the Father gave him. So as God filled Jesus with his own presence, Jesus in turn fills us with his own presence. This is what makes unity possible.

The context makes it evident that Jesus is referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit when he promises us his glory. It is by way of the Spirit that the Christ dwells in the believer. “I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you,” he promises the apostles in John 14:18, which is hardly a reference to his second coming. It points rather to the coming Spirit, who was to be both with and in them, and through whom Jesus would himself be present.

This is the point of that “funeral text” in John 14, which happens to be more appropriate for a lesson on what the Holy Spirit does for the believer than for a funeral. The reason the disciples were not to let their hearts be troubled was that in each of their hearts God had a dwelling place, for in God’s house there are as many abodes for his presence as there are children. The “place” that Jesus has prepared for us is not an apartment in heaven, but a communion with himself here in this world through the visitation of the Spirit of God, which his departure in the flesh would make possible.

He puts the same promise in the context of the coming Spirit in verses 25-28 of the same chapter. Verse 26 refers to the Spirit’s coming at Jesus’ departure. Verse 27 makes promise of the peace that only Jesus can give, and then says, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Then in verse 28 he repeats his promise that even though he is going away he will come again, not leaving them as orphans.

All this shows that he frees us of trouble, worry and fear by being with us (and who can be troubled with Jesus around?) and giving us his peace. And this by way of the Holy Spirit within us. This is our glory, his presence within us, and it is this that makes us one. This is why unity is the Spirit’s unity and not our own. Unity must find its source in Jesus just as glory emanates from him into our lives.

Is then our name Ichabod since we are a divided people? So long as we perpetuate our parties, showing indifference to the scriptural mandate for oneness, just that long we are without glory. A movement that began as a serious effort to unite the Christians has since become the most divisive in the Christian world. It is to our shame if this does not concern us. Our name is Ichabod so long as we are content to remain a divided people.

Thank God for the many among us who wish for the Church of Christ that it be “a glorious church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing,” as the Spirit urges. Such ones are refusing to follow party lines, but instead are allowing the fellowship of the Spirit to introduce them to brothers that they never realized they had. They are reaching out beyond sectarian barriers to claim all those as brothers whom God accepts as sons. It is this that removes the spots and wrinkles of division and strife.

God’s glory will fill the church as it fills each of us who are resolved to “preserve the Spirit’s unity in the bonds of peace.” Let God reform his church and fill it with his Spirit by beginning with me. When partyism ends in my own heart an important victory is scored by the indwelling Spirit.

That the Spirit will in the end be victorious is surely certain. God’s glory will fill the Body of Christ upon earth, with the communion of the saints cutting across all lines, whether racial, cultural or sectarian. It is only a question of what role we in the Church of Christ will play, what contribution we will make.

I do not wish to be part of an Ichabod Church of Christ, but such has to be the name of any people who are content to remain divided a dozen different ways. Once we allow our petty sectarian ways to be swallowed up in the Body of Christ at large, we will be a glorious church, filled with his Spirit, and rejoicing in the oneness of all God’s children. — the Editor