All is to be as it was in the beginning. The original intentions of God have never been relinquished by Him, and through this man in his day the Lord sought to prepare mankind for the One who would restore all to His eternal purposes and first ways. In accordance with this, when giving their records of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, three of the Gospel writers go right back in time, authenticating their writings by rooting their accounts in history. Mark goes back as far as the Prophets; Matthew goes further back to the Patriarchs; Luke goes still further back to Adam, the first man; but in writing his account of the Son of God, John goes back furthest of the four — to God, the very beginning of all.
It is not surprising then that in this last Gospel, John furnishes us with the one statement from John Baptist which in any way connects Jesus Christ with sacrifice, 'Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world'. In doing this he takes us right back beyond earth time to that which was in the beginning with God. The phrase 'in the beginning' brings us into mystery. In it the eternity of unmeasured and immeasurable events meets the measured and measurable succession of time. We do not know when, neither can we know how nor where, we only know that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. It is as though on one hand time had not been, for here on the threshold of history we are introduced to God and the Lamb. Yet, as though all history was concluded, anticipating all time, the Lamb was slain.
Then again, reading Genesis, we see that right there in the beginning when He was proceeding to bring forth creation God started with water. Everything that God made on this planet would have had no being except He had first brought forth the earth out of the waters. The deep waters, it seems, were original and fundamental to all. The earth was brought forth, came into light and became recognisably known only as emerging from a mighty baptism — it certainly did not break off the sun.
Pondering this, we should have no difficulty in seeing and accepting the fact that John Baptist was sent of God to bring to our notice and acceptance the twin eternal principles upon which God founded both the material earth and the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven, namely the Lamb and the Baptism. Everything of spiritual import and meaning, whether it be of sin and sacrifice or animal blood and altar or temple and service, all that has of necessity intervened at God's direct command or consent from the beginning of the world was bridged by John in his day. By launching his ministry out in the formless void of the wilderness, John brought everything back to 'as it was in the beginning' ; his was a ministry of Restoration; not now lambs, blood, sacrifices, atonements, Tabernacle, Temple, Law — but Baptism.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.