2 Timothy 1:7 - 8, 12, 16; Romans 1:16; Philippians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 2:1

My main theme tonight, beloved brethren, is "Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner". This is a most powerful appeal; it should touch our affections, because the testimony is "the testimony of our Lord;" that which He inaugurated, and which, on this earth, is of paramount interest to Him -- "the testimony of our Lord". In Hebrews 8, reference is made to "the true tabernacle, which the Lord has pitched, and not man", and that tabernacle is, to use old testament language, the tabernacle of testimony, and as the Lord has pitched it, He is Himself personally concerned about it in every way. When we think of the inroads that the enemy has made, the Spirit of God would help us to enter, in some measure, into the feelings of the Lord Jesus now about His testimony, that which He introduced, the Christian testimony, which He set up at Pentecost, when He established "the true tabernacle" and pitched it. In one sense the sufferings of Christ are over, His physical sufferings, those inflicted by man, the sufferings too in soul and spirit, and the sufferings of atonement. But in another sense the sufferings of Christ are not over, nor can we measure the depth of His feelings as to all that has transpired in the course of the testimony; and how now He grieves over the present public state of things, and the present sufferings and trials of the members of His body, even as He said to Saul of Tarsus, "Why persecutest thou me?" showing that He was feeling it all. The Spirit of God would bring us some little way into the sense of these, His present

feelings, so that, speaking reverently, we might, as it were, stand with Him as He observes it all. Later in this epistle to Timothy Paul says, "Bur the Lord stood with me, and gave me power". So what a privilege it is in any way to stand with Him, as sharing in some measure His feelings and having some apprehension of His testimony, so precious to His heart. To stand with Him in a broken day, a day when publicly the enemy may appear to have triumphed. To stand with Him then, and not to be ashamed -- even though when you speak about the great things of God there is so much that opposers can point to and say 'Well! where is it?' and even fellow-Christians can say 'It is no good thinking about those things as this is a broken day' and all you can do is to keep them in your minds in an objective kind of way, but you cannot work them out, or bring these things out in testimony today. But, beloved brethren, that would leave people free to say we can all be freelances and go our own ways, as we think best without true regard for what the Lord Himself has established. What He established at the beginning and will never give up, is "the testimony of our Lord", and, as Paul then says, "and of me, his prisoner". In the Lord's ways, Paul the herald, and the apostle, and the teacher of the nations, in faith and truth, was a prisoner -- "his prisoner".

How the Lord understands the feelings of His servant! Well, may the Lord help us not to be ashamed of His testimony, in this day when everything outwardly seems to belie it. The first thing, if we are not to be ashamed, is to have the Lord Jesus enshrined in our hearts, "our Lord". As Thomas said, "My Lord and my God". Paul says, "But I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed".

There was everything outwardly to make Paul ashamed; the mockers could point to him languishing there in prison, and all that he laboured for appeared

to have gone to pieces; and those he laboured for most, in Asia, had all turned away from him. But Paul says that he is suffering these things on account of the testimony of our Lord, "but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep for that day the deposit I have entrusted to him".

How one would desire to know the Lord in the way Paul knew Him! "I know whom I have believed". To know Jesus is to love Him and who loved Him more than Paul? and so Paul was not ashamed; though a prisoner, he stood unflinchingly by the testimony of our Lord, right to the end. He never gave up anything, any element of the truth, or of the testimony which the Lord Jesus had established. And of course the first element of it, as we might say, is the gospel, and thus he says in Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel". We must begin there because there is always the danger -- how well we know it! -- of being ashamed of the gospel, and of not confessing our Lord when the opportunity comes. Paul says, he was not ashamed of the gospel.

There is a sense in which that may not be quite the thought in mind in Romans, but rather that the gospel was God's power to salvation in relation to every matter. But in Philippians, Paul says that he was set for the defence and confirmation of the gospel, and that they were all participators of his grace, from the first day onwards. And in his use of the word gospel or "glad tidings" in that epistle he has in mind the whole truth, the whole testimony, because while there is the gospel itself which brings out the way God has come out to meet the need of man and bless him with unspeakable blessings, there is also the mystery of the gospel, i.e. what the gospel has in view, and that is to bring people into the church.

The gospel has in mind to secure persons for the "true tabernacle which the Lord has pitched, and not

man;" to secure us for the tabernacle of testimony. Now that is the view of the gospel in Philippians, and they knew that Paul was set for its defence and confirmation; that is, he was a soldier, and a Levite; he was set to defend, and to confirm, the testimony which the Lord had brought in, both as to the gospel and the church, which is the mystery of the gospel. He speaks of the latter in the end of Ephesians, desiring prayer that he might have utterance and boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel as he ought to speak. As I say, in Philippians Paul speaks of the gospel in that wide sense, as covering the whole testimony, because it is all gospel in one sense. And it is touched on here in 2 Timothy, because after saying, "Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner", he goes on to say, "suffer evil along with the glad tidings, according to the power of God; who has saved us, and has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace".

So that, you have got the whole thought of God included in the gospel, even God's own purpose and grace, what He had in mind in bringing the gospel to men -- "his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time, but has been made manifest now by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has annulled death and brought to light life and incorruptibility by the glad tidings; to which I have been appointed a herald and apostle and teacher of the nations". The herald proclaims; the apostle inaugurates; the teacher fits everything into its place. Paul was all three; and that shows how he is an example to us of the way we should be fitted for every good work -- to do Kohathite service, or Gershonite service, or Merarite service. "The herald" would be particularly Kohathite service; heralding the way God has approached men in Jesus,

bringing out objectively the great thoughts of God. That is the herald. "That through me the proclamation", he said, "might be fully made". He would bring it all out, in this epistle he says that. So that the whole thing should be brought out. Then there is "the apostle", as I say, who inaugurates and establishes principles and so on, as the apostles did at the beginning -- the apostles' fellowship. And then we have "the teacher" who would fit every item into its place, can handle every person -- the shepherd and teacher go together. But we are all to have part in this in our measure, I would say with reference to what we had this afternoon, to encourage all young people to go on with spontaneous service, pursue those instincts for service which you have, for the Levites were numbered from a month old and upward. In time you will get things laid on you to do, as Paul says, "I am entrusted with an administration, a necessity is laid upon me; for it is woe to me if I should not announce the glad tidings;" because it was one of the burdens laid on him to carry; and the time comes perhaps when we -- brothers and sisters -- get things laid on us, services may be laid on us, and then woe to us if we do not fulfil them. We shall have to answer at the judgment seat of Christ.

But, you see, at our beginnings there are these right, spontaneous desires to serve -- and let us go on with them. The woman in John 4 said, in immediate service, "Come, see a man". That was her testimony of the Christ, "Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done: is not he the Christ?" That was Kohathite service; she was presenting Christ to men in her spontaneous service, like Paul at the very outset preaching Jesus that He is the Son of God, and to the Jews, "proving that this is the Christ". Therefore it seems to me clear that a true evangelist is essentially a Kohathite; he is presenting

objective truths to men, and that shows the high level on which evangelical work should be done, because it says, the Kohathite's service was most holy. So that, if you considered the Kohathite side of things, you could not think of linking anything common or unholy with the gospel, whether in substance or methods or any activities of the human mind, because the service is "most holy", in the presentation objectively of God made known in Christ. What a service that is! I am not saying that it is only work for the evangelist but it seems to me that it is essentially, it must be, with the evangelist, to present God in Christ. To present a full gospel too, as to the thoughts of God for men, not even stopping short of the thoughts of God for men in purpose.

Of course the preacher needs also to be a Merarite because he has got to handle souls. May God grant us more skill in that, the handling of souls! How precious to think of those secured by the gospel, becoming like the boards of the tabernacle, standing 10 cubits high, fulfilling responsibility according to God, being of shittim wood, the wood that endures as James says: "Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations, knowing that the proving of your faith works endurance". That is the shittim wood; and without it you will never be any good for God. So count it all joy when you fall into various trials, everything coming at once, count it all joy because it is going to produce in you, if you accept it, the shittim wood, which the boards were made of. You can not stand upright 10 cubits high unless you can endure, and it is no good putting gold on wood that will not endure. The boards were covered with gold, but they stood up, as it were representative of God, like Stephen. But if a man cannot endure, how can he represent God? He discredits God the first time he is tested. He begins

to grumble, or to get angry if opposed. And so, as I say, the gospel is essentially part of the testimony of our Lord.

But then, to the Corinthians, Paul says, "the testimony of the Christ has been confirmed in you". God has in mind that things should be confirmed in us. The Corinthian epistles teach us about the assembly viewed as the tabernacle of testimony, and there was some expression there of the testimony of the Christ, although it had been greatly enfeebled -- perhaps obscured altogether for the time being -- by what they had allowed; nevertheless, it had been confirmed in them. There was an expression in Corinth, when Paul left that city, of an anointed vessel. The saints were merged together like the boards of the tabernacle as put together, and perhaps in some measure the curtains may have been in evidence; but anyway, they were set together in such a manner that the anointing was apparent -- the whole tabernacle was anointed. The testimony of the Christ -- the anointed Man -- was confirmed in them, in the anointed vessel established at Corinth. And that is what the assembly in a place is intended to be, the depositary, and the expression, of the testimony of the Christ. The whole of the first epistle is to bring that out practically, that they should know what it is to be together bodywise, with manifestations of the Spirit, and love flowing through the members of the body. So that in a practical way they were temple of God -- it is the temple of the tabernacle in Corinth; but they were to be manifestly temple of God, anointed, and the service of God going on in His temple. Not only having light -- and you must have light to serve God properly and the temple is the place of light -- but in view of service, in view of priestly service proceeding. So that in chapter 14 where the apostle is speaking of what should come into the meeting which would be of profit for them,

he says, "I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray also with the understanding; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing also with the understanding". And he speaks too of one giving thanks well, showing that the priestly service was proceeding in the temple. In the course of it there is a word from God to man, a prophetic word -- "let the prophets speak two or three" -- like a word from off the mercy-seat; but in the temple the service of God is always proceeding. Well, that is the idea of the testimony of the Christ being confirmed in them, that the Christ, the true Ark of the Covenant, was enshrined there; they were the tabernacle of testimony, and the Ark was in its place -- that is the divine thought, the Ark in its place, Christ the Apostle and High Priest known among them.

Then, in chapter 2 of the first epistle Paul says that, when he came to them, he did not come in human wisdom, announcing to them the testimony of God. Well, that is a grand thing. The testimony of the Christ, the setting up of the anointed vessel in a place, is in view of there being livingly expressed in that place the testimony of God, which is the greatest thing of all. Christ, as Jehovah's Servant here, was anointed, to express God, which He did perfectly. There at Corinth the saints, as His body, were set together in that city, anointed, that there might be a true expression of God in Corinth. Paul went there announcing to them the testimony of God with a view to the testimony of God being enshrined in their hearts, and expressed in them. Therefore anyone coming into the meeting, if things were in power, would get an impression of the Christ, God's Anointed, and the greatness of the system of which He is the centre -- the Inaugurator, the Sustainer, the Centre. They would get an impression, though they might not be able to describe it, of the true tabernacle, which the Lord had pitched and not man --

the anointed vessel and everything in its place and spiritually functioning.

But they would also get an impression of God's presence and the day of God; a present testimony to the day of God, when God will be all in all. One flows out of the other, because when everything was in its place in the tabernacle, the glory filled it; God came in. It was filled with the presence of God. And so, while the saints are intended to be a testimony to the day of Christ, they are also to be a testimony to the day of God, so that anyone coming in would get an impression of a sphere not only where "Christ is everything, and in all", but where God is "all in all". They would see it in testimony in the tabernacle of testimony; they would see the testimony of what will soon be universal throughout the whole universe. That is the idea of testimony; that in the tabernacle of testimony, God is presenting in testimony, what will soon be universally true. The day of Christ is almost upon us, and it will be followed by the day of God; and there should be a testimony to both, in the saints walking together according to the truth. But, you see, in a day of breakdown, this is called the testimony of our Lord, which, as I said earlier, should touch our hearts. Has our Lord surrendered any thought of what He came here to establish and set up? Is not the divine thought just as precious to Him as it ever was? -- and that is where we are tested. Are we ashamed of these things because of the public breakdown? Are we going to give that side of things up? are we going to give anything up? You may say, 'Well, you cannot have a collective testimony; it is no good thinking of such things at all; let us just occupy ourselves with simple Bible studies, with a gospel to meet the needs of man; don't let us trouble ourselves about these other things, it is too difficult, you cannot work it out in our day; it is in the scriptures,

yes, that is all right, leave it there, but don't try to work it out'.

Now that is not being true to the testimony of our Lord; in principle, it is being ashamed of it, and the word is, "Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord;" our Lord intends to see these things through. From the divine side they still exist inviolate; the one body is here, because the Spirit of God is here; God's house is here, the habitation of God in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God is here. The Lord is calling upon those prepared to do so, to be true to these things today, however few it may be that are available. There were not many available with Paul, in his day; there were not many who stood by the testimony of our Lord; most failed to do so. That is the position in 2 Timothy before Paul left the scene; he said, "Luke alone is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thyself, for he is serviceable to me for ministry", and so on. And as to the few left with him, he says, "Demas has forsaken me", and we, in our localities, may feel ourselves outwardly forlorn, a small forlorn company; but was Paul forlorn? "No", he says, "I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed", 'it is our Lord; I know Him; He is carrying things through; and if I stand with Him, He will stand with me'.

That is the point of this epistle. If you stand true to the testimony of our Lord, He will stand with you; Paul says, "all deserted me, but the Lord stood with me, and gave me power, that through me the proclamation might be fully made". The whole truth put forth as to the testimony; nothing left out; "that through me the proclamation might be fully made" -- the whole service of the Kohathite rendered, and the testimony carried even before Caesar. How could Paul do that in the full accomplishment of his Kohathite service? Because he was true to the Gershonite and Merarite side of things. If you do

not maintain the Gershonite side, you cannot have the Kohathite side of things in power. If you look at the way the camps set forward in Numbers 10 you will find (verse 17) that after the camp of Judah set out, "the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward bearing the tabernacle;" that is, after the camp of Judah. After them came the camp of Reuben, and then (verse 21) "the Kohathites set forward bearing the sanctuary" (i.e. the most holy things); and then it says, "and the others [that is, the Gershonites and Merarites] set up the tabernacle whilst they came". You see, unless you have the tabernacle set up, unless you are maintaining principles, like the Gershonites, and also like the Merarites, caring for persons, you have no setting for the most holy things of the sanctuary. I do not know whether we realise this sufficiently, that there are certain things you can only have in their proper setting. You may think you have them because they are set out in the Bible, and you read about them; but you have not really got them in your soul, and you do not have the true enjoyment of them.

There are people who read the Bible all their lives yet can never understand at all what I am talking about tonight. Why? because you cannot really understand the preciousness of the Kohathite's service, or the precious things which the Kohathite carried unless there is the setting suited to them. So when the camps journeyed, after the first camp went forward, then came the Gershonites, with the curtains and so on; for instance, the tent of goats' hair, the principle of separation; the badgers' skins, the vigilance of holiness; they carried all these things. Then came the Merarites with the boards, etc., people in the good of Romans, as we have been saying, who can take up these vital matters that the Gershonites carried; and after the next camp had set forward,

then followed the Kohathites with all their precious burdens; and meanwhile the others had set up the tabernacle. So that when the Kohathites arrived with the most holy things the setting for them was already there, and those precious things which the Kohathites carried were uncovered by the priests, all in their right setting. They cannot be uncovered anywhere else; God will not allow it. If you want to know the most precious things of Christianity you will never know them where divine principles are not maintained. It is as sure as possible. You may say that we are having good meetings, but it is just human fellowship; you will not know these precious things, for they can only be known where the tabernacle has been set up to receive them; and then, they are brought in, and the priests uncover them where there is the divinely prescribed setting; and that is the only way you can know these most precious things, which are the very kernel of the testimony of our Lord.

Well, surely it is worth standing by the testimony of our Lord in these days, even though, because of the general departure, in prison conditions and very restricted circumstances. What could be more restricted than Paul's circumstances, or what more sad and heartbreaking? Think you that Paul did not know what a broken heart was? I am sure he did. When he had to say, "all who are in Asia ... have turned away from me", I can understand Paul's tears. He must have wept much about the Corinthians; but now! -- midst the general breakdown, and in his prison circumstances he says, "I am not ashamed;" he would not surrender anything, but would stand by the testimony of His Lord, whom he loved. In his measure he had the Lord's feelings about it all. How precious every element of the testimony was to the Lord; and it was precious to Paul. So the word to us now is, "Be not ashamed;"

he had said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel;" to the Philippians he said, "that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but in all boldness, as always, now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether by life or by death". That is the language of a man committed to the testimony of our Lord, that whether in life or death Christ should be magnified in his body. And if you know any persons like that whose one concern is that Christ should be magnified in their body they are persons that are carrying through the full thoughts of God.

So although it will bring reproach let us give heed to this exhortation "Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but suffer evil along with the glad tidings, according to the power of God". Paul goes on to speak of God's own purpose and grace; it is the whole scope of things, "given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time". Then in the next chapter he shows the qualities needed in persons who are going to stand thus, strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; running the race lawfully, governed by the law of God in everything; labouring as husbandmen; a workman that has not to be ashamed, cutting in a straight line the word of truth; vessels to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master; and, added to all, a bondman, who is to act like his Lord in all circumstances. Thus he portrays in chapter 2, the characteristics of those required, and required at the present time, to stand with the Lord in His testimony. And let us comfort our hearts with this, that if we stand with the Lord in His testimony, He will stand with us whatever the circumstances may be. May all of our hearts therefore be encouraged and as knowing our Lord, our Lord the King, let us love Him, and give Him the full allegiance of our hearts. If we do we shall take no action other than Paul exhorts us to, but stand with the Lord in His testimony at

the present hour, remembering these affecting references by Paul to the testimony, and that it embraces nothing less than the whole thing that He brought in and inaugurated, the true tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which the Lord has pitched and not man. May the Lord help us for His name's sake.