Pages 1 - 345 -- "Life and Spirituality". South Africa, 1936 (Volume 134)

ESTABLISHMENT IN THE SPIRITUAL FAMILY

Hebrews 10:9; Mark 3:31 - 35; Job 1:18, 19; Job 42:7 - 17

I have in mind, dear brethren, to speak about establishment, the state of being divinely fixed or established in the things of God. What is said as to this to the saints at Corinth may be mentioned at the outset, indicating what is in mind. "Now he that establishes us with you in Christ", says the apostle, "and has anointed us, is God". "In Christ" is fixity, and it is there that we are to be established, not in this world. What I have in mind as to this is specific -- that is, establishment in the divine family. I read in Hebrews as giving the great principle, "He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second", and I wish to apply it to the family. There is the first family and the second, but He takes away the first, as we have read in the book of Job, in order to establish the second; for any thought that God has introduced is never to be abolished, it is to go through, and one of the great conceptions in the divine mind is the family. "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father)" -- an only one with a father particularly brought out a father's affections. The truth is presented in that way so as to impress us with the peculiar affection that flows out from the Father, and which belongs to the family.

Isaac is a type of Jesus in this respect. The word in regard of him was, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest". Abraham and Isaac, seen in Genesis 22, foreshadowed the passage I quoted from John 1. It is the setting out of the family thought;

so we are told later in John that the Father loveth the Son, and we are also told that the Lord Himself said that He loved the Father. Moreover it is stated in the same great family gospel, "the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him". We have the idea of the family greatly stressed, and God would have us to understand it. It was a primary thought with Him, and every primary thought continues into eternity. The thought of the family is supremely such, for we are told in 1 Corinthians 15 that in eternity "the Son also himself shall be placed in subjection to him" (who is God and Father) "that God may be all in all". All in all -- that is, every created intelligence will be filled with God, but He will be Father as well; He is God and Father. The Son will be there, there will be the perfect radiation of affection between divine Persons, and the Spirit pervading all to make this good in every heart. That is not the first family, but the second. We are told "that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual", and this applies to the family.

Mark records for us an incident which brings out this great thought of the family and how it is experienced now -- the moral element that enters into it. When I use the word moral in this sense, I refer to what has to do with time. It is the same family in mind, only viewed as constituted capable of overcoming evil and practising righteousness. There will be no need of these features in eternity, for there will be no evil there, and no need of the moral element in the sense in which it is spoken of in this passage. Evil will be relegated to its own place, the lake of fire, never more to lift up its head. The divine family is marked off, as the Lord says, by doing the will of God, and I want to show how the first family comes into evidence in this passage in Mark, so that you may see how this idea of the first family may even apply to a believer's house. I hope also to show from Job how God works in such a house, so that the first family may

disappear in the second. The discipline of God is to lead us to abandon what attaches to the first, so that we may be established in the second.

In this remarkable passage in Mark 3, we have the Lord's mother, Mary, the most honoured of women; and yet here she is on the line of the first family -- that is, on the line of nature. In this she erred more than once. For instance, at the marriage in Cana she said to the Lord, "They have no wine", as much as to say, You are my Son, and I have liberty to call Your attention to this matter. He said to her, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come". He repudiated the introduction of nature in this way. Mary is adjusted at once, and sets an excellent example for fathers and mothers who would pursue the natural; she says to the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it". But here in Mark 3 she is on natural lines; the multitude tell Him that His mother and His brethren are standing outside; He is inside and they are calling Him. Think of who He was! Mary should have known -- no one on earth should have known better who this Person was, but she is standing outside, and the brethren are inside. The disciples are sitting around Him, for He looked round in a circuit. If we are not in the divine family, if we are on the line of nature, we are really outside the circle of those who are sitting around the Lord Jesus, those who love Him. The relatives call Him to come out to them; they were His brothers and sisters according to nature, and they call Him as if they had a claim on Him. That is what enters into this; they were calling Him. Why did they not come into the circle, and sit down and listen to what He was saying? No; they did not, and the Lord scathingly rebukes them. Parents may expect such rebukes when they are on the line of nature and not on the line of the second family.

In the book of Acts. Luke refers to "all things which Jesus began both to do and to teach". The Lord here in Mark 3 exemplifies what He is about to say, in that He

looks round upon those who were sitting around Him; He was doing that as if to say, My heart is set on those who are sitting round Me, they are delightful to Me, and I must not be called outside. It will not do at all to give up the second family for the first. No doubt Mary and His brethren were thankful in after years for this rebuke, as, for instance, when they were found in the upper room later on. If you were to ask Mary, What did you think when Jesus said that to you? -- she would say, 'Oh, how foolish I was, and how faithful He was! I feel this, as recalling that He was inside with His brethren and I was outside'. She was a true believer and a highly honoured one, but she was on the line of the first, the natural family, and she was rebuked. The Lord looked round on those who sat about Him, and saw them listening, not merely as curious and interested persons, but listening. The heavenly family is a circle of affection, for John says as we love the brethren we know we have passed from death unto life. The Lord looked round and said, "Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother". Young people, come into the second family! You do not want to be taken away by the government of God. It says that He "taketh away the first". Many have been taken away by death, others through worldliness, so that they are morally dead. The point to understand is what the first represents -- the flesh in the believer is to be taken away. How? Through the efficacy of Christ's death -- by self-judgment, by self-renunciation and the avoidance of all that goes with the flesh, by the washing of water by the word. If I put my son to the university I want a name for him; I want him to be distinguished in this world; that is the first family. The jailer, believing in God, was at once baptized with his family; that means that he was at once going in for the second. So with Lydia also, at Philippi. They were remarkable cases, they started with the idea of the second family.

Now I go on to Job to illustrate what I am saying, for the Old Testament always helps in this way; it gives us details. In chapter 1 you will find that Job's sons and daughters are specifically mentioned four separate times, and in every instance -- except the first -- they are mentioned as meeting in each others' houses. That is, they are viewed from the very outset as constituted to carry on as brothers and sisters without their father. Young people very often like to get relieved of the father's authority and influence. It does not exactly say that here, but it does say that they met alternately in their brothers' houses. Very nice, you say. Yes, from their point of view. On the last occasion they are drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; not a word about Job and his wife. On every occasion Job sent and sanctified them, and he rose up early in the morning and offered sacrifices for every one of them. But why send? Why not go? Why should he be exempted from these occasions? There is not a word about Job being present at those family gatherings. This was not written by accident, but with purpose to teach us. Although the father was unique as far as he went, he did not take part in what his children were going on with. Was his life rather tame then? No, Job was a man of great affairs, but there was never any word of his children having part in his affairs.

If you read chapter 29 you will be impressed with what a man he was in his district. He says, "When I went out to the gate through the city, ... the aged arose, and stood up. The princes refrained talking ... The nobles held their peace". He was the leading man in his district, perhaps a wide one, but there is no mention of his children. I have no doubt that Job was known far and wide. He lived in the land of Uz, and was one of the most distinguished men of his time. His was not a tame life, but a life of affairs; "I ... dwelt as a king in the army", he says as to his public life. But I am speaking now about his children. He sent and did things for them, but that was all. No doubt it suited them that he did not come;

there is not the slightest hint that they missed their father, or were at any loss owing to his absence from these feasts in their houses. In the last instance the feast was in the eldest brother's house; they were on the line of nature, and they moved in that way; but a wind came from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men and they died, and the messenger says, "I only am escaped alone to tell thee". Is not that a solemn lesson to children who disregard parents and are content to go along by themselves, who want to go on the line of the first family! A solemn warning, too, for parents who allow their children to do these things! It came from the devil -- God gave him leave; but there is no word of him after chapter 2. It was the Lord who allowed these things -- it was a question of the governmental dealings of the Lord. Job was a converted man, but godliness may be only up to a point, not going far enough. How terrible is the thought that He taketh away the first! All that is on the line of nature fails. He gave it abundance of time to prove itself, but now it is exposed. He taketh away the first, and what for? that He may establish the second.

So I come to the last chapter, in order that you may see how the discipline of God brought Job to the second family. Forty wonderful chapters intervene, chapters of education, bitter experiences for Job, but well worth the while, as we see when we read this forty-second chapter. You will notice what is said in verse 7: "And it came to pass after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job. And now, take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept". God had spoken to Job. I am here tonight that God may speak, and all meetings of this kind are intended to give God opportunity

to speak. The point is what God says. Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "Mine anger is kindled against thee".

Now what is to be observed is, that the root of the matter was in Job, and that the second family as worked out today is not merely a second family of persons but a second family in principle. Children, of course, are born on the line of nature, but the second family is the idea. The first family is there -- that which is natural is first, afterwards that which is spiritual. Circumcision came in on the eighth day, indicating the second family, that is, the spiritual. So it is with baptism; household baptism came in under Paul and is a great thought in christianity. At Philippi, the two leading believers have their households baptized, and the baptism of the household implies the thought of the second family. Why should I bring in death if the first family is not to be removed? There is no point in anyone having his household baptized unless he has the second family in mind. The idea in the mind of the believing parents is that the child is dead and buried, and is to be brought up in the light of the second family -- in the light of Christ risen from the dead. So you find the principle in Moses; he is laid in the water. Indeed, you find the principle as early as Seth. When his son was born, by the name he gave him he said, He is a poor dying creature; he called his name Enosh, which conveys this thought. The babe, however delightful, is born to die, and the parents say that he must die, and baptism means that. It is taking away the first so that the second may be established. So the eunuch says, "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" So with Paul; Ananias says, "Why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins", Acts 22:16. The "first" has sins attached to it, and these must go, the person and his sins all go in baptism. It is a question of baptism to Christ -- "as many as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus, have been baptized unto his death ... so we also should walk in newness of life". Room is

made for the second. The point in the early verses is to bring in Job as the head; he is regarded as a priest also. The second family here illustrates any family brought up on the line of baptism to Christ as Head, risen from the dead. The Lord indicated to Eliphaz and the two others that Job would intercede for them. "My servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept". He is a priest. The new order of things is to have such a man as this leading. How we can apply this to our Lord Jesus! How God has accepted Him! Job is a type, though perhaps a dim one. The Lord Jesus is the only Man acceptable to God in His own Person. He is Priest to God for all His people. These three friends of Job are brought in and saved because of this man.

We are told the Lord accepted Job, and thus he was set up again with twice as much as he had before, except that his sons and daughters were not increased in number. There is the passing over to the second, for in truth the second is reached in the same individuals. Romans takes up a man responsible to God, and the "second" is worked out in him by the removal of the first. Job has twice as much as he had had in cattle, but only the same number of sons and daughters. See what a man Job is! How different from his friends and neighbours and brethren! He is set up, not only in acceptability to God, but to everyone. God has been doing this ever since Job's day, working out His thoughts with us in severest discipline, so as to put away the first and establish the second. Job's friends bring him money and earrings, and set him up as if he were the centre of affection. He had seven sons and three daughters, and in all the land there were no women so fair as the daughters of Job. It is not the natural now, not a question of physical features, the beauty of these women is typically spiritual. The second family is marked by this. It would be well to consider these women and others who are mentioned, holy women of old, women of faith. The women of the New Testament form one of the most interesting studies as

one works out in each the transfer from the first to the second. What a group you find standing by the cross of Jesus, the Marys, which imply that they knew suffering! Where are there women to be compared with those delineated by the pen of the holy writers in the New Testament! There are not any so fair, as is said of the daughters of Job. In the first chapter no names were given, for names indicate character, and their characters were evidently not worth naming. No doubt they were "society people", distinguished among men, but God took them away with a terrible stroke, to make room for the second. Now the second family comes into view; their names are given, and the daughters are specially mentioned; but there is not a word about feasts in their brothers' houses in this last chapter. It says Job gave them an inheritance amongst their brethren; they are in subjection in their own right positions. That is where all true christian sisters should be -- amongst their brethren in the assembly, in the family of God; and that is what the Lord had in mind when He looked round upon that circle that were sitting around Him. What a holy place for young sisters! Instead of the dance hall and all that kind of thing -- to enjoy an inheritance amongst the brethren, an inheritance handed down from their parents and given by God Himself, for Job is here representative of God. God is the Father of all the spiritual families; they are all named of Him, and to each He has given a rich inheritance amongst the brethren.

So the Lord looking around in Mark 3 indicates that those round Him were morally right, they were doing the will of God, not their own will. The place in the divine family is based on this, not doing one's own will. I suppose each of these feasts in the brothers' houses was a matter of the will of the brother. Their father is not there, he has other matters, and they are quite content to be without him, and Job is seemingly satisfied to let it be that way. For this reason they are taken away. In Mark the second family is composed of "whosoever shall

do the will of God"; in Luke of "these which hear the word of God, and do it"; and John gives, from the Lord's own lips, the glorious position accorded to us, saying, "Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God". That is the heavenly family, the family that God is to have before Him, and we shall be in it throughout eternity. May we be established by God in this great family!

THE SUPERIORITY OF CHRISTIANITY

Hebrews 8:6 - 13; Hebrews 7:26; Hebrews 3:3 - 6

I have before me to speak about christianity in its initial features, and if the Lord help, as I hope He will, to show its superiority as compared with human religions -- indeed with all that is merely human. I have in view to help the young, for as young we are prone to be discouraged by the outward smallness of what we are identified with, allowing our natural sensibilities to control us, and thus disqualifying us from viewing things morally, from the judging of values, and disqualifying us for the appraisement of heavenly things. The Lord introduced the idea of values in His parables, speaking of the treasure that the man found as if he were not looking for it, and then of something that one was seeking as a merchant-man ready to pay for what he sought, his taste being of the highest order. He found one pearl of great price and sold all to obtain it. He thus stresses the idea of value and the ability to esteem it proportionately. One observes and knows, from one's own experience, that what marks the young, and perhaps all, is the constant tendency to gravitate to a lower level; and the lower we get, the larger things become on that level. So we become discontented with what is of real and abiding value, and hence turn back to what is visible and to what is appraised among men as of value, and yet is of no real value.

Now these were the circumstances which drew forth this remarkable epistle -- the epistle to the Hebrews. It was undoubtedly written by one who had great appreciation of the heavenly. It has been styled, and rightly so, the book of the opened heavens. Stephen was the first to look into heaven, as far as we can see, after Christ was received up. Those who saw the Lord go up are addressed by two men in white who say, "Men of Galilee, why do ye stand looking into heaven? This

Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall thus come in the manner in which ye have beheld him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11); and they returned to Jerusalem from mount Olivet and entered into the upper room. It was from Olivet, but before they left Olivet the cloud had received Jesus out of their sight. It was not that they were not to see Him in another sense, but the era of sight had ceased -- they were now to walk by faith and not by sight. It is a question of faith in this epistle, so it says "we see Jesus" -- He is still to be seen, not on the principle of natural visibility, but on the principle of faith. "We see Jesus, who was made some little inferior to angels on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; so that by the grace of God he should taste death for every thing". So we see Him crowned with glory and honour, and Stephen could say, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God". He saw the glory. It was no longer in Jerusalem, no longer on Olivet, no longer hovering over the threshold of the house, but in heaven, and seen there on the principle of faith. All true values are in heaven. The manifest intent is to draw us away from earth and the most accredited things on earth, to what is in heaven. If these things are represented here they have not lost their value, and I want to show that they are represented here, and I would enlist the interest of every young person as to them. Christianity is a heavenly thing on earth, but by this it has not lost its heavenly quality. Gold is gold wherever it is, whatever the circumstances; so true christianity is heavenly, whatever the surroundings, and has the ability to keep itself. The power to keep itself is inherent through the divine provisions, which I hope to speak of. I wish to enlist the interest of the young, especially that they may see how this works out that there is inherent power in it to keep itself in this world.

The first thing is the covenant. There are many golden threads running through the epistle, all on

parallel lines, but the words I wish you to dwell upon are "better" and "new". In the passage read we have both. Some years ago there was a calling together of a so-called parliament of religions, in which all were compared. But christianity in the true sense is incomparable. For christians to accept such a proposal was an absolute surrendering of the whole position. There is no comparison with christianity at all, it is unique. The word "new" signifies that the covenant is entirely different -- new in that sense. There has been and is nothing like it. It stands by itself, and we want to see that we have part in it. It is "better" too. This word involves comparison, but it is with what God had ordained, and which does not exist now. Christianity supersedes it. Jewish christians were going back to what had grown old. That is what is in view in this epistle. They should have been teachers. How quickly the early brethren declined! -- for this epistle was written a comparatively short time after Pentecost; but we are reminded in it of the readiness in ourselves to decline. Hence the need for care in discerning and judging the elements of decline. These tendencies will show up in our reverting to something old and rebuilding the things we have destroyed. We revert not merely to what we have left, but to what God has left. We are then on the down line, whereas God is always on the up line.

The twelve apostles continued on the old level in grace according to the Lord's leading in Luke 24; they were in the temple daily, in order that the elect Israel might be saved, and a testimony rendered to everyone in Israel. But the upper room was in view. There is no steeple, no choir, no organ, nothing to appeal to the flesh where christians meet, and the flesh does not like that. We are told they went to the upper room, so it is a question of valuing what is in that upper room. Analyse the persons who were abiding in that upper room and see whether, by careful spiritual weighing, you can find anything to compare with them. You cannot; it is the

most excellent material there is. The apostles are there, they are continuing in prayer, and we have their names given -- each name signifying what is most excellent. There were certain women there; the mother of Jesus was there and His brethren. Christianity is there concretely, the excellency of the workmanship of Christ is set out in the persons staying in that upper room. Let the youngest here sit down when they have opportunity, and carefully consider those persons. Do you prefer other society? Could you find any woman in all the world like Mary the mother of Jesus? Or a man like Peter, or James, or John, or Bartholomew, or Matthew? The whole list is given and they have no equals. They have all gone, but their testimony remains, and the Spirit that actuated them when He came from heaven remains. All is substantially here, all is carried down to us. Think of who is here! The Comforter is here, the Paraclete. He is here not only to help those who minister, but to look after, to superintend, the divine interests. He is the great custodian of the things of God from Pentecost until now: sensitive and tender as the dove, still patiently waiting on the people of God; but also in the character of fire, for He will not tolerate the flesh. Whatever religious titles people may have, He will make no compromise with any; unless Christ is honoured, He will retire, for He can be grieved and quenched. He has a footing somewhere and He maintains the principles of christianity, and He maintains values. In these last days He has come in wonderfully to emphasise the heavenly side of things with Christ as our Head in heaven.

Let us think of that magnificent truth -- we have a Man in heaven who is our Head, who knows us well; and we have the Comforter, the Paraclete, a correlative Person down here who takes care of the affairs of the assembly day and night; and now in the last days there is such a mighty impulse of the Spirit that Christ is brought in as Head of the assembly, His body; and moreover, that assembly is God's temple, the house of

God. So we have christianity. I use that word as being, for what is before us, as comprehensive a word as I know. Think of having part in christianity! It ought to appeal to us and cause joy unspeakable and full of glory in our hearts, stimulating them. Think of it! -- that we are "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling" -- that applies to every true christian.

So in the new covenant; God has entered into covenant with His people. He says in effect, I love you, and I want you never to be distant from Me. I want you to be a people near to Me. I brought you to Myself at infinite cost, and I want you to be nearer to Me, and nearer to Me in perfect restfulness. So I enter into covenant with you, and the terms are calculated to make you perfectly at home with Me, to cast out every bit of fear from your hearts. The Spirit of God goes on to say "he is mediator of a better covenant" (verse 6), and in verse 8 refers to the "new covenant". God found fault with the old one. He said virtually, It is not good enough, it did not effect what it was intended to effect. That is what the great religious bodies, from Rome to the weakest church, Anglican, Wesleyan, or any others have gone back to -- to this principle, the principle of demand; whereas God says it has not served its purpose. God finds fault with it. He says it is proved valueless and has grown old; it is aged and vanishing. It has been revived and is the principle, in one way or another, of every accredited religion in christendom, every one of them. I do not say this in order to attack those bodies, but to help the saints here so that we might not drift back into these things, for they have long since vanished from the eye of faith. Faith has taken on God's way -- the effective one, the new one, the one that abides -- God's covenant. You say, I would like to understand it. It appears every time we break bread. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples -- referring to the cup -- "Drink ye all of it", and "they all drank out of it". Then He says, That is the new covenant. It begins here in Hebrews 8 and ends in

chapter 10. I would urge every young person here to read these chapters and see whether they fit into them, into the warmth and liberating power of the covenant; whether they are at home in the assembly, in the conscious worship of God. If so, you will say, Nothing can allure me from this, I have turned my face to God who is presented to me, there is the outshining of love in the face of Jesus.

The glory of God is in the face of Jesus, the outshining of God's love in the face of Jesus, and it has been shed abroad in our hearts. The Spirit of God goes on to point out that it is not now a question of demand -- not that the christian does not have to be responsible -- but you are set down in the presence of God without any sense of demand being made upon you. So God says, I will teach you Myself, no man shall say, "Know the Lord", He will see to it that everyone will know the Lord. The epistle to the Hebrews is an epistle to christians to save them from going back into religions of this world; they are to stay in a realm of love where God provides everything. So the writer goes on to say in the succeeding verses, "Because this is the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: Giving my laws into their mind, I will write them also upon their hearts; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for people. And they shall not teach each his fellow-citizen, and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord; because all shall know me in themselves, from the little one among them unto the great among them. Because I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more". Does not that appeal to your conscience? It has often appealed to mine. "I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses". Does anyone claim to have none? The more honest we are, the more we have to admit that we have. Moreover He says, "their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more". That sets us down in restfulness of

conscience. "By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" -- by the one offering. There is the sense of forgiveness, that God does not remember our sins; not only are they forgiven, but remembered no more. It is intended to govern the rest of our course, to give restfulness of conscience, that we may have restfulness in the presence of God so as to serve Him. "And the Holy Spirit also bears us witness of it", Hebrews 10:15. It is by the Spirit that it is brought home to our souls in power. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us".

The second thing I would call attention to is in Hebrews 7; we have priesthood as belonging to us. I need not remind you of the hierarchies there are in christendom, all based on the idea that priesthood attaches to man in the flesh; that men of religious culture and training, unregenerate men, can take the place of priesthood to God, and not only so, but the place of a high priest is taken. This epistle brings out the magnificence, the greatness of our High Priest. It is not so much here the priesthood of christians; all christians are priests, but what this epistle stresses is the greatness of the Person who is our Priest. Hence the statement in chapter 7, verse 26. This brings out the greatness of the persons who are represented by that Priest. "Such a high priest became us". There are those who claim a certain person in Rome as their high priest, but he dies; one after another goes. Look at our Priest. It is a question of faith, apprehending Jesus in heaven and who He is. I believe it would be of assistance to many young believers to be enquiring as to who Jesus is, as did Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus who He was. The one great feature of this epistle is the greatness of Christ, who is a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec, without father or mother, without beginning of days or end of life, but abiding a Priest continually. Then after many such statements about Him, we come to this statement, "such a high priest

became us". Who are the "us"? I am one of them, thank God, and so is nearly everybody in this room; but do we sit down and let the greatness of it settle into our minds and hearts? That word "became" means that the persons of whom He is Priest are so great and glorious in divine counsels, that their calling requires such a High Priest. You say that is taking very high ground. It is: for the ground is high. God is impressing upon us here the greatness of divine counsels and purposes. The writer of the epistle says, "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling". "Such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens". It signifies an uncreated state of things, it is beyond creature thought. The heavens mark the acme of creation, the highest realm, however many. Paul went to the third heaven; Jesus went higher than the heavens, beyond them all -- what creature heart can understand it? And yet in that very connection you have the statement "such a high priest became us", and so as to preserve us in the meantime it says, "he ever liveth to make intercession for them". It is the character of the Priest. Is that all He has to do? We know He has other things on hand, but day and night He is living to make intercession for us, as if it were the prime object of His position as Priest. He ever lives to make intercession for us, and to save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him. All are so precious, all so valuable, all provided for; so that while you eat, while you sleep, while you work, think of it -- He ever liveth to make intercession for you.

The third thing is the house. These things are over against current religious combinations; every item is over against what is generally accepted in this world religiously, to which many have gravitated and have built again the things that they destroyed. You will observe that I began with chapter 8, and then went back to chapter 7, and then to chapter 3. The nearer you get to chapter 2 of the epistle, the higher you get. In chapter 3 the saints

are addressed as "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling". In verse 3 the point made is that the Lord Jesus is the Builder. God is the Builder, "he that built all things is God" (verse 4), but Christ is God. That is a way of asserting the deity of Christ, He is no less than God. As compared with Moses, who was a servant in the house, Christ is the Builder of God's house, and has thus more honour than the house. Now the next thing is, what is the house? It is composed of persons. The general idea is that it is composed of stones and mortar. That is a fallacy, and yet there are those who cling to it and defend it, and some have left and gone back to it. So in order to bring this out in greater clearness, the Lord at the end of His ministry, as He was about to suffer death, looked up and saw the rich casting their gifts into the treasury of God. He was interested in that, in fact Mark says, He was seeing how they did it. He took notice of it because from His point of view it was a question of love, and there is nothing more prominent in Scripture than God's way of love. "Yet shew I unto you a way of more surpassing excellence", 1 Corinthians 12:31, and giving is under that head. So the Lord was interested to see how they did it.

Luke does not make so much of that, only enough to show it came under His eye, but there is this woman. The widow is usually a figure of the remnant -- bereft of shelter, of what she should have had, but this widow had something -- two mites. You say, That was not much. But you always have something to attest your loyalty, that is the principle. You may not have money, but you have a body, and it is more to the Lord than money. Romans says the believer has an arm or an eye; according to chapter 6 he can present every member to God, holding his members as instruments of righteousness to God. I always have the means in my body of attesting my loyalty and love to God. This woman's body was not needed, it was of no use in the temple. Looking-glasses were donated in the early days. They

were given up. There are a good many of them today; they represent that on which I feed my pride. In surrendering this, women are heartily in the tabernacle; but the body of this woman that I allude to would have been no use then; it was of use in the upper room. There were in the upper room in Acts 1 Mary and other women, but they had no place in the temple. The widow's mites were enough to attest her loyalty; her devotedness to that temple. To her it was God's place, and the Lord Jesus immediately says in effect, This building is not great enough for such giving. He said every stone would have to be thrown down. It was as if when the disciples said, Look at these stones, He said, All this grandeur is not great enough for this widow. Of course other great things were also in His mind. But she is attesting her love to God, and the Lord is saying that she needs a greater building than this. She needs to be among the brethren, in the upper room. Not only her mites, but herself will be of use there. All those buildings which are but a revival of the temple will be thrown down, and men are building them today with increasing pomp and magnificence. They are not great enough, however, for the saints today who are devoted to Christ. The writer of Hebrews speaks of the saints when he says, "whose house are we". The Lord says to Philadelphia, "thou hast ... kept my word, and hast not denied my name"; and again, "thou hast kept the word of my patience"; and further He says He will make those who say they are Jews and are not to come and "worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee". That widow would find a resting place there, she would be a loved sister there. It was what the Lord valued, hence He says, "more than they all". Peter is stronger in a way in saying, "To whom coming, a living stone, ... yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ", 1 Peter 2:4, 5.

That is the position, and I press it so that the young might be saved from despising what is small outwardly, and might learn what is of essential value because of its moral worth, and what heaven thinks of it. If you love Christ and love the brethren, you say, This is my home and this is my rest, this is the house of God. He rests here, and I rest here, and it is going through. What is despised now will come out presently as the heavenly city, and how glorious it will be! We shall shine in it. The Lord says if we deny Him, He will deny us, but if we are unfaithful, He abides faithful. He says, I never proved unfaithful. Let us value what is brought in -- value each other, indeed, because of what we are in divine counsels, as subjects of the work of God.

DOING AND TEACHING

John 1:38 - 42; John 4:28 - 30; John 6:66 - 69; John 12:3; John 20:16 - 18

My subject is teaching, and how it works out in the doings and sayings of those taught. For the principle is doing and teaching in the teacher, and learning and doing in the taught. In his second letter to Theophilus, Luke refers to "all things which Jesus began both to do and to teach". Christianity therefore is exemplified, and then taught. It is a substantial thing, not merely a system of ethics and doctrines, but concrete things worked out livingly first in Christ, and afterwards in His apostles, who as having learnt from Him, were marked by doing and teaching. What I have in mind is to work these things out in John's gospel, and what is to be observed is that the Lord draws from the Old Testament as to this matter. He says, "they shall be all taught of God"; that is the result of all teaching -- whether by the Lord, by His apostles, or by gifted men since the apostles' time; for one of the gifts given by Christ was that of teaching -- pastors and teachers are one gift. In this sense, the teacher not only takes care of the minds of the saints, but of the saints themselves. All is included in God's teaching, for after all God does everything, whether it be in this wonderful dispensation, in the one that is to follow, or in the one that is past. The great testimony is, What hath God wrought! The more we advance in the knowledge of God, the more we attribute everything to God. So the passage in John 6 is significant, "they shall be all taught of God". What a joy if it can be said of us that we are characteristically taught of God! -- not priding ourselves in the schools and colleges we may have graduated from, but that we have been taught of God; for the teaching of God is the only teaching that goes into eternity.

The first example I wish to use is in chapter 1, verse 37, "And the two disciples heard him speak, and

they followed Jesus"; they are examples for all christians at the present time, especially those who are divided up into sects. The ministry of John is to detach us from all such sects and direct our minds to Jesus, to make Him our Leader, and Him alone. This is a great matter, and it refers to our own time even more than to the time in which it occurred, for the real people of God are, alas! divided into numerous religious associations, and the testimony that John would present has in mind to detach us from all such denominations and to attach us to Christ, so that He becomes our sole Leader. Paul says, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ", -- not in any other sense; for all true leadership is Christ's leadership. So these two disciples -- we assume they are young believers -- left John and followed Jesus, and the first title they give Him is Teacher, Rabbi; and the Spirit of God immediately tells us the meaning of this word "Rabbi" (verse 38). They had the idea of learning from Him in close quarters, in family relationship; so they say to Him, "Where abidest thou?" Would that every young one here would ask that question! Whatever your associations, the Lord would give you a definite answer and invite you to the place, for He has a place now where He teaches, as He had then; and spiritually He has a place here on earth where He abides, and where He is loved. He would invite you there, and indicate that you can learn better there than anywhere else, for environment has much to do with education. They go to where He dwelt and abode with Him that day. The idea is a period of testimony suggestive of enough time for a given matter. I have no doubt that the part of a day is a day in Jewish thinking, not necessarily twenty-four hours, but a part which represents that you have had enough time to learn something; to learn above all that Jesus is the true Teacher; and thus, as resorting thither, we are delivered and saved from human organisations.

The next thing about one of these disciples is that he shows what he has learnt; he has learnt to think of his

brother. The result therefore of the teaching is that he first finds his own brother Simon. It is not now a question of thinking of John the baptist, for John continued in his ministry. He had a mission of his own -- he was the forerunner of Christ. But these two disciples were not concerned about what they had left, for they had definitely left it; and that is what is being effected today in thousands of souls who have definitely left former associations through impressions received from Christ, and who think now of their brother. Whatever his denomination may be, we must begin to think of our brother. Andrew first finds his own brother Simon, not because of his religious affiliations, but simply because he is his brother. "The Lord knows those that are his". If we are thinking of our brother we shall be effective in finding him, and not only that, we shall lead him to Jesus, who will care for those who are brought to Him. Peter is given a name and is made a great apostle. It is not a case of building up human organisations, but of leading your brother to Jesus. Education shows itself in its result. Jesus will look after the brother, you may be sure He will look after those who are brought to Him. He gives Peter a name -- "thou shalt be called Cephas", which means a stone, that is, a stone in the divine structure. He is to be taken out of human organisations which will perish in course of time; there is not a human organisation existent which will not be dissolved. The Lord Jesus had permanency in His mind -- a stone is permanent. What importance there is, therefore, in bringing the brother to Jesus!

The next illustration of what is in my mind is the well-known woman of Samaria. John gives great prominence to women as examples of the truth. He furnishes us with women as well as with men as exemplifications of great principles. This woman had a disreputable history, and you may marvel that the Lord should take up such a person, but it is only to enhance the grace of God. It is a question of the Father. John makes much more of the

Father than any of the other apostles do; that is, God revealed in grace in a character to which judgment does not attach -- it is entirely stripped of the thought of judgment. It is a question of pure and unmitigated grace, "the Father judgeth no man". What I am concerned with now is how this woman profited by the teaching. She had a conversation with Jesus. He was alone, and He sat on the well. He was weary, and made no effort to disguise the character of His humanity -- a humanity capable of being wearied. He asked a drink of the woman -- it was no feigned request -- and this asking brought out what was in her mind and what was in His. It opened up the great subject of worship. You cannot connect the worship of God with a merely human organisation, the thing is incongruous. The worship of God is of the Spirit, and they who worship Him, worship Him in spirit and in truth, not by the paraphernalia of current religion in christendom.

What did the woman do? After the conversation it says she "left her water-pot". She had received an impression from Christ, she became a taught person. In these meetings what impression do you get? -- and what do you retain in your soul of the teaching? Do you become taught of God? This woman shows that she had gathered something that referred to her own person, and what her own body was to be used for. Though having little religious education, she had her body. Perhaps I have no money, no religious education, but I have a body and God says I can use that to minister for Him. Jesus tells her that in her body would be a fountain springing up into everlasting life. If you can get one real thought from God and take it home and assimilate it, you have obtained something. This woman received that something, for it says she "left her water-pot" (verse 28). Many of you may have read that, and you may say leaving the water-pot is a mere incident, but it has great significance. That woman had travelled along the road to the well with her water-pot to fill it. The journey would have

been futile without it, but now she leaves it without filling it. She received the impression that her body is now the water-pot, and she is not now afraid to go to the men and say, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did" (verse 29). Did she come under their influence? No; she was superior to them, and her body would be used henceforth for ministry; she left her water-pot. Were she to consider what is natural, she would say, I shall fill it in any case. But no, the Spirit of God wishes to convey to us that she learned what God thought of her body, and that it was to be a vessel. God could purify it and use it for testimony. How important our bodies are! We should be careful to keep them pure. This woman used her mouth in an effective way and the men went out to Jesus. What she had learned worked out in effect in bringing them to Jesus. There is not a person in my hearing who may not become a servant of Christ, even the youngest may. It is not only what you say, but what you are; the body is at the service of God. You may speak to your school-mates as to what Christ has done for you, but remember that actions count as well. The woman has living water in principle, she is now another kind of woman.

The next illustration which I have in mind is in chapter 6. This chapter has a great bearing, and alludes to the spiritual teaching of Jesus. It was so spiritual that the hearers said, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" (verse 60). The path is too narrow, the teaching too exacting, too heavenly, and many left him and went away back. They put a distance between Jesus and themselves. There are many christians who are doing this and it is a challenge to us. "Will ye also go away?" Others are going -- He does not disguise this fact. Why are there so few, when this teaching is so wonderful? God is teaching, yet people want to go away. This is one of the most wonderful chapters in the Bible, it is full of matter. It is a very long chapter. The teaching is divine and spiritual, yet people are turning their backs

on it. What a challenge to every heart! Others are going, are you going too? Peter represents the spiritual instruction of the chapter. He says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal" (verse 68). One would love to have heard Him say that! John certainly says a great deal about eternal life. I do not believe that the disciples understood it at this time. Peter could not have given you a discourse on it, none understood it, but the instinct to perceive it was there; and the words of it, the details of it, the opening up of it was in the Lord's teaching, and Peter says, I discern this, and where shall I go? What is all the teaching of the world? what are the universities? All come to nothing. Even the great classics, what will become of them? They have no place in heaven. And Peter says, What is the good if there is no eternal life? -- Why, there is nothing; tomorrow we die. Life here, at best, is only a few years. Peter would say You have the words of eternal life, and that is what man needs. In Genesis 3 the great thought is life, as death is on man. "In Adam all die". "Death reigned by one", as the word says. So today cemeteries and undertakers and coffins are just as numerous as ever they were -- men are disappearing into utter darkness without God. Peter goes on to say, "we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God". Not only that He had heard the words of eternal life, but that He was the Minister, the true Aaron to set up the service of God and to maintain it. The epistle to the Hebrews opens up Peter's remark, what he had believed and known, showing Christ to be the Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. Peter says, "the holy one of God", the true Aaron in the tabernacle, pitched not by man but by God. As far as the testimony and the service of God are concerned, he sees it all in Jesus. How delightful this must have been to the Lord's heart!

I pass on to chapter 20. It is a woman again here, Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Lord had cast seven

demons. She was thus a woman who had been under the terrible power of Satan. One passage says they went out of her; their position was rendered untenable in her. The position of the devil in man is rendered untenable as the result of the work of God in him. The other side is that the Lord Jesus cast out these demons, and she would never forget it. This is the Lord's first great service to her. Now she is concerned about Him. She is early at the tomb, looking for Jesus. Much as she loved Him, she is dark in her soul, but now this chapter shows that she has been taught, for she says, "Rabboni" (verse 16); showing that the teaching had been effective in her, and was a realised thing. She had found her Teacher, and you could not have persuaded her to listen to the greatest teachers in the world now. She says, "My teacher", and He says, "Mary". How delightful it must have been to hear her name used by Jesus, risen from among the dead. There can be no doubt that the meaning of that name implies suffering and the Lord cherished it; she says in effect, You taught me! The Lord loved that! Young christians are apt to think too much of the brothers who taught them, they tend to become followers of them; but how much greater it is to have Jesus as your Teacher! A brother may make a party, and include you in it, so be on your guard!

The Lord says, "Touch me not" (verse 17); in effect, Do not connect Me with earth. The point is that we must not connect Jesus, as risen from among the dead, with an earthly position. I am not saying that He does not help you in your circumstances, but He belongs to heaven. The old corn is Jesus as indigenous to heaven. It is inscrutable; this great Person belongs to heaven. "The Son of man which is in heaven". We must not link Him who is in heaven with an earthly setting. We have to understand something of the inscrutability of this. He refers over and over again to the fact that He "came down from heaven". "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?" He is

ascending as a risen Man to His Father. What a great Person He is! To ascend is His own action, and Mary is to understand that she is not to touch Him, for He has not yet ascended (verse 17). Mary therefore shows that she has learned, and she goes to the disciples. The Lord gave her the message (verse 17), and she takes it, not as a teacher, for a woman does not teach men, and public teaching by women is not acceptable to God. We have this definitely set out in 1 Corinthians 14:34, and 1 Timothy 2:12. She is learning from Jesus how to act in a comely way, and she goes to the disciples saying that she "had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her". The Lord would instruct all sisters to be like her, comely in the assembly and in relation to saints generally.

The final word is about Mary of Bethany (chapter 12). The name of Mary has a spiritual significance. I believe it has to do with suffering, with bitterness. No one of us is of any value without having passed through bitter waters in our soul's history. The Lord Jesus is the true wood cast into the waters, making them sweet for her, and she is now a true worshipper of Jesus. She began to learn early. When Martha is criticising her, she is at school, learning as she sits at Jesus' feet. And now we have the grand result, for we never hear of her afterwards. She will shine in heaven, but here she shows how educated she is; she is the finished product. She knows what it is to be criticised, and criticism is one of the hardest things to bear. She experienced it from her sister, and now from the wicked Judas. Jesus says, She knows what she is doing, she has kept this for the day of My burial. She has the pound of ointment, which is very costly; spiritually it has cost her bitter experience. She is educated spiritually and has reached the thought of worship. She anoints Him with the ointment, and the house is filled with the odour. She wiped His feet with her hair -- she gives Jesus all the glory. She was ready

for the opportunity and seized it as it came, and now she disappears, only to appear in the future in glory.

May the Lord help us in all these things! It is a question of being taught, and proving it by what you do and say.

WORSHIP

Philippians 3:3; Exodus 4:27 - 31; Exodus 12:21 - 27; 1 Chronicles 29:20

My subject is worship. Although a very great one, and extensive in its bearing, one can only hope to present it under these four scriptures briefly, but I hope, by the Lord's help, concisely. The epistle to the Philippians is an appropriate one to begin with, although there is very much more detail in the epistle to the Hebrews as to this great matter. The state of the assembly at Philippi furnished an excellent setting for such a verse as I read in chapter 3. The apostle writes that letter with great feeling. It is peculiarly a love letter, and in his allusion to the worship of God, we can understand how his heart entered into it. We may safely say that in the heart of no one on earth at that time had God such a place, and so he would be full of holy feeling in speaking of himself and others as the circumcision who worshipped God by the Spirit; alluding by way of contrast to those who worshipped nominally, but by earthly means and methods and not by the Spirit of God. The word used here for "worship", is one which relates rather to the public service of God; what God had in mind when He said, "Let my son go, that he may serve me". God had in mind that He should be served by persons in the liberty of sons, not in slavish fear or in a mere fleshly way by human means and devices, but from the heart, as indeed the Lord Jesus, who is the great Leader in all this, the Minister of the sanctuary, said, "God is a spirit; and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth"; "the Father", He says, "seeks such as his worshippers". Mark you, it is the persons that He seeks -- the worship of course, but the persons are before Him. The apostle Paul has this in mind, that he was amongst those persons; and all true christians characteristically belong to those persons who are the true circumcision,

that is, those who accept the death of Christ "in the putting off of the body of the flesh", Colossians 2:11, the totality of whatever character it may wear. It is put off judicially and drastically in the death of Christ, viewed as circumcision, so that the soul is clear of flesh, especially religious flesh, for the apostle here is dealing with persons called the concision, persons who attempted something in the way of circumcision, but who failed to go the whole way -- that is, persons who are marked by coming short so as to lose everything from this point of view. As indeed is said in Romans, "come short of the glory", for God will not lower His standard at all. What has happened in the history of God's people is the lowering of standards, especially in regard to worship, and in lowering the standard they legalise it by professed teaching, so that men's consciences regard it as according to God. But it is rejected by Him, it is not according to God.

Now that is what the apostle has in mind, and I have before me to bring out the thought of how worship is induced and maintained here on earth until the coming of the Lord, because the word in Philippians implies that it is the public thing, what is due to God -- the real service, of course, but still what can be seen by others. God intends this to go on, with however few or however many, and the thing is, can I include myself in this "we"? "We are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God", those who have turned their backs on man-made religion, however antiquated or honoured according to man, and turned their faces to God as His sons, who have accepted the death of His beloved Son as bringing to an end the flesh even in its religious character. They worship according to the prescribed way and the Spirit of God is the sole power for that worship. There is of course outward order. Luke in his gospel and treatise in Acts has in mind what is seemly, what is according to God in public service. So he tells us, for instance, that the Lord Jesus placed Himself at table. You may say that

is a small matter, but it is not mentioned by chance. The word "placed" indicates order. One can cite many instances of this kind. God is not a God of disorder. He has nothing to do with all this that is current abroad in christendom, man-made forms in the supposed worship of God. He is not the God of that. He is said to be the God of many things, and amongst them He is said to be a God of order, and the God of peace in all the assemblies. That word "all" does not include the myriad religious bodies in christendom today. The Holy Spirit of God is here in relation to divine order, so that the worship of God should continue. The Supper is the public expression of it in its initial character. It is not done in a corner -- it is a public thing, it is a testimony to the death of the Lord Jesus until He come. That is, as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup it is a testimony to His death until He come; but that is not all, it is initiatory to this matter of which I am speaking -- the public service of God. It is calculated to move us towards Christ, the Mediator of the covenant, and towards God, the Author of it. As thus moved, we serve God in spirit and in truth. We begin by saying, by the Spirit, "Lord Jesus", that is service towards the Lord Jesus. It is not the mere use of the words or the appellation "Lord Jesus", but it is by the Spirit, meaning that the Spirit actuates our minds in addressing the Lord Jesus in that way. Then He has another character, that is the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of God's Son. He is in the christian, that is the remarkable thing, giving us the consciousness of being God's sons, so that we can cry "Abba, Father". That likewise is the service of God. The apostle has this in mind, that that service which has been inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and maintained by Him, is to go on to the end of the dispensation, so that the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man is able to go on. It will be taken up in another way in the future. The book of Ezekiel shows with remarkable detail how there will be a house and a service maintained through priesthood, "the

sons of Zadok", as it is said. So that God's service will be continued on earth, and it will be taken up by Israel and carried on through the millennial day, and, in some sense, go on through eternity. The more we know and love the Lord, the more we want to have part in it, and desire that others should have part in it.

Everything that hath breath is to praise Jehovah. The last book of Psalms has this great subject in view. It is the great hallel book, ending up with the great hallelujah psalms. The consideration of this ought to stimulate our hearts, for in truth we are on the very verge of the ending of this dispensation, and the beginning of our service in God's presence, and the introduction of God's ancient people on earth.

This service is induced particularly by ministry, and the first thing I would dwell upon is practical unity amongst the ministers. The two passages in Exodus refer to the ministry, what we call ministry; such as I am attempting tonight, and such as others attempt and are helped in throughout the world. What the first passage includes, amongst other things, is practical brotherly love amongst the ministers, and hence practical unity -- what one says the others say. There is no contradictory thought or spirit between Moses and Aaron, they represent the ministry. The book of Genesis is patriarchal -- the other four books of the Pentateuch are ministerial. They are books which ministers should study, and one thing stands out peculiarly and meets us at the outset -- love amongst the ministers. Aaron is particularly called by the Lord Himself, "the Levite", not 'a Levite', but "the Levite"; that is, he represents the great levitical thought. We do not hear of him earlier. He is eighty-three years old when this occurs; he is an old man, not a novice. The introduction of him by the Lord shows that he must have had experience with the Lord. Jehovah says, "I know him". It is a great thing to be known of God. All are, in one sense, but the word says, "if any man love God, the

same is known of him", 1 Corinthians 8:3.. It is a distinction that belongs only to a few, but it is a distinction that Aaron had, and it is fully exemplified in him. Jehovah knew Aaron's heart; He said to Moses, "when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart", Exodus 4:14. Among other things, what qualifies a man to be a minister is that he loves his brethren. And then He says, "he can speak well". It is not only the thoughts we have, but the ability to convey them. Let us remember that. Then He sends him to meet Moses. The Lord had had a very long and profound conversation with Moses and Moses with Him, and this is the issue of it. God gives him a companion in service -- no less than this great Levite -- the Levite with such love in his soul. What companions they were, both having such relations with God, and particularly Aaron, who had love in his heart! Not that Moses did not have love in his heart, but it is said particularly of Aaron, "when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart" not merely in ordinary civility, but in his heart. They were going to be public ministers in Israel for forty years, and in the main they were held in this holy bond of brotherly love, hence the perfection, so far as it went, of the ministry.

Now it says, Aaron "met him in the mount of God". That is important, too -- not any place, but in the mount of Jehovah, where the resources of God were provided. God sets His ministers up in entire independence of human support. The bane of current Christianity is that it is supported by the world. Men are earning salaries to serve the Lord, some going out into the streets with musical instruments to get money -- it is all disgraceful and discreditable. Divine resources are the resources to sustain the ministry. Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have". They had spiritual resources.

Moses was kissed. It would seem that love predominated in Aaron. He was the elder by a few years and may have given a lead in this way. It is a very fine

picture, one of the finest things among the many wonderful things that happened at that time. It was in the mount of Jehovah -- the place of divine resources and counsel -- and genuine mutual affection adorns it. So they both came and gathered the elders together, and Moses told Aaron -- a ready recipient -- of all the communications that Jehovah had made to him. They came from a heart and a mouth anointed. Then Aaron spoke these words and did signs, there was real power in his ministry. What a beautiful spectacle in presence of the elders, the communication of God's mind! and what happened was the people bowed their heads and worshipped. That is sure to be the result of such ministry -- ministry impregnated with love and intelligence and with words suitable. The mind of God conveyed to them was that He would deliver them, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. Not heads bowed like bulrushes -- that is, just their heads bowed, no heart matter -- but here their hearts are moved, too. Worship implies a reaching forward to the object of the affections, a prostrating of one's self in reverential affection. It is a real heart matter here.

In chapter 12 Aaron is not in view. It is now Moses. It is more directly the authority of the Lord that is in mind in this particular ministry in chapter 12, and it is to be noted that while the communications of Jehovah to Moses about the passover include twenty verses of the chapter, Moses in delivering the message to the people only gives us the seven verses I have read. Now I think we ought to pay attention to this, especially in regard to ministry, that we do not need to say everything we know. The idea is that intelligence and instinct would lead the minister to present what is needed at the moment. Saints are not able to take in very much at one time, and the skill of the minister is necessary to discern what is the need and what the capacity, and to make the thing as concise and yet as spiritual as possible, so that saints can assimilate it. The apostle pursued this method of

ministry to the saints. At times, as in Ephesians 1, his heart was so full of the great things of God that he spoke on without a full stop; but because of their small capacity he says to the Corinthians, "I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified". One marvels at his restraint. They were only babes in Christ, with a very small capacity. Hence he says, "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat". He kept at it, whatever they thought, because he knew what was needed. "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified". That was his skill. The Israelites in like manner could not take in very much, they were still in bondage. Look at the long discourses in Deuteronomy. It contemplates the Spirit and the state He forms, but here they are still in Egypt, and the great minister discerns what they can take in, and presents this great matter to them in seven verses. He uses about a third of the space that Jehovah used to tell him, and moreover he introduces thoughts that Jehovah did not mention according to the record. He mentions the bunch of hyssop. He is a minister who is applying the truth. They were like the hyssop that grew out of the wall -- small -- not like the cedar as possessed of the Spirit and growing up. And, moreover, he used the word "bason" twice here. The blood is to be preserved; it is in a vessel, it is to make the thing practical to these Israelites, and he says it is a household matter. Where the truth of the passover is needed most is in our houses, or our households will not be saved. Moses speaks about the deliverance, and instructs them to tell their children by and by that Jehovah delivered their houses. When he finished, as he does with that great thought, it says "the people bowed the head and worshipped". Moses reached their hearts. Every levite ought to be able to do that, to reach the heart of the people as speaking through the Spirit.

What is in view in this chapter in Chronicles, and indeed, in all the chapters from the end of chapter 21

of this book, is headship -- not simply lordship. Although David was the king, the Lord in type, headship is in mind. David here is an old man. If we compare this with the first chapter of 1 Kings, we shall see a great contrast, and yet it is the same person. In 1 Kings he is a weak, old man having lost all his vigour and warmth and about to die in weakness, but there is no suggestion of that here. It is David viewed as the subject of the work of God, standing on his feet, no need of support or of being carried on a platform. I do not think much of an address given otherwise. He stands on his feet and speaks most pungently and beautifully to his captains and princes, and then to Solomon, his tender son, speaking in beautiful terms reverting back to the sovereignty of God. How good to refer in your later years to the sovereign operations of God. That is David in this book. He tells Solomon one thing after another. He tells him he had the pattern of the temple by the Spirit. We are in the presence of the greatest things here. And so he goes on and tells him that riches had been provided, meeting every need in the temple, and as it proceeds it says, "And the people rejoiced because they offered willingly". David tells us how much he gave of his own personal property in his affection for the house of Jehovah, and the people all gave and began to rejoice because of the giving. Every man giving was rejoicing, he did not feel as if he had parted with something -- he was rejoicing in the giving. And David rejoiced; the old man, as we see him in 1 Kings, was here jubilant in presence of such an evidence of the work of God in himself and the people, and he blessed the Lord.

Beginning at verse 10, we have David's outpouring of praise to Jehovah. He is the great leader in this matter of public service to God, he is typical of Christ in this, "Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever". So he comes on down to the verse I read (verse 20), "Now bless

the Lord your God". That is what I apprehend is the idea of Christ as Minister of the sanctuary. David does it first before the congregation, and then he says to the people, "Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king". This is the last feature I had in mind of what induces and maintains worship. It is a command, not in the sense of lordship, but of headship. It is an appeal; he says as it were, I have shown you or given you a lead in the service of God. He addresses Jehovah as Head. He calls upon the people to bless God, and is the Lord not calling upon us now, dear brethren, in the same sense? He says to the people, "Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king". Worshipping the king here is intelligible, it is a question of what Christ is as having part in the Deity. But the great point here is "Bless now Jehovah". For us it is to worship the Father, for "the Father seeks such as his worshippers", and our David would say to us, "Bless now Jehovah". It is praise to the Father. You know how Christ did it Himself. When the time was darkest it says, He "rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes", that is, our day. He is worshipping, as it were. He is praising, and Luke says that He told His disciples, so to speak, not to rejoice in the support they had in their ministry (for they had been telling Him that the demons had been subject to them), but rather to rejoice that their names were written in heaven; and then He rejoices in spirit and praises the Father; and He turns to His disciples and says, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see". Did it ever occur to you that your eyes are blessed as seeing the holy things relating to the Father and the Son which are opened up to us?

I think, dear brethren, you will see how the things of which I have spoken induce worship, especially the great thought of headship in Christ, involving His office as the Minister of the true sanctuary which the Lord pitched and not man.

LIFE AS SEEN IN THE MINISTRIES OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA (1)

1 Kings 17:17 - 24; 2 Kings 4:17 - 37

J.T. What is in mind is the need of life -- life in the young -- not life and death, but death and life. On the principle of faith we have to come to death in order to live. These passages are much the same and yet dissimilar. The first has reference to the confirmation of the Lord's testimony in those who render it, and in the second the effect is inward. We have the mother -- the saints viewed in that light collectively. The child is brought back to life and delivered to the mother. She is the objective in the miracle. She would be a different woman in the house from what she had been. She had been great spiritually, but now she would be greater. She "went out" with her son brought back to life. It is a question of what she is. It was a new experience for her, and hence a wholly new feature in her formation. The need of life is what we learn from these passages. Men of God keep God before us. We see how they are confirmed in their testimony, and on the other hand, how the saints are confirmed and brought back into the realm of life.

Ques. Would baptism be suggested here in regard to death?

J.T. Baptism is a figure of death and burial. "If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection", Romans 6:5.

Ques. What is the difference in your mind between Elijah and Elisha?

J.T. Elijah is in the house. Whilst it is a household matter in both cases. Elisha had left the house, but Elijah had not. It is the mistress of the house who is before us in Elijah's case, she had no husband. She was in a critical position, and Elijah comes in with the light of

God in regard to the meal and the oil. There is the continuance of what was already there -- the barrel of meal and a cruse of oil. Then the son falls sick; the sickness was observable, but it was not diagnosed, although it should have been. Those responsible are to observe what happens, and to see what causes this sickness in the young. Here there was a gradual ebbing out of life in the child, in spite of the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil. In spite of much light and testimony, so to speak, the sickness is not arrested. There seems to be a want of understanding as to how the thing is to be met in both cases. Ministers are apt to overlook this side of the truth -- they are occupied with externals, and the bringing to life is sometimes foreign to them. Elijah was very concerned -- for the ministers are to take the matter to heart. There was no breath left in the child, and evidently no power to arrest the sickness, which was a very solemn thing both for Elijah and the mistress of the house; see verse 18. Elijah was in a very awkward position in the eyes of those to whom he ministered. When trouble arises, very often the servant's position is not clear and he has to accept reproach.

Ques. Who is the mistress of the house?

J.T. If we think of the assembly from a maternal point of view, the young go in and out among us, and we discern them and feel that we are responsible as to them. The mother is the nearest to the young. The paternal side is not in evidence. The thought seems to be that these things happen and all the saints are brought into it. The full thought of the mother is "Jerusalem above" -- Sarah is the great type of this. She was concerned about her son, about influences and weaning. She is more in line than Abraham. So it should be the great concern for all of us as much as for the ministers, but they, too are responsible. Elijah is great, and yet he does not arrest the sickness, or take the initiative. It is the mother.

Ques. Why does she speak of iniquity?

J.T. In verse 18 she says, "What have I to do with

thee, O thou man of God? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son?" Something unjudged comes to light in these circumstances. She must have been calling her own iniquity to remembrance. If there are some of the saints dying morally, there must be something wrong among us. To get the maternal idea we must go back to Sarah -- she is a type of the assembly morally elevated. The young are frequently allowed to move along on the level of the world, and there is no effort to check it. The barrel of meal was there and the cruse of oil, and yet there was this severe sickness. Spiritually we know what it is -- life ebbing out, not sudden death, but no power to arrest it. It is left with us to discern. Whatever scripture is read, it bears on those who read it or who hear it. So this chapter bears on us here this afternoon. There is a searching character about it. The ministry had not had a deep and spiritual effect on the woman. Her mind is clouded and she talks of her iniquity. There must have been some there; and she blames the man of God. It was all contrary to the spirit of the man in her house, for she had already said that he was a man of God.

In Romans 7 I am learning to analyse what I am internally, but here it is a young person, and nothing of his character is recorded. The sickness is not diagnosed, but it should be diagnosed in our meeting here this afternoon. We should know what is current amongst us, and how it continues and causes death in a moral sense. Young people lose response to God in His things and die. We all need to be exercised about this. Are we taking notice of these things? We are apt to blame the wrong person, not taking it home to ourselves. We are apt to say it is the boy's fault, and the thing is allowed to drift without any effort to check it. The mother appeals to the prophet here, who is placed in a very serious light in her eyes; he represents the ministry at the moment. It is the maternal side in both these cases that is prominent. There is no father here -- there

is in 2 Kings 4, but no appearance of spirituality with him. Eventually Elijah knows what to do to meet the case. He says, "Give me thy son". He takes him entirely out of her bosom. We may take part in the meeting, but our young may be brought up entirely on natural lines. Elijah proceeds to meet the situation on right lines. He takes the child over -- there is a change of position. He removes him from her bosom, he takes him out of his natural setting. It means that the minister brings the sick young christian into the realm of divine love. Love never fails. There is no edification but by love -- love edifies. Viewed from a spiritual standpoint, there must have been the allowance of worldliness in the household. Children are brought up on natural lines and we tolerate it, and fail to see that they are slowly dying. This boy was brought up on the mother's natural bosom -- she would probably bear much from him and would make great allowances and excuses for him, whereas God has a right to him. Elijah takes him up into an elevated position. It is a question of where he abides. John's gospel brings this out -- they say, "Rabbi ... where abidest thou?" and they abide with Him that day. This is a principle. We need to be taught in the right place. Dorcas was put in the upper chamber as dead, and brought back to life there. That position was necessary, but there were weeping widows there whom Peter put out. It is a moral elevation corresponding with Acts 1 -- the upper room. When the child was restored, Elijah brought him from his upper chamber to "the house", as if his chamber were not part of the house -- it was elevated. And then he can present her son to the mother living. He is now to live on another principle. The woman is now satisfied that Elijah is a man of God. "Now by this I know", she says, "that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth". The testimony becomes discredited unless there is life. The apostle says "they shall proceed no further", 2 Timothy 3:9. Imitators can go no further as life is

active. The woman is satisfied that the word of Elijah is truth. It can now be seen. What a different house it is! At Pentecost everyone heard in his own tongue the wonderful works of God -- the moral connection is the upper chamber (Acts 1). The Spirit of God was present and His power was there in a living way.

A low moral state in our homes would bring about the situation described here. Our homes affect the assembly in this way and bring the testimony into discredit, and the ministers also. The cruse of oil and the barrel of meal were there for a whole year, but they did not prevent death in this lad. What is before us may help us as to worldliness in our houses. If it is so, we shall proceed on the lines that Elijah did. The first thing is to detach the young from the natural. Sarah weaned her son, and Samuel was a weaned child as brought to the house of God. Elijah took the child from the mother's bosom to where he himself abode. It suggests that the children are to be in a new environment entirely. Then Elijah cried to Jehovah and in his prayer in verse 20 he does not seem to be clear why Jehovah had done this, but he stretches himself on the child and prays again. He identifies himself completely with the child, and this he does three times. It is a figure of the Spirit of Christ, identifying Himself with us in death. "One died for all, then all have died", 2 Corinthians 5:14. He then says, "Let this child's soul come into him again". He does not admit that soul and body are definitely separated. He prays as if the soul were very near at hand, but it is life out of death. Jehovah does exactly what the prophet asks Him to do. That is very encouraging to those who minister -- your prayer exactly covers the case. The great feature of Elijah's ministry was prayer -- his prayers were very definite. He was a man who knew how to express himself rightly in regard to a matter. In the account of his prayer that it should not rain, as given in the New Testament, we are merely told that he prayed and it did not rain, and he prayed again and God sent rain, but in

the book of the Kings we get his deep exercise. He puts his face between his knees on mount Carmel. What a profound exercise! He represents the need of taking things thoroughly to heart and making them our own.

Ques. Would it seem that Elijah acquainted himself with the conditions before he prayed?

J.T. He was deeply concerned. He grasped the bearing of it on his own ministry. What strikes one is the procedure -- how accurate it was! It showed how right his exercise was that Jehovah answered him exactly as he prayed. It is an encouragement to those who minister that they should pray in intelligent detail. Very likely it was because Elijah did not pray for the child before that the sickness came upon him! He appeared to take no notice of the child before. We are wholly cast upon God for our children. The children of all the saints should be on our hearts. There are great possibilities for our children if they are detached from the natural. It is a household matter, but also a ministerial matter. Want of moral elevation was the trouble here. No doubt it made a great impression on that child to come to life on the prophet's bed. He might say to his mother, Why was I not restored on your bed? To bring life out of death we need to be more before God in prayer. The father in Mark 9 brings his child to the Lord. The disciples were as little able to help as those around. We are cast upon God for our children. It is a household matter, but also collective and ministerial -- perhaps the ministry has been faulty.

Ques. Is the mother able to help the son now?

J.T. The effect on the mother is mentioned here. She says, "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth". It is a question of God, His word and the truth. There is a great deal of attention paid to the bodies and minds of the children, but the point is their souls.

In 2 Kings 4 the child of the Shunammite was given miraculously, so that he is already viewed as from God.

He is born in due time. There was growth -- there was something of God there, but the trouble was his head. It represents what children learn. Where excessive education is allowed in relation to the children of those in fellowship, it damages them. The boy knows where the trouble lies. He went out to his father and said, "My head, my head!" The father was not able to help him, but fathers ought to be exercised about their sons as to their education, for the schools are full of poison. The question is, are you giving them a high education so that they shall make a mark in this world, or only just sufficient to meet ordinary needs, to make a living? As soon as you seek to put them on a high level of education, they are specially exposed to poison. In this same chapter we find there is death in the pot. With 'higher' education the point is largely flattery. Here it is a Colossian case that is in mind. In the previous passage, (verses 1 - 7), it is more Romans. Here the boy went to his father, which was right, but his father was not able to help him. The Shunammite, like many a godly mother, had concern for her son, but if there is one eye on the world and another on the assembly, the mixture is deadening. The mother nurses him as a mother would. He sat on her knees till noon, and at noon, when his strength ought to have been at its greatest, he dies; there was no power to retard the hand of death. It comes in largely in connection with mental powers. Perhaps the boy does not know, but the father ought to have known. So the mother goes to the man of God, and even he does not know about it. He says, "the Lord hath hid it from me". He immediately sends Gehazi with his staff, as if experience could help in the matter, but it is not experience that is needed, it is the power of life, and Elisha is remiss here. She caught him by the feet, which indicates her deep exercise, it was so urgent, but Gehazi did not understand. Elisha thought his staff would do, but he had to go back with her. She had the right thought in laying the child on his bed, but she had lacked

in some sense. She is mentioned as a great woman, but evidently she was remiss in the care of her child. Gehazi said, "The child is not awaked"; so Elisha goes in and closes the door. He had the idea of the exclusion of everything that would be a hindrance -- everything unspiritual. Elisha went further than Elijah in identifying himself with the faculties of the person. Eyes on his eyes, mouth upon his mouth -- it is the thought of correspondence with Christ. He walked to and fro in the house. That means the whole house is to be affected, whether the believer's house or the assembly is involved. It is the effect of the movement of the representative of God. The damage done in this case takes the form of educational influence. It is the head. In the first incident, the case at Zarephath, the inference is that the mother made allowances for her son's natural proclivities. He was not detached from her. There the prophet stretched himself upon the child, but here Elisha puts his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, identifying himself with these faculties so that he might be brought back to be like the prophet -- in type, like Christ. I am concerned to convey the idea that the child is no longer to be under the influence of the natural. Romans 7 deals with what we are internally, leading to the clarification of the function of the mind. "I myself with the mind serve God's law". There is correspondence to Christ in that way -- you take account of everything as He would. There is that faculty which normally comes under the renewing power of the Spirit. This enables us to enter on Colossians, which teaches us headship -- Christ is Head of the assembly by right of His own Person, it is not given to Him in that sense. In Ephesians He is given to be Head over all things to the assembly.

LIFE AS SEEN IN THE MINISTRIES OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA (2)

2 Kings 4:38 - 44; 2 Kings 6:1 - 7

J.T. We have had the early part of chapter 4 before us, and the object of this reading is to pursue the thought of life, as seen in this book.

It will be known to most of us, that the Jordan has a prominent place in it. It is symbolical of death, and the miracles recorded denote the power of God exercised in resurrection, shown first by Elijah and then by Elisha. Elisha represents the presence of the Spirit here enabling us to enter into the effect of Christ's resurrection, and indeed to join Him in it by faith. The raising of the Shunammite's son is symbolical of this life, which we have in Christ by the power of God; and the place the sons of the prophets have in the book is another feature to be noticed. We see in these two passages how they come into the thought of life, in the meal put into the pot and then in the iron swimming in the Jordan -- life in the midst of death.

These verses in chapter 4 set before us the sons of the prophets, alluding to the young men who would serve amongst the people of God. As they are moving in a general way with Elisha, they are tested. In such meetings as we have, or in readings such as this, we have what answers to the great pot set on by the direction of the prophet, marked by certain wild contributions. The great pot suggests some occasion when contributions may be made by anyone present, but the contributions bring out that to which we are exposed. In what we call Bible readings, or in ministry meetings, as they are called, we are directed that everything is to be under control, what is said is to be tested, or we may get something that poisons.

Ques. Might such a contribution be something that does not tend to feed, but rather to poison what is there?

J.T. That is what is before us. It is manifest in what we read. Elisha ordered the pot to be set on, and prescribed what was to be done. "Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not" (verses 38, 39).

F.J.F. Would the wild vine suggest that they are not under culture, and not controlled?

J.T. "Wild" is the key-word. It gives the clue to what is meant. We are apt to be governed by our own thoughts and to fail to test them by the divine standard. The wild contribution implies what he has; the allusion is to the state of his soul. What he contributes is according to that. The dearth in verse 38 signifies God's government. It is usually the outcome of some low state of soul among the brethren, so that the Spirit of God is not free, is grieved or quenched, and there is no food.

Rem. It says, "one went out into the field".

J.T. Yes. The words would indicate that he is acting independently. Elisha himself is not taking any part, except to direct what was to be there -- pottage. This contribution was not that. It was not as he directed. The wild vine is not pottage, it is something different. The man did not intend to poison his brethren. He did not know what it was himself, but in doing the thing, he is acting on his own initiative. We may not mean it, but we may act very dangerously, so as to poison our brethren. We must be in subjection, not independent. The mind of God must be sought. It ought to take on the character of the temple, where the mind of God is.

Rem. The man who brought the wild gourds was not using the unction by which we know all things.

J.T. You are alluding to John's epistle. This man should have known that it was poison. It is quite manifest that the Lord set up in the assembly the means of keeping all under control. The principle of control

runs throughout the Acts. Although a large number were added, they persevered in the apostles' doctrine. The Spirit continues that and occupies us, therefore, with the need of being in subjection to Christ and to one another.

Rem. It is independency of action that has brought in all the trouble.

J.T. Men have broken away from control, and hence the poisonous things have come in. Rome has introduced control of its own kind. It is most vicious and displaces Christ and the Spirit. Here it is Elisha -- what he directed.

Ques. What would Elisha represent in this connection?

J.T. He represents the spirit of the dispensation. It is the ministry of the Spirit, but there is the authority of the Lord in it. There is that which is operative in us, by the Spirit's power. It is not simply that the Lord is in heaven, and that we go by the letter of the Bible, but that the Spirit is here in power. The spirit of life runs through Elisha's ministry.

Ques. Whom would his servant represent (verse 38)?

J.T. All of us, as moving under control; that is the principle here. A servant is to be subject, not acting independently. We are to be acting in subjection.

Rem. The man appeared to have a great deal. His lap was full.

J.T. We ought to test everything. If a brother gives out a great deal in a meeting, that is, has a lap full, we ought to test it as to whether there is a want of care or elevation in it. A "lap full" is loose. There was plenty of it, and he shred the gourds into the pot, without anyone questioning him apparently. This was worse still. Things are allowed to go on without being detected. Independence is not right.

Rem. We should have an intelligent understanding and see that what we are administering is good food which will nourish.

J.T. That is right. We have tested it. You may not get things directly from the Lord. The full ears of corn come directly from Baal-shalishah, which alludes to the place where the Lord is, where there is authority. Things are not done there independently, so that the general thought is that the contributions are already proved. The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily. We are to prove all things, and hold fast all the things that are good. We are to cut in a straight line the word of truth, knowing how to apply parables and the like, understanding dispensational truth, and knowing how to distinguish it..

Rem. He did not know what he had brought; we should prove what we bring.

J.T. We must not minister what we do not know ourselves experimentally. We should always be subject to correction. The principle of ministry, especially collective ministry, is the temple. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" The natural mind does not understand the mind of God. "But", he says, "we have the mind of Christ", that is what we must understand. The Spirit discerns all things. If we make room for the Spirit, we get the truth. The Corinthians were like this man. They were bringing in terrible things. Some were saying that there was no resurrection from the dead.

Rem. This man was not told to go out and gather these gourds.

J.T. No; and not only so, they were not what the prophet directed. The food was there as directed by the prophet.

Rem. Verse 38 says, "seethe pottage". There is that which is ready to hand.

J.T. Yes. The suggestion is that it was there.

Ques. Would this indicate lack of spiritual sight? They should have seen what was being put in.

J.T. It shows us what young brothers may do. Although they are there and sitting before the prophet,

one of them is doing this sort of thing. Chapter 6 shows that they may have the best desires and thoughts, yet things are not just right. They attempt to work with a borrowed axe, with what is borrowed from others. We are to get things from the Lord, testing them out for ourselves. They are to belong to us; they are our own, as our brother pointed out in John's epistle, chapter 2: 20, where it says, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things". There is another word to be observed: the Lord says, "Will ye also go away?" Peter says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God", John 6:67 - 69. Peter had proved that the ministry is to be in holiness.

Ques. Would you say that this is largely taking place in christendom?

J.T. Yes, christendom is full of poisonous things, things not detected as poison. They are standardised, and labelled good food, and people are dying morally from them. This passage is directed towards us, for the prophet is there, and things are generally right. The sons of the prophets are there, they follow on a generation of those who were right. Other men have preceded us; we have followed on, and these scriptures are to show us that we must test what is presented to us as food; we must prove all things and hold fast what is good.

Rem. An argumentative spirit, and also a worldly spirit, in the meeting would produce wild gourds. The contribution must be definite, not things left in the air, so to speak.

J.T. Yes. Things must be proved sound, because even though brethren may not be carried by what is said, wrong doctrine must be exposed, for some young person may take it in. A person who contributes is responsible.

Ques. Did he not go in the wrong direction to get the food? He went into the field.

J.T. Yes. The point was to get the pottage, and it

was to the servant that the order was given. We need the principle of the servant, of subjection, and this will preserve us from wildness. The prophet did not direct them in a general way. He says to his servant, "Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field ..." It does not say the servant did it. It was someone who had not been directed to do anything.

Ques. Why was it not detected when it was poured out?

J.T. "So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot". That is, it is the eating of the thing that showed it to be poison. It is good that they discerned it and did not swallow and assimilate it. The palate in the mouth is to discern the food. It is a safeguard. Taste is an important sense.

Rem. They all seemed to detect it. It was not the thought of one only.

J.T. It shows there is a healthy state of things generally.

Rem. It is a happy state when the whole meeting detects and refuses evil.

Rem. I suppose these poisonous things are swallowed by those whose taste is worldly.

J.T. There you have the principle of the swine. It swallows things down without tasting them. Young people, even young children, acquire the habit of proving things. The earlier children come to the meeting, the better for acquiring the way of testing.

Ques. What would the meal set forth?

J.T. That is another thing which the prophet directs. They cried out, "O thou man of God, there is death in the pot". They made haste to make it known, and they put the information where it belonged. Then he says, "bring meal". The prophet has a remedy. There is no thought of christianity being driven to the wall in any

circumstance. There is no suggestion that there is no meal. It is not, 'Bring if there is any'. It was there. That is, the saints are of the order of Christ's humanity, the idea is of the meat offering. The general state among the saints is right, therefore there is a means present of meeting this condition.

Ques. Why are there two pourings out?

J.T. Elisha said, "Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot". That is, he did not leave it to anyone else. He took control himself. The matter is urgent. This element of control has to be noticed, the element of the spirit of control as in the Acts. So here it is Elisha who pours out the second time or gives direction. He says, "Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot". Where Elisha is in control you are safe, things are wholesome; but without it (for us the "unction") you are not. You are exposed to danger.

Rem. We must not make wild statements when ministering to the Lord's people.

J.T. You do not trust your own mouth. Even Paul's preaching was tested. Like him, we must be concerned to speak "words of truth and soberness".

Ques. Does Paul bring in the "meal" in his corrective epistles?

J.T. Always. It is the bringing in of Christ. It says, "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ". That is typically what is meant by the meal -- the state of things among them -- for they discerned the poison. There is salvation in that. There are those who do not hold their tongues when things are not right. Here they cried out about it to the right person, that is to Elisha. Many things are allowed to pass for the sake of peace or through carelessness; young people may get damaged if you hold your peace and do not let it be known. You find that if in a meeting a thing is said which is not right, if it is called attention to in dependence on the Lord, the truth becomes clearer than ever.

Ques. Do you think it takes a man of God to deal with a difficulty like that?

J.T. Well, it is that element. When the general state is wrong, the man of God comes into prominence. Timotheus is the only one called the "man of God" in the New Testament. The man of God stands at all costs. The term fits when things generally are going wrong.

Ques. Why is it poured out for the people when the meal is put in?

J.T. You have in verse 40, "they poured out for the men". It brings out the care there is, and the interest of Elisha in the people. Ministry is for the edifying of the body of Christ; one is thinking of the saints all the time. The Lord draws attention to the faithful and wise steward who gives the portion of meat in due season.

Ques. Do the sons of the prophets represent young believers particularly?

J.T. In the sense of belonging to a generation of accredited persons. We have come after a generation of faithful men, and have come into a generation of the sons of the prophets. Our position is very much akin.

Rem. They seem to know a good deal according to chapter 2.

J.T. They know a good deal, but are not affected by it. They can tell Elisha that Elijah is about to be taken from him. He says, "Yea, I know it". There are brethren today who go in specially for prophecy. They write books on it, but they do not know anything about the assembly. Anyone who knows Christ and the assembly could say to such, I know more than you do, for the coming of the Lord refers to the assembly. The assembly knows intuitively what is coming; it is not governed by what is happening in Europe. These sons of the prophets knew Elijah would be taken away and they said so, yet when it happened they did not believe it, and they went to seek for him. They darkened even Elisha's mind. One must watch those people who introduce books on prophecy and who do not know the assembly. Such

books on prophecy cannot be trusted. Only those who apprehend Christ as the Head of the assembly can be trusted in the truth. It does not mean that all the sons of the prophets were wrong. Elisha used one later to anoint Jehu king over Israel. They are generally right in chapter 6 too.

Ques. The contents of the pot were poured out for the men first, and later for the people (verses 40, 41). Would it suggest that contributions are subjected to a maturer element before being presented to the people?

J.T. Verse 40 is just a fact that they poured out for the men to eat, and in the next verse we have "Pour out for the people, that they may eat". The sons of the prophets represent one thought, men another, and the people still another thought.

Ques. Is there adjustment in verse 42?

J.T. Yes, it says "there was no harm in the pot" at the end of verse 41 -- we have this matter adjusted, and now we can go on to a higher level. We are told that a man came "from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack". We have authority here, for the name of the place indicates authority. The Spirit of God gives us these terms so that our minds might take in the meaning. We have a definite number, twenty loaves, and the corn is fresh. It is kept from harm in his sack. It does not say simply "a sack", but "his" -- the man's sack; that is, like Mary of Bethany, he preserved what he had. No doubt Mary is the woman of Mark 14 who had the ointment. She kept the pound of ointment in an alabaster box, meaning that it was kept from contamination. You can see the difference between this instance and the previous one, the pot. The contribution in the previous one was loose; this from Baal-shalishah is compact.

Ques. Does this incident bring in lordship?

J.T. It is the authority of Christ in another sphere. Baal-shalishah indicates that it is under control. The

Lord has supreme sway there; that is, it is a state of spirituality, and probably alludes to heaven. The first-fruits would show that it is typically Christ risen from the dead.

Rem. The man with substance waits for the moment when it should be given out, that is, the right moment.

J.T. Yes; it is kept till the right moment and given to the right man, the man of God -- put into good hands. It came from the right source and is kept intact and delivered over to the right person; all is marked by care. Care is important. As already remarked, Mary of Bethany in Matthew and Mark is a good example of this. She has the alabaster box, showing that she was careful as to the ointment. In John the alabaster box is not mentioned, suggesting that she was it herself. The point there is that she kept it, and kept it for a purpose, and applied it at the right time as opportunity offered. Here the good food is put into the right hands, having been carried intact, and there was a possibility of increase. If you get ministry from the right source and it is kept under control, there is a great possibility of increase. So there is more than is needed, one hundred men are fed. The servant may wonder how he could feed so many, but the word of Jehovah (verse 44), through Elisha spoke of enlargement, as by Christ in the gospels. In John 6 things were in the hands of a little boy. It is in that chapter you have the feeding of the multitude and the increase.

Rem. The little boy in John 6 kept the food intelligently.

J.T. He had it. He was a little boy in the minds of those who spoke of him, Andrew and Philip, but they knew he had something. It seemed diminutive to other minds, but the Lord used it, and there was plenty.

Ques. The ministry increases and enlarges. Is the meat offering suggested in the meal, then Christ in resurrection, and Christ in glory in the food from Baal-shalishah?

J.T. Yes. The barley refers to Christ in resurrection. He is the first-fruits. According to Exodus, it is the earliest crop. The fresh ears of corn allude to the energy of life by the Spirit. We can only have freshness down here by the Spirit.

Ques. Does this man suggest Paul coming to Ephesus through higher regions?

J.T. Yes, it is the heavenly side of things, where Christ is supreme. Paul's ministry comes expressly from heaven. He received it from the Lord, and passed it on. He says, I have received of the Lord, and what I received I give to you. He passed it on, unadulterated. If we get things from the Lord, we should see that they are kept, and not damaged in transit.

Ques. What would twenty loaves set forth? There are five loaves in John, but here twenty.

J.T. The number would indicate a good supply for one man to bring. We must not always complain of 'one-man ministry'. Sometimes it is better than more! The thing is to have things under control. This man is a trustworthy brother to whom something is committed. So with Mary Magdalene, who went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and He had said these things to her. She did not add to the message. She brought it intact. It is very important to get things intact and hold them by the Spirit. There are a hundred men -- out of proportion to the supply. It is a matter of great exercise how the saints are to be ministered to, but, as the Lord is owned, the supply is always sufficient to meet the demand. There is always good measure.

Rem. This was not a small meeting.

J.T. You are not meaning to say that we ought to have local meetings of this size? You can minister to five thousand, but a meeting of this size would be impracticable for assembly services. In feeding the large numbers the Lord made them sit down in fifties.

Rem. It is a question of administration, is it not?

J.T. This would come out in the Lord's feeding of

the multitude. The Lord said, "Make them sit down in companies by fifties". The Lord saw that they were all fed.

One has often thought of the early days in Jerusalem; there must have been about a hundred meetings in Jerusalem at one time, as there were five thousand or more saints there.

Rem. Obadiah must have known that principle, when he hid the prophets in the cave by fifties. He fed them with bread and water.

LIFE AS SEEN IN THE MINISTRIES OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA (3)

2 Kings 6:1 - 7; 2 Kings 13:14 - 25

J.T. It was remarked previously that the sons of the prophets have a great place in this book; that is, they suggest a generation following a generation owned and used of God. It was remarked that we cannot be sure of them, uncertainty marks them; for instance, in the early part of the book, they seem to know that Elijah was to be taken up, yet when it took place they were surprised, and they persuaded Elisha to allow fifty of their strong men to go and seek Elijah; in this they are infidel, they discredit the ascension. Yet they are under the wing of the prophet in chapter 4; and now they are seen in chapter 6 as taking the initiative, and they persuade Elisha to follow them. But what they proposed only brought out their defectiveness, though they had good intentions. They are working with borrowed things. The application is very evident. Young brothers have excellent intentions, and sometimes they persuade older brethren to follow their lead, but they expose themselves as working with borrowed instruments, not having yet learned to go to the Lord and get things direct from Him. You will have observed this very often.

C.C.E. Very markedly. The truth has to be made one's own; even when you really have something, it must be made your own practically before it is effective in ministry.

J.T. We shall see in chapter 13 that instruments employed in the service of God are to be used first against ourselves. The word of God is to be used against oneself, that is, against the flesh, before we use it on others. It is a two-edged sword, and must be used against ourselves. In the meantime, in this chapter, we see the seriousness of using borrowed instruments, and withal, an assumption to lead in a very important matter. It is a question of a dwelling-place. It is right to

enlarge the dwelling, but in the procedure this defect comes to light. It says, "the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed".

D.M. What is the idea of their saying "the place ... is too strait for us"? Was it too narrow?

J.T. Yes, the suggestion is right. It is enlargement in a good sense that is meant here, because it is at the Jordan, a type which alludes to death. The natural mind does not wish to approach death, it would keep away as far as possible from that, but here the thought is to be near it. Chapter 5 shows how Naaman ridiculed the Jordan as having no cleansing virtue, and recoiled from it. The natural mind, however religious, recoils from that. Death has cleansing virtue. The water and the blood flowed from the side of a dead Christ, implying the termination of the man after the flesh, whom the Lord represented in death. The Jordan, therefore, alluded to as a type in this way, would not be attractive to the natural mind, so this would be a spiritual proposal. The prophet consents to go too. The knowledge of the Jordan and what it means in this book, is important. It comes in in connection with Elijah and Elisha. Both divide the waters. Elisha has it in mind in the cleansing of the leper, and now the sons of the prophets have it in mind. They want to dwell in the neighbourhood of it; but it discloses that even with spiritual intentions, we may be exposed as working with borrowed tools. We may have the order of the assembly and of the meetings and all the symbols of grace, and yet this may come to light.

R.S.B. Will you tell us what borrowed tools are?

J.T. It is a question of using what other servants have said without having made it our own by spiritual appropriation.

R.S.B. At meetings like this we get certain impressions or may read notes, and use them without really making them our own.

J.T. Quite true. It is right enough to profit by ministry, and use the words if you are in the good of it yourself. The man that borrowed the axe did not, in principle, use the axe on himself. It means that one has to cut down in himself what is of the flesh. The word of God is the instrument. It is a two-edged sword. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The old man delights in those features of flesh -- pride, ambition, and rivalry. All these things may enter into ministry. One may have intelligence and light, and yet there may be rivalry and pride, of which he may be but little conscious. The Word is a searching thing -- a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart -- a remarkably fine distinction.

F.J.F. He only seemed exercised about the axe when he lost it.

J.T. That would show that there was a certain amount of honesty with him.

F.J.F. Would it be that in using those tools, the Lord did not give His support? You may find you have a piece of wood in your hand instead of the axe.

J.T. Just the handle. You will not accomplish much in felling a tree with just the handle of an axe. The start of the process leading to adjustment is that I acknowledge the actual situation.

A.W.P. Ministry as received needs to be held in the power of life in our souls.

J.T. These scriptures bring out what it is to be in the power of life. The leading feature in Elisha's ministry is the power of life.

R.S.B. If a crisis comes up among the saints there is often a turning up of authorities, and you may be confirmed either way.

J.T. Yes, you may get confirmed either way if you are seeking confirmation of your own view. If your eye is single you will be helped to distinguish what is of God in reading ministry. In Jeremiah's time (Jeremiah 26), certain persons wanted to put him to death and they referred to precedents, but the judgment of Hezekiah -- manifestly right -- was by some put on the same level as that of Jehoiakim -- manifestly wrong. You are sure to receive confirmation for your point of view if this is only what you desire. It requires spirituality to use ministry, just as it requires spirituality to read the Bible. Things must be viewed in their context, whether in the Bible or in books like the Synopsis. You can prove almost anything from the Bible. If you have not a single eye you will ignore contexts. If there is light in me I discern what is meant. I am balanced and sober. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them", Isaiah 8:20.

C.C.E. Every protestant sect founds its doctrines on Scripture, but yet they are contradictory.

R.S.B. We often use what this or that brother says as helps. I was wondering whether these are borrowed things.

J.T. Well, all you can do is to use these as helps, they cannot be regarded as final. One can get help from writers, but the Scriptures alone can be used as final.

F.J.F. Would testimony include what spiritual men are saying at the time?

J.T. Well, it is whatever God has given us. That is the idea of testimony, and nothing can be final, save that which is inspired.

J.F. I was wondering why the law and testimony come together.

J.T. The idea of the law is that it is imperative, you cannot evade the law with impunity. The testimony is a

wider and more spiritual thought. You have the law and the prophets and the psalms. The law conveys the idea of what is binding. The judge sits and hears the case, it is his business to make the law clear. The jury has the responsibility of the verdict. The testimony is rendered, and the judge has to sift the evidence and make clear the law governing the matter. You get the law of Moses, the law of the house; whatever it be, there is a law governing it. I believe that is what is meant in all the Scriptures. The priest's business now is to make that law clear. We may say, Mr Darby says this or that, but that cannot be final. It is helpful but the law is in the Scriptures; compare Psalm 119. Coming back to our scriptures, the lesson is especially for young brothers. Here it is a proposal by the young men, and the old brother consents to go with them. They are respectful to him. He says, "I will go". Now let their proposal work out. He goes with them at their request. The Lord allows these things to happen. Sometimes energy amongst the young is held in check by the old asserting too much authority. In Revelation 4 the elders lead, they have the mind of God, they have thrones and crowns, but in chapter 5 it is the living creatures, referring to energy. Elder brethren asserting too much authority may hinder spiritual energy. The young men are strong, and the word of God abides in them. The point here is that Elisha allows them to have scope. They are allowed to make the proposal, and Elisha accedes. They go to the Jordan and cut down the trees, and one, as felling a beam using an axe, reveals the underlying state. This is not to say that there should not be proposals from the younger brothers, but they should be careful of the underlying state.

D.M. In Rehoboam's time the younger men gave advice leading to the cleavage of Israel.

J.T. Yes. Rehoboam first consulted the older brethren, but did not accept their advice. The old men had stood before Solomon, but he consulted the young

men. It says they had been brought up with him, and they stood before him. The advice they gave him led to disaster. Water will not rise above its own level, and Rehoboam is the level of that situation. Therefore, for advice go to the older brothers normally, for they have had experience. "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning". The assemblies are composed of men, women, and children, but old brothers and young brothers particularly. In John's grading of the families he has not a word to say to the old save that they knew Him that was from the beginning. The young men are in danger of the world, and the little children are in danger of the antichrist. So the young brothers are normally to take counsel from the older ones.

F.J.F. Would this have any application in the formation of a new meeting?

J.T. Well, I think it is very like that. It denotes enlargement. The place is too narrow. The feeling often arises that meetings are too large. Fifty ought to be the regulating number in the assembly, as in Luke. Mark gives fifties and hundreds, but a hundred is too large, fifty is better. The suggestion here is enlargement. It may happen that the young propose a hiving-off because they are not quite comfortable where they are. They sometimes want to be by themselves, but here they do not want to get rid of Elisha, they are so far commendable.

F.J.F. I was wondering about the application. I suppose it is necessary, if there is a hiving-off, that there must be exercise as to what material is available.

J.T. We must not be bankrupt to start with. You cannot start a business without capital, if you desire prosperity, speaking figuratively. Starting a meeting with borrowed things will not do at all, you cannot expect any prosperity on that line. Not only numbers, but spiritual

wealth is needed. But if there be simplicity and singleness of eye, the Lord makes a little go a long way.

C.C.E. Although the axe was borrowed, yet the man used it to advantage. Verse 5 says "as one was felling a beam".

J.T. It says "as one was felling a beam". He was doing it, but the axe head fell off; this revealed the underlying state.

H.T. What is the meaning of the casting of the stick into the water?

J.T. That is Elisha's act. The man of God says, "Where fell it?" and he cut down a stick and cast it in and caused the iron to swim. As we had yesterday, Elisha's act was to cast in the meal. He does not ask any of them to cut down the stick, he does it himself, which shows that he must have had some weapon, and there is no disaster in the action of the man of God. The man of God does not do anything with borrowed tools. It is to bring in the divine side. God comes in to overrule our failures, and to bring in greater things.

H.T. Is there the cutting of the stick in our day?

J.T. The casting in of the stick into the water is Christ entering into death vicariously, and the power of Christ in resurrection. We are raised "through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead", Colossians 2:12. We are brought up by the virtue of Christ having entered into it; we are brought up in power. The Lord says, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live". That is the idea -- dead but living; the word "living" is not the same as being raised. The word "living" signifies health and energy, and enjoyment too. Here there is energy -- the axe head swam, showing life having power over death. You are not afraid of death. Paul was ready to face death. He does not deprecate it, for he says, "I die daily". No one can serve God unless he understands it is life from the dead.

R.S.B. Would you make anything of the fact that he was able to tell the prophet where it fell?

J.T. There is something of God in the man. He acknowledges that it was borrowed and he knows where it fell. He is an exercised man. This brother is now set up in life, he has gone through the thing, and has learnt by it. The man can go on in energy. He is superior to death. He is now to be identified with the swimming iron.

R.S.B. It is a good thing to look back over our experiences, and be exercised as to where things went wrong.

J.T. Exactly. The word is "iron" -- to bring out the idea of weight. It is not merely that it floated, but it is marked by energy. The Lord and Peter walking on the water denotes energy, and the ability to go on in spite of death. They are not just standing on the water, but walking, showing superiority to death. This is important, especially when it is a question of building.

R.S.B. He took it to him. Now it was not borrowed any more.

J.T. Spiritually that is what is meant, it is the man himself, he is identified with it. There was not a piece of iron in the whole universe like this. It says in John 12"where was the dead man Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from among the dead". That is how the Spirit of God puts it. We never hear of Lazarus saying a word. See what a piece of iron it was! People would come hundreds of miles to see an axe head that swims! It is a testimony to the power of life. It is not what I say, but what I am. Paul says, God delivered us from so great a death. That is the setting of 2 Corinthians, it is the product of a man come up from the grave.

F.V.R. The man of God was able and ready to help, and to redeem the position.

J.T. The chapter brings that out -- where God comes in at the critical time and gives deliverance.

J.F. It is wonderful that the man of God knew what to do in the crisis.

J.T. That always comes out. If we are dependent on God, we can be sure that God will come in at the appropriate time, as with David. He waited on the Lord. His mighty men did great exploits, and in connection with them we get: "Jehovah wrought a great deliverance".

N.de L.M. Is that what you get in the next chapter read?

J.T. Yes, that is the final word as to Elisha. It says, "Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof". That is what Elisha said himself at the beginning of his ministry. The king of Israel is reminding him of what marked his ministry.

The king of Israel has the right thought, and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands in shooting, and he shot. It is an objective thought -- what God has wrought in Christ. One arrow is shot. But then he says, "Take the arrows ... Smite upon the ground". This is to bring out where we are in our service. In using objective truth we may be very effective, but then what effect is it having upon ourselves? Are the Syrians going to be overthrown entirely? Success now depends on yourself. The ground represents the subjective side of things, we plough the ground and sow and harrow it. It is a question of how far we are meaning to go with ourselves, once or twice, or five or six times? If five or six times, it would be effective; the victory would be complete. What is left to myself in this sense is a very important lesson: am I to go all the way?

R.S.B. Is this a question of self-judgment in ministry?

J.T. Exactly. It is left to yourself. If I do not deal with myself I shall not be successful. One is to have no confidence in oneself at all. God helps us by discipline.

A.W.P. "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the

doctrine", 1 Timothy 4:16. The line we are on should be applied to ourselves.

J.T. So the apostle Paul says, "But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest ... when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway", 1 Corinthians 9:27. That is the principle.

C.C.E. One finds that practically in every bit of service one undertakes.

J.T. You are to turn to the Lord; if you have a desire to serve, you must judge what your motive is. You do not think of yourself, but of Christ.

R.S.B. The question of motive is most important.

J.T. The most spiritual man, even Paul, was exposed to the influence of fleshly motives -- "lest I should be exalted above measure". He must never have the thought in his mind that nobody has been in the third heaven before. The flesh profits nothing. The Lord says, "without me ye can do nothing".

C.C.E. Where there is success in public, there is scourging in private.

J.T. "I buffet my body". God does it, too, in discipline. Paul took the thing on himself. He bore about in his body the dying of Jesus.

J.F. Is that what is meant by "death worketh in us, but life in you"?

J.T. The discipline would allow the light to shine. Our body undisciplined would obscure the light.

R.S.B. I used to wonder why the prophet did not tell him to smite six times. Now I see.

J.T. It is not that God does not help us, but He leaves it to ourselves to bring out where we are. We must find out for ourselves. The king was not equal to the thing, so he never consumed the Syrians.

The final thought is a dead Elisha. This incident, of which we have been speaking, is a sick Elisha, but now it is a dead Elisha. That is, the idea of Christ going the full length -- into death itself.

A band of people coming in, the Moabites, signifies

the world in its social status. The world is brought in by our association with cultured persons and unspiritual christians, by our considering social status and by brethren attending social functions. This is disastrous. It was a "band". Cultured people are recognised by saints on equal terms.

G.H. To go back to verse 19. It seems strange that Elisha was wroth so close to his end.

J.T. He knew the spiritual meaning of the king's failure, that it would prevent the overthrow of the enemy. The prophet understood that it was a serious matter.

H.J.R. The Moabites had no sympathy with the body being buried.

J.T. No, they prevented it. They did not want burial; no Moabite accepts death. Of course, I am speaking of death spiritually, as in Romans 6. They represent worldly christians, or refined unconverted people; they may be relatives or unspiritual christians. If there is any burying going on, it is not in their presence; they want to keep death as far as possible from them. The burial was prevented, but the man was let down on the bones of Elisha. He stood on his feet. What a picture that is of the power of God in death! It says, "he revived, and stood up on his feet".

A.W.P. Is this a Colossian picture?

J.T. Yes; I think that is the thought. Indeed the sixth chapter has to do with Colossians, too. This is a very remarkable type, for the man stands on his feet; he is in balance, as risen from the dead. This man overcame the Colossian snare. It is the full thought of what we have been dealing with in chapter 6. A man revived -- it is not only that I am risen by faith in Colossians, but I am quickened. That is, I have faith in God's power to raise me, but quickening is an actual thing by the Spirit, and that is what is seen in this man. He revived; he is a spiritual man, a man out of death in figure.

A.W.P. Self-judgment is one thing, but is life reached through burial?

J.T. That is what the apostle says, speaking of the gospel which he preached "that Christ died for our sins ... and that he was buried". He did not lie in death, save vicariously, and He was buried vicariously. The burial is part of the vicarious work of Christ. It would be derogatory to Christ to think He would die, save vicariously.

Rem. The man now represents Elisha.

J.T. You have a living, balanced man now. He is standing on his feet.

H.T. Did he go beyond Lazarus?

J.T. He corresponds with Lazarus. The man here is standing on his feet, as it were, ready to do something.

DIVINE TREASURES

Matthew 18:2 - 6; Malachi 3:16, 17; John 14:21 - 23

My remarks will bear on the saints according to what they are in the divine mind as treasure; in other words, divine values. Scripture abounds with these values, for the Lord regards the saints as His heritage; and what He regards as a heritage and treasure is supremely so. No one values more accurately than He, and in the passage in Malachi we have an allusion to the time when He makes up His jewels, His special treasures. We read too of the Lord referring to Himself as a merchantman seeking goodly pearls. He would have us to know what a connoisseur He is as to values; He finds one, a pearl of great price. We often quote that verse and overlook that it includes ourselves, just as also does this verse in Malachi. "When I make up my jewels"! One who understands treasures of that kind has His mind on them in making them up and in comparing them with others. How His whole being is brought into it! What an array there will be and how perfectly appraised -- each one in its own setting! Not hidden, but where it will have the best effect. 'Setting' is a jeweller's term, and the setting of diamonds and other precious jewels calls for skill. "They shall be unto me a peculiar treasure", Jehovah says. That that should include me is a thought that should come home to my heart and affect me as to whether it is practically so in any way.

I thought, dear brethren, of speaking of this subject from the moral point of view -- that is to say, as to how the jewel appears now, when the setting does not enhance it, when outward circumstances are adverse. It is now that the moral idea applies, for the value is there in spite of conditions. By and by, the value will be seen enhanced by conditions. You may be sure conditions will be calculated in every way to enhance the peculiar treasure

God has in mind. So that Matthew 18 helps as to one moral feature in this regard. The Lord is seen here in the midst of a group of truths. As to the order of the truth, chapter 17 follows on 16, in which He had spoken of My assembly. Whenever that possessive thought occurs the Lord's affections are in the matter under consideration. Think of belonging to that! My assembly!

Chapter 17 opens up the personnel of it -- the great persons who are in the structure, leading up to the idea of sonship. We have the great privilege of putting ourselves into this wonderful picture of chapters 16 and 17. Peter, James, and John were actually in it. We are in this setting of things theoretically, but in them very poorly practically. The question arises here, Is the Lord to pay tribute? Someone raises this question with Peter, who had just been on the mount and had heard the voice from heaven. He said later, "such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory: This is my beloved Son". He had just heard that voice, and someone says, Peter, does your Master pay tribute? What Peter had heard on the mount had no influence on him. Certainly, he replies. He makes the Lord just an ordinary tributary person here. This He never was; this He never could be, and Peter should have been assured of it.

The Lord knew of the incident. Be assured that if we have a good time on the Lord's day, we shall be challenged on the Monday and we may forget what we enjoyed, be dull and blunted in our sensibilities; our remarks may have no light or wisdom in them, and the Lord knows. He who hears our thanksgivings on Lord's day, hears our remarks next day in the office or in the workshop when we are challenged. The Lord anticipated what Peter would say: "What dost thou think, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive custom or tribute?" Peter knew. He was conversant with general conditions, which is to be noted. He was only a fisherman; probably never in his life in a royal court, but he knew what went on there. They exact it from

strangers, he answers, and Jesus said to him, "Then are the sons free". That is the setting in which we are. The sons are free! Then the Lord says, "go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when thou hast opened its mouth thou wilt find a stater; take that and give it to them for me and thee". One of the great items in this setting is the important truth of sonship, applied to Christ and then to you and me. Peter had missed the thought. In chapter 18 the disciples ask the question, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?" Peter, who must be regarded as included among them, has failed again. He was not absorbing the truth. The disciples asked Jesus the question in that hour -- the hour in which He had spoken of sonship.

This brings me to the verse I read. "Jesus having called a little child to him" -- a child -- someone who is not asking such a question as mentioned, not vying with anybody else for distinction in the kingdom, but just leaving it with God. We know not what that little child had been engaged in, but we may be assured the child's occupation had been morally right, for he came to the Lord at His bidding.

The Lord looks out on christendom. Allusion has been made to the labours of brethren who preceded us. God blessed them and the results of their labours, but the devastations of the devil must be owned. These are due largely to the ambitions seen in the disciples' question -- to the absence, in some, of the spirit of the little child. How many have turned away from the path they once seemed to tread so steadfastly and with joy! "Will ye also go away?" John 6:67, the Lord had to ask. Others are doing it. If you turn aside, you have company. And the Lord looks abroad on the labourers of christendom, for no labourer works in a smaller field than that, discriminating between those who are true and those who are thinking of their own distinction, and are lacking in the character of "this little child". There have been those, thank God, marked as separating

the precious from the vile: "If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth", Jeremiah 15:19. Could anyone aspire to anything greater than that -- to be as God's mouth? Jehovah said, "What seest thou, Jeremiah?" Jeremiah says, "Figs: the good figs very good; and the bad very bad", Jeremiah 24:3. One always notices that if a prophet's attention is called by God to anything, he is always alert and he knows what to say. There are good figs shown, and very bad ones. The latter have had reputations, they have been in the position of good ones. It is a question now of separating the precious from the vile. The Lord calls: will any answer to His call? The Romans are said to be "called" ones. They had heard the call and moved in answer to it; they gave evidence of God's work in them. The Corinthians were called through Paul's testimony. The gospel is a call. It is not simply that you are brought to where you get relief -- that is how Luke presents the gospel, but John says, "Come and see". That is the idea in the gospel -- it is a divine call. Whom God "has predestinated, these also he has called", Romans 8:30. The point is, do I move in response to the divine call? That is the feature I wish to dwell upon. The child here answers to the call. The Lord called it to Him. It was not an infant, but one capable of understanding a call and answering to it. It is a type of a Christian, not exactly of one who has received a little blessing and gone to its mother to tell her, although very good so far; but the point here is of moving in answer to the Lord's call -- going to Him. The next move is to be yours. If you have light from God, you move -- as the little child moved; and the Lord set him in their midst, as though to say, Someone I can call, one not occupied with the thought of greatness in the kingdom, not occupied with honour accruing from the service he was going to render, but a little child! Who does not admire what is presented in a little child, as life is beginning to show itself in intelligence and response to affection? Who does not feel attracted to the movements

of such a one? Matthew is full of that thought. His is the assembly gospel, but he also makes a good deal of the child. He presents Jesus under that term, as a little Child, some nine times. "The little child and his mother", how beautiful that is -- to see Him there as the magi saw Him!

Transferring the thought of a child from the literal to the spiritual, the Lord through him presents something to His disciples; He sets him down in their midst so that they can see what He has before Him in mind for them. This is a little child divinely called, and no one is answering to God's call, however they may be blessed in the gospel, unless they are moving in this way; so that the Lord can have them as His little ones. "Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens". And then, "Woe to the world because of offences!" "Woe to that man by whom the offence comes!" How solemn this is!

Matthew carries the thought of the child all through his gospel, beginning with the Lord Himself, as we have seen. In chapter 11 we have "babes", presenting a smaller idea -- persons unsophisticated, with no worldly education or religious status. "At that time, Jesus answering said, I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. Yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight", Matthew 11:25. Think of being the subject of conversation between divine Persons! Is it not attractive that we may put ourselves in there? Has heaven ceased to talk in that way? No indeed! The greatest exercise is to grasp what is current in heaven now. The gospels give us an inkling. There is continual joy there. The theme is largely the saints, and the joy and conversation in relation to them goes on.

The full result of the work in the children is seen in chapter 21, when the Lord is in the temple. What a

frigid place it had become! The Lord should have received a warm reception -- but how frigid it was! They were buying and selling in the temple, there were money changers, there were sellers of doves. How foreign to His blessed mind! And here are "children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David!" You can see how Matthew dwells on the thought of a child, and develops it. As we have seen, in Luke the Lord expresses it in Himself. At the age of twelve He had been in the midst of the teachers, hearing them and asking them questions. What a spectacle to heaven that was! In Matthew 18 the Lord set a little child "in their midst", and in chapter 21, in the temple the children were crying "Hosanna to the Son of David!" What a note of praise! And what a note of praise today when children praise in the midst of the indifference of christendom! -- those who praise the Lord Jesus, who know Him, who know what to say, and are able to worship according to the truth of the moment. The blind men have just cried out saying, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David". They had come to Jesus for aid. But what a beautiful note in the temple! -- "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The enemies of Christ say, "Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus says to them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" Matthew 21:16.

In spite of what is going on in the paraphernalia of man's religious systems around, the Lord hears such a note of praise as this -- which refers to His dignity in His own sphere -- and it issues forth from those who are children in the true sense. We today can say more than was said by those in the temple. The Lord has taught us of love itself. We have a spiritual vocabulary and we are able to speak suitably to Him. How He loves to hear us! This is one side of the truth and it ought to appeal to every young christian -- what the Lord had in mind in setting the child in their midst, and what, as in Matthew,

He works out in young christians whom He is not ashamed to call His brethren.

His traducers call attention to the children crying in the temple. We need not expect anything else but to be despised by them; but how serious to be of those who despise! They call the Lord's attention to what the children were saying, but He knew what was there, a note of praise of real value to Him: "perfected praise". You can see what it is, and how it should move us into the position into which we are called. A position we value, a position we must hold on to and develop there -- the courts of praise. What treasure God has in the saints viewed thus!

What comes out in Malachi is the fear of the Lord -- that is at a particular time. Solomon says there is a time for everything. In this feature we have a beautiful treasure shining in its own setting in its own particular time. When disregard for Him prevailed, "Then they that feared Jehovah spoke often one to another". They did it often; heaven's ear was attentive, as it were, to hear; there would be no impure, unholy remarks in these conversations. It is no question here of assembly formation, but of such persons as these. There is no hope for any who do not fear the Lord. This is not slavish fear as we have in those of the Gadarenes who asked the Lord to leave their country, but a reverential, restful fear; such as dreads to do or say anything contrary to the divine will. I know that I have to do with God, I know that I have to answer to God as to my religious position, my business affairs, my household matters, and I fear Him. It is not here ought to, but did fear God. It is a divine treasure, that in this country there are those who fear the Lord. Who can afford to be outside that circle? None.

They spake often. I suppose heaven looked for the hour when they were accustomed to come together. I am sure our footsteps are watched as we wend our way to the meetings, or wherever we can come together to speak

to one another of Christ. Heaven looks for that hour, even more than we do. Jehovah says, "they shall be unto me a peculiar treasure", Malachi 3:17. All their natural thoughts were awed; national feelings had gone; the items of every-day news were not the subject of their conversation. Instead, as fearing the Lord, they spake often one to another and the Lord declared, "they shall be unto me a peculiar treasure". Can any afford to miss it, by turning aside to the allurement of the world? Our hearts are so treacherous that we need to be constantly on our guard as to this danger. "I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him", says Jehovah. What an incentive to stand true, is such a promise!

The word "son" is used in the Old Testament with wide bearing. We have to understand it contextually wherever it occurs. The Holy Spirit enables us to do this. The setting here is special. It is a question of one's own son, and is an allusion to Exodus 4, where Jehovah sends the message to Pharaoh, "Let my son go, that he may serve me". It is the greatest thought in God's mind with regard to Israel. "Then they that feared Jehovah spoke often one to another". It was not that they spoke to Him, but to one another, and that in itself was pleasing to Him. The Lord loves to hear our spiritual conversation. It resounds in heaven; it is fit for that holy scene.

Now just a word on John 14 -- a well-known passage. The point is the persons who love Jesus. The conversation of those who feared the Lord was the outcome of love, I am sure, but it is not the point emphasised in that connection. In John 14 it is a question of those who love the Lord when others do not, or have ceased to do so. That is the point in this chapter. Profession only of love for Jesus is not valid, it gives no status in heaven. There must be evidence of your love, and that evidence is given in keeping His word. Let none talk of throwing aside, or giving up, any part of it. The test is the commandment

of the Lord. May it ever be that to us! The Lord goes on to say how He values such persons. "If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him". Is not that attractive, dear brethren? Is there not something in it to induce real love in us, so that we keep His commandments? "Judas, not the Iscariote, says to him, Lord, how is it ... ?" John discredits the Iscariote at every point. That Judas is the only man who is called a devil in Scripture; not a demon, a devil. John records it. The Lord called him a devil. We are not left in doubt as to what he was, and he is ruled out here. It was another who says, "Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, If any one love me, ...", He opens up what I may call tabernacle conditions, for the persons who love Him and keep His word are the tabernacle, the dwelling-place of God. The conditions the Lord indicates here afford an abiding-place for the Father and the Son. All that is involved in the word of Christ. How extensive it is! How imperative that we look into it in order to understand what the Lord said! He adds: "These things I have said to you, abiding with you; but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things", John 14:25, 26. He will teach us the truth. What a fact that is! Are we not proving it? "And will bring to your remembrance all the things which I have said to you". Nothing is lost if the Spirit is but given His place. The ministry is cumulative -- He gathers it all up and presents it to us to the end that there may be those tabernacle conditions in which the Father and the Son make their abode.

So you see how divine valuation is seen in these chapters, and how every passage refers to ourselves. The difficulty in reading is to make it apply to oneself. Scripture always speaks to its reader. We never get the good of it unless we allow this. These scriptures include

ourselves and impress us with our value in the mind of the Lord, of the Spirit, and of the angels who are looking down all the time, seeing what is going on; for they are active creatures, constantly doing God's will and sympathetically interested in all that is current in heaven. May the Lord bless His word!

PARENTAL INSTINCT AND ADDITION

Genesis 30:23 - 25

What I have in mind to say, dear brethren, will bear on parental instinct, spiritual instinct, seen in Rachel and Jacob, and will include something on addition. What is to be observed, is that a certain occurrence, which, in the light of subsequent facts had a spiritual import, drew forth certain comments from these parents, the one bearing on addition -- Rachel's remark -- and the other on the place and circumstances suited to addition. Rachel says, "Jehovah will add to me another son"; not two sons, but another. She is limited to one more, and hence calls her son, just born, by the name of Joseph, which indicates what was in her mind, "addition". Jacob immediately says to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my country". A spiritual occurrence is the basis of this remark, suggesting that Christ had come into his vision in Joseph; and if there is to be any addition to Christ it cannot be in Padan, spiritually it must be elsewhere; that is to say, in Jacob's own country, in his own place. Adding to Christ in the world is what marks christendom, and so much of the toil of so-called evangelists ends in this increase, additions to Christ in the wrong place. It is "my place" Jacob speaks of now, which was not Padan, and "my country", which also was not Padan, but Canaan.

Now Rachel's remark deserves first consideration here because of what was in her mind. "Jehovah will add to me another son", she says. She had been very urgent as to sons, and had said that she would die if she did not have them. Her maternal instincts for sons were strong, and now that Joseph was born, her own first-born, she says this, "Jehovah will add to me another son". That is a spiritual remark, for it indicates that whatever she might have understood, it synchronises with the divine counsels that there were to be twelve sons of Jacob. There were to be twelve, not thirteen. Were she simply controlled by

her natural instincts, according to earlier facts, she would have expected other sons, but she says "another son". Her remark synchronises exactly with the divine thought, and so must and should every spiritual remark. If we are under the control of the Spirit we shall be in accord with divine purpose. The nearer we get to God and to the end of our service, the more divine counsels are to us. God has His own thoughts, He is a God of measure; and the number that He seeks is known to Him, and He will have that number, no more and no less.

We are, therefore, dear brethren, working within a realm of certainty, as the apostle Paul at the end of his service says, "For this cause I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory", 2 Timothy 2:10. What a realm he was in, speaking thus! He laboured and suffered reproach in relation to it. Maybe it would be said that he should have gone further afield. He had said that he purposed to go to Spain, but we are not told that he went there. Some may have said that he was remiss, and that he was imprisoned on account of that, but it was not so. He laboured and suffered reproach; whatever people thought, whatever reproach may have been heaped upon him, he laboured that the elect might obtain the salvation that was in Christ Jesus, and that with eternal glory -- what a great thought! Not simply being saved as by fire, he had a greater thought than that in his service, although he says there is a possibility of that, but his thought was that they might "obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory". So it is that the divine number is to be secured. This does not set aside that the righteousness of God is "unto all". The gospel is to all, but nevertheless there are those that are called the elect, and they are to obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. What a salvation is that to my soul! You do not want anything less than that. It is not that they might obtain forgiveness of sins simply, although that is a very great matter, but

that they might obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. There will be additions on those lines. Hence Rachel had no other thought than one other son, that is, the twelfth. She had him with sorrow. The accomplishment of divine thoughts, in the sense I have spoken of, lay with her, but it was with sorrow. She died at the birth of Benjamin, showing the lines on which God is working, as the apostle says, labouring and suffering reproach. Indeed that apostle is about to die for the truth, and die he would for the truth. It is surely worth dying for; and so Rachel suffers and stands out in that way as a type of a mother in Israel, which is another great matter.

There are not many so styled, nor is she, yet she stands out because of this spiritual remark, and because of the mention of her in the prophets, "Rachel weeping for her children". That is another thing that God honours, weeping for her children because they are not. The Spirit of God carries the thought further into the New Testament, where it speaks of the sorrowful incident of Herod's murderous destruction of the first-born in Bethlehem, near which Benjamin was born. It was the place of Rachel's sorrow. She named him 'son of my affliction'. The last of Jacob's sons is the son of his mother's sorrow, but also the son of his father's right hand. These two things go together and come in in the last days -- maternal experience of sorrow intelligently expressed as Rachel dies, for she says, "Son of my sorrow". She little thought of that perhaps when she said "Jehovah will add to me another son", but there it was. Nevertheless, there was the promised addition -- and what an addition! for he was the son of his father's right hand! So that we have in Benjamin the complete number, that number by which the right hand of God can accomplish its desires. For the twelve alludes spiritually to the working out of love. It is a great divisible number, suggestive of manipulation, and love works on those lines, disposing of each brother and sister according

to what there is in wisdom, and there is no complaint -- each is in his place.

Rachel has a great place in that way, and I am speaking of her so that we might take in what the maternal idea is in this great matter of addition. If there is to be addition, this is the thought -- discernment as to what is needed; for there is so much needed, and then suffering so that the need might be supplied. For there must be suffering. The Lord Jesus has brought about the counsels of God by suffering and the greatest servant is spoken of in that way; "I will show him how great things he must suffer", the Lord says. Paul was a true Benjaminite. He was the son of Benjamin and he corresponded with the maternal thought in his mother, for she was his mother in suffering, so that the complete number should be there. Whatever that number may be, whether it be for the meeting, the service, or the full accomplishment of the counsels of God, it must be attained; and so she says, "Jehovah will add to me another son".

Now much has to be stated both on her account and on Leah's account. They two, we are told in the book of Ruth, built the house of Israel, a great matter. That is not building with wood, hay and stubble. These two women built the house of Israel. And so Leah begins with a son, it is the first great thought in this family. Sonship is the great thought governing the counsels of God, whether they be the heavenly or the earthly, for sonship applies to the earthly as it does to the heavenly. For us, that is, for those who have part in the heavenly calling, it has a greater significance, for it underlies that wonderful movement spoken of in Revelation 21, the heavenly city seen descending from God out of heaven. It is an act of her own. What grace, what liberty, what dignity in that movement! Israel will have no such greatness, but nevertheless the word applied to Israel was, "Let my son go": the message sent to Pharaoh, "Let my son go, that he may serve me"; and the apostle Paul says of them, "to whom pertaineth the adoption". This

great thought of God was applied to them. So that the idea of sonship applies to Israel, but not in the full glorious sense in which it applies to us who have part in the heavenly calling. And it begins here, as I said: Leah says as Reuben is born, 'A son'. What feeling entered into that! It was not accidental. It was not a mere natural thought, it was the great thought of God. Of course, she could not have understood it, but she says, 'A son'. The whole scene is to be filled with that relationship.

Then the next child is one who hears. You can see how the sons of Jacob set out consecutively the divine thoughts amongst the brethren. First we have the great thought of sonship that must dominate all. Then the next is the person who hears -- Simeon, for if God sets out His thought in Christ, the thing is to take in what is in His mind as to that thought. "He that has ears to hear, let him hear". Then we have Levi, the servant; also representing the heavenly family, his name signifies united. There is the idea of union in Levi. Judah was the fourth son of Jacob -- praise. The divine thoughts are thus opened up to us in this family. Praise, that is what Judah means. How glory fills the scene as we can see it now, and how glory after glory filled the scene in that house! Incongruous indeed, the maidservants coming in, but nevertheless the glory was there. And then Dan comes in to judge. One of the most important things in the divine economy is the ability to judge. And then we have Naphtali. Gad, Asher -- each one of them adding his own quota to this wonderful domain of glory, the family of God; all to be opened up in due course as the apostle Paul says, "the testimony to be rendered in its own times". Genesis is like a seed plot, as has often been remarked, and the beautiful fruit of the divine sowing is manifested as time goes on under the nurture of God, for Jacob is said to have been a field. "See", says Isaac, "the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed", and here it is opening up. And so we get Asher, a blessed happy man; and we get

Issachar, hire; and Zebulun, dwelling. We get a daughter too, Dinah, whose name corresponds with Dan -- the feminine side in judgment, for the sisters are to have a true judgment about things in the care-meeting, as the brothers have. If they are interested they will find out what takes place, for they should know so as to be in accord with the decisions reached. And lastly here we have Joseph, as if God waited to bring in the spiritual thought in him, so that the whole family should be lit up with the glory of Christ. As it shines in, everything is lit up.

"For heavenly light makes all things bright,
Seen in that blissful gaze".

Rachel saying "Jehovah will add to me another son" involves that there is to be completeness in this matter. God would have our minds run in this channel. It is a scene of glory opening up to us, and we can see it now by the Spirit and the incoming of Christ, for Joseph is typically Christ, the great spiritual thought casting its rays on all that had preceded it. Peter says, "going he preached to the spirits which are in prison, heretofore disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah". The light reflected backwards and forwards is Christ, and there is completeness. Many saints, although they are sons, have no definite divine thoughts, no certainty about things; but God is working on firm ground with a view to completeness. Indeed things are completed already in His mind and it is only a question of time. It is a great thing to get into accord with what God has in His mind -- He is graciously opening it up to us, drawing us to Himself to see the completeness of His mind, and how He is reaching it in detail. Rachel says, "another son" -- just enough. There are no loose ends in God's work. There is just enough -- one other son. That son comes in in chapter 35, as I have said before, the son of his mother's sorrow, but of his father's right hand. Things are ending up that way, and how great a thing it is to be in these matters, to see the perfection of things in the mind of God.

Well now, there are illustrations of this in the Book of Acts, if I may just touch on them. You have in chapter 2, for instance, Christ as risen and glorified, and the Holy Spirit comes down and three thousand are added. All these things awaited the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit here and the formation of the assembly, so that three thousand are added. It is not so much there the question of quality as of quantity; nor is it the question of who added them; it is the great thought of addition. That is to say, what was possible. These three thousand were needed, of course. Myriads were needed, but things began well, three thousand were added. Not here "were saved". That is not the point now, but it appears later. What is before us is the working out of the thought of addition.

In the same chapter you get, "the Lord added ... such as should be saved". There you get another side of the divine counsel. Not such as would be saved; but such as were to be saved -- such as, in the sovereignty of God, would be saved. These were the ones. So that on the one hand you have the great number, and on the other quality. They were persons who had a place in the counsels of God, known of Him before the foundation of the world; for it is said, "whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified", Romans 8:30. I quite admit that this statement in Acts 2:47 alluded to the remnant of Israel that should be saved, but it is the question of the sovereign election of God nevertheless.

The next reference to addition you get is in chapter 5, when judgment had been executed on Ananias and Sapphira. Some may say, Do not be too severe, and of course we never should be unnecessarily severe, but we need to be severe when severity is required, and it is necessary in the case of such a sin as that of Ananias and Sapphira. The root of it was pride, which worked out in united deception in the assembly, and so they suffered the severe judgment of God. It might be said. Brethren

will not grow so fast now; there will not be three thousand added any more in one day; but it says in that chapter that "they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch". That is where they were, as if they said, We accept that judgment; we regard it as right. Then it goes on to say that multitudes of men and women believed, and "were ... added". Mark says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved". These were real believers. You know there are believers and believers. John's gospel is largely to stress the idea of real believers; that is, persons who are in the state of faith, and remain in the state of faith, and get the benefits of those who are in that state. And so it is with believers in Acts 5. Believers "were added", great numbers of them, showing that discipline is no detriment to the work of God, but the contrary: it is essential to the work of God. And so believers were added in numbers, both of men and of women. They were added to the Lord. You may inquire what the difference is between the Lord adding, and being added to Him. Well, it is quite obvious that being added to the Lord means that the persons are in accord with the Lord, that there is nothing contrary to the Lord in those that were added to Him. The fact that they were in Solomon's porch, implying that they were fully recognising the need of the discipline that had been exercised, qualified them to be added to the Lord.

Well, I just touch on those points so that you might see what the filling out of this thought of Rachel's signifies; how addition is in accordance morally with what it is added to, and at the same time it is just the number required. The result would be exactly answering to the divine thought. And then I want to show you just for a moment how Jacob's remark fits in. He was affected by the spiritual thought of Christ, seen in Joseph. It is shown in a small way, for he was yet a babe, but there it was. It was spiritual. Joseph fills the eye of faith from this point onwards in the book of Genesis. It is Christ figuratively, and I may say, substantially, for Joseph was

not a mere figure. And so Jacob says, We are not in the right place. There are thousands of God's people like that, in the wrong place. They are God's people, but they are not separate. They are making money; it may be they are making a name for themselves in this world, and that they have the world before them as a prospect. Jacob had remained in Padan twenty years. The thought of his mother and father in sending him there was not that he should stay twenty years; but now this powerful thought, expressed in Joseph came into his soul. It is the true spiritual thought. What are you going to do now -- continue here making money, increasing your cattle? That is what Jacob did, alas, and brought sorrow to himself. The thought was right and spiritual, and he proposed to act on it at once; if he had done so, he would have saved himself trouble, and he had to do it subsequently; if there is anyone here into whose soul has come the precious light of Christ, the next exercise is what are you going to do? Will you continue where you are with your worldly prospects, or will you leave and get into your own country? You do not belong where you are at all. What is our place? Heaven is our place; provisionally, the assembly is our place. The assembly is the reflection of heaven, and it belongs to us. You belong to it, too, if you are a true christian, that is your place provisionally. Heaven is your own eternal place; your calling is heavenly: "the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus". The assembly is provisionally that, where the enjoyment of heaven is a present reality -- and some of you are not there, not in the fellowship of God's Son. Your prospects are elsewhere, your outlook is elsewhere. As Joseph is born, Jacob, in effect, says, This will not do. Rachel is brought into it, the maternal thought is kept in view: "when Rachel had borne Joseph". Jacob says, "Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my country".

The Lord has a word for someone here tonight -- it may be for every one of us -- as to where we are really

in our outlook, in our feelings, in our affections. Are we in our own place? Jacob's own place, his own country, was Canaan -- figuratively, heaven; and if any little bit of light has come into your soul now at this meeting, the idea is that you are to go to your own place. There will be addition. We ought to be looking for that, looking for results from the testimony, from the gospel, but let us be in our own place. Do not add to the world. Christendom, as it is now, is the result of adding to the world what belongs to heaven, what belongs to the assembly. There is not a denomination so-called that, in principle, is not linked with the world. The assembly is based on the idea of being "called out". "Come out from among them, and be ye separate", says the Lord. What fellowship has light with darkness, what fellowship has Christ with Belial? We must come out from the world if there is to be addition according to God. Do not add what is of Christ to the world. It is just making the world more respectable. God's additions, additions to Christ, are to be in His own place. The Lord added to the assembly, or added to what was there of God, such as should be saved. Not to the world, but something quite out of the world. Let no one here conclude that he can have practical part in the holy things of God and remain linked with the world. If you are to be an addition, you are to be in your own place in the assembly. The Lord is appealing, I am sure, to the young christians here at this time; and would affect us by the thought of the light of Christ in Joseph coming into Jacob's soul. He lingered afterwards, it is true; even as it often happens that a brother makes up his mind at a time like this to move, but some other thing comes in after the meeting, and he does not move. He remains on in the world for some time and adds to his riches, and they are an encumbrance. So that the word tonight is, Move to your own place, to your own country.

May the Lord bless His word.

A FIELD WHICH JEHOVAH HATH BLESSED

Matthew 13:44; Matthew 23:17 - 39; Matthew 27:26 - 29

I read these scriptures because they present to us the idea of a field. It has a wide place in Scripture. The thought runs through Matthew 13; but these three scriptures will suffice to convey what is in view. The first refers to it, in a very wide sense, as the world. The thought of a field may be a small area -- just a few acres, or it may be large, here it is the whole world. The Lord Himself, in an earlier parable, says, "the field is the world", and "He that sows the good seed is the Son of man", Matthew 13:37. This is the title that alludes to the Lord's universal rights. He sowed good seed in His field, we are told, but while men slept, His enemy came and sowed darnel in the same field. It was the kind of opposition that requires time for maturity. Satan does oppose, suddenly, as in a gale of wind, in order to overwhelm in a moment; but in other instances he operates over a period of time, and in this case it has lasted a long time; the wheat and the tares are growing up together. This state is running on now, and will do so until the end, when God will send His angels to remove the tares -- clearing the kingdom of them -- and the sons of the kingdom shall prevail. A very great prospect! When "they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences" (verse 41).

This other parable, in verse 44, alludes in principle to the earth, not, however, as a place to be tilled and sown, but as having something in it of value -- a treasure; it alludes to what came to light when Christ was here as Man. "He came to his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11); but in coming to Israel or to the Jews, He found His treasure, that is, what He regarded as such, and He hid it in the field and bought the field. You can see therefore how the Lord would regard the world, notwithstanding its actual history or state at any given

time, as entirely in relation to the treasure. And so we have an era instituted in Scripture which is called the "times of the Gentiles".

The book of Daniel discloses that, as the throne of David was given up, God transferred His authority to the gentiles, but all in view of what this verse speaks of, and that the field should be kept in some sort of order until the treasure should in due course be taken out of it. That is how matters stand and have stood since the Lord Jesus was here. The "times of the Gentiles" preceded the advent of Christ, by hundreds of years. Nebuchadnezzar was raised up and he ruled; subsequently, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. These were not powers arising accidentally, they came up under the government of God. The times of the gentiles are current now; they still obtain and are divinely allowed to rule with a view to this treasure that is in the field. God has an eye to it; and so these powers are to be prayed for that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. We are not called upon to rule the world; the time for that has not yet come. Paul tells the Corinthians, "Do ye not then know that the saints shall judge the world?" "Do ye not know that we shall judge angels?" 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3. We are to have part in the great government which God is about to inaugurate over the world, but in the meantime our King is in rejection. The Lord is rejected, and our part is to suffer rejection with Him, awaiting the time of His advent when He will come and take up the reins of government. It is not therefore given to us to rule the world now, but we are being trained for it; and meanwhile, we understand that the world is not wholly given over to the devil, although in one sense it lies in the wicked one. God holds the reins of government, and in all this He has an eye to the treasure which His beloved Son found when here, and hid. Heaven is always watching that treasure, and in every great monarchy that is allowed to rise, what is in view is that conditions may exist, enabling God to secure

the treasure. Paul goes so far as to tell us that the world is in reconciliation. The attitude of God changes towards the world in the casting off of the Jew. "If their casting away be the world's reconciliation, what their reception but life from among the dead?" Romans 11:15. A remarkable word! The Spirit of God goes on to say that the receiving of them will be as life from among the dead; that is what Israel will be as born in a day. The gospels afford evidence of what life from among the dead is. What a great triumph for God to take one from among the dead! The receiving of Israel by and by will be like that.

We must not make too much of what is current in these times of the gentiles, what transpires is not to be taken too much to heart, because when God moves to recover His ancient people it will be as life from among the dead; a nation will be born in a day, a sudden happening to bring out what God can do! In the meantime, there is this wonderful statement that perhaps some of us have not sufficiently understood, that is, the reconciling of the world. It does not mean that every person in it is reconciled. Christians are, of course. "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in mind by wicked works, yet now has it reconciled in the body of his flesh through death; to present you holy and unblamable and irreproachable before it", Colossians 1:21, 22. That refers to christians, not to the reconciling of the world, which is a provisional thing; God taking account of the world in view of the treasure in it, so that the gospel should go out freely and that those who are to be saved should understand that God in grace is not against them, but for them, not imputing trespasses. The time will come when He will return in judgment, that is His strange work. Meanwhile He is looking out favourably on the whole world, regarding it as in reconciliation.

I say that, that you may understand what is meant by this field, and how the prime thought is of the treasure in it. It is not here a question of cultivating that field.

Legislators and administrators -- for whom we pray -- cultivate and do what they can to keep order and promote better social conditions and so forth, but heaven's eye is on the treasure; it is no question of the field, but what is hidden therein. God is concerned with what is going on daily on the earth for the securing of that treasure. Every believer, the elect in the counsels of God, those that are to be saved, are of that treasure, and in order to secure it for Himself. God is viewing everybody in reconciliation in a provisional way. That is the situation and it ought to move us as to this treasure, both as to ourselves being of it and as to securing others. The idea presented in this field is of great importance to have before us as long as it shall last, that we may have our part in this great service of securing the treasure therein. The actual instrumentality is the gospel and that is to go on; there is no thought of the gospel ceasing. It is still the day of salvation, the acceptable year of the Lord, the time of grace and of God's long-suffering; hence the gospel is going out and will go out until the end, until the last one of the elect is gathered in. As Paul says, "For this cause I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory", 2 Timothy 2:10.

I pass on to the field presented in Genesis 23. A solemn matter comes up as we touch this field. It is bought, as was the other. The Lord is seen as going to great expense in buying the field in Matthew 13:44, and, in this particular case we have in Abraham a figure of the Lord again buying a field, not this time because of something in it, but on account of what He is about to put into it. In the meantime before He returns, His own are constantly falling asleep. It is well to face this matter. It is not to be dreaded by the christian, but welcomed; indeed Paul could say, "to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better", Philippians 1:23. Departing -- what is it but that we are put to sleep through Jesus? No less than that! He puts His saints to sleep; what a very precious

service to render to us! Indeed we are told, "Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints", Psalm 116:15. Normally, the death of a saint is a victory; still it is not resurrection, but death. The Lord said, "Lazarus, our friend, is fallen asleep", John 11:11; and then He said to them plainly, "Lazarus has died". In whatever way you look at it, death is a solemn thing, and it is well for christians to face the fact of death, pending the coming of our Lord. Paul says, "while yet we do not wish to be unclothed, but clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life", 2 Corinthians 5:4. That is what he looked for, though, in writing to the Philippians, he says, "to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better". Paul recognises that that state is not perfection, but a disembodied condition is "far better" in the sense of joy and peace and rest; though what he ardently desires is "to have put on our house which is from heaven", 2 Corinthians 5:2. That is what faith looks on to. Faith understands that if the testimony is to go on, one generation passes and another comes.

We may as well face this as we get older; and indeed for the younger ones too, it is a sound and wholesome exercise. But if I am of the generation of faith, if I belong to Jesus, then the Lord shows me typically in this chapter that He has His eye upon me, and that burial is in the light of resurrection. The first burial mentioned in Scripture is in this chapter, and what is stated about the person buried is the period of the years of her life. It is twice mentioned, in verse 1: "And the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years: these were the years of the life of Sarah". It does not say of her age, but of the years of her life. That is what God values -- the life. Think of what the life of a christian is! what the life of Jesus was here, under the eye of God! It was infinitely delightful. And Jesus gave up that which was so delightful to God, to do the will of God. And so the life of Sarah, as being a life of faith, had been delightful to God. It was not a question of what was going into the

grave but what was to come out. "Thus ... is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruptibility. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body", 1 Corinthians 15:42, 43. In that sense, you see that although identity remains, what comes out of the grave is not what has gone in, but something in which God Himself delights.

That is why this field has such a place, it was carefully bought under auspicious circumstances. The Canaanites were there, but not opposed; they were not saying a word against Abraham. Indeed the sons of Heth were ready to give him the choicest of their sepulchres, but Abraham's thought was "the cave of Machpelah, ... for the full money let him give it to me amongst you for a possession of a sepulchre", Genesis 23:9. He speaks very respectfully and bows himself to the people of the land but he wanted to buy the field. It was not for a very great price, "four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant", but it was enough to show that it was worth buying, and the money was there to pay for it -- not paper money either, it was weighed to Ephron, in money "current with the merchant". It was duly purchased.

Now that field is very interesting to us, because the saints are all in it in principle. Faith regards this as a place of burial, the place where the saints lie until the day of resurrection. You may say, They are scattered all over the world, and some in the depths of the sea, but that is nothing from the standpoint of this chapter; these distances apart are nothing to God. The point is that they are buried under the eye of the Lord, carefully cared for and buried in relation to Hebron, which alludes to the coming world -- "that world and the resurrection" -- they will all be there. One shout of Christ will bring them all out. Those who are in the grave shall hear His voice and shall come forth, showing how real and intelligent they are, they will recognise His voice and come

forth. It is a beautiful thought, "the field, and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all its borders round about, were assured to Abraham". How carefully the Lord considers those of His own who have fallen asleep, and how the graveyard would afford the needed comfort for those who do the burying. The one who buries in this instance is Abraham, the man of faith, and it is in faith we bury. He calls it his dead -- "that I may bury my dead out of my sight". He buries Sarah in this field. I have no doubt the cave suggests that the place of burial is divinely prepared. The burial -- place of Jesus was no accident; it was "in a tomb hewn in the rock, where no one had ever been laid", Luke 23:53. Genesis 23 gives the burying place for faith, and there can be no doubt that the cave alludes to divine provision, and it is for the saints, they are all there. Those of us who know what it is to lose a loved one can say that they are all there -- not one of them is unknown; they will all be found there and will come forth; they will stand up in victory here. The Lord is "marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead", Romans 1:4. Now we are "to know him and the power of his resurrection", Philippians 3:10. Thus as we fall asleep through Jesus it is in the full assurance that He will raise us, that is the light and comfort associated with the field of Ephron.

I will now go on to chapter 27. Here I have largely in mind that we should see what is cultivated. Neither of the other two fields we have had before us was cultivated, although in the field of Machpelah there is that which is sown. "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body", 1 Corinthians 15:44. Though the saints are buried there to come forth as a goodly crop by and by, yet the thought of cultivation does not come into it. This field, however, is a present cultivation, and includes everyone of us here today, especially the young people. For now is the time for cultivation. This field does not represent the

world, but it is a narrower thought, it is one person. Any christian might be so regarded. I would single out the young to come into this. The Lord, I believe, is singling them out peculiarly in these last days -- the babes, the little children, boys and girls, young men and women; these are all peculiarly in the mind of the Lord in present ministry, I feel, and each of them is, so to speak, a field.

Some of them may be moving as Jacob was here, not in a very creditable way, but nevertheless the smell of the field is there, and it is for parents to acquire the power in this respect to discern -- to be able to tell if the smell of the field is in the youth -- in the family. And if not, why not? Surely it is a matter of grave concern if our families, if any in them, do not come into the realm of faith. I believe it would be well if parents began to exercise this power, this sense called smell in a spiritual way, so that they might be able to discern the bent of mind in youth.

You all know that Esau was a man of the field. Rebecca had the advantage of knowing the mind of God when these twins were born. It is well for parents to be on the alert, we should always be on the alert. Rebecca had the mind of God before her children were born, what an advantage that was! How important it is for parents or prospective parents to be before God in prayer! Rebecca inquired of God as to it, and God revealed His mind about the children, "the elder shall serve the younger", Genesis 25:23. That elder was Esau; and subsequently, hundreds of years after this, it was said that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. Esau had a different smell. He was a man of the field; not in the sense of Isaac's blessing of Jacob, but the football field or the tennis field; he was that kind of man; you could smell that sort of field on him. Yet in spite of that, Isaac loved him, because Esau gave him of his venison; but Rebecca loved Jacob. What a model she is for mothers! She loved the right man. Mothers, of course, love all their

children, but she had the mind of God about Jacob and loved him accordingly; she was a pious woman.

I believe the secret cause of children turning away is largely lack of piety, vigilance and care in mothers. Now, as I said, Rebecca understood the mind of God as to Jacob, she was in accord with God about him. She loved Jacob, it says in Genesis; God loved Jacob, we are told in Malachi. What an intervening stretch of time! What consonance between faith and God! And that is how it should be; faith is always in agreement with God. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and you may be sure that Rebecca pleased Him in that she loved Jacob. So here she is in principle laying down her life for him. "On me be thy curse, my son!" -- what an example for mothers, she is ready to go that far! She puts the skins round him, she would have the mind of God carried out, whatever happened. Let the mind of God go through, concerning the children! It did go through, by a subterfuge, alas! -- yet even that did not interfere with the carrying out of the purpose of God. It was carried through in spite of her subterfuge. If we understand the mind of God about our children, we move so that it may be established. Many things may happen to distress us, but if you inquire of God and lay down your life, if necessary, to be in accord with what He reveals to you, the mind of God will go through as regards your children.

So we find Jacob goes to his father with the carefully cooked meat. At this point Isaac represents God; in principle all the patriarchs do. Isaac rises to that and he says to his son, "Come near, now, and kiss me, my son". It is not now the old man who has a taste for venison, he is representative of God, he is rising to that. God has come in. How beautiful it is to see God coming in! God came in in Isaac here; he is rising above his natural sensibilities and coming into divine sensibilities which he had as a child of God. It is with divine sensibilities that he says, "Come near, now, and kiss me, my son". What an invitation, beloved young people! How God would

appeal to you! Love hates distance, as is seen in the father of the prodigal when he ran and fell on his neck and covered him with kisses. The prodigal had come back, he had come near to his father: now it is a son to kiss. Isaac says, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed". I have no doubt there are many here like that tonight. With many young people it may be only potential, not developed, but the thing is there. In fact, from the very time that we have the dry land mentioned in Scripture, the potentiality of fruitfulness is there. The ground is to bring forth, "Let the earth cause grass to spring up", Genesis 1:11. There is the power of life in it. How does a young person -- young man or woman, boy or girl, get the power of life? It is the power of God that works in them. The parents request for them, and pray for them, they pray earnestly for them, and such prayers God answers. The principle of life, of fertility, is brought in. It is in divine order. The sensibilities of the patriarch now were spiritual, he was sensing the right thoughts. "The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed". It is a question of potentiality as yet, but think of what is opening up in Jacob! What a history, what Jacob is to be! Israel restored and blessed on the earth -- all that entered into the smell that Isaac smelled then. What a wonderful blossoming of that flower, as it were, the opening up of that great field of fruitfulness for God! It is to appear on the earth presently when Israel shall be blessed, and shall fill the earth with fruit for God. All that was there potentially in that man. The father smelled it and said, "The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed".

I have brought these thoughts before you so that we might have light for the young, and learn how to smell the odour of divine blessing in them, and if it be not there, to get to God about it. God is available for parents, and in a wider sense for the assembly, because the father and

mother spirit is supposed to be in the assembly so that in this way the saints are brought in.

If God is not working, why not? As Isaiah says, "ye that put Jehovah in remembrance, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish", Isaiah 62:6, 7. Prayer is to go on and on until the great matter is established; "give him no rest", because if the young are not secured, the testimony must die out, for one generation passes away. I think you will see the practical need, in this and all other countries, of fruitfulness and spreading out for God, so that the young must be secured and thus have part in what is so pleasing to God in fruitfulness.

THE LORD COMING INTO OUR CIRCUMSTANCES

Genesis 17:1 - 8; Mark 6:45 - 56; Luke 24:36 - 43

In these scriptures I purpose to show by the Lord's help how God comes into the circumstances of His people. In Genesis 17 He comes in in relation to the age of the believer, and as approving his progress as a believer. In Mark the believers are in circumstances that are testing, but they are in them by the Lord's appointment, not of their own volition. He comes into these circumstances. In Luke the circumstances are the outcome of light; they are the choice of the believers involved, they are of their own making, and right so far, inasmuch as they are the outcome of light. He comes into these too. Under these three heads I desire to speak, so that we may see the divine interest in us. No doubt these three sets of circumstances would cover most of us, so that I hope every one here will get something.

First as to Abram. He was an old man, but he had made good use of his years, and is approved. He is presented to us as a characteristic believer. He is Abram the believer, and is said to be the father of all believers -- a very great distinction, but he is now an old man, although he lived a great many years after this, he had come to the time of life when nature is weakened. God knows that the weaker the nature, the greater the advantage of the work of God in us. So that elder brothers and sisters have a certain advantage in that way, and God knows that and never fails to use it. He never fails to use anything that furthers His work, or that enhances it, so if a brother is advanced in life and consequently nature is weakened -- ninety-nine years of age here -- God takes account of that, and He comes in to help him at this point, to further what He already approves of. For the principle is "more and more". Whilst we are down here the

education goes on, the work goes on to perfection. God intends to fill His universe with men, meaning persons of full development. There is no suggestion as far as I can see of any growth after we enter on our final state, answering to the counsel of God. Now is the time for growth, and in God's mind it is "more and more". Even the apostle Paul says, "Not that I ... am already perfected". There was still something beyond, and he says to us, "Paul the aged", being such an one as that. God would help him peculiarly, using his very age; for as I said, the weaker nature is, the greater the advantage of the work of God.

Here we get God appearing to Abram. It is one of several such appearings with which Abram was honoured. We have other interventions of God. In chapter 15 we find God speaking to him by "the word of Jehovah", it is the first mention of this that we get in the Scriptures, and it means that God intends to make him intelligent. One of the most important things for us is to be made intelligent as to His mind, so God communicates by the word of Jehovah Himself. That is what you get in chapter 15. In chapter 16 Abram fails, but still he is moving on in faith, and has reached the age of ninety-nine years, so what I want to say will bear largely on the older brothers and sisters.

Advancing age should help us, as in Abram's case. God had in His mind, "walk before me, and be thou perfect". Paul said, I do not count that I am already perfected, but he was aiming at it. The idea of manhood is conveyed when the senses are fully developed, but there is a fuller thought of perfection involving the apprehension of the heavenly calling (Philippians 3) which corresponds with the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ -- the full-grown man. The apostle did not count that he was just up to that, he did not consider that he had apprehended fully what he was apprehended for. Think of what we are apprehended for! Were we really to take it in, it would cause great jubilance of soul.

It is the great thought of God for us, and the apostle aimed at that.

Now God says to Abram, "walk before me, and be thou perfect". God was entering into covenant with him, "I will make my covenant between me and thee". A personal link is about to be established between Jehovah and this believer, this favoured man. It is a personal matter. God is usually spoken of in Scripture in the singular, sometimes in the plural, but we know from Scripture that there are three Persons in the Deity. We must bear that in mind, and so here it is a personal matter, the personality, speaking reverently, of God. The thought opens up much. The great possibilities of personal relations with God! Think what is brought into it! "Baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". That means we have personal relation with Them, with any or all of Them, and in Each we have to do with God. That is what I want you to keep in mind in what I have to say; God comes into the circumstances of His people. Now as to Abram -- the name Abram as most of you will know signifies father -- "high father". It signifies moral dignity and elevation. The name Abram carries that with it. It is not cancelled by the new name, but rather carried forward, and added to it is the great thought of increase. Increase on lower ground is pernicious. What has happened in the history of the testimony is increase on lower ground; there has been constant descent in the history of the church, one divine principle or truth after another being given up, because it could not be maintained; so that lawlessness became legalised. The laws governing God's house and truth generally could not be maintained, and so they were given up legally. Thus men could go on with a good conscience with a spurious christianity. That is a most terrible thing in the history of the church -- the gradual setting aside of the great principles and the truth of God because they could not be kept. It is all around us, and God is calling us back to

the law and to the testimony. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them", Isaiah 8:20. So Abram's name refers to a high standard of things. He was called out, setting forth typically the principle of our position -- "called saints". "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house". Why is the father's house not put first? It is carefully stated. It is country first because the patriotic idea is so ingrained in us, and so difficult to eradicate. I am not here to preach anything against the authorities, I am only presenting the truth that our citizenship is in heaven, our commonwealth is in heaven; it includes the idea of politics. The saints of God have politics of their own in heaven. Not simply that they are of heaven, they are in heaven, where we belong according to divine counsel; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our bodies and fashion them like His glorious body.

Abram is called out of his country, kindred, and father's house, into the land of Canaan. He came into the land of Canaan. He is in it now, according to this chapter, and has this name Abram, which means high father, and yet he has no children. He has Ishmael, but no children according to God, for Isaac is not born. But he is suited now to have increase. He corresponds to the idea in Psalm 113, "He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children". You must have the housekeeping before the children. The children are to be brought into an orderly house, and hence the mother is joyful. Abram corresponds to that. His name signifies moral elevation, as I said; and God says, I will give you children, a great number of them; you shall be father of a multitude. In saying this God says, I am God Almighty. He has called the universe into existence. He who has raised Christ from the dead by His exceeding power, can give increase in children -- spiritually, I mean, but the conditions that God honours

in this passage are the conditions that were present with Abram, the moral state of things in his house. How elevated he was as compared with what was current! This is a very loud voice to us who are parents as to how things are in our houses, and in a wider sense, how conditions are in the assembly, whether this moral elevation exists, or whether there is gravitation to the lower levels of religious order, and society. God would say, To increase you there is to increase the confusion; I am to increase you on the high level, on the level of the upper room, and so He says to Abram, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly"; and Abram fell down before Him -- very beautiful! It was the result of the appearing. The appearing signifies some sense in which God intends Himself to be known, as fitting into the particular circumstances. In this case it is God Almighty, but the appearing involves even more than the words. God Himself -- in His love -- was in the appearing. There was something that Abram saw as well as heard, and now Abram falls down. He is in keeping with this very great occasion; he falls down before Jehovah, and now Jehovah says to him, "It is I" (verse 4). Beautiful! God Himself coming in to talk to His faithful saint -- God and Abram. One might ask as to whether brethren are in any way conversant with divine talking, and in a personal way. In the fifteenth chapter, we are told, God spoke in a vision, by the word of Jehovah -- not an appearing. That is a question of the word of God, by which He opens up His mind, and leads us into it, but an appearing and conversation following is more personal. This is a personal matter, and it is very apropos to inquire whether we know anything at all about it. God has to say to us. He speaks to His people in this way. The "word of God" is a great general thought, but appearing and saying, "It is I", and continuing a conversation, on the part of God is most touching.

Think of the blessedness of that! God says, 'It is I. I want to converse with you and you with Me, I want to be in close relation with you, to enter into covenant with you, and bind Myself to you'. Think of God Himself coming to us in this way! God is not acting on the principle of mediator here. It is God with Abraham, it is a personal matter. How honoured this man was! Is it written for him alone? No, it is written for us, to show us what is open to us and what God is ready to do for us, but it depends on the state of things with us. God is approving the state of things in Abraham's circumstances here, and He is coming in, in this way, to show what He thinks of a believer who is controlled by and is in keeping with faith. He says, "I am the Almighty God", and again, "It is I". He says to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM"; it is the personal thought. God did not say, "It is I" to Adam, or to Enoch, or to Noah; it is to the man called out, the man of faith moving in faith, and approved in that way.

Then God says to him, Your name is to be changed; that means that there is promotion. God comes in for that purpose, the believer is promoted before Him. He says, Your name is to be no longer Abram, but Abraham. God pronounced that name first. I have no doubt that is how spiritual things take form. God pronounces it first as far as we can see, and Abraham is to bear it ever afterwards. He is our great progenitor spiritually, he is called the father of all believers, and thus we are in direct relation to him. You may talk of ancestry, but think of this! The children of Abraham are not those born after the flesh but after the Spirit. We are all the sons of Abraham in that sense, and this is how our great ancestor spiritually was honoured of God, and He has in mind that all the seed are to bear the marks of this great distinction. We are the seed spiritually, the seed of Abraham, and God would intimate to us what a place we have with Him, and how we are brought into covenant with Him. Circumcision is the answer to this on our

side. It is a question of the Spirit given consequent upon the death of the Lord Jesus; by whom we disallow the flesh in a practical way. We are thus, as seen here in type, bound up in everlasting covenant with God.

I will now go on to Mark. As I intimated, these circumstances are not the circumstances of the disciples' own making; the Lord made them, and I may say that is the position of christianity. The circumstances are divinely made; the path of the will of God is never optional, it is always imperative from the divine side. Paul says, "if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me". Our position as true believers before God is against our natural wills. That seems a peculiar thing to say, but it really is true. Our natural wills are against our position in subjection to God.

The Lord having fed the multitude says, I will send them away; He then constrains the disciples to go into the ship, and to go over to the other side. He constrains them to do it. Thank God they were constrainable! Some one here may not be constrainable. You come here under constraint, yet it may not go beyond what is merely natural. We thank God you are here, for even if you are unconverted you are in the range of the truth; this meeting is to bring you under divine constraint, and that will militate against your will. These disciples were amenable to the Lord's constraint, so they went into the ship and crossed the sea to the other side, while the Lord sent the multitude away, and went up to the mountain to pray -- an elevated position. Their position is on water level. How great a thought it is that we christians have Jesus interceding for us above! We can say, "such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens", Hebrews 7:26.

In the previous verse it says "he ever liveth to make intercession for them" as if He did nothing else. Surely the intercession is to maintain us in moral elevation, to

keep us from gravitating to the level of the world, whether religiously or socially.

Now we are told that He was alone on the land, but they on the sea; and they were toiling in rowing, the winds being contrary to them. Satan knew they were in a plight. There was a state of hardness of heart there. This constraint came in immediately after the feeding of the multitude, as if the Lord would say, Surely there would not be doubt in your minds as to Me, you will not have hard hearts now. But they had, and they carried their hard hearts into the boat, and with hard hearts strained at the oars. We are told then that the Lord came into their circumstances -- the oars being pulled and tugged, the winds being contrary to them, as if something were working against them. You say, you do not know my circumstances, but the Lord does, and He is not far away -- He is interceding for you, that your faith may not fail; He knows all about what you are going through, and He is about to come into those circumstances. I made these circumstances, He would say, and put you in them for a purpose, to test you, to bring out what is in your heart, and I am coming into them. It may be there is someone here like this, in difficult circumstances, and you are complaining of them. The Lord knows that contrary wind, He knows the source and author of it. He knows your weakness, He knows the thing that is directed against you. He knows that the enemy is trying to overwhelm your faith, to make you give up your faith, and He says, I am coming into those circumstances. Are you ready to receive Him? Would you know Him if He came in? I want to bring home to you that in such circumstances we are very apt not to know Him. They did not know Him here. We have a word which signifies a phantom, they thought it was this -- an apparition. That is how they understood their Lord. It is a poor thing if that is the kind of thought you have about Jesus as coming into your circumstances. Something to be recoiled from, that is what they thought

it was, and yet He was feeding the multitude just a moment before. Here He is now on the sea, but not as they are, He is walking on it: they are in a boat, pulling their oars against the storm and waves. He is walking triumphantly. It is a triumphant Christ. What will He not do? Is there anything He cannot cope with? He has triumphed over every foe, if He comes in now He comes from heaven. He comes in spiritually. It is not a spirit, but a Person, a Man. God manifest in flesh, no less than that. Here they are afraid and are troubled. Is this a phantom? Is it against you? Do you not recognise the well-known form? Did you ever know of a person walking on the water before? Never. It is the Lord Himself -- it can be no other, He is walking on the water. But now He made as if He would go past them. This is a most serious matter. There is a voice in this as regards our position; the Lord has come near to you to help you, and things are not just right. You have just seen a gracious miracle by the Lord, the outcome of His compassion -- and still your hearts are hardened. He does not deal with externals, but internals. God looks at the heart, and the Lord knew the state of their hearts, and saw the unbelief. He would say, You may be without Me altogether, you are not in a state to receive Me, you do not know Me, you forget Me, and it may be I shall have to go on to others. It is a most serious matter; it applies to individuals as well as to companies of saints. You may be overcome by hard circumstances, but the Lord intends to make something out of you for His service through them. You may be nominally in His service, but ineffective, and He needs effective servants. In the meeting you are not serving as you should. He put you in these circumstances, but you are not hearkening, you are hard, you are complaining. He may have to go past you, and you do not want that. All these thoughts enter into this remarkable scene. But in result, He came up into the ship and the wind fell. Think of the scene -- He came into the ship and the wind fell! As soon as the Lord comes into

your circumstances, their hardness ceases: the wind falls. One important lesson here is to keep a clear vision. Use what you already know about Christ to discern Him when He comes into your circumstances and do not retain a hard heart. A hard heart may mean that He will pass you by; He has done it to many. They are not amenable to discipline. He made as if He would pass them by, but His love knew the real thing was there, and He came into the ship. As Peter says, in John 21, "thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee". In his first answer Peter used a word meaning conscious knowledge; he appealed to the knowledge Christ had divinely; but finally he referred to the external evidences of his love, and so he used a word denoting objective knowledge -- as if to convey to the Lord that He could see that he loved Him. Some little thing was manifest in Peter that the Lord could see, and it was no longer a question of appealing to His divine knowledge. There is some little thing that shows you love Christ and He takes notice of that. When we have a refractory brother to deal with, how refreshing it is when there is some little thing that we can see that shows there is love for Christ. That will spread, and we pray that it may spread, and the spreading of it will mean the dissipation of what has caused the trouble. The Lord came into the ship and they come to the land, and there is a wonderful time. You see how He was recognised on the land, and how they ran everywhere to bring their needs to Him. He has the cure for every ill, even a touch cured people. What a Person He was to them now! You can hardly get a passage greater than this one that speaks of the wonderful works of Christ. He had said, as He appeared to them on the water, "it is I". He would have you to know it. It is not an apparition, "It is I", and now they know Him and others know Him, and they bring all their needs to Him. He has a cure for every ill; not only can He silence the storm, but all the diseases that sin has occasioned are dispelled by Him.

Now in the final scripture, it is a position of our own making. It is agreeable to the Lord. The circumstances are of our own making, the outcome of light. God has been gracious, and has given us much light; many of us here have moved in this light, and we have circumstances similar to what is described in these verses. The two disciples from Emmaus came to Jerusalem and they found the eleven and they that were with them gathered together. The assembly is in view here. How we thank God for the light of the assembly! Through grace many move in that light, and there are little meetings in many countries throughout the world, all known to heaven, and the Lord has His eye on them, and visits them constantly. But now the question is whether we are equal to His visit in these circumstances of our own making, and whether there are conditions in keeping with heaven, where the Lord can come in and find a welcome. Why this perturbation? Why not readiness to receive and enjoy and reciprocate the love of this glorious Person? The position for Him here is a little better than in the house of Martha, seen in Luke 10. He was received there, but He was criticised severely, and Mary, who sat at His feet, was criticised too. It was a very uncomfortable state of things. We do not want to make the Lord uncomfortable, so to speak; we may be gathered on the right ground and according to right principles and yet things may not be comfortable, and He has to set them right. Time has to be spent putting things right that ought to be spent in the enjoyment of happy reciprocal affections. The Lord has to spend a good deal of time correcting our state. They came together here intelligently, and the Lord came into their circumstances on account of that. He says, "Peace be unto you". He did not come in to criticise, He does not imply there was anything wrong. He acts as if all was right, and that He was expecting things to be right, but they were not. He said, "Peace be unto you", as if they were ready for Him, but they were not. He has to do much to adjust them, so that they may be intelligently

restful in His presence. He was in a spiritual condition, but nevertheless as a real Man, and so He says, "it is I myself". That is the position. It is now clear; and He proceeds further to open up the Scriptures, and to open up their understanding, so that great results follow. Where the Lord comes into our own circumstances, great results follow, there is great hope in it.

The Lord would encourage us to take up this line of things, and see what there is in these last days in the way of divine visitations -- divine Persons coming in in a personal way and having to say to us, and we to Them.

THE FIRM FOUNDATION OF GOD STANDS

2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Corinthians 3:10, 11; Matthew 16:15 - 18

From the scriptures I have read you will have observed that my thoughts are running on divine foundations -- the foundation of God, as it is called in Timothy. The idea of foundation extends very far back, the earth itself being founded. "Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth", Proverbs 3:19. Its foundation is often alluded to in Scripture, and is particularly linked on with what I would bring before you. "He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever". Psalm 78:69. So that the thought is very old, as old as the earth; and connected with it is joy, for the foundation indicated what the great structure was to be. "Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:6, 7. Intelligence was brought into it in God's creatures, and it was discerned that great things were in view, so that it occasioned joy.

If it occasioned joy then, it would be right to expect that sympathy would be aroused in our hearts as the matter comes before us at this time; for we are the sons of God as christians, and we should not be wanting in sympathy in following up this thought of the foundation of God; the matter is so great and involves so much. Without it, there can be nothing permanent; with it, we have unshakable conditions; a kingdom that cannot be moved. I speak of it that we might be established in the apprehension of it, as Paul says, "Now he that establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God", 2 Corinthians 1:21. God loves to have us fixed and clearly apprehending the foundation upon which we rest, the

immutability of it, for storms come and waves arise, and our hearts are apt to fail us. Hence God would establish us that our feet might be firmly set and that we might know they are on a firm foundation.

I would begin with the thought as it appears in view of our own times. It is said of our times that they are difficult, and it is in this very connection that we have this great thought introduced, for the difficulties that arise tend to baffle us. We say, Why should this be? Why has God allowed it? Why are there so few actually walking in the truth? How often do such questions arise in our minds -- questions having their root in unbelief! And this is alluded to in the first passage read. Paul was concerned about his child Timothy that he should be able to carry on after he left, for Paul was about to suffer martyrdom and he knew difficult days were coming, in view of which he wanted to prepare one man at least to stem the tide. He was concerned that Timothy's feet should be on the rock. In this connection he tells him to shun vain babblings (2 Timothy 2:16). Christendom is full of them nowadays. They offer much, but they are just the effusions of the human mind, without the Spirit, but stimulated by the truth of christianity. Such vagaries find their votaries, and the word is not to look into them, not even to test them out, but to avoid them as poison is to be avoided. They make an effective appeal to the imaginative human mind. One meets with their votaries here and there, and one is impressed with the readiness with which certain minds become occupied with, and inflated under, these profane vain babblings. They lose themselves in occupation with them; they lose their balance, and are utterly inconsistent and illogical in the conclusions they reach. It is a matter of much consequence, for even christians may be affected as coming in contact with minds imbued with such thoughts, in persons carried away as with an evil spirit. Among these, Paul singles out one kind of evil; speaking of two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, he says they are men who

have missed the mark. They aimed too high and had gone beyond anything ever proposed or suggested in regard to Christian truth, asserting something that is utterly false on the face of it. Men, including Christians, are dying every day, and yet these have the temerity to say the resurrection is past already. Others will tell you that the Lord Jesus came back to earth in 1914, while another asserts publicly in a long speech that the Lord Jesus will come on a certain day which the speaker attempts to indicate, and people are taken with it. Certain minds are capable of being captured by such vagaries, such nonsense, such palpable falsehood. These are among the things that make this time difficult, and the apostle proceeds to tell Timothy to avoid this, saying, "profane, vain babblings shun, for they will advance to greater impiety, and their word will spread as a gangrene", 2 Timothy 2:16, 17. Do not touch these things, have nothing to do with them; they are terrible things, and one of the most vicious is Christian Science. That has captured thousands upon thousands. I take it no one here is exposed to it, but the tendency of the human mind is towards these vain babblings, unless through grace we are kept. "I stir up ... your pure mind", writes Peter (2 Peter 3:1). These vain things stir up impure minds, minds carried away by such fallacies. Christians should have pure minds, not "following cleverly imagined fables", as Peter again writes, as having been an eyewitness of our Lord's majesty, when He "received from God the Father honour and glory, such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory". The voice said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight; and this voice we heard uttered from heaven, being with him on the holy mountain", 2 Peter 1:16 - 18. Such a voice -- that is Christianity, there is nothing vague about it, or extreme. It is all on accredited testimony, and God has called us back to it. Many have responded and come back from their vagaries, they have come back to a sure footing. Many here tonight have a

sure footing, I know, but I speak of it that we may be on it more firmly than ever. "The firm foundation of God stands". Whether it be rendered "the foundation of God standeth sure", or "the firm foundation of God", the force is the same. God's foundation is immutable and has a seal upon it.

I want to occupy you with this, that your affections may be brought into the matter of this seal, "The Lord knows those that are his". Do I know all that are His? I have to admit constantly that I do not. The Lord knows all. This aspect of the seal belonging to the foundation ought to appeal to us. It is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. Paul does not refer to it in writing to the Corinthians, nor did the Lord Jesus allude to it in speaking to Peter of His building the assembly. The thought of the seal belongs peculiarly to the remnant, the bearing of it is on ourselves, on our times, when we do not know a tithe of our brethren, alas! Today, to attempt to compute how many Christians there are would be as the sin of David (2 Samuel 24:10); but this seal is that the Lord knows all that are His. He can tell you at any given time how many there are. He is not telling us, for it is for us to find them; were we told, it might inflate us. The Lord reserves that knowledge, but He tells us that He knows, and that is a comfort to all of us. "The Lord knows those that are his", that is on one side of the seal.

We read of the foundation in Ephesians: "the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the corner-stone" (Ephesians 2:20), and in type "Solomon's foundation", but nothing of this seal. It belongs to our times. It ought to humble us that we do not know our brethren, but, on the other hand, it comforts and encourages us that the Lord knows all. He knows where they are and He is at the door knocking. That is the Lord's present wonderful service to His own -- He is knocking. He is solicitous for them all, He wishes to

come in and sup with them (Revelation 3:20). Have you supped with Him? It may be there is one here who has not, someone who has never opened his door to Christ. The Lord knows all about you; He has a seat for you. He bears your name on His breastplate, He intercedes for you. It may be you have just turned in here that He may give you light; this meeting may be as the Lord's knock. Perhaps He has been knocking at your door before, and you have not answered. He may have taken away some loved one, or your money, or you may have lost your position. The Lord uses these circumstances to knock at your door, and you have not opened to Him. He is knocking again, telling you that He knows you and that you are one of His, that He has a right to you. One of His -- how precious! "Jesus, knowing that his hour had come that he should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end", John 13:1. You, among them, loved to the end, and yet you are not available to Him. He has to get along in the testimony without you. He will not be without you in heaven, but now, He is. I take it you are a believer, that you do love Him. He would touch you now and would say, will you not open the door that I may come in and sup with you? The truth is, if He sup but once, you will love Him more than ever. He is so considerate; He lets us constrain Him. Of some it is said that "they constrained him, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is declining. And he entered in to stay with them. And it came to pass as he was at table with them, having taken the bread, he blessed, and having broken it, gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he disappeared from them", Luke 24:29 - 31. They were affected by it, they thought more of Him than ever! They went back to Jerusalem and related to the disciples what had happened on the way, and it was at that moment that the Lord stood in their midst. He would sup with them. "Have ye anything here to eat?" He

inquires, and He took what they provided, and ate before them.

This part of the seal, that the Lord knoweth those that are His, is in the foundation. It is an integral part of the foundation reserved for remnant times. The other side of the seal is, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity". These are the things that meet you if you want to get your foot on the foundation, firstly that the Lord knows those that are His; and secondly, that if you are linked up with what is contrary to Him, you must leave it. This is like a notice put up as you approach. You know, as you read it, that if you are associated with iniquity you must depart from it. It is written thus upon the seal and it is imperative. "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity".

Paul has indicated to us one feature of iniquity in the profane, vain babblings; but there are many others. It is for us to discover them and where we are ourselves, whether we are linked up with anything iniquitous, anything that affects Christ adversely. The seal is before our eyes with its imperative message, "Let every one ... withdraw from iniquity". You must depart from it if you have anything to do with this matter of coming on to the firm foundation, for the foundation of God does not support iniquity. It is utterly foreign to it, and that is the foundation that stands in relation to remnant times, and we are in these times. The Spirit of God is operating throughout the world, making all this known. Many have answered to it, and God is appealing to you here tonight. Depart from iniquity! What the iniquity is, is for you to determine. Do not let this night pass without doing it.

Turning to 1 Corinthians 3, you will notice I am working backwards from the present day. It is an intelligible way to develop this thought. For if I move in the light of 2 Timothy, then I am ready to move in the light of 1 and 2 Corinthians; and that brings me to

move in the light of Matthew 16. The subject intensifies as we go backwards, till we come to the supreme thought in Matthew 16. The foundation of God is the great general thought, but there are three definite points to note in 2 Timothy -- that it is God's foundation, that it stands firm, and that it has this seal of which we have spoken.

Now at Corinth the question was, what was laid there? What is laid here -- for that matter, or in London, in Melbourne, or in New York? What has been laid? What testimony has been rendered? What have the saints come on to? What kind of a foundation is it? What are we standing on? If I were an Episcopalian, a Roman Catholic, or a Presbyterian, I should be bound to inquire what kind of foundation that is. What is it that is laid in any given place, as at Corinth, where it was a local matter, where the saints addressed resided; what was presented there? Paul says, "Ye are God's husbandry", it is a question of God's rights in Corinth. He had property in Corinth. "Ye are God's husbandry, God's building", 1 Corinthians 3:9. Paul was about to speak to them of that building and its foundation, which he says he had laid. "According to the grace of God which has been given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation, but another builds upon it. But let each see how he builds upon it. For other foundation can no man lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ", 1 Corinthians 3:10, 11. There is none other. The foundation is Jesus Christ. There were rivals of Paul there who would lead people on to other lines, but he says there is no other foundation, and it was laid there in Corinth. Now you may say, Why is it Jesus Christ here in 1 Corinthians? Why is it different from Matthew 16? The apostle is dealing with a locality here and it was that feature of the foundation they were needing; he wrote thus that the saints might be brought on to that feature of the truth needed to meet current proclivities; for the city of Corinth was proverbial for its wickedness; the natural man was cultured and rich

in this world's goods, and looseness of all kinds prevailed. It marked the place. So the foundation laid must be over against this to nullify it. "Jesus Christ, and him crucified". You could not connect loose things with Jesus Christ. "For such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners", Hebrews 7:26. That is the kind of Man who is presented now in the city. If a wicked profligate comes in, he hears Paul present Jesus Christ and Him crucified. "For I did not judge it well to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified", 1 Corinthians 2:2. He would not preach more than that; it is the exact opposite of the Corinthians naturally, and he goes on, "that your faith might not stand in men's wisdom, but in God's power", 1 Corinthians 2:5. Many did believe and as believers they came on to that foundation of which Paul had written that there was no other. "As a wise architect, I have laid the foundation". He knew the thing that was needed in the town and presented that; many were set up on that foundation, and that being so, Paul says, Ye are God's building.

To Timothy, Paul speaks of the foundation being God's; but here, to the Corinthians, he says, "I have laid the foundation". All these things were requisite that they should see what they were standing upon. You may be a believer and standing on a certain testimony presented to you, and yet there may be other features not known to you. The testimony of Christ is to be confirmed in us, "according as the testimony of the Christ has been confirmed in you", 1 Corinthians 1:6. God confirmed Paul's preaching, as he said, "Now he that establishes us with you in Christ ... is God", 2 Corinthians 1:21. They were set up on that foundation and the result expected was that they might indeed refuse all wickedness, all looseness, and all that is inconsistent with Christ. That is how it works out. "Let each see how he builds upon it", 1 Corinthians 3:10. You have here in this city of Cape Town a pure foundation, one is rejoiced to see it, but each one should be adding to it, taking heed how he

builds, for he may damage others. There is a voice to us all in this verse, "Let each see how he builds upon it". "I have laid the foundation, but another builds upon it". Paul was not building there any more; each had to contribute and to build upon that which the wise architect had laid. The building is to grow, but take heed how you build, that it be according to the foundation. Let the test be Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that shuts the door effectively against all that is contrary.

In Matthew 16 we come to a most exalted side of the truth; it is a challenge as to what people are saying about Jesus. They have arrived at a state of things in which all kinds of questionings were rife as to Himself. The Jews are great questioners, great wranglers, great disputants; they contended with John's disciples about purification instead of listening to the truth. The Jews today are, of course, literal Jews, but there are those spoken of in the address to Philadelphia who are not literal, those "who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie". Many things mark them, but the Lord says, "I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee". What a distinction! Everyone is to know how great that is! -- to be loved by Christ, and every one to know it! These Jews have many traits, but they are always militating against the truth in one way and another, and questioning marks them. So the Lord says, "Who do men say that I the Son of man am?" Matthew 16:13. We are supposed to know what they are saying. You will understand I do not want to make you read the newspapers, yet the Lord intends us to know what is current that affects Him. Who do you say Jesus is? What is your own judgment? Well, you say, So-and-so says ... and I have just read ... but the Lord would ask, "who do ye say that I am?" The question implies, what have you come to in your own soul? The disciples knew what was being said -- that he was Elias, Jeremias, John: all dignified persons; but men did not know the Person of Christ. Even a Unitarian might say

this, or that He was greater then Elias. They did not know the Person of Christ, but that is the test for the moment; Who is He? The devil beclouds the truth by dropping his suggestions into the hearts of God's people, so the Lord asks, "But ye, who do ye say that I am?" Matthew 16:15. It is a very pertinent question. There is not one here but should be able to answer it for himself. He is my Saviour, you say, but who is He? What is your conclusion as to Christ? Well, each of the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, gives an answer according to the point of view of his respective gospel. Matthew is concerned about the assembly and gives a full answer; he gives Peter's answer in full; "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". What I am concerned about is to get you on to the line of knowing who your Saviour is. Scripture is full of inferences as to who He is, inferences as to the deity of Christ; inferences that work into your whole being as you read the Scriptures. If I think of the very names of Jesus, those contain the idea of His deity. Emmanuel means "God with us"; and Jesus, "Jehovah is Saviour". So with every name of Christ, each impresses us with the thought of His deity, whether inferentially or by direct statement. If we cannot answer the Lord's question as to who He is, we are not able to stand up against false teaching, and our footing will be weak as to the foundation. Simon Peter answering said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". What a moment that was, and what a moment in our soul's history when we are able to say that, not because Scripture says it, but because we have our feet on that foundation, our salvation depends upon it. The knowledge of Christ as presented here is to be definitely in our souls. What a moment for Christ this was! It is the first time He had been addressed in this way, from the mouth of any creature of His, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the

heavens" (verse 17). Now this a blessing the Lord intends to rest on every christian. They are all blessed, of course, in the salvation of their souls, but this is a blessing beyond that; far exceeding the blessing Jacob came into. Isaac told Esau that that blessing was irrevocable, for the blessing he had given Jacob was fixed. Here we have a peculiar blessing. It is not that the Lord lifts up His hands and blesses Peter; the point is that he is blessed in having such light in his soul. See what a man he is, what any christian is! What light you have in your soul! -- and that light in principle, is yourself, for God regards you in that way. Blessed art thou, He would say. There is not a christian here to whom the word does not apply, I mean a christian in the full sense of the word, one in whose soul there is light as to the Person of Christ.

I would refer you to Zacchaeus of Jericho, who is an excellent example of this. He was said to be the chief tax-gatherer to the Jews -- a very odious kind of man; he would not be well thought of, and he was little of stature and rich. The Spirit of God gives us this description, but also says that "he sought to see Jesus who he was". The Lord knew that, and it made him exceedingly interesting to Jesus. It may be that someone listening at this time is saying in his heart, I cannot understand what you are speaking of, I cannot say much as to the Person of Christ, I know what the Scripture says and I believe the current teaching -- like Martha -- yet I have not in my soul what you are speaking of. To any such I would say, Have you a desire to know? If you have not the desire to know Jesus, your christianity is very questionable, but if you have a desire to know who that glorious One is your christianity is assured. He will see to it that you do know. Zacchaeus ran forward and went up the sycamore tree to see Jesus who He was, and the Lord knew that. There was something in his way; he needed adjustment, and you do too. You have not as yet arrived at the knowledge of the Person of Christ, your eye is dim, and the Lord would adjust it;

He knows what is in your heart. He says, Zacchaeus, you are looking down on Me, you are in a wrong position. If I do not know Christ I am apt to despise Him. I despise Him practically in the way I despise His people. In speaking ill of christians we are speaking ill of Christ; as we despise christians, we despise Christ. They are identified with Christ, they are bearing His reproach, and the flesh does not like that, so they are despised. The Lord said to Saul, "why persecutest thou me?" He identified Himself with His own. So here, He says to Zacchaeus, You are in the wrong position, you are looking down on Me, "make haste and come down, for today I must remain in thy house"; as if to say, I will make myself known to you, I will come into your house, and you can look at Me from every point of view, and see Me as I am to be seen. The Person of Christ is infinite, but He has come into manhood, and we can see Him in all His perfections. How the bride in Canticles can describe her Beloved in His varied beauty! -- she can name every feature that marked Him. So the Lord says here, I will be in your house today, I will abide there. He knew what was in his heart, and Zacchaeus came down and received Him gladly. What an honour it was for him to have this glorious Person in his house! The Lord says, "Today salvation is come to this house". He needed that. The difficulty often is that we are in need of salvation; we are not free from ourselves, not free from the blur that the world causes in our eyes; we want to be saved from these things. Salvation is come, it is just what you need, and you need it in your house.

Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return him fourfold". He showed he was a righteous man. There are certain questions to be settled before we can arrive at this great question of the knowledge of the Person of Christ. This question of righteousness must be settled. Things are not just right with us; we are not

clear about this matter. Zacchaeus showed he was; a righteous man, and the Lord says he is a son of Abraham, He links him up with Abraham. He is a true believer, he is of the true family of Abraham, and hence is able to enter into the knowledge of the Person of Christ. The knowledge of Christ extends right back to Abraham's time; Isaac was a figure of it. The knowledge of Christ's Person shone from Abraham onwards. Now here is a son of Abraham, and he is to come into all this. What a heritage is the knowledge of the Person of Christ! Peter acknowledged it fully, and the Lord said, You are blessed. Would that everyone were in the enjoyment of that blessing, the blessing which goes with the understanding and confessing of the Person of Christ! The Lord says, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona"; he is veritably blessed in himself because of the acknowledgment. He has that light in his soul, and it is for every one of us here tonight. I would not go outside this room without this blessing, the blessing that attaches to the knowledge of Christ as the Son of God. Peter says, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". The Lord says, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona". All the colleges in the world, religious or otherwise, could not reveal this to him. It is a spiritual matter. Christians are supposed to be spiritual, their minds are supposed to be renewed in knowledge, after the image of Him who created them, and hence they are able to take in this wonderful thought, the knowledge of the Son of the living God. The Lord says, "flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens". It is a direct transaction between the Father and the believer's soul. Can we afford to be without it? We cannot. It makes us stand up on a firm foundation, it is the most exalted feature of the truth before us, the Rock, as the Lord calls it. Peter is not only blessed, but he is part of the building. The Lord says to him, "thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly". He is Peter -- a stone, the same kind of material as the rock.

He himself writes later, "To whom coming, a living stone, ... yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house". You see how great all this truth is, how spiritual it is, how attractive it is. Can christians do without it? -- they cannot. To be without it is to be without the greatest heritage. To know Jesus, the Son of the living God, the Christ, the Man that does everything for God, the Man that delights His heart -- the Son of His love -- is incomparable blessing. It is not here His abstract deity, always an inscrutable fact, but what is before us refers to Him as incarnate. That is the Man we have to do with, the Man that has come within our view, who maintains everything for God, and builds up this wonderful structure which He calls "my assembly". It is as become Man that He is the foundation of the assembly, so He says, "on this rock I will build my assembly, and hades' gates shall not prevail against it". You will see, dear brethren, that as in the light of all this we are to be consciously in it, and consciously going through; we thus fear nothing, no power in heaven or on earth can overwhelm it.

May God bless His word. It embodies one of the most important things I can put before you; and God will give you understanding as to it as He gave understanding to Peter.

FAITH AS CHARACTERISTIC

Mark 16:1 - 20

J.T. It occurred to me to take up the subject of faith, and how all must be in the region of faith. Service is only effective as carried on on the principle of faith. The jailor at Philippi in Acts 16 asked, "Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house"; then something was added to this statement of salvation, "they spoke to him the word of the Lord with all that were in his house". In that house itself there was the state of faith, and of joy too.

This that I speak of is not just the faith that brings one into salvation; it is not a faith that afterwards lapses. It is intended to characterise the believer so that the Lord accredits certain with having it, and it is also intended that it should be continued. Whether individually or household-wise, the believer is to be marked by it. Yet in this 16th chapter of Mark we see how, even with positive ground for faith, our hearts may be unbelieving; and where such a condition arises, individually or household-wise, the Lord must come in. What had preceded had resulted in no testimony being rendered. "They said nothing to any one, for they were afraid", (verse 8.) The Lord takes the matter up and the result is a clear ending, but He holds to the thought of faith right through, drawing our attention to the fact that it is by believing we shall be saved.

C.C.E. What is your thought of faith -- how would you define it for us?

J.T. One always reverts in one's mind to the definition given in Hebrews 11"Now faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". It is an assurance of things hoped for, and a conviction of things not seen. In contrast to sight, it is the conviction of things not seen. It stands in relation to

things in the unseen realm, outside the realm of sight. Adam, the first man, was set up in relation to things seen. There is no word to him about believing, but testimony was there for him to see and the facts given indicate that he was affected by it. When Adam called his wife's name Eve, she was not yet a mother, nor had anything of the judgment pronounced yet been executed. So there was in Adam a conviction that there would be such happenings. There was to be the bruising of the serpent's head; "he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt crush his heel", Genesis 3:15. That is how matters began, with a conviction. This is followed up in Abel. Though Adam is not spoken of as having faith, he certainly had conviction. I think it arises in that way. Things are substantiated to us; the assembly is outwardly formed by that principle, the constitution and continuation of the assembly is, of course, also by the Spirit. Eve, too, is convicted by the testimony given by God -- she had the thought of acquiring a man with Jehovah as Cain was born.

H.W.R. Would you say faith for the believer is the receiving of fresh light?

J.T. Yes; and then the state of faith is to continue. Many think of faith as a historic matter, as exercised at a given time, but they neglect the need of the continuance of it as a state in the soul. The jailor took in the word "with all that were in his house". The apostle had spoken a word that would enhance and open up what had been first announced to him. "And he took them the same hour of the night and washed them from their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his straightway. And having brought them into his house he laid the table for them, and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God". The experience was sustained and the state of faith was in relation to his house; the conditions of faith were in the house. John's gospel works it out in a peculiar way, repudiating what is spurious. There is a kind of faith that is not trustworthy,

as seen in John 2:23 - 25. New birth is the only ground for true faith. "These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name". Notice that. It is as believing that we have life. It is the state of faith.

H.W.R. It is a state in which we are maintained, ready for whatever comes along.

J.T. We refuse or throw off things that cause disease, in that way, but where this state is non-existent, we are not ready to meet such things, and we become damaged.

J.St. How is the state produced in us?

J.T. The beginning of it is the presentation of Christ to our souls. "Believe on the Lord Jesus ..." You receive a clear presentation of the Person, who is to be the object of your faith. Possibly the jailor had never before heard the Name. Now it was presented to him in a beautiful, feeling way. Then the word of the Lord was spoken to him and to all in his house. The apostle sees the opportunity to open up the mind of the Lord, to open up the truth to him. The point is to be in the state of faith and thus within the range of the word of the Lord. The next thing is what move you yourself make, because faith worketh by love (Galatians 5:6). Faith being a living thing, there are works. The doing of these is sustenance in itself. "He laid the table for them". It was not just that he saw that the servants did it, but it was an act of love on his own part. Then he "rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God". The state of faith continues.

H.W.R. Of the courtier in Capernaum whose son was sick, it is said in John 4, "the man believed the word which Jesus said to him, and went his way", and in verse 53, "The father therefore knew that it was in that hour in which Jesus said to him, Thy son lives; and he believed, himself and his whole house".

J.T. That shows the thing growing. He was confirmed in his faith. He had taken notice of what the Lord said, he had noted the time when the Lord spoke,

and marked how the recovery had transpired exactly as the Lord had said; so his faith was nourished. It is nourished in us continually by subsequent things. The point is to be ready. When the servant brought the message, it was a confirmation to faith. Light comes in, but faith must be sustained -- "for by faith ye stand", 2 Corinthians 1:24.

J.H.H. Would you say more as to the house coming under the benefit of this faith?

J.T. What a benefit it was to the jailor's house! He rejoiced with his house. The word "house" here involves the household and the believer's faith in relation to it. He would not be an irritable, complaining father, and thus there would be nourishment of faith; a soil in which the children will grow according to God. Mark 16 is searching to our hearts, for it gives us to see how prone we are to be unbelieving. The most valued of the Lord's disciples are here, and all are marked by unbelief, Mary Magdalene among them. The best are liable to it, and we must not think that others only are meant; it is for us all; the tendency in us is to be unbelieving.

J.St. The substance of their conversation had been of an unbelieving character.

J.T. Questions are useless, when the thing to do is to look. "Who shall roll us away the stone?" They were not looking. The stone was rolled away. There was no gain in that particular talk. Conviction should have been by the position of the stone, and then by their going into the sepulchre.

B.T. We are apt to raise difficulties that are perhaps not there.

J.T. There is no difficulty if you go the whole way, not expecting other people to go and return to tell you. You should go yourself and see. Brethren of course are glad to tell you, but why do you not go yourself? You might, as it were, be staying at home, discussing it; you do not know a brother who can roll that stone away.

But the stone is no longer there and you will discover this if you go to the sepulchre; you get light there. They look and "see that the stone has been rolled away". Those women were honoured in the journey they took. It is Peter and John who go in, according to John's account, not Mary of Magdala at first. But here in Mark, they go in and see the young man. That is remarkable. When they are looking for the Lord, they see a young man, and he is peculiarly clothed. He has cheering words for them, and knows what he is saying. He is a young man, but saying the right things, clothed in white, suggesting purity in service. He is there to impress you. Before you see the Lord, you see this person.

C.C.E. What does that signify to us?

J.T. The Lord is not here. There is no suggestion here of an immediate meeting. The message is "go, tell his disciples and Peter, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said to you" (verse 7). I think what is presented in the young man is to have its bearing during the period until you see the Lord. For each of us the application is that I am to be that young man, taking the Lord's place here in testimony. The Lord has definitely risen (verse 6). It is a fixed matter. The young man is a person who can testify and tell you about Him. There is with him definiteness and purity. If you are prepared to give a message, these are necessary attributes. The dispensation is set on foot, not in the old, but in the young, and that is because it is to go on.

J.St. He was the vessel of testimony for the moment.

J.T. I think he represents the dispensation. "There shall ye see him, as he said to you". He told you. You should know. You did not pay attention. There is adjustment in all this. "But go, tell his disciples and Peter, he goes before you into Galilee". It is not that He will see you as He says in John, but that "there shall ye see him". That is, we are left here in a scene of responsibility, of heavy responsibility. The place Galilee is a good way off. Things are not made easy for

us, but what we have before us, how glorious and how, great! How worth the while to go in definitely for it!

H.W.R. Mary's message in John conveyed a wholly new thought to them. This in Mark was what was mainly already known to them, but not received in faith.

J.T. There is no distance to travel in John's account, nor in Luke's. Here in Mark what is stressed is that it is an important matter, involving sacrifice, but how worth while, for we see the Lord there! It is a peculiar garb in which the young man is seen, and he is on the right side of the sepulchre. "They saw a young man sitting on the right" -- the place of power. This is to be understood by the levites, by those who are to serve. We begin by marking what is presented to us in that young man. There has to be both purity and definiteness in service; we should be able to answer questions accurately, clearly, and in purity.

J.H.H. David brought the age of the Levites down to twenty, emphasising this same idea of youthfulness in service.

J.T. Yes, in Numbers 8 the Levites are presented to Jehovah. Twenty-two thousand there are, and they had been told what to do. "This shall be the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving, and in carrying". It was all in the sovereignty of God. Chapter 5 had dealt with the leper; "both male and female shall ye put out; outside the camp shall ye put them". And in the woman and her husband, (verse 12), we have the thought of the Lord's jealousy introduced, His holy jealousy in love. Then in chapter 7 the princes indicate the richness and unity that marked Israel. It is then that the Levites are brought and presented to Jehovah, and He is so pleased with them that "Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, This is that which concerneth the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward shall he come to labour in the work of the service of the tent of meeting", Numbers 8:23, 24. God made the age less, evidently because the Levites were pleasing to Him. The Levites had been

offered to God and He found them so acceptable to Him that, as it were, God says, I would have more of those. God is calling to the young, but on His own terms, of course. Then as our brother has mentioned, by David's last words the age of the Levites for service was further reduced -- there were to be still more of them. The position of Solomon, one young and tender, the son on the throne, bore on this. There was no jealousy with David. He was not an old man saying in effect to the younger, You must wait until I die. But he would say, Come and have part with me in this service. Yet, in those young Levites, there would be subjection to, and respect for age. God wants the service distributed as widely as possible.

J.H.H. The colt and foal are mentioned in Matthew.

J.T. Only in Matthew are they mentioned, for that is the assembly gospel, but although the young are to work with the old, they must not seek to supersede them. The women at the sepulchre represent the aspect of feelings, the affectionate side. What is presented in the young man is correct position, and then purity and definiteness in service. He would rely on the power of God; this is seen in his being on the right side. That is the principle of our service. The empty sepulchre speaks to us of God's power in resurrection. "The surpassing greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of the might of his strength, in which he wrought in the Christ in raising him from among the dead", Ephesians 1:19, 20. This dispensation was inaugurated in power and in youthfulness. The disciples became old, but they began young. Paul was called when he was a young man, though there came a time when he wrote of himself to Philemon, "I rather exhort, being such a one as Paul the aged", Philemon 9.

C.C.E. Nearly all distinguished servants of the Lord begin when young.

J.T. I have often thought of that. They are taken

according to foreknowledge and the specified levitical age shows that God would use them in the prime period of their lives.

J.S. What does the Lord's appearing (verses 9, 10), bring out in effect?

J.T. The ineffectiveness of the efforts of these women to reach the truth is brought out in the first part of this chapter. In spite of the message they had received, in spite of what they had seen in the sepulchre, look at what Mark has to tell us of those women! (verse 8): "And trembling and excessive amazement possessed them, and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid". That was the state in which they were. It was not faith. There could be no testimony to God from those in such a state. All that had preceded had not been effective in their souls. A brother does his best, but the general state of a given meeting is such that it requires the Lord's own hand to put things right. When you come to a point like that in a crisis, it is best to admit it. You find things not nearly what you had thought they were. Because of strong leadership and spiritual ministry, things go on well outwardly, but in a crisis you are surprised to find how persons are governed by what is false, and by fleshly feeling. Here are these women -- could you get any like them in devotion? Yet look at their state! They are no longer free people, but possessed by amazement. That is their general state.

C.C.E. Surely when the young man sitting on the right and clothed in a white robe spoke, that should have allayed their alarm! His words should have encouraged them, but it was then that excessive amazement possessed them.

J.T. We get carried along by ministry, but unless it affects us morally, when a crisis arises uncertainty and confusion will ensue, whereas if we are with God, profiting by what He ministers to us, we shall see "all things clearly". The absence of this clearness of vision is one of the most distressing symptoms as troubles

arise. It is disastrous in brothers who are in the position of leadership. Instead of judging by the facts of a difficult case, which the law of God's house requires, we are governed by our personal relations to, or knowledge of the persons involved, or what others tell us of them.

B.T. The devotion of these women was not in question.

J.T. But what a state of unbelief! Am I characterised by these things in a crisis? Does darkness lay hold of me? The Lord allows difficulties to arise to expose our state. Acknowledging our weakness, we shall all say, if we are wise, The only One who can put the matter right is the Lord; and He will come in as in verse 9. Even His movements seem for a while ineffective, the unbelief is so great. Nevertheless, ultimately He secures His end with them. He brings us there to the point of realising that we thought we had more spirituality than we really had. We might as well come to that point and turn to the Lord about it. Some critics say that verses 9 to the end should not be included in the chapter, but they are Scripture. They strikingly show how the Lord effects complete victory when things seem to have gone to the wall.

C.C.E. It would have been a terrible calamity, surely, for the gospel to end at verse 8!

J.T. I have often thought that. Mark says, "he appeared first to Mary of Magdala", as if He had selected that particular person. She had been among the others, but she shows up better by herself. The practice of sisters getting together does not help; it is a wrong principle. They should keep with the brothers. Mary went to the brothers at once. She ran to them, according to John's account.

C.C.E. I am concerned about sisters meeting together in a crisis, it does much harm.

J.T. I have seen it. Let the sisters keep by the brothers. The head of the woman is the man; and of the man, Christ. That is the divine order.

C.C.E. I think we have proved by experience what you have said.

J.R. What is there for us in the fact that Mary was the first here to be recovered?

J.T. She represents what God usually has in such circumstances -- one who is true and hence easily adjusted. She had been the subject of a great work of the Lord. It is mentioned of her -- "out of whom he had cast seven demons". The Lord had so wrought in her that their position had become untenable -- a striking fact. It was her state. John's account follows this up particularly. Here Mark would set out the truth as to the leading brothers. That is what we need to keep before us; and that in spite of the facts stated He made them trustworthy, confiding the testimony to them.

H.W.R. Here, it looks as though the women did not carry the message at all.

J.T. Of Mary it is said, "She went and brought word to those that had been with him, who were grieving and weeping. And when these heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, they disbelieved it". Those who had been with Him! They disbelieved such a testimony! "Neither did they believe them". There is nothing to be said for the leading brothers here. When the Lord takes up the matter He brings the state of unbelief to an end. Mark says, "And after these things he was manifested in another form". What grace! His love would go the full length, even to the extent of taking another form. He will never stop till He reaches His end with us. Though it looks hopeless, the Lord is not giving up.

H.W.R. Each case needed the Lord's own personal intervention.

J.T. Some of us were noticing in Luke 22 the Lord's power in dealing with every situation that can arise. The disciples were asleep while the Lord was praying in agony. He says, "Why sleep ye? rise up and pray that ye enter not into temptation", Luke 22:46. That

was the word for that situation. To Judas the Lord said, "Judas, deliverest thou up the Son of man with a kiss?" That settled his case morally. And Peter smites the servant of the high priest. "Jesus answering said, Suffer thus far; and having touched his ear, he healed him". That word was intended for the whole dispensation, to settle such a matter. The Reformers missed that bit of instruction, although it was there for them. The chapter is a great array of the power of the Lord to deal with any and every situation that arises. To the captains of the temple He says, "When I was day by day with you in the temple ye did not stretch out your hands against me". They were acting unfairly, as enemies do, and that word settled it. Peter denied the Lord, and the cock crew. "And the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said to him, Before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter, going forth without, wept bitterly". In principle he is restored. There is no matter that He will not settle. There is never a difficulty among the saints that is settled but by the Lord coming in. It is settled by His hand of power. In verse 14 the Lord has to reproach them "with their unbelief and hardness of heart". This is a challenge to all, "Because they had not believed those who had seen him risen". We are not to depend on more instruction, it is a question of state. The Lord takes it up with them. How quickly He sets them right! "And he said to them, Go into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to all the creation". That follows on directly. It is wonderful that He could say that immediately. He knew exactly the potentiality of each of the disciples. His knowledge of us is exact. Peter said, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest", John 21:15.

N.G. We need faith in a living Christ. These were unbelieving, thinking only of a dead Christ. They would have kept on mourning.

J.T. They were full of sorrow, but after all it was in unbelief. Although the Lord would value their grief on

account of Him, what is the outcome of unbelief cannot help. Faith should permanently mark the believer. We read of "a believing woman", and again of "the unfeigned faith which has been in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice", 2 Timothy 1:5. Faith in thee -- the thing is there characteristically.

Ques. Would "Go into all the world" apply today?

J.T. Here the point is to "preach the glad tidings to all the creation". "Go into all the world" is that the preaching is to go on in spite of opposition. Man had a link with God as His creature. The world referred to thus is the place of the preaching, but it is in opposition to it. The preaching is to the creatures of God.

Rem. We need faith for that.

J.T. All that follows is to encourage the servants. "And they, going forth, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs following upon it", Mark 16:20. There is spiritual power which follows us when upon this course. The Lord is here tonight helping us. The whole course of things in view here in Mark 16 is supported, and signs followed; all is realised in the realm of faith.

C.C.E. The Lord is at the right hand of power to carry on to the end.

J.St. The idea of power specially belongs to Mark. The young man was in keeping with it.

J.T. He represents Mark's view. There is no giving in, even in the worst situation that can be thought of. The Lord stands by us in power, as we stand by His testimony. There is nothing too hard for Him.

S.S. In what way do we get confirmation by signs today?

J.T. There is what corresponds. There are evidences of the Lord's power in this room. You see the saints getting on in their souls. It is evidence to faith that God is here. There is no shadow of doubt as to what is going on. The signs are public. These, of course,

were literal miraculous signs, of which we have no need today.

All our operations are to be carried on in the faith of the Lord's session at the right hand of God: "And they, going forth, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them". That is the position until the end, from the standpoint, not of the assembly here, but of the levites.

Ques. Must you have the breaking of bread before the preaching?

J.T. The assembly existed before the preaching at Pentecost, but generally the preaching is needed to procure people to break bread. Peter did not preach before the assembly was there. Nevertheless, "Philip, going down to a city of Samaria, preached the Christ to them", Acts 8:5. There had been no breaking of bread at Samaria.

C.C.E. It looks as though the disciples went further afield than did the apostles themselves.

J.T. Yes, after Stephen's death, "all were scattered into the countries of Judaea and Samaria except the apostles" (Acts 8); then later Peter and John came down to Samaria, (verses 14, 15). We do not get details of others, but those scattered at the time of Stephen's death went as far as Antioch, and preached, and many turned to the Lord.

H.W.R. Can we count on verse 18 now?

J.T. It has to be understood spiritually; yet, as in christendom, we are certainly kept from terrible things so that we may carry on the preaching and service of God generally. What deadly things have existed in the professing body through the ages! Now we have the Lord accompanying the word with power. The Lord opens up the position to us. It is Christ at the right hand of God. "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem", Ecclesiastes 1:1. Wherever we are, we can count on Christ at the right hand of God to support us as in His service.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Romans 8:1 - 11, 20, 21; Romans 15:1 - 7

J.T. The kingdom of God is presented in Scripture in a variety of ways, and is a very extensive subject, so that it cannot be compassed in one meeting, but I would dwell on our entrance into it, and what it is that we enter; and how as having entered, we in a sense become the kingdom. John says, "To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us a kingdom", Revelation 1:5.

I think it would help us at this meeting, in view of others, to dwell a little on this truth, for many things militate against our apprehending intelligently what is meant by it. Although the term is familiar to us, its significance is not much known. Its practical application may be seen, but not so as to be distinguished intelligently.

When God began with the idea of a kingdom in Adam, giving him dominion (Genesis 1:28), He tested him as to whether he could give suitable names to the animals of the field and the fowls of heaven, and evidently Adam qualified in that, for God altered none of the names which he gave. God allows us to take as much part in His realm as we are equal to.

Romans 5 helps us as to initial ideas concerning the kingdom. In John 3 we have the idea -- first of seeing it, and then of entering it. Romans 14 tells us explicitly that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit". That is to be arrived at, and this chapter presents the idea of "access by faith into this favour in which we stand" after the unfolding of the gospel in its doctrine in chapters 3 and 4. It opens with our entrance into it. Paul speaks of the character of christians, and, making his subject more attractive, speaks buoyantly. Those who read this epistle should be drawn into divine things, learning to name them aright. The term "kingdom" would be readily understood in Rome, as it was the centre

of the government of the world of that day. How much more necessary it was for the saints in Rome to understand the principles underlying the kingdom of God into which believers come. "Therefore having been justified on the principle of faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom we have also access by faith into this favour in which we stand", Romans 5:1, 2. We have access. The earlier part of the epistle has to do with God's movement toward us. It is the "gospel of God ... concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord", and the unfolding of His righteousness and power in chapters 3 and 4. Then in chapter 5 there is the question of our movement, which perhaps is not so much noticed as it should be. There is presented the idea of our having access. Do we take advantage of that?

H.W.R. Is "this favour in which we stand" the kingdom? Romans 5:2.

J.T. It is one of the features making it attractive. The nearer to God you get on this line, the more liberty you have. It begins in Romans with being in favour with God and ends in Ephesians where we have access to the Father.

C.C.E. What is the entrance into the kingdom that is presented to us in this epistle?

J.T. The beginning of it is a sense of favour. John quotes the Lord as saying, "Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God", John 3:5. So that it is a question of what is effected in us in relation to the kingdom, but the thing is there for our entry into it. Romans does not raise the question of birth, but it is made the underlying principle in the believer. What do you say as to that?

C.C.E. Certainly. John does not tell us so distinctly what the kingdom is, but that we enter in. Paul describes it.

J.T. In Romans, and particularly in this chapter 5, it is all through Christ's instrumentality, what is opened up through Christ, what He has effected for us,

what has come in for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is a title which involves the kingdom.

J.S. You spoke of being able to name things. Is that in relation to our entering the kingdom?

J.T. Yes. As reading Romans, one ought to be able to name things; for this would show that we understand our characteristics.

L.W. Naming implies intelligence.

J.T. Exactly. You see the need for intelligence. God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Man became a living soul", Genesis 2:7. Adam thus was intelligent, and this was shown, as we have said, in his naming the animals.

H.W.R. Is it only as indwelt by the Spirit that we can name things?

J.T. It begins with new birth. It is remarkable how soon a child begins to speak as others do. You might train a dog, but it will never come to what a child will. The faculty is not in him. John shows what is effected in us, so that we are constituted able to name things. Take the American constitution as an illustration. A citizen would be supposed to know and understand its legislative and administrative features, and be able to use its current phrases in speaking of the government. He is rendered able to do so by coming daily into contact with it, and should he come to Washington, because he is a citizen he has the privilege, at certain times, of shaking hands with the President. A citizen has a sense of favour, of being brought into all the advantages of the State; he is conversant with whatever is there, the country's wealth and its society. The more he knows of it, the more richly he enjoys his citizenship. So in spiritual things you become the richer in your soul as you can name what you have come into. It has a delivering effect from man's kingdom. You have come into what is so much greater.

J.H.H. In that way the kingdom is a means to an end?

J.T. "So also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord", Romans 5:21.

It leads up to eternal life and to the assembly. A sense of divine favour is a very great thing. It has an effect upon you. You want to spread that thought and also to show it to others. You must have discernment to see what you are coming into. John says that, first you see it and then you enter into it. "Except any one be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God", John 3:3. "Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God", John 3:5.

In Colossians 1:13, it is "the kingdom of the Son of his love", a further and more exalted thought -- we are translated into it. Here we have access into this favour in which we stand, we move into it.

J.H.H. In presenting the kingdom, is your thought that you present all these details so that souls enter into it more thoroughly?

J.T. You make it attractive, acquainting the believer with the power of God in raising Christ and with the lengths to which God went on his behalf. "Him who has raised from among the dead Jesus our Lord, who has been delivered for our offences and has been raised for our justification", Romans 4:25. We dwell on the power that is effective on our behalf. The earlier teaching of the epistle would simplify the idea of favour, and in the sense of that "we boast in hope of the glory of God", Romans 5:2. One is in favour and has a great outlook, so great that he is boasting in it. Paul calls upon us to think of these things and how worth while it is to go in for them.

L.W. What is the glory of God in the hope of which we boast?

J.T. What God is, shining out in the future. It is God coming out in the millennium. Of course Romans does not touch on the assembly properly. Here it has the general significance of the coming out of God and the establishment of His kingdom publicly.

J.M.B. Has this a bearing on verse 3, where we are said to glory in tribulations? Does it correspond with,

"Jesus ... who, in view of the joy lying before him, endured the cross, having despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God", Hebrews 12:2?

J.T. Yes. A great prospect is set before us. "Boast in hope of the glory of God". Thus it is future, but the passage continues, "And not only that, but we also boast in tribulations". That is to say, though circumstances now are adverse, there is before us a great prospect entirely in our favour. In the meantime, things are outwardly against us; the very confession of Christ brings persecution, but we boast in these things. We see how much the hope of the glory of God laid hold on Paul -- he boasted in tribulation.

J.M.B. It would help us in regard to tribulation to realise what Jesus endured "in view of the joy lying before him".

J.T. Paul told the disciples in Lystra and Iconium and Antioch "that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God", Acts 14:22. He reminded the Hebrews how "having been enlightened, ye endured much conflict of sufferings", Hebrews 10:32. Through many tribulations, says Paul. We may as well accept that, yea, boast in it, and in verse 5 of Romans 5 he gives the reason. The idea of knowledge comes into it -- the intelligence we have by which we name these things. Tribulation is different from the glory of God -- which I can also name. It makes a great difference if I am experiencing these things knowingly. Then I am not confused and baffled by my circumstances. Eternal life comes at the end of the chapter. Tribulation is pretty sure to come on Monday, following on Lord's day. I put a name to it and I am not overwhelmed by it, because, though the devil causes it, I know God has allowed it.

J.M.B. "I went down to the potter's house; and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels", Jeremiah 18:3.

J.T. It is one of the things used for that purpose. An intelligent christian knows what he is experiencing

in his circumstances and the enemy gets no advantage. "In all these things we more than conquer through him that has loved us", Romans 8:37.

H.W.R. If we are intelligent, we shall neither faint under tribulation nor despise it.

J.T. A young christian does not stop to analyse, and so gets baffled, but tribulation works endurance, experience, and hope. What are they but workers for us? It is a great advantage to the young believer to realise that these actually work for us.

N.R. "But we do know that all things work together for good to those who love God", Romans 8:28. This brings out the spirit of buoyancy.

J.T. That is how it works out. The teaching is cumulative.

C.M.M. If a believer stops short of tribulation, he will get no further.

J.T. If you do not use these workers, you make no headway; you must come back to them. Tribulation discourages many young believers -- because they do not know what it is for.

C.C.E. You would not limit the tribulation referred to as that which is endured for the sake of the testimony?

J.T. I think it includes all tribulation. Paul said, "What persecutions I endured", 2 Timothy 3:11. As soon as a christian takes his stand, the devil says, I will upset that. He brings in a wave of tribulation. Now intelligence in believers enables us to name that as a worker in our favour.

C.C.E. Those Thessalonians were troubled in their souls because of tribulation, 1 Thessalonians 3:3.

J.T. Quite so. Those epistles had that specially in view. In the second Paul can say, "so that we ourselves make our boast in you in the assemblies of God for your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations, which ye are sustaining", 2 Thessalonians 1:4. They had not been intelligent as to this at the first.

C.C.E. They had not apprehended what they would have to contend with.

H.W.R. "And they came to Marah, and could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; ... And the people murmured ... and Jehovah shewed him wood, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters became sweet ... and there he tested them", Exodus 15:23 - 25.

J.T. It turned out for their salvation. Jehovah shewed Moses. The thing was there, but he had not seen it. It was what we have been saying, there are things all round, but we do not see them and God shows them to us. Then we have to name them. The passage here runs on to hope, "hope does not make ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us", Romans 5:5. Everything helps us because of the love of God. The Holy Spirit is able, through Paul, to call our attention to all these things, and they culminate in "eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".

V.P. Is this all individual experience?

J.T. Yes; the individual coming into it. We have the collective thought in chapter 12. In this section believers are like the boards of the tabernacle. God said to Moses, "the boards for the tabernacle thou shalt make of acacia-wood, standing up", Exodus 26:15. That is remarkable. A carpenter does not make them so. "Standing up" is a spiritual thought. This chapter shows how young christians are made trustworthy, so that God can hang things upon them. The curtains of the tabernacle were supported by the boards. How great a thing to have the love of God in the heart!

J.H.H. The experiences mentioned in Romans 5 go on. When I reach the love of God I am not finished with tribulation.

J.T. All things work together. Here they are working one after another. God has set them up in relation to one another. Things are in our favour. Everything that comes up in the government of God is in our favour. As

you apprehend this you are a board of the tabernacle standing up; a man upon whom God can put something in the way of testimony. The collective thought is reached in chapter 12: 5: "we, being many, are one body in Christ". "In Christ" is our status. When we pursue the principles in this chapter we are able to name things as they come before us: Paul says, "I speak as to intelligent persons: do ye judge what I say", 1 Corinthians 10:15. We survey the realm of God and are able to name what is therein. Satan also is a worker, under the Lord, for our good. "Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job?", Job 1:8. Satan had, and God allowed him certain latitude, but only to the extent needed for Job's good: "Only upon himself put not forth thy hand". It was all in view of Job's deliverance. For us, too, discipline is ordered, so that God can spread out His thoughts before us for our spiritual apprehension and growth in Christ.

J.M.B. As one has such experiences he moves on into the divine thoughts.

J.T. It all leads up to sonship (chapter 8). "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God". Sons have knowledge corresponding with the Father.

J.H.H. Chapter 14: 4, with reference to the weak brother says, "he shall be made to stand; for the Lord is able to make him stand".

J.T. That involves the kingdom. In that chapter the kingdom of God is named. It is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Chapter 12 shows the saints contemplated as overcoming evil with good. They are possessed with the good. The Lord Himself overcame evil with good. None of the world's administrators do that, they merely endeavour to restrain evil with physical force. In the kingdom of God evil is overcome with good. A christian knows also how to behave with regard to the external government. We are not radical in opinion. We respect what is of God. The book of Daniel helps a christian to see these kingdoms in perspective.

God ordained the four great monarchies in view of christianity, in view of what this epistle teaches. The world is said to be reconciled (chapter 11: 15); this is in view of the testimony of the gospel. In keeping with this "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself", 2 Corinthians 5:19. Alongside of that is the truth, "behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you", Luke 17:21. Romans opens up that very thing; the presence of the Spirit here in the saints involves the kingdom. It was in Rome, the metropolis of the empire -- a kingdom in the midst of the kingdom of this world. Yet we pray for Caesar and his servants all the time the kingdom of God is here. What can Caesar do for a weak brother? He is no good for Caesar's army, but in the kingdom of God he has a place and is cared for. So in chapter 14 we get the kingdom and the fact that it functions in the saints. We are to exhibit the features of the kingdom; exercising its power in a practical way.

J.S. Is eternal life the normal life of the kingdom? It is based on the reign of grace.

J.T. It is the great end in view; "the end eternal life". "The act of favour of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord", Romans 6:23. In chapter 5, it is through Jesus Christ our Lord, but in chapter 6 it is in Him. It is morally outside of the world.

J.R. As we cease to do evil, do we become stronger as we move on?

J.T. Yes. We specially become rich in goodness: "despisest thou the riches of his goodness?" (Romans 2:4.) We cannot overcome evil with good if we have not the good. That is the idea. We must have it. The saints are made a kingdom so that God may set down in Rome what is greater than Rome. "Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold -- the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter", Daniel 2:45. "And the stone that smote the image became a

great mountain, and filled the whole earth", Daniel 2:35. All this exists today in a moral sense, and affords the means of moral superiority in the people of God.

N.G. Are we made conscious of being in the kingdom by the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts?

J.T. Yes, although it implies more than the kingdom; it links on with God's purpose (chapter 8: 28). The love of God gives lustre to all that you do or say, it gives us a glorious character, we are to serve one another in love. Christ is set before us in the epistle as the great example of those serving in the kingdom: "We ought, we that are strong, to bear the infirmities of the weak ... the Christ also did not please himself", Romans 15:1 - 3.

W.S. In Romans 14 we are told what the kingdom is. Then that "he that in this serves the Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men", Romans 14:18.

J.T. We turn round as it were, having come into it, we become part of the kingdom. He has made us a kingdom -- obviously to set out this great principle.

V.P. Peter says, "Beloved, take not as strange the fire of persecution which has taken place amongst you for your trial, as if a strange thing was happening to you; but as ye have share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice", 1 Peter 4:12, 13.

J.T. That would qualify us to function in the kingdom. Many give way in tribulation and hence become ineffective in this sense. The Lord Himself said, "when tribulation or persecution happens on account of the word, he is immediately offended", Matthew 13:21. The word is given up. When it is received it works effectively in those who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13); then tribulation is accepted and is a worker for us. The throne of grace relates to the kingdom. We may draw near to it with boldness to obtain mercy and find grace for seasonable help. How available and how great is this source of supply!

MOTHERS IN ISRAEL

Judges 5:6, 7; Judges 4:4 - 6, 7; 2 Samuel 20:16 - 22

J.T. I thought it would be helpful to pursue the subject of mothers in Israel. Deborah and the wise woman of Abel seem to represent the thought. No others are called mothers in Israel, though Scripture furnishes us with many examples of those who could be so styled. The maternal side works out in the formation of the assembly, and the thought goes so far as to appear in connection with "the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem", Hebrews 12:22. "The Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother", Galatians 4:26.

The beginning of the subject is found in Eve's remark when she "bore Cain, and said, I have acquired a man with Jehovah" (Genesis 4:1); that is to say, with the help of Jehovah. Perhaps the word "babe" had not yet come into the human vocabulary, but the use of the word "man" is of spiritual significance. It is indicative of what is potentially seen in a babe, in a male child. The Lord spoke of it Himself -- "she no longer remembers the trouble, on account of the joy that a man has been born into the world", John 16:21. There are those who speak of preserving a child as a little child, with its more pleasing traits, but the potentiality of the male child is what should be in mind; and if that is applied to the babe spiritually, the same is true. The important thing to bear in mind is that each should be a man, no longer a babe but full-grown, for the assembly can only be maintained by such. The maternal thought worked out leads to what is collective. Each of us is to be nurtured in view of manhood, otherwise it will be with us as Deborah describes the condition in Israel, "The roads were unused, and the travellers on highways went by crooked paths. The villages ceased in Israel", Judges 5:6, 7. The word "villages" is suggestive of assemblies, or meetings. Without men, we cannot have these. The

babe condition, abnormally continued, disintegrates and tends to make the thought of an assembly to cease.

In Exodus 16, immediately after "the whole assembly of the children of Israel came into the wilderness", the manna is spoken of, and it is stipulated that each member of the household in Israel was to be provided with an omer of manna, the divine thought for each being the same. God has no other thought but that we should be men, and hence a babe is viewed in the light of what he is potentially. God has no thought of the little ones remaining little ones.

H.W.R. Is your thought that if there be no mothers in Israel, the assembly will not prosper?

J.T. Yes; manifestly it cannot. In her song. Deborah looks back to the days of Shamgar, and the thought of the assembly typically is not there. The roads were unused, the spiritual highways were not used, people went along byways, and villages ceased in Israel.

J.H.H. Had the Lord this thought in mind in speaking to the Father of "the men whom thou gavest me out of the world", John 17:6?

J.T. Men -- they were not men spiritually when they were given, but in His mind they were so regarded. In Matthew 11:25, the Lord calls them babes. "I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes". This would be relative to "the wise and prudent". They were the wise, spiritually. On leaving the world and going to be with the Father, the Lord regards them as men. Yet they were to need much from the Father, for much was to be put upon them. The weight of testimony was such as only men could bear; men only would be eligible for such a charge. The term "men", while conveying an order of being, is also used to signify fully developed christians, and is inclusive of sisters. When the Lord arose, it was to women that He first appeared.

H.W.R. Is He not still hiding things from the wise

and prudent? From that point of view, we would desire to be babes.

J.T. Yes. The allusion there is to what we are from the standpoint of men in the world, from that of their religious leaders. Matthew's idea carries with it the thought of impressionableness of what is of God. Peter exhorts us in his epistle to "desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word" (1 Peter 2:2) as "newborn babes". Viewed thus we absorb what is spiritual, and are open to receive divine impressions.

R.B. In relation to the assembly, should we not be as the little child whom the Lord set in their midst in Matthew 18?

J.T. The Lord had in mind there the thought of simplicity and transparency. He "set it in their midst" -- to present forcibly to them His idea for the kingdom, that there should be transparency and simplicity. We always should retain these traits, even as advanced christians.

L.W. Solomon prayed to Jehovah, "I am but a little child: I know not to go out and to come in", 1 Kings 3:7. Should not that mark us?

J.T. That is the thought. Solomon was perhaps farther on than any in Israel at that time, but his was the attitude of mind that God would honour. How soon he had the divine answer!

C.C.E. What would you say are the features of a mother in Israel?

J.T. I think one would have a sense of the need for men in the sense of which we have been speaking. Deborah has to make the move herself to get Barak who, though he stood out well afterwards, was somewhat wanting at this juncture. "She sent and called Barak ... and said to him, Hath not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded?" Judges 4:6. That is the state of her mind in view of the need in Israel. "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah", Judges 4:1. For twenty years had Sisera mightily oppressed Israel

with his nine hundred chariots of iron. That was the situation. What could meet it? That would fill her mind. To lead an army against the powerful oppressor was a serious matter. We have the description of Deborah in Judges 4:4, "a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment". That is how the matter stood. She was serving profitably even in days of oppression, but could she overthrow this oppressor? "Hath not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded?" Is anyone able to take it up? Was Barak? One can understand the yearnings of a mother's heart with regard to the terrible oppression under which Israel had laboured for twenty years. Her exercise would be as to how that could be met. Adverse things are always happening around us; the mother-heart is concerned. What has Jehovah commanded? Can we carry it out? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord's commandment", 1 Corinthians 14:37. "And I, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly; as to babes in Christ", 1 Corinthians 3:1. Paul could not talk to them as to men. How would they meet the enemy that was coming in like a flood? Paul would exercise the assembly in Corinth with the thought of how the enemy was working and how he was to be met.

W.S. There was need for men to quell the inroads of the enemy.

J.T. "There is not a wise person among you", Paul had to tell the Corinthians. The incestuous person had been left untouched; the matter was unjudged for want of a man. Is there no man? God said, "Wherefore did I come, and there was no man? I called, and there was none to answer?" Isaiah 50:2. Deborah says, "Hath not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded?"

H.W.R. It takes a mother in Israel to feel the situation.

J.T. It is symbolic of spiritual feeling in the assembly.

J.H.H. Did not the apostle himself set forth that element?

J.T. He spoke of the Galatians in chapter 4 as "my children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you". That is to say, until they were as fully developed men. It is a most crying need. In moving about, one is made conscious of it; troubles drag on because Christians have come under the influence of darkening thoughts which would never have had admission to their minds had they been men.

What is presented to us here is a collective thought which you will find worked out in Galatians. "The Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother", Galatians 4:26. Not in heaven, but above; it is the thought of moral elevation belonging to the spiritually fully-developed man, who is above bias and natural feeling.

P.G. Hannah was before Jehovah that He would "give unto thy handmaid a man child", 1 Samuel 1:11.

J.T. Hannah had before her the thought of the house of God and of the conditions existent there. Eli thought she was drunken (1 Samuel 1:13). He was not a man according to God, or he would have discerned that she was a woman who felt things before God. She understood what was suitable; and although Eli came round to her thought, he was not able to give a lead to the people of God. What disintegration there would be under such a man! Samuel was a beautiful contribution to the house of God, even in childhood. "And the boy Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with Jehovah and also with men", 1 Samuel 2:26.

J.H.H. Such men are to be produced by the maternal element in the assembly.

J.T. Yes, and the assembly being always under pressure they are always needed. The situation is

always militant; it is the present position. Who can carry on, except men? We must promote that thought, and be no longer babes.

F.J.F. Jael also took action against Sisera.

J.T. Deborah alludes to her in her song by way of contrast to her own service; but now she acted under a maternal influence. She was in the spiritual current of the moment. One may compare this with the way in which the Corinthians developed and became more than they had seemed to be. Jael, although wanting earlier, now takes a triumphant part, and Barak became a mighty warrior. The Corinthian saints, through the apostle's faithful efforts, come into line with him. He had urged them to quit themselves like men.

C.M.M. What do you consider had been lacking in the days of Shamgar?

J.T. Shamgar had acted individually, but he was a mighty man. "He smote the Philistines, six hundred men, with an ox-goad. And he also delivered Israel", Judges 3:31. He represents an individual acting by himself. Many such have arisen, for example, Luther and Calvin, who give no evidence of ever having understood the assembly. They never moved on assembly lines, and so the highways of God were not taken. Now God comes in. He brought in the collective thought which requires men in this sense to maintain it, for a tremendous struggle was involved. It is a conflict that has continued ever since and it requires the constant power of manhood to maintain the collective thought. The word is, "Hath not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded?" The Lord says, "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me", John 14:21. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians corresponds to Deborah's word to Barak. There was oppression in Corinth. Paul says, "For this reason I have sent to you Timotheus, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ", 1 Corinthians 4:17. This is as

much as to say, 'I set a man in your midst, one like myself'.

H.W.R. The first step in recovery is obedience to the commandment of the Lord.

J.T. Anyone who takes that up shows his manhood. As soon as we act on the commandment, the Lord is with us and makes use of us.

R.D. It should be encouraging to each of us to see that Timothy was naturally a timid man, but nevertheless was greatly used in the conflict.

J.T. He was the one set down in the midst of the Corinthians.

C.C.E. Paul addresses Timothy as "man of God", 1 Timothy 6:11.

J.T. The only one so called in the New Testament.

R.B. Paul knew Timothy cared with genuine feeling. He had the maternal spirit, also.

J.T. So had Deborah. Of her it might have been said, "What she could she has done", Mark 14:8. She sat under her own palm-tree, indicating that she had secured the victory over herself. She is in a fine spiritual setting; there is nothing unseemly about her. She did not act to make a show of herself. She was a wife -- a woman prophetess, the literal Hebrew reads. That shows how womanly she remained while she was of necessity in prominence, and God was with her. They came to her for judgment, but there was no thought with her of interfering unnecessarily in every matter. "Hath not Jehovah ... commanded?" was her thought for Barak. She brought in the mind of God. "The villages ceased in Israel, ceased until that I Deborah arose". It is not said that she was "raised", but that "I Deborah arose", Judges 5:7. This has reference to great subjective powers in her! "I arose a mother in Israel".

P.G. Esther cared for the people of God when she "put on royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house", Esther 5:1.

J.T. She took her life in her hand then, but Mordecai

had put it on her to do it. He was undaunted and had she failed him, he says, "then shall there arise relief and deliverance to the Jews from another place", Esther 4:14. That spirit is what is needed.

C.M.M. A mother in Israel has the mind of God.

J.T. The important thing in prophecy is that one not only has the mind of God but has power to convey it. Meetings for ministry take on the nature of prophecy where brethren come together as feeling things, and are with God about them. They are thus enabled to convey His thought to the company generally, so that it is set in motion. They need regulating more than any other meeting.

J.R. How is the prophetic word given?

J.T. Under the impulse of the Holy Spirit; 1 Corinthians 14 deals with such meetings. It is preceded by the way of surpassing excellence, the way of love. If any desire gift, it is to be for the edification of the assembly. A prophet bringing in the mind of God affects people so that they fall down and confess that "God is indeed amongst you", 1 Corinthians 14:25. It is a great thing for a company of saints to have that public reputation.

N.G. How would a babe in Christ become a man?

J.T. "Be no longer babes" is imperative. Babes are carried along by any wind, everything that comes to their ear affects them; 1 Peter 2 and Ephesians 4 show the way of spiritual growth. Growth is by the knowledge of God. As in natural things, so in the spiritual: there must be family affection and also good food and appropriation of it; besides, Christ as the true Model must be before the mind and affections.

N.G. The man of God is complete, fully fitted to every good work through the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:17).

J.T. Scripture is the divine test, inspired of God and so profitable in every way. It testifies of Christ. In all matters the appeal must be to them: "To the law and the testimony!" One of the most important injunctions,

as bearing on constantly arising difficulties amongst the saints is, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every matter be established", 2 Corinthians 13:1. Every matter. Go to the other person and see what he says. Instead of getting at the facts, babes are apt to listen to reports without proof, which may not be true at all.

W.S. Matthew 11:28 is the line of true development in manhood. "Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls". Learn from Me! That is the way to reach the rest of God and maturity according to Him.

J.T. "Learn from me" gives the complete idea, the complete thought of manhood. It is as having a Model before you. That was said at a crucial point in the Lord's life, at a turning-point in the building as it were, where the greatest pressure was felt. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me". Matthew 12 opens up what there is that has to be contended with -- satanic pressure! As seen in the succeeding chapters, only what is set up in Christ meets that situation. In chapter 12 He walks through the cornfields: "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears and to eat". The Lord did not tell His disciples to do that, but they did it and went even further. So they were brought under reproach, but it was He who brought them there. They were men, having learnt from Him and He defended them. God delights in it when you show you know what to do in a crisis and do it.

W.S. You suggest that they do that, as learning from Him?

J.T. What He does, they do. He is our Model in that way. "Behold, more than Jonas is here", Matthew 12:41. It is not so much who is here but what is here. Now this includes the saints, the Spirit being in them.

J.M.B. It was the maternal element in the wise

woman that met the crisis in 2 Samuel 20.

J.T. It is a question now of how to save the city from destruction. She said, "thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel", 2 Samuel 20:19. She calls herself that. How dreadful would such a destruction be. She calls to Joab, who is responsible, and he makes known what is needed; and she acts in wisdom to meet a situation thus made clear.

R.B. Does Joab represent the king's requirements? -- the commandments of the Lord?

J.T. Joab is acting for God, but evidently in a wrong spirit. Thus he may destroy what is of God. A man may come from another district and blunder in attempting to set right a difficulty. It were better to consult the local brethren first. Joab, as spoken to in wisdom, comes to this. He says, "I am listening". If a man is wise he will want to know local conditions, so that he may not destroy the best elements in a place.

C.C.E. Yes, indeed. We have known of that happening.

J.T. Even a spiritual man or woman may be put under a cloud by an influential brother acting unwisely. The thing is to inquire in Abel (verse 18).

R.B. "Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom" (verse 22).

J.T. She spoke to Joab first. "Hear, hear: say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee". Those are words addressed, as it were, to a visiting brother. Such should not take things into his own hands, but acting in wisdom, he can help. Gifts should be available to the saints, for they are not intended to be merely local. "Governments" are included (1 Corinthians 12:28). They are always universal in aspect, having the whole assembly in view, but if they are wise, they inquire in Abel. The wise woman puts this on Joab. She delivers the city by her wisdom.

C.M.M. Would you explain the difference between gift and eldership?

J.T. Eldership is not mentioned once in Corinthians, whereas gift is given a great place. "And God has set certain in the assembly", 1 Corinthians 12:28. Amongst them "governments" are mentioned. That is to say God has set in the assembly certain persons with ability to govern. They can give help in government, and such a gift is set in the assembly. For a meeting to refuse such help is to refuse divine provision.

C.M.M. I was wondering if an elder in a locality would have gift?

J.T. Eldership is never viewed as gift. The bearing of it is local -- that is, as seen in the assembly. An elder might have gift, and this, of course, may be exercised generally. Of course a brother may exercise eldership in a locality, and as having gift and moving about, he would work with elders in another locality, but never as in an official sense. An elder, as seen in the New Testament, has no jurisdiction outside his own city: but he certainly could aid as present elsewhere. One observes that independency -- congregationalism -- has much place among the saints. On the assumption that a matter is local, available help in another meeting is shut out.

H.W.R. Who were the elders of Israel?

J.T. Persons who had rightly acquired prominence in the nation. In Acts you have them in our own dispensation in the provisional period; the metropolitan thought continued for a while in Jerusalem, but ceased with the destruction of that city and the dispersion of the Jews. The Pope of Rome still takes that ground, and the leaders of the Episcopal system also; but it is not scriptural. The metropolitan thought has ceased for God.

J.H.H. You would expect a meeting in difficulty to avail itself of all helps in government?

J.T. It is not using what God in His grace makes available to us if a brother who could help is shut out.

J.H.H. You would not like to be shut out of a care meeting where you may be visiting, I take it?

J.T. Most assuredly not. I should feel it; but then I would not be there in another locality as an elder, but as having something that God might apply universally. In such a case the importance of hearing is stressed. Twice the wise woman says, "Hear!" and then, "Listen to the words of thy handmaid", also "Come near hither". Joab might have destroyed the city if he had proceeded without hearing the facts of the case.

W.S. What difference is there in the thought of a "handmaid" and a "mother in Israel"?

J.T. The woman styles herself "handmaid" in humility. It was a customary formula often used, but she calls herself a mother in Israel because she is in danger of being destroyed. She points out that that would be a serious matter for Joab. Everything ought to be gone into first. Let things be sifted. Let action be taken on accredited evidence. A brother moving about is exposed to personal bias, and so it is important to hear the facts of the matter.

R.D. What is the thought as to enquiring in Abel?

J.T. It is a proverb. "They were wont to speak in old time saying, Just inquire in Abel, and so they ended" (verse 18). There must be some spiritual thought in Abel. This woman was not a biased person, but in keeping with ancient principles. I think Abel alludes to divine principles. Inquire there, and see what governs the present position.

D.S. What does the wall of the city represent?

J.T. Usually it alludes to fellowship. Joab's position signifies that of a visiting brother who may have to do with a local difficulty, and the wise woman represents what is of God there. The state she represents is requisite to get at the facts of the matter, and then to find out the principles that govern the position. Scripture affords light as to every matter on hand. "And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it to Joab" (verse 22). Joab declaring the matter to the woman says, "far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

The matter is not so; but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David: give up him only, and I will depart from the city". Joab was wrong in attacking the city before the facts were known. We read that "all the people that were with Joab sapped the wall, to throw it down" (verse 15). That was a great wrong. It is a warning to those not local. Listen to what the brethren in the city say, to those who are with God about the matter. Joab came to this, as we saw: "Hear, hear" is the appeal, and he says, "I am listening".

H.W.R. Divine principles were at stake. Sheba had lifted up his hand against the king. That had to be settled.

J.T. The man had to be dealt with. Evil springs up in some person, not out of the earth. The first thing is to convict him -- the city should not be attacked before this is attempted, but here "they cast up a bank against the city, and it was raised in the trench" (verse 15). Of course we are viewing the matter in its typical significance.

H.W.R. If the man were not judged, the whole city would be.

J.T. And the wise woman would accept that. Divine wisdom is seen in the assembly. The angels (principalities and authorities in the heavenlies) are looking down and seeing the all-various wisdom of God in the assembly (Ephesians 3). Even difficulties bring out what is latent for God, and angels see it.

N.R. Does it not expose what little discernment there is amongst us when we find ourselves unable to deal with a situation locally?

J.T. It does. This woman gets Joab's ear, and thus facts become known. Then she goes back wisely amongst the brethren and puts before them what the man had done. It was some man with a head -- wanting a place. We must get to the root of things. We shall find that ambition is at work through ability. Thus we must get that head and cast it over the wall.

W.S. Joab's exercise was right, but he had acted in a wrong manner.

J.T. He was an able man, but wanting in right feeling. The incident brought out what he was. Such men are usually too severe in the exercise of discipline; but under the government of God they reap as they have sown.

J.H.H. Would you say experience helps, but precedents do not?

J.T. Yes. We have to judge each case by the facts; and look all round them. This woman represents wisdom in maturity.

R.B. Paul had to tell the Corinthians that none of them were wise.

J.T. Doubtless there were right elements even there, in Chloe and Stephanas, but generally speaking the state in Corinth was not right. They were moving and acting as babes. "Each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ". You cannot get government in the assembly through partisans, and this comes up amongst us, especially as a crisis arises, but the wise woman wants the whole city saved. She is a true churchwoman!

SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION FOR PART IN THE ASSEMBLY (1)

Luke 23:55, 56; Luke 24:1 - 12, 28

J.T. These scriptures are known in measure to us, and are suggested now because they indicate the great pains taken, divinely, to lead the saints not only into faith, but into spirituality. We are to be in the assembly only according to divine guidance and instruction. Luke's gospel, being priestly in character, presents the Lord as concerned sympathetically with us, taking account of that to which we are all prone. This latter may not appear on the surface, but it is really what hinders us from understanding the spiritual side of the position. Even joy of a kind may hinder. "While they yet did not believe for joy", Luke says (chapter 24: 41). The Lord discerned that in them and would adjust it.

I thought we might notice first what we have already dwelt upon; how saints may be outwardly regulated by the commandments of the Lord, as in 1 Corinthians, in the external ordering of the assembly, and yet be wanting as to faith and as to what had been presented in doctrine and teaching. The scriptures just read indicate this, and also show how we are helped into a spiritual apprehension of the truth. "It came to pass as they were in perplexity about it, that behold, two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment", Luke 24:4. These men represent the spiritual and heavenly side.

C.C.E. This is not quite the same setting as in Mark where the Lord reproaches them with their unbelief and hardness of heart. Mark is severe in his treatment.

J.T. Luke is more sympathetic in his feelings and they are dealt with less severely. In Mark, it is a question of preachers or ministers, while Luke has in view the assembly and so takes up the thought of public order and position, and he stresses the necessity of being marked by spirituality. The underlying state of the

persons concerned is more apparent. The women are said in Luke 23:55 to be those "who had come along with him out of Galilee", and "having followed, saw the sepulchre and how his body was placed". Then the two men remind them -- "remember how he spoke to you, being yet in Galilee" (verse 6). The women in Luke are not so wanting as Mark presents them. "They remembered his words; and, returning from the sepulchre, related all these things to the eleven and to all the rest". There is more definiteness in what they do than in Mark's account. In Luke's record, the Lord is presented as our High Priest and sympathetic towards us. And thus this gospel is applicable today when souls are being graciously helped as to the assembly. Great sympathy and consideration is needed for them. Severity is not the note touched. In individual cases the Lord is severe enough, but here it is as walking with them, as loving to be with them. It is remarkable what a long section, verses 13 - 35, is taken up in recording the Lord's service in love to secure two who were going down to Emmaus.

F.J.F. "Shall two walk together except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3. There were two agreed to go the wrong way. How often we need adjustment even as walking together. We may not be walking in the light.

J.T. It has not the character of "if two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens", Matthew 18:19. This is what is to characterise two of the assembly. An agreement of this kind -- to go down together to Emmaus -- is to be deprecated. They were talking to one another in unbelief, even though they showed themselves conversant with what had happened. We should first see from these scriptures how right we may be outwardly in observing the commandments, and yet be unbelieving. They "remained quiet on the sabbath, according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56), yet these women had "prepared aromatic spices and ointments".

Those were not intended for a risen Christ; but for a dead One. These were devoted women, yet this is the state of their minds. That was what had been occupying them and it would be at a sacrifice that they got the spices and prepared them; their thought was of a dead Christ.

B.H.T. It showed devotion on their part, did it not?

J.T. Yes, devotion, but there is not really much value in the devotion of unbelief. This is written for us. Were any to have talked later with these two, how they would be able to instruct such not to go that way!

J.H.H. Does their course show what characterises christendom today?

J.T. Yes, and there is a great deal of unbelief even in those nominally in the truth. They "having followed, saw the sepulchre and how his body was placed". How -- that is, they had observed all the externals, such as the placing of His body in the sepulchre, and the keeping of the sabbath -- all in themselves right observances; a commandment of the Lord is noted, yet in all this their thought was of a dead Christ.

F.J.F. If we pursue that line, it amounts only to ritualism; whereas we ought to be on the line of what faith brings us into.

J.T. They were right as to externals, for love observes the commandments. We may come together and be right in form; we may even break bread and yet be wanting inwardly. If we are not touched spiritually, we may go through the whole meeting in this way.

H.W.R. Mary of Bethany is a contrast to this. "For in pouring out this ointment on my body, she has done it for my burying", Matthew 26:12.

J.T. She showed faith and intelligence in doing it at that time. These had heard the Lord say He would rise again, but the truth was not in their souls. The angels had to remind them of it. "Why seek ye the living one among the dead? He is not here, but is risen remember how he spoke to you ..." We may be right

in externals, in keeping the commandments as laid down in 1 Corinthians, but what of the truth in Colossians and Ephesians?

W.S. Was the fact that they remained quiet on the sabbath, indicative of their state?

J.T. They had certainly kept that commandment, but I should not think they had much of a day. Observing the law is right enough but what of the inward state and one's outlook?

J.S. A right inward state would enable them to see by the conditions in the sepulchre that the Lord was risen.

J.T. How slow they were to discern it! "They found not the body of the Lord Jesus" and "they were in perplexity about it" (verses 3, 4). These were devoted souls; they correspond with a large number of brethren, some breaking bread with us. Underneath there is love for Christ, and the Lord knows this, but their inward state is marked by perplexity. They do not really reach anything definite. This chapter is intended to adjust us with regard to this. It should impress us with the lengths to which love goes in order to adjust us.

W.S. Perplexity develops into fear. "And as they were filled with fear" follows in verse 5. Perfect love would cast out fear.

J.T. "Behold, two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment. And as they were filled with fear ..." Light was there, but they were filled with fear. That was their inward state. The passage goes to show that heaven knew what they were really aiming at, and knew that they loved the Lord, yet they were in inexcusable darkness. They had to recall His words. Why had they forgotten them? Why had they ignored them?

F.J.F. They should not have been looking for the dead body of the Lord.

J.T. If they had been remembering His words, which they had heard, "being yet in Galilee", they

would not have been looking for a dead Christ, but for the living One.

C.C.E. Often a state of confusion of mind prevents us from remembering what we hear.

J.T. How little we take in! How little of what is ministered to us is carried in our minds! They had seen the Lord crucified, had seen how His body was placed in the sepulchre, and the next great event for faith would be His resurrection, but they were not looking for that. It is a question of applying the truth that has come to us -- whether we are ready and prepared in heart to apply it. The Lord says of Mary of Bethany, "against the day of my burying hath she kept this". She was intelligent in what she did. She had learned that He would die, and discerned that it was near. Ministry brings certain things to our attention; what are we going to do as to this? Has it any present application? Is it not applicable to our business affairs? -- household matters? -- to the assembly? There comes the time when we should be able to apply what we have. The Lord had instructed His disciples as to His death and resurrection. The former had taken place and the next great event, the resurrection, was to be expected, and they were not looking out for it. The Lord's resurrection had been much spoken of to them, yet, when the time came that He rose again, they could not apply that truth. The two men had to remind them how they had heard that He would rise. Their fear was due to their state. Perfect love casts out fear. The term 'angel' is not used here in Luke but they are recorded as being men, which is indicative of intelligent and sympathetic feeling with the women.

F.J.F. It needs spirituality to be ready to take the next step when the time arrives.

J.T. Yes. You have heard hundreds of things: there is a time to apply them. Many of us go through assembly meetings in a routine fashion, right in externals, but without any inward application of the things that have

come to us from the Lord. There is a time for everything. We must have things in order, of course, but what of the inward state?

M.A. There is a time in the meeting when we should be in expectancy.

J.T. The assembly is the place of expectancy, and heaven will gratify what is normal. Those women should have been looking for what the Lord had said should take place, looking for Himself, the Living One. The word from the two men was what was needed. We get such words in the assembly. The presence of the men shows how heaven is ready to serve us in this way.

J.H.H. It used to be said that we remember a dead Christ when we come together to break bread. In the light of this truth, does that fall short?

J.T. A dead Christ is before us in the emblems; but we remember a risen, absent Christ. "He is not here", but elsewhere. We are here, and it is here that we have to remember Him; in the emblems we think of Himself as having died, the suggestion being that in love for us He has been into death. In Luke, the aspect in which the Supper is regarded is as a remembrance. In the early years after the recovery, it was more Matthew and Mark's aspect that was taken up amongst brethren, and the emblems were regarded as food. The import of Luke's presentation was not so clear then as now.. It is a question of being able to apply such a truth. The emblems refer to a dead Christ. It is food, surely; but it is also the memorial of Christ, One gone away.

F.J.F. Does the thought of an oath of allegiance enter this memorial, testifying that we are here in fidelity to the absent One?

J.T. Yes. Matthew and Mark say nothing of the memorial, Luke nothing of eating. It is "this do". The Lord actually entered into the state of death. He says to John, "I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades", Revelation 1:18.

W.S. In 1 Corinthians 11:26 we read, "For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come".

J.T. The memorial is an inward thought. The Lord misses us. We may be present bodily, but the object of the memorial is that we might be present spiritually; thus He has us with Him. Luke speaks of the two going to Emmaus and says, "behold, two of them were going on the same day, ..." Luke 24:13. In a sense, these two were occupied with the Lord. "They conversed with one another about all these things which had taken place". That meant that they were conversing of Him, but not in faith and intelligence. Spirituality is needed in the assembly, faith, of course, but spirituality. We may say much, but is it in spiritual intelligence?

L.W. How are spirituality and intelligence produced in us?

J.T. First let us get the thought that it is possible to be right outwardly and wrong inwardly, to have darkened minds and yet love the Lord. These two men represent the sympathy of heaven, and at the same time, they indicate the wrong inward state of these women. They were in shining raiment, in contrast to what marked the women. They were not shining. Brothers and sisters often come in to the assembly on the Lord's day and go out no brighter, not taking on the glory (2 Corinthians 3). It is what happens spiritually that affects us in assembly. In the two men we have what is intended by heaven to adjust us, for the assembly is a place of shining. The shining raiment is the reflection of the glory of God. We are to realise to what lengths the Lord went to secure these results -- that God should shine upon us and that we should reflect His glory. It is now in the face of Jesus, and the assembly normally is radiant with it. The two at Emmaus were adjusted, not by His expounding to them from the Scriptures, but by the spiritual touch which He gave them in the breaking of bread. It was that which affected them.

L.W. A burning heart was not enough.

J.T. It is important, of course, as showing reality at bottom, but the spiritual side was lacking. It is little understood, but essential for part in the assembly.

S.S. We may know all the facts, but is it only when He Himself is manifested to us that we are spiritually affected?

J.T. We may say nice things in regard to facts concerning the Lord's death and be wanting in that spiritual touch that is needed in the assembly. There was never such an exposition of Scripture as is mentioned in this chapter, yet it did not alter their course. Although the exposition was perfect, there was not yet the spiritual impression that the breaking of bread affords. The state of their souls was such that they were not capable of being spiritually affected by an exposition of Scripture. This was effected in them by the Lord as He broke the bread.

B.H.T. It does depend, does it not, on how we come to the meeting?

J.T. A good deal depends on that. One often thinks of the anointing in this respect. The idea of the anointing should be in our households. There is a dignity proper to the saints in coming to the assembly, so that we may move into things there in a comely, spiritual manner. Certainly we should have regard to externals, but we should, too, be essentially marked by the dignity of the Spirit when we sit down; and be able to say "Lord Jesus" by the Holy Spirit. What a beautiful effect there would be in that! Spirituality will respond to it. If I am unspiritual there will hardly be response, no change in me; no shining out of the glory of God, which is suggested in the raiment of the two men here.

L.W. Do we get the touch in the breaking of the bread, when He makes Himself known to us?

J.T. Exactly. "And they drew near to the village where they were going, and he made as though he would go farther". There was something in His attitude which

indicated that He was not occupied with their objective. The Lord has another objective; and He made as though He would go farther. Their objective was the country (Mark 16:12). The Lord was not governed by that, but He graciously allowed them to constrain Him, as though to say, It is not in My mind, but I will do even this to secure you. At table He took the bread and blessed, and gave it to them. "And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him". The actions here are all His. Although this is not the Lord's supper, it bears most instructively on it. We are in the realm of divine activities. As spiritual we discern these in the assembly.

C.M.M. What does "this do" comprise? There is no eating in what the Lord did here.

J.T. Here you see it. "Having taken the bread, he blessed, and having broken it, gave it to them", Luke 24:30. He did not eat here, nor at the institution of the Supper. He broke the bread, having given thanks.

C.M.M. Eating, then, is not included in the thought of memorial?

J.T. No. That is Matthew's and Mark's view. The memorial side is Luke's. It was in the breaking of bread that He was made known to them (verse 35). That is what they understood.

C.M.M. There was a spiritual impression in the way it was done, but how does that work out practically?

J.T. While the brother is giving thanks and breaking the bread.

C.M.M. You mean in the manner of doing it?

J.T. The more spiritual he is, the more spiritual his action. It is, however, not in the brother but in the act.

Ques. What he does -- not how he does it?

J.T. I would not like to exclude the manner of doing it. The spiritual side comes in especially in the breaking of bread.

G.G. Is the breaking of bread an individual act?

J.T. We are all committed to it. It is the action that

is alluded to, and all that goes with it. We come together to break bread (Acts 20:7).

J.R. These two had not been present at the institution of the Supper.

J.T. Cleopas is not mentioned as an apostle; and we do not know who the other was, except to surmise that it was his wife.

H.W.R. Even though they had not been at the institution of the Supper, their hearts were now affected. This was by the spiritual touch, was it not?

J.T. Certainly. We were not there, either; those present were competent and accredited witnesses to bring it to us.

F.J.F. Those two would return in shining garments? Where heaven, or one who represents it, draws near, there is shining. "The children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone", Exodus 34:35.

J.T. They will contribute to the assembly now. They will have very different countenances, downcast no longer. And we are to reflect this shining. You like to see a change in this sense in the face of a brother. If we are spiritually impressed, we shall go out differently. Our countenances will shine. Passing through without an inward change is to be deprecated.

H.W.R. The effect is cumulative. We do not go back from that. Divine things are always cumulative, are they not?

J.T. There is definite progress made, week by week.

J.R. Is there a present significance for us in the order of the Lord's action that He first took the bread and then blessed it?

J.T. There would be several loaves or cakes on the table for the Passover feast. We have only one loaf now, so we need not imitate the action of taking. The Lord took the bread, thus formally detaching what He was instituting from the Passover. Doubtless the disciples had often been at meals with the Lord and He would

always give thanks. It was an ordinary meal at Emmaus, and so the Lord also took the bread there.

C.C.E. Similarly there would have been several cups on the Passover table. The Lord singled out the cup.

J.T. Yes, with the idea of detaching what He was instituting from the Jewish feast. The apostle says, "The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of the Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16. It is not, 'take and break'.

C.M.M. To break bread is a definite act, not an afterthought. You would stand at the table to give thanks, would you not?

J.T. Yes; otherwise one might not know what you are doing. We are to be simple and intelligible in what we are doing. These two who went to Emmaus moved back to Jerusalem. That shows how they had been affected. They were constituted spiritual. They understood now what the Lord meant them to do. He said nothing further to them after He had broken the bread, but He disappeared from them. "Rising up the same hour, they returned to Jerusalem". There, they contributed to the assembly according to the way in which they had been affected. They do not speak of the exposition of Scripture which they had been given, but of what had been spiritually accorded to them.

Rem. The Lord vanished in order that they might go back to the assembly.

J.T. They came with a different walk, different conversation and different feelings. They had spiritual matter now to be contributed to the assembly, and they now recognised the authority of the Lord. We read, "they found the eleven, and those with them, gathered together, saying, The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon".

F.J.F. They were not saying now that He was dead, but that He was risen.

J.T. Yes, and that grace marked Him, for He had appeared to Simon: Simon had denied Him, "And they

related what had happened on the way", not that they had enjoyed a discourse on the Scriptures, but "how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread". It is a spiritual matter with them; "And as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst, and says to them, Peace be unto you" (verse 36). What the Lord aims at here is spirituality. It is expressed in Himself risen from the dead. It is in One really Man: "Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having" (verse 39). It is corporeal, but spiritual. This was a leading thought in the Lord remaining here during the forty days before His ascension.

N.G. In what condition does Jesus stand in our midst?

J.T. He does not come in corporeally. Regarded thus, He is in heaven, but the Spirit of God being here, the Lord can come in, and it is really Himself that comes, but in a spiritual way; that is, through the Spirit.

F.J.F. Does the Lord making as though He would go farther apply now?

J.T. The going farther referred to what was in Jerusalem spiritually. That was His objective.

R.D. It was remarked that they had affection, but we see that affection for Him may not prevent the natural element coming in.

J.T. Affection is the basis upon which all this was built. The Lord's service was largely to get them into the assembly. The commandment of the Lord is a great thing; but in the assembly, the spiritual element is essential. There may be love, but we may be in darkness in our minds. This chapter shows how the Lord's priestly service goes on in order that souls may come into the assembly, and then He comes in and, as here, adjusts them further. He says, "behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself". He is in His own sphere. He even comes down to an act of eating so as to assure them. How lowly His grace to come down to us, to get us into the thought of what He is now!

Rem. He manifested Himself to them, showing them His hands and His feet.

J.T. He testifies His love. We realise the length to which His love will go; how His feet will travel to Emmaus, and farther; His priestly service to adjust us as to spiritual conditions.

SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION FOR PART IN THE ASSEMBLY (2)

Luke 24:36 - 53

J.T. What I had in mind was to follow the spiritual vein of this writer, leading on to the assembly, developed under Paul's ministry. We may be very much behind what we have heard, and even what we have said. Things are very often taken in by the mind and not assimilated so as to be characteristic of us. It is said here, "And rising up the same hour, they returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven, and those with them, gathered together, saying, The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon. And they related what had happened on the way, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread", Luke 24:33 - 35.

They had, as you might say, a meeting like this, in which we speak together of certain facts. Yet when they are tested, it is proved that they had not assimilated the truth they had. The appearance of the Lord in their midst would not have caused them to be confounded and frightened, if they really believed what they had been speaking about. This thought runs on from chapter 23, verses 55 and 56. These women had heard the resurrection spoken of and yet came to look for Him, as believing Him to be dead. This, when the Lord had expressly said, "and after three days rise again", Mark 8:31. So they have to be reminded of words already heard; "two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment" and said to them, "Why seek ye the living one among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spoke to you, being yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinners, and be crucified, and rise the third day", Luke 24:5 - 7.

They had not retained these words, yet, most momentous words! We can understand how the disciples would

have spoken together of the resurrection; yet when the time came to apply the truth, they failed, and so with us. Have we not often actually spoken of His resurrection in assembly as gathered together? Nevertheless when we were tested, we were not able to apply it. So that it raises the question as to our meetings and our conversations, as to what we may know mentally of what we have heard, and yet may have failed to assimilate. We may have the knowledge of the truth but be unable to apply it. Indeed, it is in the application of truth that it is verified to us.

C.C.E. I remember a brother saying in regard to Mr. Darby's teaching, that he and several others had sat under him and heard what Mr. Darby had said; but that he now realised they did not really receive it into their souls. They had not assimilated it at the time, but another, afterwards a prominent brother, had really taken it in; in him it became effective.

J.T. That illustrates what I have in mind.

F.J.F. Does it not need a touch from the Lord privately to understand what He says?

J.T. It does. These scriptures bring out what adjusting power is necessary among the saints. Divine provision has been made for these weaknesses in us; but it is important to accept and own that the weaknesses exist; that I hear, but do not assimilate; and when the time comes for application, I do not know how to use the truth. It is well to bow to these facts, for the incidents in chapter 24 are not recorded to expose the failure of the disciples. If there were no more in it than that, the Holy Spirit would never have spread abroad the failure of those saints, but it is because what marked them marks us. They are not alone in this, and the Lord would use this chapter as a lesson for us; to bring us to own that these features are marking us, albeit we are conscious of loving the Lord and of valuing the Scriptures. Indeed, we also are prone to speak of things we have not yet assimilated.

"The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon", and then the two from Emmaus related what had happened on the way. It was "as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst" (verse 36). They were saying that the Lord was risen indeed, when the Lord came in. At that very instant they were speaking of it -- nevertheless, when He was there in their midst they were upset, as if it could not be, whereas His presence was intended to confirm than, which it did eventually. "They, being confounded and being frightened, supposed they beheld a spirit".

B.H.T. The state of our spirit hinders the Lord having His way with us.

J.T. It does indeed. In reading these scriptures and seeing how remiss were these dear brethren, our thoughts should be to avoid such a situation being produced in our midst. This chapter is like a navigation chart, to which mariners do well to pay attention, in order to avoid the rocks that would damage the ship. If I read the Scriptures prayerfully I note the dangers they point out and that which the Holy Spirit is directing my attention to.

We are reading together at this time about the Lord, that He is risen indeed, and we are speaking of how He is made known to us in the breaking of bread. If the Lord were to appear now corporeally in our midst, what would be the general feeling? Would many be ready for it? I fancy there would not be so much difference in the effect on ourselves.

F.F.E. You mean, not much difference in our bearing from that which we read of in Luke 24?

J.T. Exactly. Would we be any different from them? John has to say to Peter on another occasion, "It is the Lord". Peter had not discerned it. We want to be ready to discern the Lord's presence amongst us.

J.M.B. It says, "their eyes were holden so as not to know him" (verse 16).

J.T. That verse has to be kept in its setting. In that

case, God did it -- there is nothing like that here. This is consecutive and cumulative. The inference in the section we are considering at the moment is that God's intervention should not have been needed. The Lord expects us to discern His presence and not to feel affrighted and confounded. Would the Lord want to come in to affright anyone? Jesus would never do that to His own. If you read Canticles, you will find the bride is never frightened, she is ready. She is remiss sometimes, but notice how instantaneously she discerns her Beloved.

F.J.F. "He taught his disciples and said to them, The Son of man is delivered into men's hands, and they shall kill him; and having been killed, after three days he shall rise again. But they understood not the saying, and feared to ask him", Mark 9:31, 32. Do you think that was the fault?

J.T. I think so. Why should we be afraid to ask the Lord anything? He would answer if we ask, He took little children in His arms.

F.J.F. If, in gathering together, we were in a state of faith and affection, the effect of the Lord's presence would not be to confound.

J.T. No. Affection alone is insufficient, for their devotion was not in question here; but more than that is needed. One must carefully balance things. I see Him and conclude it is the Lord. There is every evidence that it is He. No one else, in just that way, can say, "Peace be unto you!" There is His voice, and His presence. It is Himself! A real Person there, and not, as on the way to Emmaus, in another form, but Himself. I am to discern Him thus. The Lord says, "behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having" (verse 39). It was this same Person whom they came later to discern. He did not change His form.

J.H.H. The spiritual element in the assembly would always recognise when the Lord is present, would it not?

J.T. That is what we want to get at -- the spiritual

element. "The spiritual discerns all things", 1 Corinthians 2:15. Discernment belongs peculiarly to the assembly.

H.W.R. We profess to look for the Lord's coming. If that is real with us, would we be affrighted at it?

J.T. We should not be. But suppose some one is at a picture show when He comes. What a state of things that would be!

J.S. Are we not tested as to the kind of hymns we give out in the assembly, and our thanksgivings after the breaking of bread? If we have the spirit of discernment, would we not move in relation to His movements?

J.T. It is a question of applying the truth. We are tested as to procedure. There is a time for everything, and we ought to know the times. We should be concerned to be spiritual, so that we do understand and are able to discern the Lord and what is suitable to the moment. "I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing also with the understanding", 1 Corinthians 14:15. How has the Lord moved? That is to control our movements.

R.B. If we are to acknowledge our state before the Lord, it calls for deep humiliation.

J.T. That is what we begin with. We are to put ourselves into this, and acknowledge that we are capable of it. Out of this acknowledgment comes our deliverance.

R.B. My thought was that we might make an acknowledgment and not be in the good of it.

J.T. Acknowledgment goes a long way. I judge this thing to begin with, and the Lord comes in for me as I accept the application of this chapter to myself.

J.H.H. Is not this state due to our having allowed something in ourselves that should be judged? There has been a lack of self-judgment.

J.T. It is like cleaning a pair of spectacles. You must remove the thing that is blurring your vision. Something obviously is hindering, so that you do not see clearly. Why is it? Others can see. All this works out in self-judgment. As you accept it humbly, the Lord

helps you, but in disregarding it your marred vision continues.

J.R. Later it could be said, "which we have seen with our eyes ... concerning the word of life", 1 John 1:1.

J.T. What eyesight they had!

J.M.B. The message that Mary of Magdala, Johanna and Mary the mother of James had brought to the eleven, should have prepared them for the presence of the Lord.

J.T. Yes, but also what they were saying themselves. It is "as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst". It was not even yesterday that they had been talking of them, they were actually doing it.

N.D. Does the Lord raise this question with us each time we come together?

J.T. If there is anything like this state amongst us He would. He is blaming them, He has to reproach them "Why are ye troubled? and why are thoughts rising in your hearts?" (verse 38.) Why do we allow such thoughts? The doctrine we hold should forbid them. It must be the state we are in, that there is this palpable lack of appropriation.

F.J.F. The Lord coming in -- does that constitute a reading or an assembly meeting?

J.T. The question is of what follows and what precedes. An assembly meeting is properly when we come together "in assembly". It is our own action. "When ye come together in assembly", see 1 Corinthians 11:18. The article is omitted. The Lord honours us in thus coming together, and He comes in; He comes in as we call Him to mind.

C.C.E. It is deliberate on our part.

J.T. "I speak as to intelligent persons", 1 Corinthians 10:15. Here we read, "they found the eleven, and those with them, gathered together". That would admit many others -- the Marys and the disciples; and they say those things to them. But as they proceed, the principle of the assembly comes into view. The assembly is here,

but informally. The time for it had not really arrived. Nevertheless, we do have the thought contained in this gospel. They were gathered together in recognition of the apostles, and they were saying suitable things. Then the Lord comes in. It is the pattern of the assembly, but of its public or external character. The Lord is not stopping at the thought of the assembly, but He is going on to the gospel, and what ensues shows what is in His mind; "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem", Luke 24:47. The assembly and the gospel must never be separated -- they go on to the present moment. The assembly in a sense is the home of the gospel.

H.J.R. In assembly on the Lord's day, would you say that light precedes experiences? "As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst".

J.T. As they come together, and He comes in, it is the assembly in principle. The Lord graciously pays attention to what we are saying, even though it may not be characterising us. Their speaking of these things is honoured, but the passage is to bring before my soul that I may be exact doctrinally in my speaking, and yet the truth of it does not characterise me. These were speaking very appropriately, saying, "The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon". They had taken in the principle of grace, the gospel; "and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread". That is the public position -- the breaking of bread and the gospel. In the gospel it is a question of grace, but though they were saying these things they were not equal to the coming in of the Lord.

L.W. "They yet did not believe for joy". Does this suggest that apart from the Spirit we cannot know or believe?

J.T. That may be so, but it also bears on this, that while having the Spirit, we might be unduly affected, or emotional, so that that very thing hinders the truth from

being made good in us. Joy is right, but think of joy hindering me from believing! What kind of joy is that? Romans teaches us to be analytical, and we never get on until we do analyse. There are, for instance, different kinds of love, different kinds of joy, and here is a joy that hinders faith. Over against this we have, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing", Romans 15:13. "I know that I shall remain and abide along with you all, for your progress and joy in faith", Philippians 1:25. There is joy in faith. The apostle says "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, ...", Galatians 5:22. Yet see what alloy there may be in our joy! Joy should not hinder my faith. I must analyse and see if there is some alloy in my joy, some natural sentiment; let us be afraid of that.

C.C.E. In John's account of the Lord's coming in chapter 20 there was no natural sentiment or fear -- they were glad when they saw the Lord.

J.T. There the Lord says twice, "Peace be to you", John 20:19, 21. "The disciples rejoiced therefore, having seen the Lord. Jesus said therefore again to them, Peace be to you". There was nothing to rebuke there.

F.J.F. They were spiritually equal to the visitation.

J.T. The Spirit of God there presents the one side. The Holy Spirit is entitled to speak abstractly. Nothing is out of order in John 20 save that "Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came".

Here Luke is presenting the actual facts; and there is admixture. But the Lord shows Himself as ready to adjust, and to remove the alloy. He would have them in a pure, holy, intelligent attitude before Him. "Then he opened their understanding to understand the scriptures" (verse 45). The Lord reminded them then of what He had already presented to them. In John 20, it is what they are in the abstract, no scriptures are quoted, there is no alloy noted, though Peter had not yet been restored.

Ques. Why do those in Luke expressly state "and has appeared to Simon"?

J.T. Because he had been a great sinner; nevertheless, grace was reigning. If those gathered together had been hard of heart, they would have said they could not believe the Lord would have appeared to such as Simon, but they are equal to this grace. Yet they are not equal to the Lord coming in; they are affrighted and confounded when He comes to them. In Mark it was "in another form" that He appeared. Not so here, yet they were affrighted. It was the Lord Himself just as He ought to be understood; this was as though to emphasise that the difficulty is not with Him, but with themselves.

J.R. The Lord ate the Passover with His disciples before instituting the Supper. Do the two still go together to produce in us the right spirit? Is it not dangerous to neglect to keep the Passover? The Lord kept it.

J.T. Quite so. It is the means viewed in its typical significance that would help us to discern Him in the Supper; "For also our passover, Christ, has been sacrificed", 1 Corinthians 5:7. It is introduced there, and then much intervenes, chapters 5 to 11, before we get the Supper brought in. We need to keep the feast continually. It gives us good eyesight, not a blurred vision. It keeps us in self-judgment and thus in trim for the assembly; "the spiritual discerns all things", 1 Corinthians 2:15. Those meeting at Corinth were not spiritually-minded. Our reading today is in order that we might be spiritual. We should see how ready the Lord is to make us spiritual, but we must judge what is in the way.

Rem. He is ever ready to adjust.

J.T. But He looks for our acceptance of the fact that we are all prone to this. In our acceptance of that He will come in. But we will never get rid of that which hinders without judging it before the Lord. It is then, and then only, that the Lord helps us further.

F.J.F. Self-judgment would counteract ebullitions of joy.

J.T. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul indicates that an emulous spirit had been manifested. The Corinthians liked to have gifts in order to make a show with them, but Paul brings in the thought of manhood; "in your minds be grown men". The human mind is a wonderful faculty. It is treated of in Romans -- the renewing of the mind (chapter 12: 2), "I myself with the mind serve God's law" (chapter 7: 25). In 1 Corinthians it is brought in informally but forcibly. "I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray also with the understanding", 1 Corinthians 14:15. "But we have the mind of Christ", 1 Corinthians 2:16. This is in order to bring us into manhood. Mark's presentation of the man that had been possessed with the devil is that he was found sitting and clothed and sensible (Mark 5:15). In our minds we are to be mature, grown men.

W.S. To have minds according to God is what we need.

J.T. The mind according to God is a faculty. "We have the mind of Christ", able to think as He does. If we have not, we are unable to discern the Lord. How shall we know Christ in heaven? Shall we each be introduced? I think not. We shall be able there to pick out the Lord, to know Him as we see Him. As spiritual, our vision will be unclouded, and that is the point in Christianity. The blind man, in Mark 8:25, was constituted able by the second touch of the Lord, to see "all things clearly". And we are to see all things clearly, not only to apprehend the Lord in assembly, but all else too. The whole position is to be clear to us. Hence, if there are spiritual men, I observe them, I wait on them. They are to be taken account of.

H.W.R. There is to be a recognition of the Lord by what He does.

J.T. In the breaking of bread, the symbols suggest Him to us. Then a moment comes when it is "I myself".

The spiritual discern it, then it is a question of what He will do, what He has in mind to do.

Ques. Would that be the remedy for thoughts arising in our hearts?

J.T. Why should they arise? If I am acquainted with the Lord, if I am spiritual, I discern Him, I see at once He is there; then I defer to Him. He must take the lead, He must be Head.

H.W.R. It is a question of personal acquaintance.

J.T. As when John discerned the Lord on the lake. Peter did not, yet he was ready to move when John spoke. He accepted John's word and threw himself into the water. John represents the spiritual element there. Some brother may discern the Lord, and by what he says others discern Him also.

L.W. It is possible, is it not, for the Lord to be present at the Supper, and we individually not to realise it? To discern Him, we must be spiritual.

J.T. That is so. That is the point, and that is what we are seeking to make clear.

B.H.T. It is a question of state.

J.T. That is included in what is opened up to us in Romans 8, particularly, what the Holy Spirit is to the believer. I have found my feet in chapter 7, then chapter 8 shows what the Spirit is to me, so I see all things clearly and am able to discern that it is the Lord Himself, as Man risen, "behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself".

Ques. "Handle me and see" (verse 39). How does that apply to us?

J.T. It applies spiritually; there is a means of testing as to whether He is present or not. This incident where the Lord appeared is a pattern; they were to see the import of it. He would accustom them to the idea of a spiritual body. "God is a spirit", John 4:24. It is not that thought here, but that Christ was in a body that is spiritual. It was the condition in which He was during

the forty days; they are educational in order to teach us how to be spiritual.

Rem. "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled", 1 John 1:1.

J.T. That alludes to the Lord in the flesh; but it would run on into this thought. There was substance before them, not what was imaginary, but He was a real Man as risen.

B.H.T. They "supposed they beheld a spirit".

J.T. But He was a Man. This is christianity. It is incarnation, but in the final condition in heaven it is "his body of glory". First that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. The natural, of course, applies to us, not to Christ. "And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly one", 1 Corinthians 15:49. The spiritual body becomes in result a heavenly one.

F.J.F. They were not familiar with the Lord in this condition.

J.T. But they ought to have been expecting it. Though in new condition Christ is the same as in the old. The spiritual grasp the idea of a spiritual body, it indicates the kind of Man in the counsels of God. The position in Luke 24:37 was Christ risen. Now that we have the Spirit we should have a state suitable. We await Christ from heaven as Saviour, to change our bodies of humiliation and transform them into the image of His glorious body. How important then, to become conversant with Him now! Our bodies need to be saved, though now it is a time of soul salvation. The great lesson of the forty days was spirituality, to become accustomed to the Lord coming in through closed doors.

J.R. What is your thought as to the Lord having asked for food?

J.T. That was for educative purposes. The emphasis the Lord gave was on the word "here", for example,

Cape Town, "Have ye anything here to eat?" (verse 41). Arid they were able to provide exactly what was suitable. They gave Him part of a "broiled fish" -- symbolising the sovereignty of God -- and "of a honeycomb" -- expressing the mutual state of things existent, for a comb is the combined work of many bees. In grace, the Lord stoops to do things. It is not that in heaven He eats; but the incident is to show the lengths to which His love will go for our education. Fish are peculiarly in the divine knowledge, beyond human knowledge. They must have come through the deluge. There are three blessings in Genesis 1 and as to the fifth day on which fish and fowl were created, "God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth". There must be something in the fish and fowl which peculiarly belongs to God, and so the Lord uses a fish in connection with the tribute money. In that He showed how He had control of the fish of the sea. But see how the Lord comes down to educate His disciples! "And he took it and ate before them", to show them how real a Man He was. The question is not how could He, in a spiritual body, eat it? This is a question that might stir in the natural mind, but that is leaving God out. What can God not do? The nearer we come to God, the more we learn to refuse the infidel suggestion that our puny minds can compass Him. In faith, we accept what is before us.

C.C.E. Jehovah appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1). There was no necessity for the three men to have eaten, but they did. It was God in grace coming into Abraham's circumstances.

J.T. It is beautiful to see God coming down and staying under the tree, giving Abraham time to get a meal ready. The preparation of the calf, the making of the cakes, must have occupied a considerable time. It is wonderful to see God coming down and remaining within our range that we may understand Him a little better.

N.D. We should be expectant of such a visitation as

Abraham had in Genesis 18 on the part of God, should we not?

J.T. If the disciples had believed that He would rise again from the dead, they would have said, The Lord used to come to us before to Bethany. Surely, love would claim that He would come again. In Luke 24:44 we read that "he said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all that is written concerning me in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled". He throws them back on what He said. The Lord had already spoken of these things to them. It seemed as though adjustment had been secured and that there would be no more difficulty. The Lord had descended to eat before them, so as to educate them further. What will He not do for us? The better we know Him, the more we expect Him to do.

L.W. What the Lord did for the disciples, the Holy Spirit would do for us.

J.T. He forces it on them that they had been remiss. He goes back with them over the ground. Why had they not understood? Why had they not believed? Why had they not made use of what they had heard? Then having accomplished His thought in their adjustment. He proceeds to something further -- that for which they were not responsible. He takes them on to higher ground, having "opened their understanding to understand the scriptures". Let us judge ourselves in relation to things that have blurred our sight. Up to that moment there had been a moral issue, but now He acts creationally, anticipating their arriving at the knowledge which is characteristic of the new man, as in Colossians 3:10. It is what every one of us who looks back on our history can witness to.

Ques. How does that work out today?

J.T. It is what the Lord can do, it involves His sovereign rights as Creator. The new man is created according to God (Ephesians 4:24), and renewed into full knowledge according to the image of the Creator (Colossians 3:10.)

It is the One who is the Creator who has to do with our understandings. The disciples had to judge themselves before they received the benefit of creational action, the time for which had now arrived. First, there has to be the moral question settled if you want Him to come in sovereignly. They had to judge the defect. The Lord will not do that for us, but then when that is settled, He comes in. We shall be in heaven as the product of God's sovereign work as Creator.

F.J.F. We shall be sadly hindered if there be not this self-judgment with us.

J.T. The Lord says, as it were, I am operating in you, but you are a moral being, you are responsible and your own moral state is at fault. This in you is not a creational defect, but your own state. As soon as I see and judge that, He comes in for us, and does exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Rem. This leads to the truth of the body (Colossians 3). Each of us has to look on the saints as one body.

J.T. You look around and see them all, not Christ alone. We need to look around and "see all things clearly", including the saints, in order to apprehend what they are as the result of God's work -- the new man.

This matter of what is creational is very fine, for what will the Lord not do for us? My side is the moral issue. That has to be taken up first.

N.D. From our side, our spiritual state or experience is subject to limitations. Is that any different from passing into the presence of the Lord when we depart this life?

J.T. There is correspondence, but the saint with the Lord has no body, so he is limited there also.

N.D. Then he is not subject to limitations in relation to the body.

J.T. If he has no body, that in itself is a limitation. The spirit is only part of a man, not the full man. Paul says, "whether in the body I know not, or out of the body I know not, God knows", 2 Corinthians 12:2.

Nevertheless he had heard wonderful things, indicating that departed saints do know things and can hear things, but they are limited. Thus our bodies, even such as they are, are better than none. And the Lord cares for them and He also enables us to enter into the spiritual and heavenly order of things opened to us while in them.

H.W.R. In writing to the Corinthians Paul says, "For indeed we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened; while yet we do not wish to be unclothed, but clothed", 2 Corinthians 5:4.

J.T. After their adjustment the Lord proceeded to the preaching (verse 45 - 49). "That all that is written concerning me in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled". This is that which was written, the public side of things. He had spoken to the two going to Emmaus, of Moses and the prophets, and He says here, "ye are witnesses of these things", that is, they had seen them. In Acts, Luke records that the Lord told the disciples "ye shall be my witnesses". You cannot be a witness of Christ unless you are a witness of the things.

F.J.F. The Lord's reference to the Scriptures in Luke shows that He had the public position in view. They were recognised by the Lord, as also in the synagogue, Luke 4.

J.T. Yes. The Scriptures are authoritative in this position. After saying that they are witnesses, He says, "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but do ye remain in the city till ye be clothed with power from on high". We should notice that it is all what the Lord is doing now. Their adjustment has taken place, and so the Lord brings in great things as regards the preaching. And it is to be remarked that they were to remain in the city till they were clothed with power. The Lord would say, You will get the message as you are on your feet. The Spirit will come in. Matthew would make it more testing in his presentation, but here the Lord is making it somewhat easier for the sake of the preaching. It is a question of what the Scriptures

require, that the preaching goes forth from Jerusalem, and so they are to be clothed with power from on high.

J.S. And they are to wait upon the Lord until they are clothed with such power.

J.T. They are "my witnesses" in Acts; here they are witnesses as seeing things.

F.J.F. What necessity there is for repentance! It involves a man's moral being. He is responsible to move in relation to what God is saying.

J.T. The moral point is most important. Every man must accept responsibility for his sins, but God says, I open a door of repentance. And then remission is added. What is the good of repentance if there be no remission? What a fortifying gospel it is! It begins in the very place where Christ was put to death, and it is to be spread amongst all the nations. "Preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem" (verse 47). It was not that the Lord put that upon them, but the Scriptures required it. And they were witnesses, and were to remain there until clothed with power from on high.

Rem. Is the word "thus it behoved" also connected with the preaching?

J.T. Yes.

W.T. Are these the main features of the preaching of the gospel -- repentance and remission?

J.T. The gospel goes further. There is no mention of the word "gospel" here. This concerns the preaching; it meets man's need, but we have further thoughts in the gospel, in fact the mystery is included in it. It is called the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. In Luke the thought is that men might get relief and God would open a door for them to repent, and in doing so, would have forgiveness in view.

J.H.H. When you are preaching, do you get your message as you are on your feet?

J.T. How do you find it?

J.H.H. I like to have my scriptures before me.

J.T. So do I. I like to have an outline; for this I go

to Galilee. There has to be that exercise before the preaching; but what the Lord says here indicates that power comes in as you are preaching. Of course what He directly alludes to is the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is as you are preaching that power comes in. The whole person is affected. All should look to experience it. What the Lord will do for us as we are ministering!

B.H.T. And the message, might that also come as you are on your feet?

J.T. I never come to speak without having something, as watching at wisdom's gates and waiting at the posts of its doors. These things are worth getting, but in delivering them we need to be clothed with power from on high.

C.C.E. We often say a great deal more than ever we meant to say.

J.T. It is usually something distinctive that you get on your feet, when you receive this touch from the Holy Spirit as you are speaking.

B.S. His name is to be mentioned, I notice, as though it is that which is the effective power.

J.T. The preaching is to be in His name. That is the position in which the gospel is set. Peter makes much of it in his preaching as recorded in Acts. "And it shall be that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved", Acts 2:21. "By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong", Acts 3:16. Everything is in that name, it gives authority to the gospel. The whole power of God is behind it; it involves His authority in heaven. "Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and granted him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow", Philippians 2:9, 10. "And salvation is in none other, for neither is there another name under heaven which is given among men by which we must be saved", Acts 4:12.

D.S. Peter's preaching in Acts 2 had reference to the Lord in resurrection.

J.T. And in heaven too. "Know assuredly that God has made him, this Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ". That applies personally and officially. The official side is stressed. "Having therefore been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which ye behold and hear", Acts 2:33. Thus the preaching went on in His name.

SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION FOR PART IN THE ASSEMBLY (3)

Acts 1:1 - 26

J.T. It should be noted that the ascension is recorded in the end of Luke and also here in Acts 1, and what is also to be observed is that in Luke 24 we have leadership. It is said that the Lord led the disciples out as far as to Bethany, that is, we have the principle that the Lord may lead with a view to public testimony, but as Minister of the sanctuary He leads inwardly. He leads towards God, but His leadership has also to do with the dispensational dealings of God, and the saints are to be subject and amenable to His direction in this sense. Bethany is not Olivet, it does not say He led them to Olivet, it is said that they returned to Jerusalem from the mount of Olives; but in Luke it is definitely stated that He led them as far as Bethany, that is to a limited point. It has reference evidently to the place of love, but in relation to the remnant of Israel. It is seen there with the idea of the dispensations in view, but in Acts the disciples are told, "It is not yours to know times or seasons". The book of Acts looks towards the assembly in its heavenly position, whereas Luke would concern us with the dispensations, and how the love of God for His ancient people has to be regarded, how the Lord would lead in that way for the moment, but ultimately having His eternal purpose in mind.

W.S. Having been led out as far as Bethany they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

J.T. They returned to Jerusalem and they did not go to the upper room, but to the temple, meaning that they are in accord with the leading so far as it went, but still taking Jewish ground. Intelligence is contemplated; the Lord had opened their understanding to understand the Scriptures, and the Scriptures give great consideration for God's ancient people. So that in going to Jerusalem

they are in keeping with that, they go into the temple and are continually praising and blessing God. Under these circumstances they are a testimony to others, they were a contribution to Israel at this time, showing what God was willing to do for them.

F.J.F. They are not as yet distinct from the nation.

J.T. The Lord did not wish them to be separate; leading them to Bethany meant they were to take up a remnant character in the place of love, in the exercise of great forbearance towards Israel; that was the point at the moment. We have to learn how God thinks of persons who are not affected by the truth as we are. He has them in His mind that they should be affected, and exercises great patience towards them. What would be a greater testimony to God at this time than that there should be such a company, praising and blessing Him continually? Anyone that went to the temple would have observed this. What a testimony it was! The idea of "as far as" to Bethany is that it is not beyond. The Lord had been accustomed to go to the mount of Olives, and when the Supper was instituted they sang a hymn and went there; but now they go to Bethany. The mount of Olives looks towards heaven and the assembly, it was the place to which the Lord had recourse at night. While He was in Jerusalem ministering He went to the mount of Olives at night, indicating that that was His retreat with His Father alone. But now He leads them, not there, but to Bethany. The point in the beginning of the Acts is to bring out the link with the upper room rather than the temple. While we are to be with God in bearing testimony to our brethren or to others whom He would bring into what we enjoy, we should never give up our own retreat, our own special place with Himself.

F.J.F. It is striking that it says the mount of Olives was a sabbath day's journey from Jerusalem. Does that suggest anything?

J.T. I suppose it is the distance between the camps in the wilderness and the tabernacle, where they could

go and worship. They could go that length. There is the idea of restriction on the sabbath, but they could go into Jerusalem from Olivet even on the sabbath. I think it conveys a spiritual thought -- that the old system allowed such a journey. The women (as we had yesterday) observed the sabbath, they were restful on the sabbath, according to the commandment; but there is nothing about the sabbath day's journey in Luke, it is in the Acts.

J.S. Have you any thought as to why they were at the mount of Olives?

J.T. We are seeking to arrive at the distinction between Bethany and the mount of Olives. As already said, the Lord led them as far as Bethany; it is a remnant position, it is the place of love. According to Luke He was received up from Bethany. "And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven". He is separated from them. Their position is as the remnant of Israel. In the opening of the Acts the link with heaven is in view.

R.B. Is it the assembly position in Acts?

J.T. That is the idea. Although they continued on the principle of Luke 24 in going to the temple, they broke bread in the house, and were in the upper room; they maintained the assembly position right through.

N.D. Does the upper room link on with the assembly?

J.T. It does in the Acts. In Luke we have the priestly side. It is God patiently waiting on Israel, and waiting on them with such a contribution as the disciples of Jesus were in the temple. How joyful they were! If you had been there you would have seen that, and enquired, What does this mean? It was what God had in His mind for all, a palpable thing, not mere doctrine. The rabbis were occupied with the law and tradition, but this is a palpable testimony. There had not been such a company seen in the temple before -- not even in the days of Solomon. It was a contribution

from God to His ancient people in His dispensational ways.

R.B. He did not lead them that way in Acts.

J.T. He did not lead them at all in Acts. Acts is an assembly book. He assembled with them. You learn from Him in the assembly what you are to do. It is headship.

L.W. The position of the disciples in the temple is similar to the cloud lingering.

J.T. That is what it was. You can see what a contribution it was from Jehovah to His ancient people. Any one could see them; it was in the court, it would not be in the holiest. If one enquired, What is the occasion of all this joy? the answer would be, It is God's mind for you. It is the same thing today; as the saints are happily in the enjoyment of the things of God, they are a testimony to all who see them. In John 1:39 the Lord says, "Come and see". It is important to have something of God that people can see.

F.J.F. Was it a spiritual witness? "Ye are witnesses of these things".

J.T. It was in a spiritual way; think of what they were. If you had been there as a Jew, and had come into the court of the temple and looked at these people, you would have noted their joy; they were jubilant, victorious, obviously enjoying blessing. Not from Abraham down had there been such a testimony in Israel as this. The Lord Jesus had been brought in as a Babe, and Simeon's word was a prophetic testimony to Israel, but there is no need of calling attention to these men, they show they are full of holy joy.

F.J.F. Glory was there when the Lord Jesus was brought in as a Babe, and also here.

J.T. What Haggai spoke of was realised, in a sense, the "latter glory" of the house. It was only provisional however. For the moment these men, like Christ, are there and full of joy; and they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. It was a further

testimony to them. When Stephen spoke to them, his face shone; it was a continuation of this in that sense; but his address was an indictment.

R.D. It says, "were continually". Is that today?

J.T. The point is that it was there every day, as it were, any one could see it. Of course it came to an end, but there was a constant testimony to Christ as the result of His death and resurrection.

J.B. Do you think the assembly in that way is a testimony to christendom?

J.T. That is the idea. John comes in at the end. "Come and see". That is one of his characteristic phrases. Luke would say, Go and carry the testimony in grace to people wherever they are, like the Samaritan, but "Come and see", means there is something to see.

F.J.F. Was all this involved in what Paul brought to light?

J.T. It was ultimately merged in the assembly.

T.R. Before the Lord died, He went into the temple and looked round on everything, then He left it and went out to Bethany.

J.T. He came back from Bethany in the morning, but as He came back He cursed the fig-tree. That is not here, they came back from Bethany full of joy and blessing, not cursing.

Rem. The joy was consequent upon the Lord leading them to Bethany, the place of love.

J.T. It would be, but there was more than that. He lifted up His hands and blessed them, and as He blessed them He was parted from them and went up into heaven. When He had gone they went back into Jerusalem with the sense of being blessed.

C.C.E. There is no testimony so strong as joy, it is the strongest form of testimony.

J.T. Yes, when you have it every day. We experience a good day on Lord's day as a rule, thank God, but what are we on Mondays?

C.C.E. Here it is not just a burst of joy, subsiding then into depression.

J.T. It is "continually". "Joy unspeakable and filled with the glory". What a testimony it is!

F.J.F. Do you think this was a triumph for God?

J.T. Certainly. It is what He had effected through Christ. The true Aaron had blessed them. The true Aaron is here, and He lifts up His hands and blesses them, and is parted from them. They have the sense of being blessed, as Isaac said, "blessed he shall be". There is no doubt about it, these people are blessed; it is a permanent thing.

J.H.H. This was the transitional period between the old and the new dispensations.

J.T. Transitional in its bright side. Judgment is not in view here, it is all blessing.

J.H.H. The old dispensation closing up in glory.

J.T. It is closed up judicially later, because Stephen's address is the indictment, as remarked already. You have no indictment here, nothing but praise to God; not teaching and preaching, but joy visibly in the centre of everything, the temple.

L.W. The glory departed from Israel. Is this the return?

J.T. In a way it is there. It will come back to Israel presently, and will enter from the east, we are told in Ezekiel, and this is a foreshadowing of what is coming in by and by. It is God saying to every Jew, This is what My mind is for you, and so it is with every christian. The preacher should be the expression of what he is preaching. It is like the two pillars in front of the temple -- they were intended to illustrate what was in God's mind. Christianity is not a theoretical thing, it is a substantial thing. John's epistle brings in the substantial side of things. "And these things write we to you that your joy may be full", 1 John 1:4.

F.J.F. These men would form very good material with which to build the assembly, when they received further light.

J.T. You can understand how the Spirit of God would take up Luke and prepare him to write the gospel, and instruct him that the gospel only went so far but did not go all the way. The Lord would undoubtedly give Luke to understand that there was something more in mind. Luke would have to look in another direction now before writing the Acts, and he is looking in another direction; he is not looking at the temple in Jerusalem any more, that is no longer his objective. The thought was that the Lord was about to send the Spirit "whom I will send to you from the Father". He says, "he shall bear witness concerning me". He "goes forth from with the Father", and is thus perfectly conversant with all that is in the Father's mind, all His counsels; and He also bears witness. There is thus a further witness by One perfectly competent to bring out the thoughts of God, going forth from with the Father; "And ye too bear witness", this involves Paul's teaching, which is an additional testimony. Luke in Acts has all this in view. He opens his second treatise to Theophilus by referring to all the things which Jesus began both to do and to teach. He speaks of how He "presented himself living". He presented Himself a living Person from among the dead. He is now to be seen thus. It is not simply that He was seen, but He showed Himself, so that He should be seen as He intended Himself to be seen. Then He assembled with them, this is the idea now. It is a question of learning how to assemble, and He is with them to teach them; you do not get this earlier. It is now the question of assembling and knowing how to assemble, which far transcends the temple. It is a question of the spiritual temple formed of persons, the Lord of glory, the true Solomon, assembling with them. Peter would say, as it were, I remember the Lord -- how He sat, how He moved (it is not now the question of the breaking of

bread). I remember how He acted in the assembly. So that you are introduced at once to this great idea (verse 4).

F.J.F. That has eternity in view.

J.T. I think so. We are now looking towards the Pentecostal assembly which will be seen coming down out of heaven from God (Revelation 21), but not only the Pentecostal assembly, for the city in Revelation 21 includes Paul's ministry, which connects what happened here, and subsequently under the twelve, with the eternal position.

J.S. The disciples are now quite free with the Lord to ask questions. "Is it at this time that thou restorest the kingdom to Israel?"

J.T. He is always ready to answer questions in the assembly. Questions had been asked Him in the temple, but now it is in the assembly. It is as having come together they asked Him questions.

F.J.F. Intelligent persons are in view.