NOTE

These Volumes of "Ministry by J. Taylor -- New Series" contain reprints of books now unobtainable in their original form, along with articles which have appeared in periodicals from time to time.

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Pages 1 - 78 -- "The Tabernacle of Witness". Indianapolis, January, 1915 (Volume 25).

THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (1)

Exodus 25:10 - 40

J.T. It helps to connect this chapter with Genesis 2 and John 1 and Hebrews 1.

Genesis 2 suggests a moral system. The first chapter is the material, and Adam was to be the centre of the moral system, but he failed in it; so that this chapter supplies in type, Him of whom Adam was but a figure. What it suggests is the durableness of the order of humanity that was seen in Christ, not as yet the outward greatness of it; that is seen in the temple, but the durableness is seen in the ark. What is noticeable in the tabernacle is the smallness of things outwardly, and yet containing what is so infinitely precious; whereas, in the temple things are on a larger scale and the materials, especially the woods used, are different. The wood in the temple is largely cedar, though there are other species of wood, because it is a question of Christ glorified and the Spirit. It is the cedar and the olive. The cedar suggests the greatness and stateliness of things, but the tabernacle links with the Lord's position here. There was lowliness and outward insignificance, but containing the most precious things. Consideration of the ark enables us to arrive at what will endure to the end.

R.S.S. I would like to repeat what was said as to the distinction between Genesis 1 and 2. It is very important. In the first you have what is material, and in the second what is moral. That is, man is introduced, and I suppose everything that is moral is in connection with man.

J.T. The material creation is simply a theatre in which the moral is exhibited. Therefore Genesis 2 is

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greater than Genesis 1 according to what is in the mind of God, it presents a moral system centred in man who had the breath of God in him. The moral is introduced in the breath. God breathed into Adam's nostrils. Now the consideration of the ark enables us to see the Man who not only sustains the moral system, but who introduces it.

R.S.S. There was another thought you gave expression to: the distinction between the tabernacle and the temple. That is very helpful.

J.T. Young believers especially are apt to be discouraged because of the smallness of things connected with the testimony of God, whereas they are very great really. The temple-system is the great side, it refers to the time of manifestation. So you have different kinds of wood from that spoken of in the tabernacle; there is olive, which alludes to the Spirit, and cedar, which alludes to the greatness of Christ. The thought of God is that we should be in the light of the greatness of the system when it is manifested. It sustains us in the period of its outward smallness and insignificance.

R.S.S. The shittim wood is in contrast with the cedar.

J.T. Shittim wood was used in the tabernacle. It was not suggestive of conspicuousness. It was very durable, and found, no doubt, in the wilderness.

G.A.T. What you would occupy us with this morning is the quality of the wood.

J.T. Yes. There was nothing great in the Lord's appearance outwardly; nor should there be in our appearance. It was never intended that Christianity should be anything but insignificant in this world outwardly.

A.F.M. What is the connection between what you have advanced and John 1 and Hebrews 1?

J.T. In Hebrews 1:2 you have "by whom also he made the worlds". That was written to Hebrew

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Christians. It was by Christ that the worlds were made; and then, "upholding all things by the word of his power". Hebrews 1:3. These statements refer to what is material, but what was in the divine mind was that there should be a point of sympathy between Christ and all the things that He upholds. In the material system there is no sympathy; the bodies in the universe are material; they are inanimate things. The moral system is composed of living things, hence you get in the tabernacle a point of sympathy between all the elements and the ark, so that the moral system is affected inwardly. In John 1 the Lord is set before us as the One who gives impulse to things, like the sun. He sets things in movement, not now by external pressure, but by internal influence. John looked on Jesus as He walked. That is the idea. There is movement. First, he sees Him coming to him, and says, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world". John 1:29. Then he sees Him walking, and he says, "Behold the Lamb of God!" John 1:36. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. They were set in movement.

R.S.S. Is that characteristic of the whole of the gospel of John?

J.T. I think so.

M.L.H. The two who went with Him were supporting the testimony.

J.T. They were set in movement by Christ. John's testimony to Christ directed their hearts to Him, and they followed. No other movement is of any account except what the Lord Jesus effects.

W.B-t. You have the ark in your mind, have you not, when speaking of the impulse?

J.T. Quite so.

W.B-s. So the ark occupies the first and central position.

J.T. It is that which is in the mind of God as the

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means by which everything is effected, hence the importance of considering it, and the material of which it is formed.

W.B-t. Is your thought that the present time compares with the tabernacle system of things rather than the temple?

J.T. Yes. Of course we are in the light of the temple system, but it never was the divine intent that there should be anything conspicuous attaching to the position of the testimony here. A man bound with a chain is not outwardly great.

J.L.J. When you speak of the greatness of the temple system, is it outward greatness?

J.T. It is that. You find the scale is enlarged in Solomon's temple.

J.L.J. So if we take account of the temple system, it puts us in the light of the kingdom.

J.T. And you are content to be small here, because after all, we are connected with the greatest things.

R.S.S. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation". Luke 17:20.

E.H.T. Why is the size of the ark given?

J.T. You can understand the Spirit of God would give us the dimensions; but they are dimensions that we must understand spiritually.

A.F.M. Is it not remarkable that when you come to the temple, there is no enlargement in the size of the ark? It is the same ark right through.

J.T. Yes. It may be called by different names, the ark of the testimony, the ark of the covenant, the ark of God, and of Jehovah, but it is the same ark.

R.S.S. What is the distinction between "the ark of the covenant", "the ark of the testimony", and "the ark of God"?

J.T. So far as I understand, the word testimony is not found till you find it in connection with the ark. The word covenant is found. It appears in

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Genesis 6. A covenant is an agreement between two parties; that made with Israel we find in Exodus 19 and 20. The covenant becomes a testimony on the part of God; that is to say, the tables represent that His will must prevail in the universe. Therefore, they became a testimony to Him (compare Psalm 19) and were treasured up in the ark. At the same time there was also a covenant, so that you have both expressions, "the ark of the covenant" and the "ark of the testimony".

R.S.S. The two tables were both a covenant and a testimony.

J.L.J. Would you say the ark of the covenant is more connected with purpose? The ark of the covenant stood in the midst of the Jordan till all the people passed over.

J.T. I think the covenant, typically at least, speaks of the heart of God, and of what He had in His mind for the people, and therefore you can understand it in Jordan, because it was a question of God giving effect to what He had promised. But there is always a standing witness to God,

W.L.P. What does the testimony speak of?

J.T. The covenant supposes others; objects for God's heart, but the testimony has Himself only in view. It is His testimony. You will find in Samuel it is almost invariably the ark of God or the ark of Jehovah. There was departure, and the rights of God were involved. It was His witness.

W.E. You spoke of the ark being a small thing as far as the exterior is concerned. Has it not been the mind of God from the beginning that so far as His testimony has been concerned, it has always been presented in that which was insignificant?

J.T. Of course you have David and Solomon, but when you come to Christ personally here, from the very outset He was that, and His own parable of the kingdom of God speaks of it as the least of all things,

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the mustard-seed, and He never intended it to be anything but that.

G.A.T. His coming as a Babe was small.

J.T. I was thinking of that. We are apt to become dissatisfied because things are small as compared with what exists around us. A cathedral is the opposite of Christianity. We are all apt to look for large numbers. If God gives them, you accept them, but the divine idea is in the Lord's parable of the mustard-seed; it is the smallest thing outwardly. Of course you have the other side in 1 Kings, and the different woods that are used point to magnificence.

R.S.S. But it is just what you were saying, it is moral greatness. There could not be anything more morally great than what is set forth in the tabernacle.

J.T. When the Spirit of God came from heaven, they were talking about great things. They were saying, "we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God". Acts 2:11. The coming of the Spirit brought the testimony of the coming greatness, and so the Lord said to Nathanael, "thou shalt see greater things than these". John 1:50. They are all ahead of us. It is only a question of waiting for them, but in the meantime we have to accept the outward reproach and insignificance.

E.H.T. When the Lord came as the Babe in the manger, does not the very thought of His habitation indicate smallness?

J.T. The angels were in the light of the greatness of the occurrence. The chapter in Luke speaks about the census being made, and it suggests that Augustus was thinking of his own greatness, in having the number counted. Now the Babe is born under such circumstances and the angels are in the full light of the greatness of that event. The census was of no account to them. The census made in heaven would be of account to them; in fact there is such a thing as that.

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R.S.S. In that same gospel we are to rejoice that our names are written in heaven.

J.T. The men that God has good pleasure in are not the men that Augustus took account of. The men that God will have pleasure in are to be like Christ. They are to come in on that line. It is on the line of littleness and humility. These are the kind of men that God will have good pleasure in. Hence the importance of taking account of the ark, because all that is to follow in the tabernacle is to be in accord with it.

B.T.F. You spoke of the ark in connection with the tabernacle. You connect that with the wilderness journey, but when you speak of the temple, you speak of that which is when the purpose of God is established.

J.T. Yes. The temple may be regarded as typifying the glorification of Christ and the gift of the Spirit; that is for faith. Peter's address on the day of Pentecost, points to the greatness of Christ. God had made Him Lord and Christ; that is the cedar. Then the olive-wood no doubt alluded to the Spirit. But then the temple system also refers to the coming day of display when all these things will be unveiled.

W.B-t. It is interesting to notice that Solomon in sending to Hiram speaks of the greatness of the house he would build, 2 Chronicles 2:9. I like the point you have made.

J.T. It is very clear that there is divine greatness connected with Christ and we have part in it, but for the moment we want to see the durable character of His humanity, so that we may be in accord with it.

R.S.S. Is that expressed in the durable character of the wood in the tabernacle?

J.T. That is the point I think, and the boards were made of the same wood; in fact it is the only wood used in the tabernacle. So that it suggests

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what God is using now for the maintenance of His testimony. God began with Christ and there was no breakdown. The Lord went right through. You take up His path. The disciples were amazed to see Him going deliberately down to the cross, and it comes out more particularly in the garden of Gethsemane. He began with "Lo, I come to do thy will" Hebrews 10:9 and He ended with that "not my will, but thine, be done". Luke 22:42. Now the question is not only how we begin, but how are we going to end?

J.L.J. Our endurance depends on our apprehending Christ in this light, and appreciating Him.

J.T. I think so. We often attempt to go in for the cedar too soon. The Corinthians did that. They reigned before the time. Very often you begin by simply submitting to the will of God, but how long does that continue? If you go on that line, you will never be conspicuous in man's eye.

A.F.M. In regard to the Lord, would you say that the testing through which He passed up to the baptism in Jordan, reached the point where the gold was introduced? You have referred to the sufferings of Gethsemane, but was there not the mark of durability about Him prior to that, which would enable Him to support the antitype of the gold?

J.T. The thirty years of His private life came under God's eye. He was about His Father's business. He never deviated one hair's breadth from the divine will. "I was cast upon thee from the womb". Psalm 22:10. God was before Him. Now the end of that course was the fulfilment of all righteousness. That is the kind of a man on which to put the gold. He comes out of the water at His baptism and is praying, and the heavens proclaim their delight in Him. And then you have the gift of the Spirit in connection with that, which is, in a sense, the gold; that God has committed Himself formally to that Man. I speak with reverence, but that is true. He did not

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do it when Christ was born; there is no anointing with the Spirit then. It was when He was thirty years of age. God anointing the Man, commits Himself to Him.

W.B-s. The ark is on the line of reproach, what the Lord was in His lowly life here.

J.T. That is the idea. The wood is seen in the thirty years of His private life. Think of the Lord Jesus, with all the light of God in His heart, working as the carpenter! He was quite content to be in that obscure position where He was for the divine pleasure.

W.L.P. Then He was always the ark from the beginning.

J.T. He was always as to His humanity, but it is when God commits Himself to Him that it becomes evident. It was as if God said 'This is the Man that is going to do all My pleasure'. Another beautiful trait comes out in Christ after the descent of the Spirit; it is said that "he was led by the Spirit in the wilderness" Luke 4:1 meaning that the Lord recognised the Spirit. He gave place to the Spirit. That is another mark of the kind of humanity that you see in Christ.

E.H.T. When He was anointed, He was seen as the ark of the testimony.

J.T. Yes. He stands up and says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me". Luke 4:18. That was the ground He took in speaking, His credentials, as it were. The Spirit was manifestly upon Him. The Lord did not undertake His service simply because He was born here as God's Son, but because He was anointed. "He hath anointed me to preach the gospel". Luke 4:18.

B.T.F. Is that the gold?

J.T. Exactly.

W.B-t. I do not quite understand. Is your thought that the anointing of Jesus and the overlaying of the ark with pure gold, are the same thought?

J.T. In this sense, that in Luke God is seen Himself.

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The testimony of Peter was, "he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him". Acts 10:38. God was there in Christ. That really suggests the veil also. The veil is not merely that God was concealed behind it, but God was known to be there, although not yet manifested.

R.S.S. How? By what the veil was made of?

J.T. You may have something concealed in your mind that I know nothing about at all. On the other hand, I may know that you have something in your mind, but I do not know what that something is. Now it is the latter that is suggested in the veil. God is known to be there, but as yet, He is not known. That is what marked Christ. It was known that God was there, but He was not known till Christ died. For instance, Nicodemus recognised that "no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" John 3:2; but then Nicodemus did not presume to know God. It was said, "that God hath visited his people", Luke 7:16.

W.B-s. Why is it that the tabernacle was anointed with oil and the temple never was? Everything in the tabernacle was anointed.

J.T. I think because of what we were saying, that you get the anointing in connection with testimony in Christ and at Pentecost. At Pentecost it says the Spirit sat upon each of them. It is what is external. The idea in the anointing is that you are not seen, but God is seen; but the day is coming when you will be seen.

R.S.S. When the temple comes, it is display, not exactly testimony.

W.B-s. Does not the tabernacle go on to the thought that everything will be pervaded by the Spirit?

J.T. Everything will be pervaded by the power of the Spirit, but the anointing of the tabernacle refers rather to the present time.

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D.R. We have great encouragement in being identified with the testimony, although it puts one in insignificance in the world; but you become great before God.

J.T. The desire to be great is very present, alas, with most Christians. In Acts 8 it is said that Simon the sorcerer gave out himself to be some great one. But he saw he was eclipsed. He believed through Philip's preaching, but evidently with a sinister motive, he wanted to come into what was gaining the day, what was in prominence. He wanted the power to give the Spirit. That would give him a greatness he never had before.

G.A.T. You would like to get a larger company, but still you can go on with a small company.

J.T. That is a great thing to cultivate.

W.C.R. The Lord found the treasure and went and hid it; that is, what He was going to establish was, in a sense, to be hidden from the view of the world.

M.L.H. And the conspicuousness of the tree, and that which was connected with the leaven, brought in the corruption.

J.T. You may depend upon it, if there is an endeavour to be something, that corruption will set in at once, because the Spirit of God will not support that, hence you must look somewhere else for support. You will probably make an alliance with another brother to support your greatness; that is corruption. Any kind of thing that you refer to for the support of what is great in the world is corrupt. I think the consideration of the ark helps us as we trace the Lord's path in the gospels. How uniformly content He was with the place men gave Him. He never tried to alter it. He simply accepted it, and the divine support is always seen there. You will always find it when you accept the reproach that men are pleased to give you, and it is very remarkable

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that the closing letters of Paul to the assembly are from Rome, when he was in the greatest reproach. You might say, 'Were I in Rome, I would certainly seek Paul out', but would you? I do not think we have any idea of the pressure and reproach that attached to him there, and hence the reference to Onesiphorus, that he sought him out very diligently and found him, and was not ashamed of his chain. Now that is how things are left pretty much to us. The vessel of the testimony was in chains. The injunction was "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner". 2 Timothy 1:8.

P.L. Do you get that idea in the prophet's language, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit", Amos 7:14. How unseemly it would be to assume the name of a teacher or evangelist.

J.T. You dread those things. One is afraid of assuming to be anything, an evangelist, etc. It is better to leave these things to speak for themselves.

E.H.T. Would you say it is reproach alone that tests the durability of the wood? Durability is seen as one takes the reproach of the Nazarene.

J.T. I think that John the baptist becomes a model for us, if we have to give an account of ourselves, and sometimes you have to; the Lord had to. "Who art thou?" The Lord said, "altogether that which I also say to you". John 8:25. John the baptist said that he was simply a voice. Of course we are something, and in the assembly what you are comes to light. "By the grace of God", Paul says, "I am what I am". 1 Corinthians 15:10.

J.T. What characterised the Lord Jesus was that He loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. That marked His pathway here.

A.B. In Hebrews 11 there are five things that the Spirit says about Moses:

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First, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

Second, he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God.

Third, he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.

Fourth, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.

Fifth, he kept the passover. I believe that is God's order.

G.A.T. Will you say a word as to how the shittim wood applies to us?

J.T. I think it applies in a very practical way as to our continuance in the maintenance of our local responsibility, or whatever our responsibility may be. We are apt to go on for a time and make a good showing, but the Lord says that "he that endures to the end shall be saved". Matthew 10:22. That is where the test comes. We may not go to the limit to which our responsibility refers.

B.T.F. Do you give the staves the same character as the boards?

J.T. They correspond in one way with the boards. Paul was like one of the staves. He carried the testimony. He tells us how far he carried it.

A.F.M. "From Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum". Romans 15:19.

J.T. Yes; and he had it on his mind to go to Spain. The staves have reference to carrying the testimony of Christ.

B.T.F. He came to Ephesus and they burned up their curious books, the price of them being fifty thousand pieces of silver, showing how the testimony of Christ overthrew the world.

J.T. Quite so. We cannot say in the same way that we carry it, because Paul disclaimed ever taking up another man's line of things, but he had a measure and his measure reached even to the Corinthians and

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the proof of it, was that he had carried the testimony to that city.

M.L.H. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith". 2 Timothy 4:7. That was the ending of the man that carried the testimony.

J.T. That was like the drawing out of the staves. He had set the ark in its place; that was Paul's ministry.

P.L. He deposited the testimony in the assembly at Ephesus.

A.F.M. There is encouragement in the way John Mark ended.

J.T. He did not wait till the staves were drawn out. He ceased carrying too soon. He left the ark in the wilderness so to speak. You never give up your movement till Christ is in Zion. "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob". Psalm 132:4,5. "Arise O Lord into thy rest thou and the ark of thy strength". Psalm 132:8. That is a sentiment that goes with the staves.

A.F.M. Did not Mark get recovered?

J.T. He did and writes the gospel, which, I think, should be studied by everyone who wishes to be a stave.

P.L. Is not the writing of his gospel the measure of his recovery? The very one who had failed in the testimony is taken up to set forth Christ as the true ark of the testimony.

M.L.H. He took hold of the staves again.

R.S.S. There is one feature in connection with the ark we have not spoken of and that is the rings. Have you any thought about the signification of the rings into which the staves were put?

J.T. I think it refers to the place that Paul, or any servant, had in Christ. You are attached. There is a link of connection in that way.

R.S.S. Would it suggest affection?

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J.T. Very likely. The ring is a symbol of affection. Literally it is easily understood, the ark could not be carried without the rings.

A.F.M. Is it like Galatians 1:15,16, "When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen"?

J.T. That is the idea. Christ was known in Paul s heart.

M.L.H. In connection with gold have we that which is for God?

Ques. "And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". John 1:14. Is that the gold?

J.T. I think the gold side is rather testimony. It is what was seen in the testimony of Jesus. God was seen. You find right through that what is made prominent by Luke is that God was there. The kingdom of God is the point.

J.L.J. Do you get the thought of the gold in Timothy, God manifest in flesh?

J.T. Yes.

A.F.M. Will you say a word about the mercy-seat?

J.T. That was all of gold. It is a question of what God is, God's mercy. "Whom God hath set forth a mercy-seat". Romans 3:25. It is what God is towards man. It is God's mercy in Christ towards man. But all that is supported by the humanity of Christ, and underneath was treasured up the will of God in His heart.

E.H.T. Then would you say the mercy-seat is a declaration of the rights of God, God's righteousness?

J.T. For the showing forth of God's righteousness, Romans 3:25.

W.B-s. The cherubim and the mercy-seat were of one piece of gold.

J.T. Showing how the attributes of God are

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sustained in Christ. What Christ is towards man is exactly what God is towards man.

R.S.S. So that in a general way the wood set forth that which is connected with humanity, the gold that which was connected with what is divine. The gold, divine righteousness.

J.T. Yes, but more correctly the gold is what God is in testimony, and that takes the form of righteousness in the gospel. That is the great point in Romans.

G.B.M. So the acacia wood being overlaid with gold, meant that when men saw Christ they could but see God there.

A.F.M. So the wood is the only thing to bear the gold.

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THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (2)

Exodus 26:1 - 37

J.T. It would be noticed that the things spoken of in chapter 25 are again alluded to in the end of this chapter 26. They are alluded to merely to show that they are now in their place, and under protection. So that chapter 25 really presents the positive things that are before God, by which He carries out His purpose.

R.S.S. That is the ark, the mercy-seat, the table of shewbread and the candlestick.

J.T. Yes. These are the positive things, so that chapter 25 contains the great central subject of all that follows. Chapter 26 sets out the means by which they are protected, and also, we may add, concealed for the moment. So that what we come to practically here is fellowship, because the principles of fellowship really took the place of that element of protection for divine things which was seen in Christ personally. Whilst He was here, He kept everything for God. Fellowship carried on that thought, so that as applied to us this chapter involves fellowship; fellowship viewed as that in which divine things are preserved. There are different coverings, and they all refer, in one sense, to what obtained among the Lord's people at the beginning. They were all, in principle in Christ, but the type applies more to Christianity.

A.F.M. Boards as well as curtains.

J.T. Yes. The first thing that we meet with is the curtains. The inner curtains are of different dimensions from the curtains of goats' hair.

W.B-s. One was twenty-eight cubits and the other thirty.

L.T.F. What is the point of that?

J.T. It shows there are inner and outer circles,

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the inner corresponding so intimately in their structure and composition with the veil, referring to the divine nature in us, the new man.

J.L.J. So in the first you get, "it shall be one", Exodus 26:6 but in the last, "that it may be one". Exodus 26:11.

J.T. Therefore the first curtains refer to the new man. The divine nature is seen within. They are seen within the tabernacle, whereas the goats' hair, and the rams' skins, and the badgers' skins, were seen without, not within. That which was first seen in Christ was to be continued in the saints; in other words, what was true in Him became true in us.

J.L.J. Would you say the curtains have their answer in the Lord's prayer in John 17:22, "that they may be one"?

J.T. Yes. I think oneness is in the Spirit, but there is the exercise that it should be so, which I think the goats' hair and the other curtains suggest, whilst from the divine side we are one. It is laid down in Galatians 3:28 that "ye are all one in Christ Jesus". That is from the divine point of view, but then we must see to it that it is so practically.

W.B-s. There is a difference between the first curtains and the veil. In the first curtains the fine twined linen is mentioned first and in the veil, the blue comes first. What is the reason?

J.T. In the veil, I should say, the first thought is that Christ is heavenly. That comes out afterwards in us.

A.F.M. Is there this difference between the veil and the curtains; that you have what answers to the veil in John's gospel, and what answers to the curtains in John's epistle?

J.T. That is good. The epistle shows how that which is from the beginning is continued. It is not He but that. It is the kind of thing. Now that is the first chapter of John's epistle. In the second

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chapter we have that which is true in Him: "The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning" 1 John 2:7. Then there is the new commandment "which thing is true in him and in you". 1 John 2:8. There is the continuation. Then he says that the fathers are marked by a knowledge of "him that is from the beginning". 1 John 2:13. Hence the importance of Exodus 25, because it presents the idea of what was at the beginning. The fathers know that, and John goes on in that chapter to say that "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him". 1 John 2:29. That is the same thought, the continuation of what was in Christ. Then you have opened up further in 1 John 3 the working out of the divine nature, and it ends in chapter 5 by saying that "he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not". 1 John 5:18. That corresponds with Christ again. There is the principle of exclusion of evil and self-preservation.

G.A.T. God's thought is to have Christ continued on earth in the saints.

J.T. And the continuation of it ensures the protection of the things that God has before Him.

L.G.M. So the saints would be the vessel of the testimony continued.

J.T. The things before God that He uses for His own ends are continued and preserved here.

W.B-s. The first curtain corresponds with the veil. The veil is His flesh.

J.T. That is clear from Hebrews 10 so that it is unique. The curtains refer to the saints. The fact that they are so near to the veil in composition and construction, points to the divine nature in us. Even the cherubim are there. Then you have the veil supported by four pillars; see verses 32, 36, 37. There is another distinction. The veil was supported by four pillars overlaid with gold and socketed in

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silver; the hangings of the door, were supported by five pillars overlaid with gold, but socketed in brass.

A.F.M. What is the distinction between the four and the five?

J.T. I think the five have reference to the human element of weakness in the supporters of the testimony. The four, I have no doubt, allude to the four evangelists. It is Christ as here in the flesh presented by the four evangelists whereas the entrance to all that, the outer entrance is marked by five.

A.F.M. Each evangelist ends with the death of Christ, answering to the four sockets of silver. Now what about the five pillars with sockets of brass?

J.T. I think they allude to the added testimony. Five would also be symbolically weak. I have no doubt it refers to such as Paul, and what he alludes to in himself. There is weakness in the vessel although the ministry was supported by divine power. Christ said: "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness". 2 Corinthians 12:9.

W.B-s. There were four gospel writers and five writers of the epistles.

L.T.F. What is the point in the change of metal from silver to brass?

J.T. The further out you go, the more brass becomes prominent. The further in, the metal increases in value. The nearer you get to God, the more what is of Himself shines out. The nearer to the world, the brass appears, because the world has to be reminded that all approaches to God are marked by judgment, the judgment of sin.

A.F.M. I thought that was the point of the five pillars, that they were based upon that; hence the testimony of the five which went out later, was based upon that.

J.T. In the four narratives by the evangelists, it is not so much a question of the judgment of sin, though redemption is there of course, but it is not

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so much that, as calling attention to the beauties and perfections of Christ, whereas the gospel goes out world-wide and reminds men of God's judgment of sin in the death of Christ; besides that, judgment to come is also announced. God "hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness" Acts 17:31, and "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" Romans 1:18. All that goes with the gospel. Paul reasoned with Felix about it. The more you have to do with men, even in carrying the gospel to them, the more you have to do with judgment. But you can understand that if you are portraying the beauties of Christ, you do not make that prominent. Of course it is true that God's judgment of sin is seen throughout the Lord's ministry.

A.F.M. It is a necessary element in the gospel. When Paul preaches in Antioch in Pisidia he says, "Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets". Acts 13:40. That is the brass.

G.B.M. It looks as though the links of fellowship were founded on that. There are brass clasps.

J.T. There are different features of fellowship. Inside amongst ourselves, there is the working out of the divine nature in reciprocated affections, but then if we have to do with the world in business and so forth, the brass must appear; so you get in verse 11 in connection with the goats' hair, the fifty taches of brass.

R.S.S. Is brass, as used in the tabernacle, divine righteousness in connection with human responsibility?

J.T. I think it is divine righteousness as judging sin.

R.S.S. Gold is divine righteousness in connection with display.

J.T. As from God and as before God. All before

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God was gold. In the inner curtains the fifty taches are all gold. The links that hold us together within are in the divine nature, but as you go out, you are held together by the sense of the judgment of evil; this is seen in 1 Corinthians 10. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons. That is the brass.

G.A.T. I like that thought, especially the further you go in the more precious the metal.

J.T. Quite so. When the saints are together, there is no sense in speaking of the brass. While together we are not likely to steal. It is when you go out where the pressure of evil is that our old tendencies are liable to appear, and hence the principle of fellowship implies that you are not to do evil, even if the brethren are not looking at you. Very often we are more afraid of the brethren than we are of the Lord.

G.A.T. I find that myself, I am better amongst the saints than when I am away.

P.L. As we consider for one another when we are away, so we are free to consider for one another when we are together.

J.T. Fidelity is the great principle in fellowship, and it implies the thought in the brass. You are true to the brethren. It seems that you are not afraid of the Lord and you do things before His eye that you would not do before the eyes of the brethren. So the question of fidelity to the brethren is raised if faithfulness to the Lord has the first place.

M.L.H. What about the fifty taches?

J.T. It would take time to enlarge on these principles, but I think in general the measurements of the tabernacle are on the principle of ten. It is almost invariably ten or its multiplications. You have ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty and one hundred. On general principles the basis is ten. I think therefore that human responsibility marks it, so that you

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can understand how it belongs to the present time. That responsibility was answered to infinitely in Christ. How much is it answered to in us?

A.F.M. You get the ten in the tables, the ten commandments.

R.S.S. It is always God's principle, that He gives testimony beforehand in regard to anything of great importance. The greatness of the thing typified is the reason why all these details are given. If God has gone to such infinite pains to give us all these details, it well behoves us to look into them with exercise of soul, so that we might apprehend what is signified, for they are written for our instruction.

J.T. The Psalmist said: "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law". Psalm 119:18.

W.B-t. Will you say a word on the candlestick?

J.T. The ark, the mercy-seat, the table, and the candlestick, form the great things before God. The table suggests the goodness of God, the bountifulness with which He supplies food and then you have light. All these things really came out in the gospels. They all came out in the ministry of Christ, the goodness of God in supplying the bread and the table prepared and the light.

B.T.F. Are not all the details that we have in this chapter seen exhibited in the Person of the Lord Himself, when He was here?

J.T. I think they were. They all came out in Christ in principle. The inner curtains suggest the divine nature, and the outer curtains suggest the exclusion of evil. All these were in Christ. Brass is the judgment of evil with authority, but the inner curtains refer to holiness. Holiness abhors evil. We often have to deal with evil judicially, and yet we do not abhor it, we deal with it more in a legal way. But the question is, do you abhor it? Christ abhorred evil.

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B.T.F. So that the inner is the first, and the inner with regard to our responsible pathway enables us to have the outer, that is if our souls are educated in what holiness is, there will be the repellent nature of the outer covering.

J.T. The exclusive power of the badgers' skins and the goats' hair disappears, if holiness inside is not maintained. There may be for a time the legal maintenance of righteousness, but you will find that with all people who move away from the truth and from holiness, sooner or later evil gets in. The walls go down, the doors get broken and evil gets in. The power of exclusivism is from within. So the Lord was infinitely holy and the exterior gave testimony to that.

B.T.F. So these give us both an individual and collective aspect.

J.T. I think, as we were saying, that the tabernacle has in view the maintenance of the testimony during this period, and the chapter we have before us has largely reference to our own circumstances. It is a question of whether we are formed in the divine nature first of all, and if we are, then you will have what some people derisively call exclusivism. We need exclusivism.

A.T.M. Will you say a word on the difference between the curtains of goats' hair and the outer skins?

J.T. There are only two sets of curtains carefully measured. The first is that composed of fine twined linen. They are twenty-eight cubits in length. Then the curtains of goats' hair exceed this by two cubits. On either side of the tabernacle they extended a cubit further to the ground than the inner curtains. Therefore the tabernacle is protected. Now I understand the two additional sets of curtains, no dimensions being given, are what you might call excess, excess of vigilance, so that evil should not be allowed to enter.

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L.T.F. Would the different size make them overlap, so to speak? Is there a point in that in connection with what you were saying?

J.T. The whole tabernacle is secured; and then in the additional two sets of curtains you have excess of vigilance so that there should not be any possibility of the introduction of evil.

R.S.S. What was seen from without was the curtain of badgers' skins, nothing particular to look at. It is said of the Lord, that "he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground". Isaiah 53:2. So far as men were concerned, "he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him". Isaiah 53:2. So that the outer curtain being of badgers' skins answers to that the characteristic of a badger is vigilance. What is the signification first of all of the goats' skins and then of the rams' skins dyed red?

J.T. I think the goat is separation, he is not like a sheep. I think he is a creature that would isolate himself, sheep go together more. I have no doubt it alludes to the Lord's separation. He was really alone. "I sat alone". Jeremiah 15:17. Before we come into fellowship, we have to be isolated. It is an isolated one that seeks fellowship. You have no fellowship outside. You are alone.

W.E. Like the man in John 9.

J.T. Exactly. He was outside. It is a company of isolated ones as regards this world that form the fellowship.

B.T.F. Would you give us an idea of the particular force of the blue, the purple and the scarlet?

J.T. The blue is the heavenly colour, and the purple the royal, and the scarlet refers to earthly grandeur and glory. All these are found amongst the Lord's people in testimony, not in display yet. For instance if you suffer, that is the purple, you shall reign.

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B.T.F. But the purple and the scarlet would be more future.

J.T. As to the literality of them, but they are to be known now in testimony.

G.A.T. Will you say a word about isolation. A brother wants to break bread and he wants fellowship; from what is he isolated?

J.T. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you". 2 Corinthians 6:17. That is the principle. You are separated as an individual. You cannot go on with things in the world.

P.L. So the isolation took place when the people were brought into the wilderness.

J.T. Each one coming into fellowship comes in as an isolated one. You have no place in the world and you are glad to come to a warm place. If you are isolated you value fellowship.

L.T.F. Now what about the skins dyed red? They are rams' skins.

J.T. I think the ram is a mature animal; what is suggested in the ram is maturity and energy.

R.S.S. And why dyed red?

J.T. It has undergone a process, a change.

R.S.S. Which we all have to do.

J.T. Yes. If applied to Christ, it refers to His death. It is not its natural colour. Paul was changed. He was a man marked by energy but he changed his colour.

W.E. It was regulated energy.

M.L.H. You would not say he lost his energy.

J.T. No; his ministry is marked by maturity and energy.

W.B-s. In Acts 2:42 you get four things. "They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers". Is the apostles' doctrine that which separated them from the outside thing?

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J.T. The apostles' doctrine was light to them; that by which they were guided; and then what follows is that they were separated and they continued in fellowship. Peter is a remarkable illustration of a ram dyed red. He was denying the Lord a little while before and now he is testifying to Him.

A.F.M. What is the thought of changing colour? Was he conspicuous?

J.T. Yes; it gives a conspicuousness he did not have before.

R.S.S. When you speak of these things, have you the house of God in mind? It is the kind of persons, their character; the kind of people that form the place for God to dwell in.

J.T. I think the rams' skins speak of a distinctive people, although they would not assume to be this. Paul said that he was as unknown, yet he was well known.

L.C.J. Would it indicate a man that was prepared to lose his life, the skin dyed red?

J.T. It is a change from the natural colour.

E.H.T. Is there any thought in the distinctiveness of the colour? You could not mistake it.

J.T. The red heifer is distinctive. Red is a distinctive colour. It marks you off.

R.S.S. The difficulty is that we are marked off so little; and people would hardly know us to be Christians.

L.C.J. Peter denied the Lord and he was keeping his life here. That was his natural colour, but afterwards he dies for Christ. That is the skin dyed red.

R.S.S. You do not confine that to Peter.

J.T. You feel it that we are not so much marked off from other men.

W.B-t. It is remarkable that all this red was covered. There was a covering above of badgers' skins.

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J.T. But there it is as a testimony.

L.T.F. I suppose being covered would indicate that you would not parade it.

J.T. You are not like those who put on a certain kind of clothes to distinguish themselves. There is what marks you because of the divine nature, and you are different from other people.

A.F.M. Was there not the framework which supported these curtains?

J.T. Yes. Now we come to the boards and there is more said of them than anything in this chapter.

G.B.M. May all the curtains be taken as one whole; an energetic separation from evil?

J.T. It is fellowship. To approach it from the outside, you meet the brass, but the further you go in, the value of the metal increases till you reach the gold, so that in the inner circle there is the divine nature and the activities of the heart.

W.L.P. Is there greater value in redemption than in judgment?

J.T. It is a more precious thought. Judgment is seen at the great white throne, but not redemption, except in the book of life. Therefore redemption brings in the love of God more.

G.A.T. Would John with his head on the Lord's breast be in the good of the gold?

J.T. Yes. Redemption is by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Judgment was borne for us by Christ, but judgment also applies to the unsaved and goes on to the great white throne.

B.T.F. These boards do not carry out their intended use except as together.

J .T. And there are no irregularities; that is to say, the tabernacle does not teach us development. That is not the point of view. It is the divine point of view. But that only emphasises the thought that you have the standard in it. God never deviates

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from His own standard, so that the boards are all one size.

W.C.R. They are composed of the same material as the ark.

J.T. That is another point. There is a point of sympathy and similarity, throughout the whole structure of the tabernacle. It is marked by correspondence and sympathy, so that the boards are made of the same material as the ark, and covered over with gold as the ark was.

W.C.R. And the endurance seen in Christ would be expected to be seen in that which supports the testimony.

J.T. Quite so. So the Spirit of God gives us at the outset the testimony committed to the hands of a man, a characteristic board, that is Stephen.

A.F.M. You would say he answered to the dimensions.

J.T. I think it is beautiful that God is pleased to bring in one man of like passions with ourselves who corresponded with Christ in that way.

W.L.P. All should correspond, because the boards were all alike.

J.T. That is the standard; "until we all arrive at the full-grown man". Ephesians 4:13.

M.L.H. Stephen was great enough to serve tables.

J.T. He was content to be anything. God promoted him so that he came out as the ideal board. He came into evidence as serving tables. It is very touching that God is pleased to show in the Acts that there is one man that answered to the ark. See the endurance he had, and the amount of pressure he could stand.

M.L.H. Paul was great enough to make tents.

W.B-s. Do you think Stephen had a deep sense of the love of Christ? Each board was socketed in silver. It refers to the love of Christ.

J.T. I think the two sockets of silver refer to the

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testimony we have in our souls to the love of Christ "who loved me and gave himself for me". Galatians 2:20. Look at the woman in Luke 7. "Seest thou this woman?" "She loved much". Luke 7:44,47. Why? Because of her knowledge of redemption. She was forgiven much. The one who judges himself most, is the one who appreciates Christ most. Here is the great gain of the redemption work of Christ. So Paul says he was the chief of sinners, and I have no doubt he had a greater appreciation of the sockets of silver than anyone. He said he was the chief of sinners. A man that says that owes more to Christ than anybody else.

R.S.S. I think some of us would like to get that thought of the sockets clearer. What is meaning of the two?

J.T. It is the testimony to your soul of the value of the death of Christ. You know it by the Spirit. "Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us ... And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more". Hebrews 10:15,17. And your love is commensurate with your knowledge of forgiveness, for to whom much is forgiven, the same loveth much. So that your support of the testimony is according to your love for Christ. I think that service begins with affection for Christ. Paul began that way; his sins were washed away; he valued the redemption work of Christ. "Who loved me and gave himself for me". Galatians 2:20. He moved about testifying of that One because he loved Him.

R.S.S. Silver represents that on which we stand. If you have not the knowledge of redemption in your soul, you will not be able to stand up.

J.T. That is it. You are immutably fixed. The foundation is immutable. But then the silver does not go inside. Inside it is gold, but love is really begotten in our souls by the knowledge of redemption.

R.S.S. I think it is a great thing to see that the testimony is to us. It is the witness to us. Very

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important, because we are not established otherwise.

W.B-t. As to contact with the ground, the silver is really the foundation of the structure. That is, the boards and what hangs on the boards rests on the silver. As I understand you, you are pressing the point that it is the way we know Christ in redemption that is really at the foundation of the work of God in our souls.

J.T. It is the testimony of redemption in our souls. And the whole structure of the tabernacle rested on that.

W.C.R. Will you say a word about the bars?

J.T. They refer to the means of binding everything. Each board has its own separate identity. We each have a separate identity, but we are bound together. It is a parallel thought to the taches in the curtains, the principle of binding, which is a very great principle in the tabernacle.

L.T.F. By them it was one tabernacle.

G.A.T. In thinking of the tabernacle you are thinking of something not to be moved about.

J.T. It was to be taken down and carried, but as set up it is a type of the universal system that God has established on the ground of redemption.

E.H.T. Were the boards covered?

J.T. Yes; with gold. God is to be seen in us. We are to be blameless and harmless, the children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

W.L.P. Are all Christians boards?

J.T. It is just like many other thoughts of the kind. From the divine side all is seen perfect. The apostle Paul was set for the bringing of each individual up to that standard. Perfection would be that he would be brought to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

Ques. Would you connect the bars with the expression, "And to all these add love, which is the bond of perfectness", Colossians 3:14?

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J.T. Anything that binds us together would be of that order.

P.L. The shepherd spirit in a brother, holding the saints together.

J.T. "With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit", Ephesians 4:2 - 4.

G.A.T. Speaking of these as you have been doing, suggests the importance of all. We often may think that we are not of much account in the assembly, but every member of Christ is needed and one is of as much account as the other.

J.T. Even a peg was of importance.

W.B-s. If we are to be alone before we come into fellowship, we cannot stand alone; that is, the boards were joined together. They found themselves connected with the other boards.

B.T.F. God would sustain His people in the appreciation of redemption.

J.T. They are all bound together and made to stand. They do not stand alone, although I believe every man ought to cultivate the habit in his mind of standing alone if needs be. But at the same time the thought is that we are all to stand together, not by agreement to differ, but on the ground of redemption, as appreciating the redemption work of Christ, and we are held together by special binding principles amongst us.

D.R. The apostle expressed the desire to the Colossians that they be "knit together in love". Colossians 2:2.

J.T. "That their hearts might be comforted". Colossians 2:2. That is the first thing. You do not get unity if our hearts are oppressed. Sometimes we are hampered by cares.

A.F.M. I suppose we could not properly be together unless we first stood alone. In Romans we get what is individual preceding Corinthians.

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J.T. Romans brings in the boards. It is the great epistle for producing boards. The effect of the gospel is to detach you from the world. You cannot go on with it as redeemed, and then you come to recognise the will of God. The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in you. You delight in the law of God after the inward man. Then in the next chapter you are carrying out the will of God, in your walk and ways down here. Therefore you are a qualified board; chapter 12 is based on that; we are all one in Christ Jesus.

E.H.T. The apostle Paul was alone in the testimony before Nero. He stood alone. "All men forsook me", he said. 2 Timothy 4:16.

I.N.H. All in Asia forsook him.

J.T. Everybody was put to the test as to how they regarded Paul. It shows how prominently he had shone in the testimony that he became almost like Christ Himself in that respect.

W.L.P. Should we not have the saints as a whole in our minds in speaking of these principles and not those only with whom we are walking?

J.T. That is very important. The apostle says, "until we all arrive". Ephesians 4:13.

E.H.T. Is standing alone more in connection with reproach?

J.T. You must make up your mind to stand alone if needs be. At the outset you came out and so you were practically alone. That is the beginning of your experience as a Christian, but subsequently you may be called upon to stand alone for the testimony. That is another matter.

R.S.S. What is the difference between the veil and the door? They seem to be made much of the same material.

J.T. There are no cherubim in the hanging for the door; compare verses 31 and 36. There is some difference in that way. You are not presented at the

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entrance with what is judicial, though the foundation of judgment was there in the sockets, but the mind is not for the moment engaged with what is judicial. I think it is grace in the entrance.

R.S.S. And it was to this spot, called "the door of the tent", that Moses gathered the children of Israel together, "The door of the tabernacle", is an expression often used in Scripture. To this spot they came, not exactly to the door of the court. It was past the brazen altar and the brazen laver and suggests that those who came to this door had gone through the experience connected with the brazen altar. That is, they were standing in the good of the death of Christ.

J.T. Yes. The fact that the cherubim are not there is rather suggestive that grace is more prominent. The cherubim are the agents of judgment generally. Judgment is committed to Christ as Son of man.

W.B-s. The gate of the court was made in the same way, of the same material, as the one entering into the holy place. That would be the thought of grace, too.

J.T. The veil referred to the nature of Christ's humanity, not its durability now, but the fineness and purity of the texture. The "byssus" no doubt signifies this.

W.B-s. What is the thought of needlework?

J.T. The graces of the Spirit. Carefully wrought hand-work. I thought the body of the curtain was made of the byssus, evidently a very fine material. It is the fineness and purity of the texture that is in view. There was nothing unseemly about the Lord, nor is there anything coarse or unseemly in divine love in anyone. There is a peculiar fineness about the texture.

W.C.R. Do you get the same thought in the fine flour?

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J.T. That is evenness. Comparing Christ with Peter and Paul, there was irregularity in these men, but not in Christ. But in the divine nature there is no incongruity either in Christ or in us. Love was judicial in Christ. He looked upon them with anger, and he said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees!" Matthew 23:13. All that was the cherubim. But then He could say to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace". Luke 7:50.

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THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (3)

Exodus 27:1 - 21

W.B-s. Why do you get the brazen altar before the altar of incense? You do not get the altar of incense till chapter 30.

J.T. The altar of incense supposes the existence of the priesthood. Priesthood is introduced in the next chapter. We have it in chapters 28 and 29.

R.S.S. The priesthood would have reference to man's approach to God, whereas these three chapters present God's approach to man.

J.T. That is an excellent distinction. The altar of incense stands in relation to man's approach to God. It is not the means of God putting Himself in touch with man, but man in touch with God in prayer.

R.S.S. I suppose the same thing would apply to the brazen laver. That refers to man's approach.

J.T. Quite so. These chapters set before us the things by which God places Himself in touch with man according to His own nature.

R.S.S. The light at the end of this chapter is connected with the priesthood, so there is a connection with chapters 28 and 29. Aaron and his sons are named.

L.T.F. Would you not regard the brazen altar as the means of man's approach to God?

J.T. Yes but it appears first in regard to God's approach to man. Whereas the golden altar is not in that connection; it comes in after the priesthood, and supposes the priests are there to approach. The brazen altar is obviously essential to the whole system.

R.S.S. In fact it was the first object that was met in going in at the door of the court.

J.T. It is that in which God is publicly glorified.

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R.S.S. The sacrifice of Christ; it was seen outside. In connection with our brother's remark, the way God comes out is the way we go in, so to speak, God ends with the brazen altar, but we begin with it.

J.T. So that God can receive you consistently with His own nature. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate ... and I will receive you". 2 Corinthians 6:17. You are received consistently with the divine nature, and none can raise, a question about it, because He has been glorified publicly in regard to our sins. He is vindicated publicly.

B.T.F. Would you say a word about the approach of man to God? What was in my mind was this, that when one entered the tabernacle the first thing that presented itself was the brazen altar. There could be no approach to God except the truth of the brazen altar were entered into.

J.T. It would compromise God's character before all, were He to allow man to approach aside from the brazen altar.

M.L.H. Would you say God has come all the way out to where we are?

J.T. And consistently with His nature too. That is the idea in the brazen altar.

A.F.M. Do you base your thought on Exodus 29:42, 43, where it says in reference to the burnt-offering, "this shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee and there I will meet with the children of Israel".

J.T. Yes. Whereas in chapter 25 He proposes to speak from off the mercy-seat. But if He has communication with man publicly, it must be consistent with Himself, and the brazen altar secures that. It is really in the area that may be said to represent the space between heaven and earth. It is visible to all intelligences in heaven and also on earth.

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E.H.T. Why is an altar necessary?

J.T. It is a place of sacrifice. It is a very interesting subject. Heretofore God had left the construction of altars to the altar builders. In giving the law directions as to the altar are added in Exodus 20:24 - 26.

L.G.M. The altar is the place where all difference and distance are settled between God and man.

J.T. Quite so. I remarked that hitherto God had left the construction of altars to the altar-builders till chapter 20 of this book, where He prescribes that the material of the altar should be earth. And if they builded it of stone it was not to be of hewn stone. That was all He said. But in Genesis and elsewhere, the altars are left to the altar builders, because an altar would indicate the measure of the builder's stature. It indicates one's knowledge of God no doubt, if it is left to yourself. God of course will accept you at your own altar, even though there may be imperfection there, because God will respect the least knowledge of Himself.

A.F.M. Jacob named his altars differently.

J.T. Yes. Jacob said he would let God have the tenth. God would accept that. He would appreciate it if he got ten tenths, but He would accept one tenth.

M.L.H. Did God ever speak from the mercy-seat till the blood was put upon it?

J.T. God spoke in Christ before His death, but the establishment of the system necessitates His death. I think it is important to consider this altar, to contrast it with those that preceded it, because God is very particular that it should be made, like the other parts of the tabernacle, according to the pattern. If it is to be God's altar specifically, it must in every way conform to His requirements. Whereas He allows you to build your altar.

W.E. So that we can rightly expect here something very large, it being God's altar.

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J.T. What you would look for is that it conforms with the divine requirements, so that when you apply it to Christ, you will find you get all the measurements in Christ.

J.L.J. Do you get the thought of this altar in Ephesians 1:6,7? "Wherein he has taken us into favour in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of offences, according to the riches of his grace".

J.T. "In whom we have redemption" is there. "Taken into favour" is higher. It takes you inside.

W.B-s. Is what is devoted in sacrifice connected with the altar?

J.T. The altar is an abiding thing. It stood there permanently, and it refers to Christ as undergoing wrath, as having to say to wrath. It is not gold. There is no gold apparent. It is a question of having to do with the judgment of God on account of sin.

W.C.R. Why is it made of shittim wood?

J.T. His humanity is there, and nowhere else, we may say, is its perfection seen more than in undergoing wrath, but at the same time He estimated the wrath. He went though it as knowing it and estimated it according to God, but never shrank from it. He went through it.

R.S.S. It was the Son of man that was lifted up; it does not say the Son of God. I refer to our brother's question as to shittim wood.

J.T. That allusion helps us as to the use of the word brass or copper. John 3:14 alludes to the brazen serpent. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up". Although the Son of man is mentioned, it is in that character, as undergoing wrath, made sin really.

G.A.T. Does the altar refer to the garden or the cross?

J.T. It is seen in principle in Gethsemane, where

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the Lord anticipates the forsaking of God. He faces it, saying: "not my will but thine be done". Luke 22:42. I think the shittim wood is seen very clearly in Gethsemane. On the cross, He recognises the forsaking and justifies it.

W.C.R. You said yesterday the shittim wood referred to durability or endurance. How does that apply here?

J.T. In a most marked way, that He went through everything and sustained it. He sustained the fire of God's judgment.

W.B-t. You would make a difference between the altar and the victim.

J.T. There is a difference; it is not the victim here but the altar.

A.F.M. But this is really the altar of burnt offerings. You have associated wrath with the altar. Now I thought that applied to the victim, burnt outside the camp, the victim for sin, Will you make a distinction between the two?

J.T. The sin-offering was also offered here. The point is that the altar sustains everything.

B.T.F. Will you say a word regarding the altar in connection with the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, being burned without the camp? What does the burning without the camp signify in connection with the wrath of God?

J.T. That is to show the complete consumption in judgment of the man that sinned. The Lord was not only a Sin-bearer on the cross; He was made sin; and the bodies of the sin offerings burned outside the camp referred to the total consumption of the man that sinned.

B.T.F. What was placed on the altar ascended to God.

J.T. The inwards of Christ, the affections and motives, all went up as a sweet savour to God. That

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was for His pleasure, so that He was glorified there and, as I said, the inwards of the sin offering were also burned on the altar; but the public destruction of the carcase refers to God's abhorrence of the man that sinned. But what is to be noticed here is that all this refers to Christ personally, not as a Sacrifice, but as a Sufferer. Hence all the offerings were offered up here. Now what we get in the dimensions is of great importance in the altar. It is said to have been three cubits high and five cubits long and five cubits broad, the altar being four-square.

Ques. Why do you get the four horns on the altar?

J.T. The four horns are made "of itself". They are a piece with the altar. They are not conferred on Christ. They refer to the moral strength that was seen in Christ. Horns are symbols of strength. No doubt the gospels set them before us. That is to say, we have to take account of the moral strength that marked our Lord as Man here. The height of the altar was three. That is the power of resurrection. That was in Christ also.

A.F.M. Would the moral strength you speak of answer to his exhausting the judgment in three hours?

G.W.H. What He was prior to that.

J.T. What He was as Man here, the suffering One. You have the symbol of weakness; it is five cubits every way. He was crucified in weakness, but nevertheless there was moral strength in Christ as Man. He was never overcome by any circumstance. Look at Him in the presence of Pilate, in the presence of Herod, in the hall of judgment, and when they came to Him after Gethsemane. There is a moral superiority over every person and circumstance. Five is a symbol of human weakness, but there was a moral strength in Christ that made Him superior to every circumstance; and mark, it is not simply

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that He was a divine Person. It is a question of His humanity because the four horns are a part of the altar. He was always superior, as Man, to every circumstance. Look at the superiority of Christ to Pilate!

E.H.T. I am interested in the thought that He sustains things.

J.T. It is worthy of development, because it brings out in a marked way what He was as Man. How that although every possible element of the world was arrayed against Him, He was never once inferior.

W.B-t. There never was such another Man.

L.G.M. Always master of the situation.

W.B-t. If one of us had been building an altar, we would have used a different material from wood. It is very noteworthy that shittim wood should be used in something that was constantly to contain fire.

O.J.O. This altar is as broad as it is long, what is the meaning of that?

J.T. It is the universal bearing of Christ's sufferings that are in view in the foursquare.

A.F.M. God has a voice to every man in the death of Christ.

J.T. God speaks there, in the light of Christianity at any rate, because we must remember the law was only a foreshadowing of good things to come, therefore we have to look at it with the light that we have. So that if God speaks there and He does, it is universal. It is to all men.

W.C.R. He tasted death for every thing.

J.T. That is it; every thing.

G.B.M. It also comes out in the "whosoever" of John 3:14 and 16.

G.A.T. Bringing Him before us as a Man makes us appreciate His work more.

J.T. The altar is a great object lesson, because it suggests to us how we are to go through things, and

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how we are to suffer. And perhaps there is nothing more difficult in suffering than to maintain a good spirit in it. You may go through it in a hard kind of way as unavoidable. We know that men do. It is wonderful what suffering men are capable of, but what you find in the altar is the moral superiority of Christ to every circumstance of suffering; His spirit was always perfect.

W.E. That is seen in Stephen.

J.T. Yes. In Stephen is set forth how the spirit of Christ may be seen in one of like passions with ourselves, because his spirit was right in the severest possible sufferings. It was the spirit of Christ.

W.C.R. Do you see the very opposite of that in Moses when he smites the rock?

J.T. That is it. His spirit was not right. God makes a great deal of our spirits, and I have no doubt the four horns refer to the superiority of the kind of spirit that marked Christ in all those circumstances that closed in upon Him after Gethsemane.

P.L. "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit" the apostle says Philemon 25.

R.S.S. We are to do well and suffer for it, and take it patiently.

D.R. You get the two thoughts in what is said of the Lord. "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth". Isaiah 53:7. When He got the opportunity to open His mouth He said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight but now is my kingdom not from hence". John 18:36.

W.B-s. The scene on the way to the cross, where the women of Jerusalem sympathised with Him, is touching. He said, "weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children". Luke 23:28.

J.T. And then when He prays, "Father, forgive them". Luke 23:34. What a marvellous spirit! It seems as if

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Stephen is set there to show it is possible even in us.

J.S. The same outcome would be in every one that is filled with the Holy Spirit, as it was in Stephen.

J.T. Yes. It is in the power of the Spirit that you accept suffering, and it is remarkable in our relations with one another, how chafed we become. You are not treated as you would like to be, and things do not go as you would like to have them go. The great thing is to maintain a right spirit in such circumstances.

A.B. "Rejoicing in tribulation".

P.L. You are viewing this from the collective standpoint, are you not? The brazen altar was at the door of the tabernacle. You cannot go in but in this spirit. There will be suffering in connection with the path of faith, and there must be strength to make you superior in it.

J.T. In the government of God you may be called upon to suffer wrongfully. Christ is the model, "who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously", 1 Peter 2:23. You have there in the brazen altar, as you come in, the right kind of a spirit set before you as a model.

B.T.F. Are the sufferings of Christ at the hand of man connected with the altar?

J.T. I think so. As we were saying, the altar may be put between Gethsemane and Golgotha. He is suffering either anticipatively or actually from Gethsemane to the cross and on the cross.

W.B-s. Will you go over those three figures again, five and four and three?

J.T. Five has reference to the Lord's outward weakness. He was crucified in weakness. The foursquare refers to the universal bearing of His sufferings. The three, the height refers to the divine power, the power of resurrection. He was put to death in the

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flesh, but quickened in the Spirit. It is the power of resurrection.

R.S.S. Do you connect three with the three days in the grave and what followed?

J.T. It is alluded to frequently. The Son of man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. It is the death and resurrection of Christ as the witness of Cod's power.

W.C.R. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up". John 2:19. I was wondering if the scripture, "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again", John 10:18 would allude to this.

J.T. That alludes to the height of the altar.

G.B.M. All these principles are connected with the acacia wood. I think you have helped us on an important point. Once in a while we are tempted to accept the world's flattery of Christ. Renan said, "Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus died like a God", but it was like a Man of another order acceptable to God.

G.A.T. I need a little more help as to the spirit we ought to show. When a brother goes my way I can show him a good spirit, but when it is otherwise, it is different.

R.S.S. The spirit of Christ is what we need. I think you often check yourself that way. You have feelings but the thing is not to harbour them.

J.T. No adverse circumstances can compare with His. The brethren even may be against you, or combine against you, but the circumstances are not anything like what the Lord had to face, and He was always superior.

A.F.M. Matthew 11 would illustrate that. He rejoiced in spirit at that moment.

M.L.H. There was nothing in His spirit but the sweetness of divine love, though all had forsaken Him.

B.T.F. Supposing a soul is exercised as to coming

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into fellowship, you would warn him that he will not find perfection in the saints.

J.T. I think that is wise. It is consideration for him at any rate, so that he may not be disappointed. It is well to engage him with the altar because that is the first thing that he meets with. And indeed the apostle Paul alludes to that in Galatians, saying that Christ had been portrayed among them, crucified.

G.A.T. What would you do if you saw a brother going wrong? Would you go direct to himself and then if he would not hear you, what then?

J.T. The Scriptures tell us plainly what to do. You do not allow things to travel too much. You take one or two more. There are two now in the secret and if he refuse to listen to them, you tell it to the assembly. That is a wider area, of course, and if he refuse to listen to it, he must be treated as a heathen man and a publican. It is public now. If you take a definite stand in regard to the brother and treat him as a heathen and publican, he is no longer regarded as of the number but it is the last resource.

W.H.F. That would not cut him off from the assembly. It is individual.

J.T. Yes; so far as it goes. The responsibility is now with the assembly to act towards him.

W.H.F. It might lead to exclusion from the assembly.

J.T. Quite so. If they follow it out they will have to act also.

E.H.T. Would there be anything in taking with you a particular brother, a man with a right spirit?

J.T. The Scriptures say so. If it is a question of recovery, the spiritual restore him. They are in accord with the altar; "considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted". Galatians 6:1.

M.L.H. Could we have a word in regard to the vessels of the altar?

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W.B-s. The third verse speaks of the ashes. I suppose it is in connection with the death of the victim.

J.T. The testimony that death took place is to be carefully preserved. The ashes are the testimony to the consumption by fire of the victim. These utensils mentioned were literally necessary and therefore they point, in the antitype, to everything being found in Christ that has reference to suffering and sacrifice.

B.T.F. Do the ashes imply that the sacrifice was accepted?

J.T. I think so. There is the testimony to the fact that the victim was consumed, that God's judgment had become effective and the ashes are the testimony to that.

W.C.R. The ashes of the red heifer were carefully preserved.

J.T. You have a more detailed application of the ashes there, because it is a question of the recovery of the individual from the effect of defilement. But here we are dealing with the altar by itself, how fully everything was there that was requisite in regard to the judgment of God.

W.B-t. The thought of the ashes being there goes beyond the thought of death merely.

J.T. It is consumption. The carcase testifies to death, but there is the complete consumption by fire, so that there is nothing left. It is the total consumption by fire of that which sinned.

W.E. The evidence that fire had done its work.

R.S.S. "All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me" Psalm 42:7. Not a drop left to go over us. In connection with the court the hangings were simply fine twined linen, that formed the court.

J.T. The court is what is public, nevertheless within the enclosure. I think it refers, if we apply the tabernacle to the present time, to that area in

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which, although we are on earth, we are not influenced by earth. We are governed by heaven. It is not the world outside, and yet it is a public thing. It refers to our position here in connection with the death of Christ as influenced by heaven. Sin is seen as judged amongst us, but we are influenced by heaven; as on the day of Pentecost, heaven associated itself with their testimony to the judgment of sin.

R.S.S. Does the enclosure indicate that you are separate in that way?

J.T. Yes; although yet in view. We have not gone inside. We are morally separated from the world, but in view of the world.

R.S.S. What separates us is the fine twined linen.

J.T. The pillars of the court were set in brass, in keeping with the death of Christ, the altar. The enclosure is in keeping with that, but it is a public thing. The world can see over it as it were. But then there are in the curtains, silver clasps, see verse 17; that is, in the utmost limits of the area, there is the testimony of redemption. Christ has a claim over all that sphere. He has not claimed the world outside, but the Lord does assert His right to the saints, no matter where they may be. The Lord asserts His right to you, and that is the point of the silver, the rights of Christ in redemption.

A.B. In Revelation 19 the fine linen is described as the righteousnesses of the saints. The linen round the courts was seen. It was public. It is practical righteousness.

J.T. The word for fine linen here implies, I believe, whiteness and fineness. It is the fineness and purity of the thing that is in view, and if that be so, it is the new man that you put on; "Put on the new man". Ephesians 4:24. You have put off the old man and have put on the new. That is what is public as in Colossians. That is what the world sees.

R.S.S. What is characteristic of Christ.

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J.T. And then in that you have the testimony of redemption, that Christ has a claim over it all.

W.B-t. You do not get the thought of a covering, a protection; that you get inside the tabernacle.

J.T. No. This is more for testimony as our brother has been pointing out.

A.B. The fine linen alludes to the righteous acts of the saints.

R.S.S. The sockets for the boards of the tabernacle were in twos and they were made of silver. For the court pillars there was one socket of brass. We remember what was said about the silver sockets yesterday, the two indicates witness to us, that on which we stand. But here it is brass on which the pillars stand. It is not a question of the Spirit witnessing to us here, it is rather a more public thing, that the Lord has gone through the righteous judgment of God as the Sin-bearer.

J.T. They refer to that in us in our public ways, which testifies that sin is judged. The foundation of your position here before men implies that sin has been judged. But then Christ owns you. You cannot belong to the world or society. You cannot be a Freemason or an Oddfellow. You cannot join any kind of a society in this world, because Christ's rights of redemption preclude all that.

R.S.S. Indicated in the silver in the hangings.

A.F.M. And it is exclusive in character.

J.T. The fine workings of the Spirit are not there, although they are at the entrance, because if any one wants to come in, it is worth while showing him this fine handiwork. You get that in the entrance. But as to the casual worldling, it is no use casting pearls before swine.

M.L.H. "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil". John 17:15.

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J.T. If one wants to come in you can show him the hangings!

R.S.S. It shows the reason why there is no purple nor blue nor scarlet in the hangings round the court, but they are at the door. If any one wants to come in they speak of Christ.

A.F.M. How could one get into the court?

J.T. Through exercise. It refers to an exercised soul. Why should he come in if he is not seeking the things of God?

A.F.M. I thought that one who was not an Israelite could not enter.

J.T. That may be, but at the same time, God was there to be approached.

P.L. The man coming in among the Corinthians would say that God was amongst them, of a truth.

J.T. Yes, he came in, but I thought he would be an exercised person. Of course there is such a thing as false brethren creeping in unawares, and that raises the question of door-keeping, but in a general way God was there to be approached; any exercised person may come, and such persons appreciate what is seen at the entrance.

A.F.M. What are the four pillars that supported the gate?

J.T. We had five at the entrance of the tabernacle. Now the five idea is seen in the height of the outer pillars and hangings. They were five cubits. See verse 18. The gate being supported by four pillars would suggest the universal bearing of the testimony towards man. It is carried on in human weakness, the height of the hangings of the court is five. Paul was weak, but nevertheless his ministry was effective. The power of God is seen in the weakness. "We also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you". 2 Corinthians 13:4.

J.L.J. Where does baptism put you in connection with the court?

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J.T. It puts you in the court. It places you in a position which is influenced by heaven. The court was influenced by what was within.

M.L.H. How about the family in which one parent is a believer?

J.T. If one is a believer, he is in touch with heaven and in that way brings in the influence of heaven into the family.

W.H.F. Does the court indicate the sphere of profession?

J.T. It is a public position. In it we are under the eyes of the world. But then it was where Christ died. He died under the eyes of the world.

E.H.T. Those at Corinth took their place in suffering when they were baptised. They were "baptised for the dead". 1 Corinthians 15:29.

J.T. The court is not measured in Revelation 11, but the altar is taken into account, because no matter how small things are, suffering people will be taken account of. You can always sacrifice or surrender. But God does not take account of mere profession. The court is not measured but left for judgment, but the temple of God and the altar and the worshippers are all measured.

R.S.S. In connection with the court, is it our responsible life there?

J.T. It is what is public. It is like "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof" Romans 13:14.

R.S.S. The common people could come in there, but the priests and the Levites only could go into the tabernacle.

W.L.P. Can it be said that Christendom is under the influence of heaven?

J.T. No. Christendom is not under the influence of heaven, and therefore when God comes to measure, He is not going to measure it. That is the serious thing at the present time.

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D.R. Being under the influence of heaven involves being under the influence of the Spirit.

J.T. Antichrist will blaspheme God and all them that dwell in heaven. That is what they are preparing for now. They say Christianity is a failure. In the early part of the Acts all were under the influence of the Spirit.

E.H.T. Is not Christendom in the court?

J.T. Yes. But it is not now influenced by heaven and so God will not take account of it when He comes to measure things, but will leave it for judgment. We do not realise that enough. Still we are all in the court as far as our profession goes, but when you come to the altar, that is measured, and that is where reality is taken account of, because the altar is the test of your profession. If you profess to be a follower of Christ, how much will you suffer for Him?

M.L.H. In the recent election in our State, the woman suffragists put out a circular amongst all the voters with this as the basis: "The great obstacle that we have to encounter is the Bible. We must have it revised".

J.T. One can understand that. And there is a great deal being said now of the ineffectiveness of Christianity. It is very significant, paving the way for the time when the tabernacle of God and all the inhabitants of heaven are blasphemed.

G.A.T. Will you say a word on the children of Israel bringing the oil, and Aaron and his sons ordering the lamp?

R.S.S. It is remarkable that it comes in between the introduction of the priesthood and what we have been considering.

J.T. God would have the light shining. It suggests, I think, the exercises of the people, God would have the light through their exercises. They should bring the olive oil; it is really the fruit of the Spirit,

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The responsibility of having it lighted lay with Aaron and his sons; that is, Christ and the assembly.

R.S.S. The light of God is shining out in that way. The section we have been considering evidently closes with verse 19 of this chapter. The two verses at the end seem to be a link between the two sections.

J.T. They introduce the priesthood.

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THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (4)

Exodus 30:1 - 38

J.T. The omission of the golden altar in the order of the previous chapters is significant for as to its position, it should have come in immediately after the ark.

R.S.S. It is a very important part of the furniture of the tabernacle.

J.T. Yes; and its omission is significant, and becomes a subject of deep interest as to the approach of man to God. It has no place in the coming out of God towards man. It is unnecessary. That is to say, God came out voluntarily, without solicitation. The altar of incense suggests prayer. This is not necessary for the revelation of God. So that the omission of the golden altar is very interesting as to the difference between revelation and approach. At the end of chapter 27 you have Aaron and his sons, and that introduces the subject of priesthood, which the two intervening chapters, 28 and 29, develop. That brings in the order of man that is to draw near to God.

R.S.S. Is the order of man seen in their garments?

J.T. I think so. God would be ministered to; "that he may minister unto me in the priest's office". Exodus 28:1. So that the introduction of the priesthood necessarily brings in the golden altar, because that is the place of the priests' approach. They did not approach at the brazen altar, but at the golden altar. Chapters 28 and 29 suppose that the saints have passed the brazen altar. Priesthood is perhaps unknown to many of the Lord's people, for I fear that most do not go beyond the brazen altar.

E.H.T. Is the golden altar a response to the brazen altar?

J.T. The golden altar does not suggest the work

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of Christ, but the fragrance of His Person before God. It is what Christ is, as Man before God, not as suffering before men. It differs in this way from the brazen altar in that its horns refer to what Christ is Godward, His power with God. The horns of the brazen altar indicate His power with men. It is a question of moral power going through suffering.

W.B-s. Would that take in what we have spoken of in Scripture regarding Jacob in his wrestling with the angel?

J.T. That is the idea of the horns here. Jacob prevailed. God loves to let us prevail. God prevailed in Christ in coming out to man, but man prevails, in Christ, with God.

A.F.M. Does John 11:42 help us where the Lord praying, said: "I knew that thou hearest me always".

J.T. That refers to His power with God. God prevailed in coming out to man, that is the ark. It is the same Person within under the eyes of the cherubim, that is without before men.

E.H.T. "Thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns". Psalm 22:21.

W.B-s. Do you limit this altar to prayer? Is it connected with worship at all?

J.T. It is the place of prayer for us, and no doubt points to the place of Israel's worship in the future. If we take up worship in a Christian sense, it is inside. Worship is not need, nor the expression of need, whereas the golden altar is the place for the expression of need, only the point is that it is the altar of incense; the prayers are fragrant to God. It in on account of what Christ is.

P.L. He was heard for His piety.

J.T. That is it; that is the golden altar. It was the fragrance of that Man. The golden altar and the laver complete the furniture, but the golden altar and the laver are on the in line whereas the

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others are on the out line. That is to say, the washing and prayer are not on the line of revelation but on the line of approach.

P.L. Is that John 13 and 17?

J.T. Yes; John 13 is the laver and John 17 the golden altar. These things are mentioned when priesthood is introduced. It may appear that there is a certain break in the arrangement, hut it is perfect.

G.A.T. What do you mean by washing before prayer?

J.T. Verses 18 - 21 read, "Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal; and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat. When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations". Exodus 30:18 - 21. That is to say, there is no allowance of ministry of any kind unless there is washing.

P.A. What does the washing speak of?

J.T. Not the removal of sins; all that is dealt with on the brazen altar. The priests have to wash. We are all priests, as having faith and the spirit of Christ. Therefore when you move past the brazen altar you are on priestly ground, but as I was saying, we have to admit that many do not pass the brazen altar, but if you do pass and you want to go within, the next vessel you meet is the laver, which indicates, that although you are a priest as regards your conscience, you need to be cleansed as regards your mind and your affections. It is the effect of the word connected with the death of Christ.

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A.B. Does Hebrews 10:22 refer to the brazen altar and the laver also, "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water"?

J.T. That is the allusion, the one to the altar of burnt-offering and the other to the laver.

G.B.M. Is this the answer to "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord"? Psalm 24:3.

J.T. Quite so. "He that hath clean hands". Psalm 24:4. All believers in Christ are priests from the divine side. But how many take up the privilege? Directly you do take it up you feel the necessity of the washing. Many have a good conscience as regards their sins, and yet they remain in human organisations; quite content to remain there, too. They remain in organisations to which priesthood does not apply. But directly you move to take up your privilege as a priest, you feel the necessity not only for the blood of Christ, but for the washing of water by the word, and if you allow the word to have its place in your conscience and heart you have to come out of all these associations.

A.F.M. Is the result of that, that we are in suited dress for priestly service, clothed in the fine linen?

J.T. Quite so. You are holy now in mind and heart. Holiness is one great feature of the priesthood.

A.F.M. Is there not also another thought in the chapters which precede this? You have the relation of the sons of Aaron to Aaron. You could not go in there alone.

J.T. We go in as related to Christ. In Hebrews 10 we are said to have certain things; having boldness and having a great High Priest. Christ is over the house of God, therefore let us draw near. In drawing near, you become conscious of your relationship with Him.

W.B-t. "This is he that came by water and blood even Jesus the Christ; not by water only, but

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by water and blood". 1 John 5:6. What is the connection in this passage?

J.T. That shows the importance of the water, which is mentioned first there, although not alone. John's epistle deals largely with the removal of the man that sinned from your mind and heart, not so much judicially as subjectively.

J.L.J. Is that Numbers 19 the water of separation?

J.T. I think the water is much less understood than the blood. I do not say it is more important, because it is not; it is not atonement; the blood is atonement, but many are content with the blood, whereas the Spirit of God puts the water first in John's epistle.

B.T.F. Is not the blood for the eye of God and the water for the subjective cleansing?

J.T. Yes.

P.G. The Lord said to Peter, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me" John 13:8.

J.T. Peter said, "thou shalt never wash my feet". John 13:8. That was his will. He tried to be considerate for Christ, but nevertheless he was not submissive to Christ. You can never consider for Christ truly unless you submit to Him. If your will is at work, you do not come into the good of the cleansing. The Lord's service goes on, there is no change in that; the washing of water by the word goes on, but if I say, "thou shalt never wash my feet", the answer is, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me". John 13:8. That is to say, there must be entire resignation to Christ.

W.B-s. In 1 Peter 2:1,2 we read, "Laying aside all malice ... desire the sincere milk of the word"; and then the living stones are brought in, and following on that the priesthood.

J.T. "If indeed ye have tasted that the Lord is good". 1 Peter 2:3. The Lord has His place. You have grown up

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to salvation; that is, you have grown into superiority to all that is adverse. But how? By the pure mental milk of the word. It is the effect of the word on the soul. You grow into superiority to all that defiles. That is what I understand to be a saved person. You grow up unto salvation. Well now you move to Christ; "to whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ". 1 Peter 2:4,5. But you may be sure, that the great difficulty amongst God's people is that the will is at work; there may be a good conscience as regards sins, and yet a refusing to bow to the claims and will of Christ. The Lord's redemption rights over you are the test.

A.B. The parts washed at the laver are very suggestive.

J.T. You feel the necessity of clean hands in taking up divine things.

E.I.E. "That they die not". Exodus 30:20. What is the significance of that?

J.T. These expressions in the typical books are found frequently, and they signify God's utter abhorrence of the man after the flesh approaching Him, and hence the seriousness of what is going on around us, men taking up divine things according to their natural abilities.

G.A.T. Like Aaron's two sons.

J.S. Water is seen in two aspects, still water and running water. I suppose there is something in the difference. Is it death rolled in upon us at the laver or is it life?

J.T. The water at the laver is not living water. Your question suggests a good deal, because you have in Numbers 19 and in Leviticus 13, running water. Here it is not that. The water in the layer was not

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running. It suggests therefore what is negative. It is the application of death simply. Running water is the Spirit using the word to revive the affections.

W.C.R. You get that in John 7.

J.T. Yes. Of course another side to water is that you drink it, but this is not for that, nor is the water in Leviticus or Numbers, for drinking, but you have water for refreshment. In John 13 the water was in a bason, and therefore it was not running. I think the running water of Numbers 19 suggests more the life giving energy of the Spirit, applying the word.

R.S.S. The running water is not typical of the water that came from the side of Christ.

J.T. No, it is not; although it is connected with death in both the scriptures mentioned. Water for cleansing, came out of a dead Christ, but the Holy Spirit comes from a living Christ. That is the water you drink, living water.

W.B-s. Why is the redemption money brought in between the altar of incense and the laver?

J.T. I think it is to bring in the redemption cost of each of us. It is the cost of each as the census is made. "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel". Exodus 30:15. It was according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

P.L. Does not that greatly help us in approaching the golden altar; the sense of what the saints are to Christ?

J.T. The place that silver has in the tabernacle is striking. On the one hand, it refers to the testimony to your heart of Christ's love in redeeming you, on the other hand it refers to His redemption rights over you. Now here it is that each individual is on the same footing there; that is to say, each one has cost the Lord exactly the same.

P.L. It is the brother "for whom Christ died". Romans 14:15.

J.T. Quite so. No matter how weak he may be.

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You must take account that he cost the Lord as much as you.

P.L. And that will help you to pray for him.

J.T. The intimate connection between the candlestick, or rather the dressing and lighting of it, and the golden altar is most instructive. It is when Aaron dressed the lamps and when he lighted them, the incense was to ascend. Now the dressing of the lamps may call out what is not very fragrant, what may be the very opposite to fragrance. The dressing of the lamps may bring out a good bit of corruption; I mean as the Lord deals with each one of us, in order that we may be light-bearers.

Now the candlestick brings in the number seven. In that way perhaps it is unique in the tabernacle. There were seven branches to it, suggesting the Spirit. How wonderful that we should become the vessels of the Spirit for light! When you come to the Spirit, you come to what is eternal. I make that remark advisedly. Already, as having part in the Spirit, we have part in what is eternal, not simply in what is millennial. Having part in what is millennial is more in having part in the twelve. The Spirit is seen in the millennium; He is found there, but not in an indwelling character, whereas in our dispensation He is seen as indwelling us, and in that way connects us with what is eternal. The reason I say that is this, that in Deuteronomy 16 there are three feasts specified in which the people were to appear before God. The first was the feast of unleavened bread for seven days. The second was the feast of weeks; that is the feast of Pentecost, to which there is no limit at all. There is no specified time for the feast of Pentecost, and that means, as I understand it, that as you maintain in your soul self-judgment; that is to say, the feast of unleavened bread, you have part in what is eternal. How wonderful it is that we are vessels of that Spirit, and that for the

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moment it is the pleasure of God that we should be lights here! And hence the necessity for Aaron to dress the lamps every morning. The dressing, as I said, may bring out a good bit of what is very unsavoury, but all that is offset by the fragrance of the humanity of Christ in the presence of God; the incense went up while he dressed the lamps. That is how things are maintained.

P.L. Would the first epistle to the Corinthians be the dressing of the lamps, and the second the lighting?

J.T. Paul was like a priest. The light had become dim through the fluff, as is very often the case, but Paul looked after the testimony in Corinth; he was considering for them. You can have no testimony unless the lamps are dressed.

O.J.O. Why dress them every morning?

J.T. The lamp burned all night. We are not like Christ. He did not need to be dressed. The light shone resplendently in Him from the outset. There was nothing unsavoury about Him; the light went on and shone; but in our case, as has been pointed out as to Corinth, there is the need of dressing continuously.

B.T.F. What is there in the lamp that suggests the human side, that suggests that which is dressed. There is the oil that gives the light.

J.T. There would be the wick, some medium through which the oil went up and burned.

G.A.T. How do we dress ourselves?

J.T. We do not; the High Priest does it. The idea is to adjust the wick for the light so that the light should not be marred.

D.R. The Lord has that before him in writing to the seven churches. Unless they repented He would remove the candlestick.

J.T. That is the same thing. Repentance would bring them back to the idea of the candlestick.

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B.T.F. Is the laver and the dressing of the lamps in any way on the same line?

J.T. The dressing brings in discipline, I think, as you see in 1 Corinthians.

R.S.S. Why was it from the evening to the morning in view of the fact that there was no natural light in the tabernacle?

J.T. I think the point is that the light was within during the period of darkness outside.

G.B.M. In Exodus 27:21 we read, "in the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord". Does not that help in what we have had? The dressing seems to go on all the time.

J.T. Yes; but apparently from this chapter there was a special dressing in the morning and then the formal lighting in the evening for a time of darkness.

P.A. The Psalmist experienced the dressing. He says he was disciplined every morning, Psalm 73.

J.L.J. What about the snuff-dishes?

J.T. They are just for the purpose of dressing the lamps.

G.A.T. Is the thought of "from evening to morning", that the light is committed to the saints, and that we should be shining all the time?

J.T. That is it. The Lord has set up the light here and He continues to keep the lamps right; that is His service, and the same applies to the lamp dressing as to the laver. Our wills interfere. To get the gain of these things we must submit to Christ.

B.T.F. Is the lamp dressing adjustment in service?

J.T. It is adjustment for light, that you may shine.

P.L. "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus

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might be made manifest in our body". 2 Corinthians 4:10. Is the dying of Jesus the dressing, and the life of Jesus the light?

J.T. Yes. Of course the candlestick stood before God, it was in the holy place.

W.B-t. I have a little difficulty because of its being inside. It must be more for God than for man.

J.T. The priests only get the direct benefit of it.

L.G.M. It is not like "Ye are the light of the world". Matthew 5:14.

J.T. Not quite that. The ordinary Israelite never saw this lamp. It is not the light that is seen by people generally, but they see the effect of it. You see the priests have light that ordinary people have not. You had to go inside to get the benefit of this light.

L.G.M. Do you think that God comes out to bring us in, so that we might go out to shine?

J.T. How can any one present what is within unless he goes in? And you come out to testify, having all this light in your heart. Now for instance, in heaven, for this is really typical of the heavens, all the wonderful light that is there only brings out the beauty of Christ; it shines over against the candlestick; it brings out the beauties of Christ. You go out illuminated by that. The ordinary person does not see that.

A.F.M. "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth". Malachi 2:7. He would be illuminated from what was within, and come out in knowledge and beauty.

R.S.S. Stephen was illuminated when he stood before the Sanhedrim.

J.T. And look at what he saw inside. The Lord said to Nathanael, "Thou shalt see greater things than these" John 1:50; the greater things would be that the angels should ascend and descend upon the Son of man. They will see that in the millennium. But what do we see? "Jesus ... . crowned with glory

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and honour". Hebrews 2:9. We see Him within, and we understand how He has tasted death for everything. That is a different kind of thing to see.

W.C.R. Would the three going up to the mount of transfiguration and Paul being caught up into the third heaven, be the same thing?

J.T. Yes. They are parallel thoughts. Peter says, we were "eye-witnesses of his majesty". 2 Peter 1:16. John says, "we beheld his glory", John 1:14 and Paul says he was "caught up to the third heaven". 2 Corinthians 12:2.

W.C.R. And others saw the effect of that.

P.L. Is this on the line of the holiest?

J.T. Yes. It is light that only priests get the benefit of; they are the only ones that are in it.

R.S.S. Could we have something on the anointing oil and the perfume?

J.T. The anointing oil is a compound in which myrrh is a prominent part, and I think that what is suggested is the Spirit, but the Spirit as seen in Christ, the Spirit as seen in the suffering of Christ. It is the spirit of a suffering Christ. That is the prominent feature.

R.S.S. There was a like weight of myrrh and cassia.

J.T. Cassia came in in equal quantity, but the myrrh is the first mentioned. Myrrh being mentioned first, suggests the spirit of a suffering Christ. Myrrh, I understand, is suffering love. The whole tabernacle is anointed by this. We are anointed by the same Spirit. The assembly comes in peculiarly under the anointing of Christ; "So also is the Christ". Christ and the assembly in that way are seen as one, and I think this is the spirit of a suffering Christ. The assembly is the continuation of Christ here, and what comes out is the point of sympathy in suffering.

P.A. Is that the reason the bride is awakened by the sweet-smelling myrrh on the handles of the lock?

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J.T. It refers to the fact that it was suffering love. Suffering love brought Him there. She was not equal to it, but she was moved by it. Now Stephen answers to this. It is the spirit of a suffering Christ, and it pervaded the whole of the tabernacle, showing that the tabernacle points to the present time, as a suffering period.

J.L.J. There are several things anointed with the oil. How is it done now?

J.T. It is not exactly the coming in of the Holy Spirit from heaven. The coming of the Spirit from heaven suggests what is heavenly, and of course the assembly is heavenly; but outwardly what marks it is suffering; it is a suffering period. So when the Lord takes up Paul, He says, "I will show him how great things he must suffer". Acts 9:16.

W.C.R. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him". 2 Timothy 2:12.

P.L. Filling up the measure of suffering for His body's sake. Is that the tabernacle anointed with the myrrh?

J.T. That is it.

P.A. The apostle was consecrated for that suffering.

W.B-s. In Psalm 45:8 you get these spices mentioned, "All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad".

J.T. That is the feminine side, the daughter; that shows that she was to correspond with Him.

W.B-s. Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows.

J.T. That is the oil of gladness, but this is the spirit of a suffering Christ, and it becomes very affecting because there is so little of it.

W.E. What would be the effect if it did make an impression on us?

J.T. I think it would lead to glorying in tribulations.

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It would lead to contentment in suffering. The whole point, as we had this morning, is the spirit in which you suffer; whether you are equal to the thing.

L.G.M. It would be a pleasant odour going up to God.

W.E. "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content". Philippians 4:11.

J.T. Paul was to be "offered up". He was to he poured out in this way. His whole path, his whole service was fragrant to God, an odour from life unto life, and an odour from death unto death.

R.S.S. It is interesting, in this connection, that the wise men from the East brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, Matthew 2:11. I think it has been said, gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for the tomb. When the Lord was buried, Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes about an hundred pound weight". John 19:39. It would connect itself with the thought of the tomb, suffering.

G.A.T. Have you anything to say about verse 33; "whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people". Exodus 30:33.

J.T. The imitation of that spirit. You often get things in Christian Scientists and Unitarians that are very remarkable for their imitation. God hates imitations, especially when you come to imitating the spirit of Christ.

W.B-s. Strange fire and imitation of the holy oil are two things God will not admit of.

J.T. The second beast in Revelation 13 has two horns like a Lamb and the voice of a dragon. The two horns are simply to imitate Christ. There is the pretension to the lamb like spirit, but it is not there at all. It is an imitation.

L.G.M. Would you say that the anointing now includes all the interests of Christ?

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J.T. It includes the whole tabernacle system. The divine thought is that all the saints should be pervaded by this kind of spirit.

J.L.J. Do you get the thought in John 12, when Mary anoints Him for His burial?

J.T. She anointed His feet there. The point is the intelligence of her act. She anointed the feet that were carrying Him to the cross for the accomplishment of the will of God, whereas in the house of Simon the leper, it was His head. There it was His dignity that was in the woman's mind.

W.B-t. Why is it said: "upon man's flesh, shall it not be poured"? Exodus 30:32.

J.T. God will not allow the spirit of Christ to be connected with man in the flesh.

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SEARCHING AND FINDING

John 1:35 - 51; Philemon 8 - 19

I desire to show you the effect of being introduced into the home of Christ, a very great subject, as you can readily see. My thought is not to enlarge on the home itself, but to show the outward effect of it upon us, that it produces the spirit of search and recovery. It is characteristic of John's gospel to suggest that there is a home, or a family sphere, and that we are to be there permanently. In Luke, the Lord's service is presented more in connection with God coming out to where man was, and he shows that the service of grace which marked Christ here, was to be continued. The illustration of that is found in chapter 4. He was pleased to come into Simon's house. He was also found in Mary's house and in Levi's house according to Luke. He was found also in the house of Simon the Pharisee, but He was pleased to come into Simon Peter's house. He found Peter's wife's mother sick of a fever, and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and the fever departed from her, and she arose and ministered to them. Now that is the effect of the ministry of Christ as seen in Luke. I do not dwell upon it, only to point out to you that He rebuked the fever, and it left the woman, and she arose and ministered to them; not simply to Him, but to them.

Now John is not forgetful of that, but he pursues the effect of the coming in of Christ till he shows us the subjects of the revelation and the work of God in their own place in the family sphere, in the Father's house. Bearing this in mind, I wish to occupy you for a little with the immediate effect of it as presented in these verses. I might say in passing that John's gospel presents Christ to us as setting things in movement. It was as if He found everything inanimate.

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All evidence of life had gone, but "in him was life". John 1:4. In Genesis 2 Adam was inanimate as formed of the clay but God breathed into him. It could not be said of Adam, "In him was life".

Now John introduces to us the great centre of the moral universe. He is the beginning, and He sets things in movement. Hence you will find that the immediate connection of John calling attention to Christ is that he saw Jesus coming to him. Where was John? He was baptising. Jesus came to him as the baptiser. How perfect that was! How in keeping with the divine requirements! It was the fulfilling of all righteousness, as we learn elsewhere. In figure, it was going into death. John saw Him coming to him and says, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world". John 1:29. He is going to set things in movement, but in order to do it, He removes the obstruction. Consequent on this He can walk. On the next day He is seen walking. The Lord has title to walk in His own domain, but His first movement is, in regard to sin, to set it aside, for it stood in the way of the accomplishment of the divine purpose. Then the next day, John sees Him walking in His own domain as you might say. What a walk! There is in it the idea of setting things in movement. Really, whether it be in an individual soul, or in the world as the sphere of divine operations, there can be no progress till sin is dealt with. If there is stagnation with any of us, we may be assured that sin is the cause of it. If there is no divine movement in going forward, sin is present in some form. Things were, as it were, stagnant in Old Testament times. You can understand that the order of things established at Jerusalem was not a moveable order of things; things there were stationary, but the Lord comes in and removes the obstruction. John sees Him coming to him, that is, to remove the obstruction, and he says: "Behold

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the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world". John 1:29. What a mighty undertaking that was! Sin stood athwart the divine path, and the first movement of Christ, as John sees Him, is in the direction of the removal of that obstruction.

Now, the obstruction gone, you have movement. It does not say to where He was walking. The point is, that sin being dealt with, the Lamb of God can walk and John sees it, and his heart admires it. It is to be admired. And John looking upon Him said, "Behold the Lamb of God". John 1:36. Mark you, looking upon Him as He walked, he says, "Behold the Lamb of God", John 1:29 and the two disciples heard him speak and they walked also -- they followed Jesus. Then the Lord turns and tests them, "What seek ye?" John 1:38. It is a very good thing to have a question like that put to us. Very often you find with souls extreme indefiniteness. They do not know what it is they are after. Now the Lord loves definiteness, and He looks for it and gives you the opportunity of giving expression to it. "What seek ye?" Their answer was not far to seek, through grace. John had directed them to Jesus, and He acquired a place in their hearts. They were attracted to Him and their answer was prompt; "Rabbi"; that is, Master or Teacher, for they wanted to be taught, "Where dwellest thou?" John 1:38. They sought the Teacher, but they wanted to know where He abode. That is very fine; it was as much as to say, 'We want to see You at home'. Have you any such desire as that? One has the greatest sympathy with young people in these days, but it is difficult to find a young Christian with a fixed heart. It is a most difficult thing to find definiteness. The Lord looks for it. Their definite desire here was to find out where He dwelt, and it says they abode there that day.

Before proceeding I wish for a moment to dwell on Luke 15 as a parallel passage. It suggests the divine

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home. The chapter, taken as a whole, presents to us the activity of divine Persons, with the result that one returns to the home. That is the great point of the Spirit at the present time, the spirit of search. Directly you get into the divine home, you find that spirit. Something is lost and you set out to search for it. The sheep has gone astray, the piece of money is lost in the dust of the floor, and the younger brother is gone.

What I want you to notice is, that from the moment the son left the house there was the spirit of search in it. One was lost. Now that is the present time. The nearer you come to the divine home, the more your spirit is imbued with the idea of search for others. Something is lost, and you are out to find it. You are set in movement. You will remember how Saul the king set out to find the asses, but he did not find them. Somebody else found them. The true idea is that you search and you find. "He sought me out very diligently", said Paul of Onesiphorus, "and found me". 2 Timothy 1:17. The shepherd did not come home without the sheep. He found the sheep. The woman did not give up till she found the piece of money, she found it. So the prodigal was found. He "was lost", said the father, "and is found". Luke 15:32.

Now the same thing appears here. What I am desiring to emphasise is this, that in the closing days the divine thought is that there should be activity of a right kind. There is a great deal of activity of a wrong kind. The activity of the right kind is started by Christ. It begins with Him, it begins within. They abode with Him for the day; and then it says, "One of the two which heard John speak and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother". John 1:40. Peter was not there. What I want you to notice is this, that he "first findeth his own brother". John 1:41. He found him. I think that is very remarkable. It is perfect order. Why go to a distance to

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find somebody? Begin at home. Now God has respect for every legitimate affection, and if your heart is brought into touch with divine things, who deserves to hear about it first? Your nearest relative. "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus". John 1:41. He did not simply tell him about it and let him go himself. I desire to lay upon your hearts the obligation to find and to bring, to effect recovery. He found him, he enlightened him, and he brought him. It is much more easy to bring him after you enlighten him. Let us give people all the light we can, but we must not stop at that.

Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and he did a good deal more than he thought he was doing. He brought in the great apostle Peter. We little know in our small service how great the result may be. The point is not simply that you can count your converts, we want to see ultimate results. What was the great ultimate result of Andrew's mission? The great apostle Peter, the man to whom the Lord committed the keys of the kingdom. Think of being used to convert a man like that! But see how simple it is, he was Andrew's brother. It was the natural thing for Andrew to tell his brother about Christ. Now your work is never done till you bring the result of it to Christ. Andrew brought the result of his exercises to Christ. What will Christ do with it? He will find a place for it. See the place He found for Peter. He gave him the name Cephas, which indicated what he was to be. The Spirit immediately tells us that it means a stone. It signified a piece of material for a divine structure. Andrew's work resulted in one of the foundations of the heavenly city, nothing less than that. What encouragement there is to take up the spirit of search!

It goes on to say: "the day following". John 1:43. I might

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say that this day may be connected with the assembly period. The home influence results in material for the assembly. Peter is the great element or feature, as we may say. He is a living stone, and part of the heavenly structure. Now the next day, the Lord Himself is moving again. It is Israel's day. I am not wishing to speak on dispensational lines, only to show you how the Lord is introduced in John as setting things in movement, and the movement takes the form of the spirit of search. "The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me". John 1:43. He found Philip. You may say it was accidental. I do not think so at all. Things are not put that way in the work and service of Christ. There is nothing accidental in the service of Christ. He found Philip. There was a definiteness in the search. As I was saying as to Luke 15 the man was looking for the sheep, and the woman was looking for the piece of money. Now it is said here that the Lord found Philip, and then we are told that Philip was of the same town as Andrew and Peter. There was quite a work in that town, the town of Bethsaida. I have no doubt that the town may represent Israel, because the divine movement began there. It says in verse 45, "Philip findeth Nathanael". John 1:45. He catches the spirit of search. The same principle will obtain in the last days in regard to Israel. The Lord moves. He found Philip, Philip moved and he found Nathanael. Nathanael is the Israel of God. What a thing to find! Andrew found material for the assembly and Philip found the Israel of God. How remarkable!

Do you not think the remnant of Israel will be exercised about Israel? The Psalmist said, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning". Psalm 137:5. That is the spirit of the remnant. They never forget Jerusalem. Israel is the one great fact for every true Israelite. Look at Elijah, twelve

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stones in his altar; the Israel of God. Look at Paul: "Our twelve tribes, instantly serving God, day and night, hope to come", Acts 26:7, the Israel of God. Look at James, "To the twelve tribes scattered abroad", James 1:1 the Israel of God. So Philip had it in his heart, he found Nathanael, and what was the result? He brings him to Christ, and Christ, we may say, gives him a name. He gave Simon a name, which indicated the dispensation in which he was to shine. He saw Nathanael under the fig-tree. It says: "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile". John 1:47. Philip was honoured in finding Nathanael, he enlightened him, as Andrew enlightened Peter. He says, "We have found him" (it is all finding here), "of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph". John 1:45. It is not the cedar tree that he presents to Nathanael. He tests him. It is the despised Nazarene. Nathanael says, "Can there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?" "Come and see". John 1:46. The point is come. Thank God, he came. He was not deterred by the despicable city or the despised Citizen of that city. And Jesus saw him coming. He loves to see us coming. It is a pleasure to see one coming to Jesus. You get a name and the name indicates what you are. What was Nathanael? An Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile. In other words, he represents the Israel of God. So that you have the assembly, and you have Israel, both brought in by the spirit of search, and that spirit resulting in things being found.

I pass on to Philemon just for a moment. In Paul's ministry you have the spirit of Christ, not only in the way of searching and finding, but restoring the thing better than it was. What you find with David after the catastrophe at Ziklag is that he recovered everything. Now Christianity is better than that, as I want to show you. The prodigal son

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came back a better man than he left. I need not remind you of that. I see in fact Luke 15 in the principle of it, in Onesimus. Paul takes the position here of restoring something to Philemon that was lost to him, and restoring it in an infinitely better condition than it was when it was lost. I cannot enlarge upon it. I can only leave it by saying a few words about it. The apostle says in verse 15, "For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved". Philemon 15. Now think of that. We have nothing in Luke 15 about the exercises of the prodigal after he got into the house. We have a good deal about the father's and we have a good deal about those of the elder brother. The exercises of the latter were that he was not thought of, he was selfish. What you find here is that Onesimus is restored to his position; he had been a slave, but now above a slave, restored as a beloved brother.

I want to dwell in closing on the magnitude of the work of Paul, going out, into the distance and sending back man, as it were, in the wonderfully changed state seen in Onesimus. "Receive him", Paul says to Philemon, "as myself" Philemon 17. Think of this completeness of Paul's identification with the result of his work! Are you prepared to identify yourself with the result of your work? Paul identifies himself with the result of his, and he was to be received as a beloved brother. There are very few people called that in Scripture. One hardly knows whom to address in that way now. It is very rarely that one is addressed that way and rightly I think, for we should not use these expressions carelessly. You do find such persons in Scripture as "faithful" and "beloved"; the highest degree you can get in a way! Now Onesimus is a beloved brother. Paul is so confident about him that he identifies himself

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with him fully. He says, "Receive him as myself" Philemon 17; and for how long? For ever! Are you content with the brethren? They are to be with you for ever. Can you not live with them now? If he is a beloved brother, you claim him for ever. Do you not treasure the thought that the brethren are to be with you and you with them, for ever? Many of us have come a long distance. What for? I hope it is at least to meet one another. We are not anxious to depart. There is the brotherly spirit and you have a spiritual home for the moment. Now this is only the foretaste of what is before us. Think of being in the society of beloved brethren for ever! Paul brought that in. I just wanted to dwell on that in closing; the magnitude of Paul's ministry; how he restored men to God as beloved brethren; and as restored as beloved brethren to remain for ever and ever.

There is just one other thought as to Paul's spirit. He not only paid his own debts but also those of others. It is a great thing to pay your own debts, it is a matter of righteousness. Romans 8 teaches us to pay our own debts, and "live of the rest", 2 Kings 4:7 like the widow with the pot of oil; she was to sell the oil and pay her debts, and live on the balance. That refers to the Spirit. Having the Spirit, you are able to discharge all your moral liabilities, and besides that you have enough to live on. Romans 8 does not suggest that you are to pay other people's debts. But in Paul you have the excess. He says, "If he oweth thee ought, put that on my account". Philemon 18. Now I do not know of anything finer, in a way, than that. You not only discharge all your own obligations, but you are prepared to discharge the obligations of others. That is the spirit of Christianity. Therefore it seems to me that Paul is the embodiment of it. Christianity is not simply that you pay your debts and have a means of living; that will mark Israel. They will pay their debts. Christianity is the excess.

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Paul undertook to pay the debts of Onesimus. That is to say, that "beloved brother" must not be encumbered in any way, he must be free, and so far as in me lies, I will see that he is free. That is the spirit of Christianity. I leave it with you.

That is what the Lord would bring to pass in this present time, I think. He would bring about the spirit of search, for a great many of our brethren are lost to us, and if we are near the Father and the Son and the Spirit, we shall be made conscious of that. They are lost, and you are not at rest till they are all found. The man that failed as king is the man who did not find the asses. You may be greater than other brethren, but the test of your efficiency is that you find those that are lost. May the Lord give us to seek our brethren!

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FIDELITY TO ONE ANOTHER AS IN FELLOWSHIP

1 Corinthians 10:15 - 33; 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 34

The apostle speaks to the Corinthians in chapter 10 as to wise persons. They were to have the responsibility of judging what was said. It was assumed that they were intelligent, and so capable of understanding what the apostle presented. Intelligence underlies the idea of the assembly.

In Matthew the assembly is introduced, and it supersedes the Sanhedrim. In chapter 10 we are instructed as to fidelity regarding the Lord and one another, and how we are to behave when apart from each other. Chapter 11 gives us our behaviour when together, chapter 10 raises the question of fidelity, and it is a searching one.

The apostle says to them, "for who has known the mind of the Lord, who shall instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ", 1 Corinthians 2:16. Thus there is capacity for understanding the things of Christ. Discrimination is of great importance. We are to have our senses exercised, so as to discern between good and evil.

Chapter 10 enforces fidelity to the Lord and to each other, and that is very important. Fidelity is the result of love. It is put to the test when we are not directly under one another's eyes. We are responsible to those with whom we break bread. We are to judge of the cup and the bread. What do they mean to us? It is the communion of Christ's blood and of His body. "We being many are one bread, and one body" 1 Corinthians 10:17, for "we are all partakers of that one bread". Participation commits you. The taking of the loaf and of the cup supposes spirituality,

but one's spiritual measure is the measure of one's fidelity.

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The responsible side is presented first, for after the Lord gets His place the saints get theirs. In receiving one among us, we are often so anxious to gain the person that we forget the side of the fellowship involved. But we are held to be intelligent as having the Spirit. As Wisdom's children we are capable of apprehending Wisdom's teaching. In Christendom there is neither fidelity to Christ nor to one another. In coming into fellowship you commit yourself to the obligations involved. Curiously enough, we seem much less afraid of the eye of the Lord than that of the brethren. We ought to be far more in awe of the Lord's eye. We cannot do as we please. We may commit what is a sin against the conscience of our brethren as shown here. The apostle would not sin against their consciences, even if doing what he might consider right. Of course you would not be governed by another man's conscience; your rule is not mine, and you must not make your conscience a rule for mine. But rather than let one of the saints suffer I must refrain. The emblems assert the Lord's claim over me. We are one body. Christ died in answer to God's will, hence we disallow our own wills. The Lord devoted His body for us. His body was for God and also for us. "All things are lawful, but all things are not expedient". 1 Corinthians 10:23. There should be no lack of consideration for those toward whom we are under obligations. Mephibosheth is a good illustration of fidelity. His fidelity shone when David was absent from Jerusalem.

The cup is introduced first in chapter 10 because His holy life has been surrendered. It leads to surrender on our part, the surrender of all that we cherish. God surrendered the life of Christ. Adam's life was a forfeited one after sin came in, but God gave up the life of Christ, that precious life. We bless the cup, we value the blood of Christ so much that it draws out all our admiration. That life

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belonged to God. Blood always belonged to God, the love of God is therefore prominent. Our blessing the cup is according to our appreciation of God's love, but we are not large enough to compass it. The love of God is in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to partake of the cup of the Lord and of the cup of the demons. The love expressed in God's surrender, and in Christ's own surrender in giving up His body, floods our souls. Now how do we regard the saints? That is our measure We must be faithful to our fellowship, we have come into fellowship ourselves, but are we consistent in it?

A person commits himself to something in coming into fellowship. Breaking the one loaf is his committal, it is an outward act, just as you are only numbered among the disciples of Christ as you are baptised. The things mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:16 become motives, so that there may be a leverage in the soul to make us equal to the partnership. "The legs of the lame are not equal", Proverbs 26:7 and if we are not true to the obligations due one to another we are inconsistent. Now if we are right in our souls, we shall be sensitive to the Lord's eye first. The saints at the beginning "continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers". Acts 2:42. It is not full Christian fellowship there it is the apostles' fellowship. The epistle to the Corinthians opens up Christian fellowship. Fellowship is according to divine wisdom. Enjoyment of Christian blessings down here depends on fellowship. Things act concurrently in the soul, you love God, and you love Christ and the brethren. Fellowship protects you in all this, but if you remain in the world you deprive yourself of Christian fellowship, where these things are practically secured.

In your baptism some one else commits you, but no one can commit you to fellowship. The apostle spoke from the standpoint of one who was in that

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fellowship. You may be enlightened by the gospel, but you deprive yourself of its blessings practically if you stay in the world. You cannot declare war with Christ without coming out defeated. "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?" 1 Corinthians 10:22. Wisdom leads us to see the great benefits in Christian fellowship. If you are consistent you are transparent, not afraid of the Lord or of the brethren; there are no dark spots. The thought of what God has given up for you in His love, and of what Christ has given up for you in His love touches you. This fellowship embraces the apostles' fellowship, but we are in fellowship as brethren, and we must consider the partnership in which we are. We are equally responsible. Here it is not exactly a question of walking in the light, as in John, but of walking in relation to one's brethren; you are responsible to the saints even when they do not see you. That is chapter 10.

Christian fellowship supposes adverse conditions; things are so opposed to Christ that there is necessity for fellowship. Of course you must go on with right principles at all costs, even if by so doing you offend your brethren; they might be legal, but we can give up a meal, or various kinds of things, to consider one another. There is a good bit of darkness in us, and we are apt to try to show up to advantage when we meet one another, but the question is, how do we think of one another, and how do we act when separated? Do we love each other? Things are often a bit forced, there is an effort to keep up appearances. If I am walking in love, I would not hurt one for whom Christ died. In our meetings we may be often far away from the assembly in spirit, and there is a great danger of going on with a "ready-made" service. The Lord's supper helps us in fidelity to our brethren. You begin with the cup and the bread. They are positive things, but then

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energy in everyday life leads to energy when we are together. The feast of unleavened bread was for seven days, and if you do not keep that feast you will not have the Pentecostal feast.

In chapter 11 there is to be consideration for one another when together. They were doing things at the Supper in a spirit very detrimental to assembly privileges; they were acting in partiality. The apostle tells them that they were to "tarry one for another". 1 Corinthians 11:33. He lays down a principle. You wait on the Lord, but you need to wait on the saints besides. You do not consider your own feelings, nor act from individual impulses in the assembly. You act in the light of the assembly, and, in a sense, wait for a lead; you wait on one another. Others beside yourself have exercises; there is no allowance for favourite hymns. Spirit and mind must not go ahead of each other. If I give out a hymn or participate in any way, I must consider if all are ready to be committed to that, and from the all the sisters are not excluded. We should know one another's spiritual condition and take part suitably. Your intelligence must govern you in the assembly, for whose edification you are always considering.

We must be governed by the light that governs the position. Much damage may he done by even the wrong use of a hymn; the meeting may be dragged down. You have been engaged with the Lord and His dying very rightly, but as reaching association with Him, it is Headship. His relation to the Father and ours with Him are in view. He is singing now. If you use your intelligence you are helped in that the Lord helps you. We must get in touch with the Lord in the breaking of bread to be led on to the Father.

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Pages 84 - 166 -- "Appreciation of the Inheritance". Belfast, April, 1915 (Volume 26).

APPRECIATION OF THE INHERITANCE (1)

Joshua 1

E.J.McB. In proposing this scripture, you had the inheritance mainly before you?

J.T. Yes. Taking possession of the inheritance requires in us a state formed by the Spirit. This book furnishes us with examples of the state that appreciates the inheritance; so that, in that way, it corresponds with the epistle to the Ephesians. I think that the Lord would emphasise in these days the importance of our continuance; of our going on to the end. The teaching of the Pentateuch is completed in the book of Joshua; that is to say, this book presents the end of a course of dealings on the part of God with His people. The book of Judges opens up another chapter in the history of the people. I think that the Lord would emphasise the importance of our going on to the end subjectively. Of course His coming is the end; that is His side; our side is that we should continue to the end. In connection with that I wish to point out the difference between the inheritance as given by Moses, and the inheritance given by Eleazar and Joshua, for one observes that many in this day are content with what Moses gives.

Ques. Do you refer to what Moses gave to the two-and-a-half tribes?

J.T. Yes; but what the two-and-a-half tribes were content with, all the others had; yet the others had much more besides. The two-and-a-half tribes were content with what they received from Moses, but the other nine-and-a-half tribes, in addition to what Moses gave them, had also what Eleazar and Joshua gave. We shall notice in chapter 13 the

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extent of the inheritance that Moses allotted, but there was an inheritance which Eleazar and Joshua gave which went far beyond that. It helps us in the understanding of the book of Joshua to consider the man himself.

E.J.McB. I think your opening remarks about the question of spiritual state bring in the importance of the first appearance of Joshua on the scene -- where he comes in to oppose Amalek.

J.T. Yes, he appears first in Exodus 17; and he appears where the waters flowed at Rephidim. Now I think you have there the suggestion of the Spirit. The rock was stricken, the waters flowed, and there Amalek appeared; he appeared at Rephidim. When the Spirit begins to appear in the history of the saints, Satan works through the flesh in order to prevent spiritual formation. That is what Satan is set against -- formation; so here we find in type the flesh and the Spirit: Amalek is there and Joshua is there.

E.N.H. Do you think that Joshua illustrates Christ acting in the power of the Spirit; whereas Eleazar is more Christ as Priest who is absent, and therefore he does not come so much into prominence, but he is behind the scenes?

J.T. Yes; I think that is quite right. Eleazar is mentioned first in the allotting of the inheritance. I think it would greatly help to the understanding of the subject to see how Joshua appears. He appears first to contend with Amalek; that is to say, when the soul is relieved Satan would prevent formation; he would hinder the work of the Spirit. So Amalek appears just there, and Joshua takes up the conflict when Amalek appears. It is not Moses, it is Joshua; and that conflict goes on "from generation to generation", Exodus 17:16 because it is as if God would give room for the work of the Spirit in the soul.

E.J.McB. And another thing -- there is Joshua's

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intimate association with Moses in relation to the communications on the mount.

J.T. Yes; he is called Moses' attendant, and he accompanied the mediator on the mount, So that his leadership provides for all the light vouchsafed in regard of the tabernacle; and then after that he is in the tabernacle permanently. So that the soul is linked up through Joshua with the divine system.

E.J.McB. Will you just make a remark as to the difference between the thought of Moses and Joshua typically?

J.T. Moses is ever the authority of the Lord; and you will find there is no direct communication to Joshua from the Lord until Moses dies. As you see in this chapter, after the death of Moses the Lord speaks to Joshua; but prior to that the communications to Joshua are through Moses.

E.N.H. Would you say the authority of Moses is illustrated by his rod? His rod can take them through the wilderness, but it could not take them into the land.

J.T. But whilst Moses lived he was the mediator. All communications from the Lord for Joshua came through Moses, so what Joshua represents is subordinate to the authority of Christ. Now the authority of Christ is what is always necessary; it is specially evident when your will is active. Joshua had no rod; he had no symbol of authority.

E.M. I should like to get a little help as to Joshua coining in to oppose Amalek. The Spirit is opposed to the flesh.

J.T. Joshua represents the independent authority of the Spirit. Joshua becomes endeared to the people -- he comes into evidence with the people as a military man; and he comes into evidence not as having a symbol of authority, but on account of his military prowess. What Joshua represents is the moral authority of Christ in your soul which through

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the Spirit overthrows the power of the flesh. Satan would prevent spiritual formation; that is what he is against; but he cannot prevent the Spirit coming into the believer. You cannot get the Spirit by any act of yours.

E.J.McB. Would you connect the thought of Joshua with the true spiritual state in the believer?

J.T. Yes. He is a figure of that which combats Satan in the flesh.

J.B. Will you kindly trace Moses' and Joshua's authority as here given?

J.T. Well, Moses comes right up to the banks of the Jordan, and until he dies Joshua was not formally and directly recognised by the Lord; so we must leave every room for the authority of Moses.

E.J.McB. It is interesting to see that Joshua was connected prior to this period with all the spiritual activities of the people. He is not mentioned in Hebrews 11.

J.T. And he is not even mentioned in the book of Leviticus, where it is a question of approach; but in Joshua it is a question of the spiritual energy that takes possession. He refers more to what is hidden in the believer's history than to what is public.

R.L. Does Joshua get his commission here, where the Lord says to him "as I was with Moses so I will be with thee"? Joshua 1:5.

J.T. Yes, he is now definitely in control; that is to say, it is that element in the soul that definitely controls you; it is not something from outside; it is something within you. We see an instance of it in Caleb -- a man who with unwearied energy and appreciation of the inheritance would lay hold of it; he would get it at any cost. Caleb represents the energy and aim of Joshua seen by itself.

E.N.H. Would the condition of soul by which the inheritance is taken hold of be indicated in verse 3: "Every place that the sole of your foot

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shall tread upon, that have I given unto you" Joshua 1:3; whereas in the second verse it is more from God's side: "arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them" Joshua 1:2.

J.T. Yes, that is a very good distinction.

T.M.G. That supposes energy.

E.J.McB. Do you think the 15th to 17th verses of Numbers 27 help in relation to this energy: "Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd". Numbers 27:15 17.

J.T. Yes, so that full provision was made in that way. And then in Deuteronomy 34: 9, it is said: "Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses".

E.M. I should like to ask what is the difference between Joshua being hearkened unto, and of Joshua as typifying spiritual energy?

J.T. It is just this: "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God", Romans 8:14. The authority of the apostles was the authority of Christ, and it necessarily governed everything -- like the banks of a river. The Scriptures now do that.

E.N.H. Would that be like verse 7? The way we have authority now is by what is written; and so now we have the apostles' writings.

J.T. Yes. In Acts we see that the apostles respected the Scriptures; but in chapter 2 it is not said of the saints that they continued stedfastly in the Scriptures, but that "they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in

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breaking of bread, and in prayers". Acts 2:42. They had respect for the apostles' authority. But then the coming of the Spirit developed a spiritual state in the saints of God; and that is what the book of Joshua presents -- a state marked by the energy that lays hold of what God proposes for you. The apostles could not put the saints in possession of the inheritance. All that the greatest of them could do was to open it up, and pray for the saints that they might enter into it; see Ephesians 1 and 3. The apostles brought in the great scheme of Christianity, but the Spirit only can give you possession of what is presented in it. So that there is great latitude for the work of the Spirit.

J.M. There appears to be a very intimate link between the Spirit received in the believer and Christ as set forth in Joshua. Christ as Leader, as you have been speaking of Him, does not appear to be so much presented on the objective line as on the line of what He is in the believer.

J.T. Well, in Romans 8 where we have the great truths connected with the Spirit, one thought is introduced there: "If Christ be in you"; that is more than the Spirit in you. "If Christ be in you the body is dead on account of sin, but the Spirit life on account of righteousness". Romans 8:10. Christ in you now is in control. Now that really lays the basis for Colossians; for the mystery of Colossians is "Christ in you, the hope of glory". Colossians 1:27. That is to say, if He is in you glory is secured to you; He will place you there; so that Christ in the saints implies His headship.

J.M. Would it involve a measure of formation?

J.T. It does; Colossians supposes formation. Romans 8 does not teach it, but it lays the basis for it.

Rem. To be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man is the idea antitypically in Joshua.

J.T. That is Ephesians, but you see how it is developed in Scripture. Romans 8 shows us what the Spirit is in the believer. Romans does not develop

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the formative work, but it shows what is there. But when it is said "If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin", etc. Romans 8:10, it means more than having the Spirit. There are conditions in your soul that enable the Lord to come in.

Rem. I was thinking of the remark made at the start in relation to the five books of Moses, and Joshua being the completion of the Pentateuch; we read that "Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua", Joshua 24:31. If you have the days of Joshua, you have not the departure that is met with in the book of Judges.

J.T. No. So that the truth of Ephesians is always the great objective of the Spirit.

E.J.McB. Will you explain the difference between what Moses gives and what Joshua gives?

J.T. What Moses gives is Romans. The possession of the Spirit is a very great inheritance; but one may have the Spirit and yet live in one's family.

E.J.McB. In what place does the position I hold in relation to the tabernacle system as under Moses come in?

J.T. Well, Corinthians and Romans run together. Romans treats of the individual -- God's work with an individual, so that he is adjusted in regard of God here. God is publicly vindicated in him. God was vindicated in all that He said about Job but then God takes up the inward work in Job. God vindicates Himself in taking you up; you pay your debts, and so you do not discredit God. A good Roman believer justifies God, and God is justified in him; so that he can be here in connection with the tabernacle. If you are in the truth of Romans you are a righteous man; you love the brethren, and God is not ashamed of you. But all that is short of the inheritance.

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Ques. Would you say there is formation in Romans 8?

J.T. No; it is alluded to in that chapter, but it is not developed. You have sufficient means to discharge every obligation, so that you are righteous, publicly; you do not discredit God; hence God can set you up in relation to the tabernacle.

Ques. Where do we first get formation?

J.T. In Colossians and Ephesians.

E.J.McB. I suppose Romans 8 deals more with the Spirit than with the believer?

J.T. Yes; the Spirit is the subject, and chapter 8 shows that there is enough to qualify you, and set you up here, so that you do not discredit God. In Exodus 17 we have the water, and we have Joshua; then we have the covenant, which opens up the heart of God to us, and all that is found in Romans; therefore the believer in the light of Romans is qualified for the tabernacle.

E.J.McB. In speaking of the inheritance which Moses gives, it is not merely the portion given to the two-and-a-half tribes, but all that system of things that came to them through Moses.

J.T. Yes, all the tabernacle system; the light of it is there.

E.N.H. While some may only have the truths of righteousness, liberty, and sonship, God would have us to pass over to the other side.

J.T. Yes; if you get hold of the thought of Christ being in you -- you are now on Joshua's line, because the Spirit acts of Himself; before you come to Jordan the Spirit "springs up", John 4:14. If Christ be in you, you have headship. And if Christ has full sway in your heart, He will lead you on to the inheritance

Ques Is "If Christ be in you" individual?

J.T. Well yes; in Romans I think it is. "If Christ be in you, the body is dead" -- not your bodies are dead Romans 8:10.

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R.L. Would there be any connection between Joshua 1:6: "Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them", and the armour referred to in Ephesians 6?

J.T. When Christ gets a place in the soul there is no more consideration for the flesh. And the circumstances you encounter are terrible to the flesh. It is altogether different from wilderness circumstances.

R.L. Yes; that is what we get in Ephesians. We are to be strong in the Lord.

J.T. Yes. Now you are in the circumstances where there is no consideration for the flesh; it is the territory in which you have no sympathy whatsoever outside of the Spirit. We need the whole armour of God here.

E.N.H. I should like a little help on verse 4.

J.T. If your home is in the land you can influence to any extent. The hindrance is that we endeavour to influence the land from the wilderness side; that would be using position, or anything that you have in the world, to influence the assembly.

W.K. If that were to be the right thing to do, Moses should have stayed in Pharaoh's court, for Moses was in the best position anybody ever had been for that purpose.

J.T. You may influence as much as you can from Canaan, because the influence there is right; it is heavenly.

R.L. In Deuteronomy 1 you get the same extent of territory. It was the divine thought that Israel should influence all that territory but the limit of their dwelling place was to be Canaan. Jordan was to be a boundary.

J.B. Will you say a little about the possession?

J.T. It is Christ that puts us into possession. There is the reception of the Spirit, the work of the

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Spirit, and then Christ in the saints, And "if Christ be in you, the body is dead" -- there is conquest so far.

J.B. Have we arrived at a certain judgment when that takes place?

J.T. I think we are conscious that Christ controls us; one may be quite conscious of being controlled by Christ; so it makes room for headship, and you are led into possession of the inheritance in that way.

W.H. Do you connect the thought of leadership with Christ in you?

J.T. Yes -- Joshua's leadership; whereas the leadership of Moses is Christ as Lord, and His authority expressed through His apostles, and if needs be, the elders. You see in the assembly there were not only apostles, there were elders ordained in every city. Now the elders represent the authority of Christ -- most necessary for young believers in the house of God; but no elder could put you in possession of the inheritance.

E.N.H. An elder may not lead you into the inheritance, but what he can do is to control things, and maintain divine order.

J.T. Christ in you is subjective. If people are governed by a council, or by an archbishop, or bishop, or a pope, that is perfectly intelligible to the world but the mystery of "Christ in you" they cannot understand.

W.H. Speaking of outward order, that would be greatly helped if the internal thing were right; that is to say, Christ in you.

W.K. Is it not interesting that in Colossians the outward order is referred to: "Though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ". Colossians 2:5. And so then the question of formation comes in in connection with a company in that way maintaining what was suitable to the locality.

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J.T. Yes, that is a good point; showing that the Colossian was formed; there was order there. But then that was all short of the inheritance.

Ques. Does "Christ in you" lead on to the thought of Christ in you (collectively), the hope of glory?

J.T. Yes, I think so. It is a wonderful thing that Christ would have a place in the Gentiles' hearts.

Ques. In view of all this, what encouragement, or comfort, would we be warranted in taking from verse 5 of this chapter: "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee nor forsake thee". Joshua 1:5.

J.T. Well, that is Christ in you. Nothing can stand before Christ in us.

Ques. Are we to count upon a life of victory?

J.T. Yes, you are; "if Christ be in you the body is dead"; well there can be nothing feared from a corpse. Later the body is presented to God "as a living sacrifice". Romans 12:1. This shows that it is now energised by the Spirit, and so under control.

E.J.McB. They were not able to resist Stephen; no man could stand before him.

J.T. Quite so; there was a man in whom Christ was. And so in regard to Paul; no man could stand before him.

Rem. Stephen saw the land.

J.T. Yes; the time had not come for the development of the land, but he saw it.

R.L. "If Christ be in you". What is the force of that?

J.T. The force of it is that the Spirit has so wrought that He has formed a body for Christ -- there is a place for Him. The mere reception of the Spirit is not enough for that.

Ques. In what way does Satan seek to prevent that?

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J.T. By working through the flesh. The flesh would seek to assert itself directly you receive the Spirit. The flesh has its own claims, and puts them forward.

E.J.McB. If Christ be in you the body is dead. Prior to Christ being in you, will was there.

J.T. Yes, and Moses, so to speak, had been helping Joshua. Joshua is not enough. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit is against the flesh, but ultimately the Spirit overcomes, and Christ comes in. The apostle's great desire was that Christ might be formed in the Galatians. Not that there should be a sort of mongrel -- an Ishmael -- "a wild-ass of a man" Genesis 16:12. The responsibility was with Abraham to cast out the bondwoman and her son. Sarah had a typically right state; she would not have that lad there mocking her son. Now Jerusalem above is our mother. Sarah's state was right, but the responsible person was Abraham. Both are combined in the believer. So you are responsible, and when your state is right, you act, and you cast out the bond-woman and her son. Now it may be that you love Christ, but you want to retain that unnatural system; but God will not have it. That is the line the apostle is on in Galatians; and he was really travailing about it, it was such a serious matter.

Rem. Abraham failed over Ishmael.

J.T. He did; but it is simply nature. He brought it all on himself. Ishmael is a remarkable character: the product of a human contrivance to bring about the will of God.

Rem. That is really religious flesh.

J.T. Yes; it is often found in young believers; they do not see the "Almighty God", and they set about to bring things to pass in their own way; to make contrivances; and there is a mixed state brought about in the soul. But, really, it would be much better to be without it, because you have the

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painful exercise of casting out your own product. Then after Ishmael is brought in, God says: "I am the Almighty God" Genesis 17:1 -- meaning that there is power available to bring in a true son. Just wait; have patience; have Christ before you, and the Spirit will work through your exercises to form Him in you, and you will have true happiness. Now, the next thing is that after Christ is formed in you, you make a feast for Him; you so recognise Him that you make celebration for Him and that is the day in which Ishmael mocks.

R.L. There is no attempt at all to mend Ishmael.

J.T. No; the word is, 'Cast him out'. He is not to inherit with Isaac. Christ is now in possession. Although Isaac was only a babe he was the chief figure in the house. And what is to be noted is, that he could not do anybody any harm; he was only a babe. A child of that age is most attractive. And therefore it shows what a character Ishmael was; he mocked that child. Sometimes you wonder why people persecute you; but it shows what Ishmael is -- the man after the flesh.

E.M. The man after the flesh cannot tolerate the spiritual man.

J.T. He persecutes him that is born after the Spirit. It is the product of the Spirit that Ishmael hates.

R.L. There was nothing insubject about Ishmael previously; it was only when Isaac got his place that he mocked.

J.T. You may be a popular preacher, provided you have not "Christ in you". It is remarkable how popular preaching has become in certain quarters. I know thousands of people flock to hear popular preachers -- but, what about Christ being formed in the preacher? If Christ be formed in him the religious world will attack him at once. You will find that it is Christ in the person that is attacked. It is not Christ in heaven.

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L. As soon as Isaac got his place, the mocking commences.

J.T. We do not read of Ishmael saying anything about Isaac when he was born, it was when he was given his place in the house.

E.J.McB. It was when Isaac was weaned, that is, when he was independent of natural resource, that the attack was made.

R. Will you say another word about being free of fleshly resource?

E.J.McB. There comes a time in the believer's history when the sense of the sufficiency of Christ puts him on his own feet; and it is at that time Ishmael comes in to mock. I do not think anything is of greater objection to Satan than to see a believer really sustained by Christ. I think Ishmael knew very well that when Isaac was weaned, everything was for Isaac.

J.T. It works out in the same way collectively, too. If we resolve to be governed by Christ and His principles, the religious world will persecute us for it. This would do away with all the systems of Christendom.

W.K. I hope it will be seriously thought of, what was said about a mongrel Christian -- part Spirit, and part flesh. What we seek for is that Christ should be formed in us.

J.T. The great aim of the apostle in Colossians was that Christ should be "everything, and in all". That is the great end down here. Satan opposes that, and if Christ gets His place in our hearts He will put us in possession of our heavenly portion.

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APPRECIATION OF THE INHERITANCE (2)

Joshua 5

J.T. What occupied us mainly was the place which Joshua holds as a type. He appears first in Exodus 17, where at Rephidim the water flowed from the smitten rock: and as they drank they were attacked by Amalek. Amalek signifies in type Satan acting through the flesh to set aside the operations of the Spirit in the believer. So Joshua appears there, to undertake the conflict against Amalek. And then it was pointed out that he is viewed as Moses' attendant, or minister; he accompanied Moses up to the mount when he received the instructions in regard to the tabernacle. On returning with Moses, after Moses had pitched the tabernacle outside the camp, we are told that "Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle", Exodus 33:11. It was pointed out further that Joshua therefore typically represents Christ as supporting us objectively in connection with the work of the Spirit subjectively, so as to introduce us into the inheritance. Then finally we saw that the answer to Joshua as a type is seen in Romans 8 and in Colossians 1:27 -- "Christ in you".

E.J.McB. I think it would be well just to make the remark that one point of considerable importance in the minds of many in the reading this morning was the distinction between the inheritance as under Moses, and the inheritance as under Joshua. Under Moses the will is subdued, and in Joshua you have the thought of a spiritual state that is capable of entering into the spiritual inheritance.

W.K. In what way then does chapter 5 fit into those things of which you have just spoken?

J.T. It is adjustment for the new place. Christ in the saints involves that we are over Jordan. I

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think chapter 5 shows us the needed adjustment of soul so that we should be in accord with Him in the new place.

J.M. Is that why circumcision comes in?

J.T. Yes, because circumcision is to set aside what may attach to us as in the flesh; and circumcision occasions a wound which has to be healed.

J.M. Will you say a little more on that.

J.T. I think healing results from our coming in mind to resurrection: We are risen "by the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead". Colossians 2:12. Circumcision precedes resurrection in Colossians 2. Resurrection gives you a status outside the flesh, and so makes you independent of the flesh.

W.H. Is that why it says that the reproach might be rolled away?

J.T. Yes; there was power seen in their crossing Jordan; therefore their arrival in Canaan occasioned terror to the inhabitants and it says of the Canaanites "that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more because of the children of Israel" Joshua 5:1 -- not because of God, or even because of Joshua, but because of the children of Israel. That is where the danger lies; so "At the time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time", Joshua 5:2.

W.P.W. In what way does this differ from what we have in Romans 8:13, "if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body", etc.? How does it come in, in connection with the circumcision here, at the other side of the Jordan?

J.T. It is found fully in Colossians 3:5. "Put to death therefore your members". Colossians 2 is position, and chapter 3 is maintaining yourself in the light of the position; in accord with it; whereas in Romans 8:13 it is "if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live". That does not

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go so far as "Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth". Colossians 3:5. In Colossians the links are cut with the earth.

E.J.McB. Does not Romans 8 show you more the possibilities of having the Spirit rather than the question of mortifying the deeds of the body, "if ye through the Spirit", etc.? Romans 8 suggests that there is the capability for it.

J.T. And in Romans 8:13 it is simply to "live", "if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live". Colossians gives the full bearing of circumcision: it is to cut the connection with the earth it is "mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth". Colossians 3:5.

W.K. "This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you", Joshua 5:9.

J.T. We have to see that the new position which is involved in Christ being in us necessitates the abandoning of everything that would give us a status on the earth.

T.M.G. Colossians 2 is the position, chapter 3 is the correspondence with the position.

W.K. So that circumcision would not only cut you off from the old bad stock, but would separate you from everything that connects with the former system of things here.

E.J.McB. I thought a statement at the commencement of the meeting would bear more consideration. In circumcision you have a wound, and the wound has to be healed, and there is no healing apart from the activity of life in the Spirit.

E.M. So you would say the more we advance the more particular is the adjustment.

J.T. Yes the more you advance the more you need adjustment.

E.M. To what did you refer when you mentioned about the terror coming on the Canaanites, and that that was where the danger came in?

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J.T. Well, that is the origin of Gilgal; it begins there. So they always had to come back to Gilgal. The danger is that people begin to take notice of you because of any little bit of spiritual power you have -- "Make thee sharp knives". Joshua 5:2. If you rest in the recognition that is accorded you because of the power you have, you are spoiled for the moment; hence the wound, and it signifies the cutting off of the flesh; not simply in the bad sense, but in the sense in which you would be recognised here. So that the spiritual signification of it is that "the flesh profits nothing". John 6:63. Indeed, it is a reproach in the new sphere.

R.L. Did they always come back to Gilgal -- not merely after failure, but after victory?

J.T. That was God's mind. The camp was to be kept there.

F.M. Is circumcision a self-inflicted wound?

J.T. Abraham was enjoined to circumcise. It is a great thing to see that it is in the light of the power of God. It is insisted on here, although it was allowed to lapse in the wilderness.

W.K. God does not do it. He shows you what has to be done.

J.T. We have what might be termed positional circumcision. The flesh has been rejected in the circumcision of Christ. "Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth". Colossians 3:5. That refers to the things that put you in touch with the earth, where you get recognition.

A.N. Would that be the bearing of the second circumcision. The first was more positional; here it would be more practical?

J.T. There was really very little made of circumcision in the wilderness. What gives us a position in the wilderness is baptism.

A.N. I was thinking of verse 2; "Make thee sharp knives and circumcise again the children of

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Israel the second time". Joshua 5:2. It had taken place before?

J.T. It was assumed to be present in Israel from the time of Abraham; those who came out of Egypt were circumcised, but those born in the wilderness were not. It refers to the working of the flesh; not now in the doing of bad things, as we speak; but the flesh taking advantage of the moral power that you have by the Spirit, clothing itself with the power that comes in by the Spirit. If you have the Spirit, you are sure to be distinguished in some sense. Well, the flesh takes account of that, and clothes itself with it. Here the Canaanites were afraid; it does not say of God, but of the children of Israel. The flesh would accredit itself with that; hence the necessity for circumcision. So that circumcision is obviously necessary in people that have the Spirit. Very wonderful things happened in the passage of the Jordan. Indeed Joshua tells the people, "the Lord will do wonders among you", Joshua 3:5. They were a wonderful people, and now they are in Canaan, and the danger is that the flesh should accredit itself with all this.

W.M. Nothing but the total setting aside of the flesh will do.

J.T. That is it. Unless the flesh is refused it will be stronger now than it ever was before. There must be no sparing of the flesh; it is an intolerable enemy and, unless judged, it will take advantage of any little victory acquired to accredit itself with it.

E.J.McB. As to this question of circumcising yourself; it says here that Joshua made him sharp knives. I would make the suggestion that circumcision is an act of spiritual power.

J.T. I think that is right; and I think if the Lord Jesus has a place amongst us He insists upon it. You will find it coming out in ministry by the Spirit; there is persistent insistence on the necessity for circumcision. We see it in Moses when he was

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returning from the wilderness after having been there for 40 years; the Lord met him; He was going to slay him! That would seem unaccountable -- He was actually going to slay him after all that 40 years discipline! The secret of it was there was no circumcision. So Moses circumcises his two children; and his wife says, "Surely a bloody husband thou art to me", Exodus 4:25. Our Moses will not go on with us unless we are truly circumcised.

J.M. So if Christ has His place in our hearts circumcision must follow.

J.T. Yes; if Christ is in you, if He has a throne in your heart He is not going to relinquish it, and He insists on circumcision. That is not individual only, it is also collective; it is a principle that must be in the company.

W.P.W. What is the passover?

J.T. The passover is that you celebrate what Christ suffered. The people did suffer, but there is no celebration for the suffering of the flesh. I think it is very suggestive of their spiritual intelligence here typically, that after they were whole they celebrated the passover. It signifies that you now have regard to Christ as having suffered in the flesh for you.

W.M. It is an expression of appreciation of what Christ has done.

J.T. Yes, that is what it is; and now you get the heavenly food -- the old corn.

Ques. What is the meaning of their returning to Gilgal after victory?

J.T. You go back in your soul to the fact that the victory was by God's power, and not by your flesh.

Rem. It would really answer to what we get in Peter: "arm yourselves with the same mind". 1 Peter 4:1.

J.T. That is the principle; "he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin". 1 Peter 4:1. You are made to feel in your flesh the suffering due to the flesh. But the passover recognises the suffering of

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Christ, and that brings you to God. As was said yesterday, it would be a very good question to ask, 'Why do I come to the assembly?' But the next question is, 'How am I to be there?' Am I adjusted to the new position?

Rem. You were going to say the old corn comes into view, and the manna ceases, after the passover.

J.T. Yes; you leave wilderness circumstances for the moment. Christ suffered in the flesh for sin. As we feed on Christ as seen in the passover we are prepared to feed on Him as He is now, in heaven.

R.L. What is the point of the apostle exhorting the Corinthians to keep the feast?

J.T. The point there is the kind of bread they were to keep it with -- "not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth", 1 Corinthians 5:8. There may be a general recognition of the death of Christ, but what about the bread you eat? Let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The Lord Jesus is our Passover; He sacrificed Himself for us. Our side is to supply the unleavened bread.

Ques. Is that adjustment to the new position?

J.T. It is more adjustment in the relation to testimony as before the world. Corinthians is what we are toward the world. We had it this morning that a Roman believer is suited for the position involved in Corinthians; he is suited for the tabernacle; God is justified in him. When you come to circumcision, it is that you might be suited to God's sphere; that there might be adjustment to the sphere in which Christ is. There is suffering in the flesh in the recognition of Christ's sufferings; and then you pass on to what He is now, to feed upon the old corn of the land.

E.J.McB. What helps about the truth in Corinthians is the fact that if a stranger were to come into

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the assembly he would take account of the things there, very beautiful things, too, the moral order, etc. What we are now dwelling on is the spiritual order of things and the flesh would accredit itself with having a place in that order.

Ques. Is that why circumcision takes place in the land and not in the wilderness?

E.J.McB. I thought so. The moment Isaac comes into view in Abraham's day circumcision comes into view. Here, when you begin to move in the sphere which is proper to Isaac, circumcision becomes a practical necessity.

J.T. Coming now to the previous question -- the assembly, How are you going to be there?

J.M. Would it not be well for us to be exercised on that point, and not simply to go on with any kind of meetings?

J.T. Yes; the meetings have, one fears, to a very large extent, taken the place of "the church", as we say. We come to the meetings just religiously.

J.M. So your two questions would require to be raised in each of our souls; that is, to have it settled as to why we come, and also when we are there how are we there?

W.H. Why would you come? That is the first question.

J.T. I come to break bread. We were pointing out yesterday as to Matthew 18:20, that it does not say there 'Where two or three come together', but "where two or three are gathered together unto my name there am I in the midst of them" whereas in Acts 20:7, it says, "the disciples came together". That was from their side. That was the connection in which we raised the question, 'Why do I come?' If by authority you are brought together, then it is not a question of your desire exactly; it is more the desire of the One who gathers you.

T.M.G. That is Matthew 18.

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J.T. Yes; but if you come of your own volition; well, why do you come? The answer is given in the passage in Acts 20:7, "the disciples came together to break bread". So they had a definite end in view of coming together.

W.H. Of course each one was desirous to come.

J.T. Yes; they loved Jesus: and as His disciples they came together, and that for a purpose, namely, to break bread. They found a mutual bond of sympathy. The thought of being together necessarily precedes the breaking of bread; otherwise when you come you could proceed to break the bread; but then you might arrive first! You could not break bread by yourself. We must tarry one for another. The saints must be together first before they can break bread.

E.M. How are you going to be there?

J.T. Well according to this chapter, I am not to be there in any sense as recognised in the flesh; even though I may be a man of spiritual power, I am simply there as one of those who love the Lord; and I take no credit whatever for anything. The flesh has no place in it.

E.J.McB. Nor am I proud of the fact that I have suffered in the flesh. It is the suffering of Christ that holds me. Every spiritual person must of necessity have suffering in order to reach the spiritual order of things, but he does not accredit himself with that. Hence the necessity for the passover.

J.T. So that as together in the assembly we are not grieving for anything we may have had to suffer, nor for anything we may have had to give up.

J.M. In that way we are free to feed on Christ, as seen in the old corn of the land.

M. Why were the unleavened cakes and the parched corn partaken of in the "selfsame day"? Joshua 5:11.

J.T. It is very fitting, surely, that there should be no leaven in the food we eat in Canaan. It is

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quite in order that it should be made into cakes; that is to say, put into form to be food for the saints, but then there is no leaven; there is no taint there of sin. There is one other point before we close, as to the order observed in this chapter. You have circumcision, the passover, the old corn, and now, finally, you have the military leadership. All this involves adjustment for the new place and the conflict that is consequent on entering the new place.

E.M. Does this suppose that you are not yet in full possession?

J.T. Yes, this is all preparatory to taking possession. We have not yet gone up.

W.K. You have the title to it.

J.T. Yes; the title is all here; but this is in order to prepare the army so that there should be no defeat. I think the "captain of the host of the Lord" Joshua 5:14 suggests that Christ is to be known in a new way. Joshua disappears here as a type; he has to learn here as well as the rest.

J.M. In what way?

J.T. Well, I think Christ becomes increasingly magnified as you proceed; so that it is not now simply Joshua; the one that Moses had put his hands on; Christ had become magnified. Joshua says, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries". The answer is "Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come". Joshua 5:13,14. That is Christ magnified.

Ques. Is it the suggestion of Christ as Head?

J.T. We are on military ground now. Hostile power in the heavenlies has to be met, and Christ is known as Captain; but there is also the thought of Christ becoming magnified in your soul.

W.H. He is magnified in our appreciation of Him.

J.T. Yes; so that gradually you come to this, that all power is subjected to Christ. Now if Joshua

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had been equal to this, he would not have had the painful lessons depicted in chapters 7, 8 and 9.

Rem. The Captain of the host of the Lord was neither for them, nor for their adversaries.

J.M. All this is the education of soul, in order that we may give Christ His rightful place.

J.T. Yes; and you are lifted up from the littleness of party feeling -- "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" Joshua 5:13. Look at the dignity of belonging to "the army of Jehovah!"

E.J.McB. And then you are asked to put your shoes off. You have no standing there.

J.T. We are now to change our ground. There can be no party feeling there; it is holy ground. The Lord Jesus is Prince of the host of Jehovah. Chapter 6 is to show how the conflict begins; the earlier chapters are preparatory. In chapter 6 the host of Jehovah is marshalled; the people are in order, and the priests, typically those that are near to Christ, have the prominent place; and there are the trumpets. They point to the place that Christ held in the hearts of the apostles as they announced the testimony; the vigour and intelligence with which the message was announced in the ministry of the apostles. Chapter 6 shows how the conflict begins in a most remarkable way; they have not to strike a blow. The city walls fall down as the ark is carried around. This chapter denotes the character of divine order in conflict. It is as if God would say to the people, 'All is to be in My power'. It brings down the flesh. Compare 1 Corinthians 2:1 - 5.

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APPRECIATION OF THE INHERITANCE (3)

Joshua 21:1 - 19, 43 - 45

J.M. For the benefit of those who were not present this morning, will you kindly outline what we had before us, and link it up with this chapter.

J.T. We read chapter 14 with the object of considering the inheritance, and distinguishing between the inheritance given by Moses and that given by Eleazar and Joshua. It was pointed out that the two-and-a-half tribes were content with what Moses gave (the epistle to the Romans answers to this), whereas the other tribes, whilst they also had what the two-and-a-half had, had a good deal more. It was pointed out that chapter 10 suggests to us in antitype the man in Christ; that is, Joshua being honoured by heaven. It is stated that there never was a day before nor after, that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man. This shows in type how a man in Christ is honoured, or, as we may say, how Christ Himself is honoured, by heaven. We saw how Caleb illustrates the man in Christ as having an appreciation of the heavenly portion, and having the energy of soul to lay hold of it and to possess it.

W.K. Just say a word or two more as to the difference between what Moses gave and what Eleazar and Joshua gave.

J.T. What Moses gave in the antitype does not go beyond the gift of the Spirit; so, as I said, the epistle to the Romans answers to it; whereas what Eleazar and Joshua gave not only implies the gift of the Spirit, but the place in which we have the blessing; and the epistle to the Ephesians opens up the place where we are blessed with all spiritual blessings -- in the heavenly places in Christ; that is to say, the emphasis is on the place where we have the blessings.

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E.J.McB. In connecting the reading which we had yesterday afternoon with that of this morning we saw that the period in the book in which you get the history of the failure and breakdown -- what occurred both at Ai and in connection with the craft of the Gibeonites -- brought about a subduedness that enabled Joshua to go out as we see him in chapter 10. Caleb cherished in his heart the divine inheritance all the time he wandered with the people in the wilderness.

J.T. It is very interesting to see in Revelation that the failure being fully owned, the Lord returns to expressions which imply the assembly's relationship with Him. The body of the book of Revelation is prophetic, and marked by distance, but when we come to the end (chapter 22) He announces Himself as "Jesus"; not now the Man clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle; not now with eyes as a flame of fire, and feet like fine brass; but the Man who is known in the Gospels: "I Jesus (He says) have sent mine angel to testify those things to you in the assemblies. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star", Revelation 22:16. He returns in measure to the simplicity of things in regard to the assembly at the beginning. And what is so encouraging is that there is an answer to that on earth; "the Spirit and the bride say, Come". Revelation 22:17. It is really the appreciation of such a Man as Jesus and the appreciation of that Man -- of Jesus -- saves us from the appreciation of such a man as Antichrist, who is the very opposite.

J.M. Would not that indicate that recovery is through the affections?

J.T. Yes, quite so; Joshua 10 presents to us a man (Joshua), one who is dependent on God, who is the very opposite to Antichrist. I think it is very solemn that Antichrist springs out of church

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history. He really is a development of the light that has come in in Christianity taken up by man in the flesh; it is a monstrosity that is produced; a six fingered and six toed man. Whereas Jesus is the very opposite, and He presents Himself as such; and the assembly appreciates Him; and this shows that there has been recovery.

E.J.McB. Then we just touched on the different measures of appreciation, as seen in Caleb, and the daughters of Zelophehad, and the Levites.

J.T. Caleb, I think, represents the intelligence formed by the Spirit as to the inheritance, and the spiritual energy that goes with that; that is to say, he never grew old or weary; he was as fit at 85 as he had been at 40. He had all the ability for enjoyment and for war, that he had when he was 40 years old. Then the daughters of Zelophehad refer to that affection which desires the inheritance among the brethren. It is where you want it. Caleb says nothing about the brethren; whereas the daughters of Zelophehad want the inheritance, and they wanted it among the brethren. That is a very great point for Christians, as to where you want the blessings. You do not want your Christianity to adorn you in the world; you want it amongst the brethren.

Ques. What do you mean by, amongst the brethren?

J.T. Well, you want to have all your enjoyment amongst them. It shows that you love them; that is your home.

E.J.McB. "I dwell among mine own people". 2 Kings 4:13.

W.K. That is, Christ's brethren.

J.T. Yes; your own tribe, so to speak. It was the brethren of their father's house.

W.H. The things that are to be permanently enjoyed are placed there.

J.T. Yes. Of course you have the Spirit in yourself as an individual; but then you want to

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enjoy all the fruits of the Spirit among the brethren, and that answers to the gospel, because the gospel presents the inheritance among the brethren -- "the sanctified", Acts 26:18.

M. What do you understand by the brethren?

J.T. We are all sons of one Father. The daughters of Zelophehad wanted the inheritance among the brethren of their father's house -- the tribe of Manasseh. Now, that is where you want to enjoy things. You do not want a select society in the world that is suited to your status in the world; your society is the circle of the saints -- the brethren; they are the brethren that belong to your Father's house.

Ques. Why does it say "the Spirit and the bride" Revelation 22:17; does it refer to the assembly?

J.T. I think so.

M. Who is "the bride"?

J.T. The assembly.

M. What authority have you for saying so?

J.T. The angel says, "I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife", Revelation 21:9. The foundations of the wall are twelve, "and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb". Revelation 21:14. There is not much difficulty in identifying them as the founders of the assembly.

E.J.McB. Besides, He sent His angel to testify these things to the assemblies, and the response is; "the Spirit and the bride say, Come". Revelation 22:17.

J.T. It is well to remember that the background of that is the anti-Christian period here. The bride does not want anyone else but Jesus; the Spirit and the bride want Jesus.

Ques. Has the cry of the Spirit and the bride gone forth yet?

J.T. I think so; I think Jesus has been announcing Himself these years.

E.J.McB. The coming is not an arbitrary idea; the saints long for Him, and He comes.

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J.P.W. Does it not imply that the bride is completely in accord with Him?

J.T. That the Spirit and the bride want Him, and that shows the completeness of recovery.

J.P.W. Has that time come?

J.T. Yes, I think so, from the time of the Lord's word to Philadelphia onward.

J.P.W. The revival has already come.

Rem. The message was sent to the angel of the assembly; that was not to the whole assembly.

J.T. The angel is the responsible element in the assembly and who will say, he is not responsible? We cannot say that the angel is some individual or individuals, it is the element of responsibility, and anyone who says he is not responsible is not really in fellowship.

R.L. What about the Scripture now before us?

J.T. Well, what we had before us for this afternoon was that we might consider the Levites; not the Levites as presented in Numbers, but as presented in Joshua. In this book (Joshua) they represent a specially privileged class.

W.H. In Joshua they are evidently placed in connection with the whole inheritance.

J.T. You mean that they had cities in it all. That is the idea exactly. The Levites set forth those who are in accord with heaven -- "the assembly of the firstborn ones". Hebrews 12:23. God would influence you from heaven, wherever you go, hence there were cities on the other side of Jordan, as well as in Canaan. If you are content to stay there with your cattle -- near them -- God will seek to influence you there. God will do all in His power to keep His people, and hence He sets heavenly influences adjacent to you. We can understand how these forty-eight cities scattered over the whole nation would have an influence.

J.M. Would you say that it is those who are in

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the enjoyment of their heavenly portion that are a real help and influence to the isolated saints in every place. When what is heavenly comes out, everyone gets benefit from it.

J.T. That is the thought. Of course it is not that there is a class of saints regarded as Levites in this sense; because we are all regarded as Levites. The cities of refuge were levitical cities, and the intention was, that the man-slayer should find a heavenly atmosphere in those cities. One great idea of a city in Scripture is that it is a centre of influence.

J.P.W. Is the thought in the cities here a greater thing than what Caleb got?

J.T. O, quite; it is a higher thought. The Levites had no inheritance among the people. Firstly, it is said in Joshua 13:14 "The sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance"; then secondly, verse 33, "the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance". The Lord Himself was their portion; and they had the priesthood. Finally we are brought back to the thought of God about them, that there were forty-eight cities (four times twelve), to be allotted to them; showing that the assembly at the present time is to be what it will be in the future when it comes out of heaven; that it is to be a predominating influence. So that we should be ever exercised as to what influence we exert over others.

J.F.W. Does the Christian now get not only Caleb's inheritance, but also the cities of the Levites?

J.T. Well, you have to view Caleb in another light. He represents the energy that lays hold of the inheritance.

E.J.McB. In these three cases you have Caleb representing spiritual energy in the appreciation of the inheritance; then in the daughters of Zelophehad you have the moral side: they want the inheritance among their brethren; and then you have the Levites claiming their cities.

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J.T. Yes, that is the order. I think it is helpful to point out that the tribe of Levi comes in for special recognition in connection with the failure of Israel at the time of the making of the golden calf. The Levites then took sides with Moses; they took sides with the Lord. Moses had said, "Who is on the Lord's side?" Exodus 32:26 and the tribe of Levi responded to the call. And the Spirit's comment on that afterwards is that he did not recognise his father, his mother, or his brethren: "Who said to his father and to his mother, I see him not", Deuteronomy 33:9. That is one great feature of the Levites; they were concerned about the rights of God in the camp. The Levites judged the evil of the camp.

E.J.McB. Then another intensely interesting thought in connection with it, and the way in which the Scripture presents it, is that the land was divided, and then you have the Levites coming to the front; that is, they are to influence what is divided. It is an immense thing that the divine influence is brought to bear on that. That the inheritance may be preserved to us, and we to it.

M. You referred to the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. What are they?

J.T. Whatever blessings there are, we are blessed with all or every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. The point is, where we have them. The place enhances the blessings.

M. If we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, why do we ask God to bless His people now?

J.T. Because the blessings have to be made good to us by the Spirit. The epistle to the Ephesians presents God's thought for us in its absoluteness, apart from the fact of whether it has come to pass for each individual or not. It is from the divine side there; but as regards our side, we have to be brought into them; and the first point is -- Do you desire

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those blessings? Now Caleb had desire for them, and the daughters of Zelophehad had theirs, and the Levites had their desire; whereas the two-and-a-half tribes had not the desire; so that, typically speaking, they missed the blessings in the heavenlies, though they did not miss the Spirit.

T.M.G. The apostle prayed that the Ephesians might know these things. Now why should he pray in that way if there were no need?

J.M. It is quite clear to me with regard to the type that the Levites had no inheritance in the land, but they had cities to dwell in and the suburbs. How would you apply that at the present time The inheritance is the portion of the whole assembly, but how is the blessedness of the inheritance maintained for God's people now?

J.T. Well, I think it is in the hands of the Levites to do that. You see, they had the sacrifices, and they had Jehovah for their hearts' portion, and they had the priesthood as their service; so that in that way, they were constituted able to influence after a heavenly order.

J.M. That supposes, does it not, that there are those who do not go in for their heavenly portion -- they linger, so to speak.

E.J.McB. It would have been a sorry thing for the two-and-a-half tribes had it not been for the levitical influence.

S.L. Will you kindly say what the inheritance is?

J.T. Well, it is what is heavenly in the way of association and relationship with Christ. There is a spiritual inheritance which is said to be reserved in heaven for us, unfading and undefiled. What there is in the way of association with Christ in heavenly glory, and the part we have in that now with each other, and in the Father's affections, is ours.

E.J.McB. I think the practical exercise for us is that, just as Israel was called out of Egypt to enter

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into Canaan, so we have been called by God to enter into a vast system of things that He has taken up in Christ, and we are called to enjoy the inheritance. They are not material things.

J.T. The true levitical idea is properly seen in Deuteronomy 33:9: "Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word and kept thy covenant". It is in the disallowance of the natural claims that you come into it. So long as natural claims are prior to spiritual claims we never come into what is levitical in the light of Joshua. The Lord said to His mother, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" John 2:4. There was the disallowance of the natural claim, because it was a question of what was spiritual. If you disallow the natural, you come into the spiritual; and the heavenly inheritance is really the system of affections that are set up there in relation to Christ.

Ques. Do the cities in any way answer to the Lord's people gathered in any place?

J.T. Yes, the city suggests the assembly as a centre of light and rule and influence.

W.K. Do you mean locally?

J.T. Locally, or otherwise. That is, the forty-eight cities suggest localities.

J.M. The truth of the whole would be found in any locality?

J.T. Yes, each city would set forth the heavenly in that locality.

J.M. Would the cities represent what is heavenly and spiritual?

J.T. But you will never find that, unless you begin by the disallowing of the natural. They began by using the sword. "Who is on the Lord's side", said Moses, as he stood in the gate of the camp, "let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi

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gathered themselves together unto him". Then Moses directed them to use the sword; and each one was to go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay his brother and his companion and his neighbour, Exodus 32:26, 27.

Ques. What is meant by the natural?

J.T. Allowing natural relationships to influence you when it is a question of the rights of God.

E.M. I suppose every natural relationship is to be influenced from the inside circle. The children are addressed both in Colossians and Ephesians.

J.T. Yes; you get more about the family relationship in Colossians and Ephesians than anywhere else; and yet these are the epistles that make everything of the spiritual. There is nothing said about the children at Jordan. I think going over Jordan is entirely a spiritual thing when you come to the antitype. I do not think that anything of nature goes over, nor does any natural relationship go over, nor is there any recognition of natural relationships over Jordan. As a matter of fact, Jordan is a type of the end of the human life, with all the relationships attached to it.

W.K. While it is quite true what you say, that the crossing of the Jordan is of necessity a purely spiritual idea, yet family relationships are looked at in connection with those who have actually crossed the Jordan; they are spoken of in that connection in Colossians and Ephesians.

J.T. The inference is that they went over; but when you come to the antitype, a man's family is not over Jordan. Going over Jordan is, spiritually, the end of human life.

E.J.McB. If you take the New Testament epistles which deal with the question of family relationships, they are taken up by a person who has passed over Jordan. We take up relationships here as those who have already passed over.

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J.T. You cannot take anybody over Jordan; you have to go over yourself; but as regards your family, you cannot take it out of the wilderness. You may come back into the wilderness and influence your family out of Canaan.

W.K. Does the position of the two-and-a-half tribes represent those who have a heavenly place themselves?

J.T. Yes; but the mistake of the two-and-a-half tribes was that they lived there instead of in Canaan. A Christian household is in the wilderness, and that is why you baptise it. Baptism brings it on to that position. But then the heads of the families of believers have the Spirit, and as spiritual they can go over Jordan, and, as having gone over, they come back to the family and influence it; so that you are a good husband and a good head to your children. You are that because of your knowledge of the heavenly things.

J.M. The reason families are mentioned both in Colossians and Ephesians is that the saints are there looked at as being in the enjoyment of what is heavenly. But then so long as we are here, there is another side; we have to take up our responsibilities both in business and in the household; and we influence both from the Canaan side, because we have ourselves crossed over Jordan, and we belong to the Canaan side; and that is where the families come in in those epistles. So that no doubt the position where the responsibilities are taken up answers to where the two-and-a-half tribes lived. It is only as living in the enjoyment of the inheritance that you can possibly take it up according to God.

J.T. Yes; so that viewing it anti-typically I would say that the households of the Gadites and the Reubenites would not be good Christian households; at best they could but remember what they saw in Canaan when they were there; it would be

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a matter of memory. When the two-and-a-half tribes were in Canaan, they were away from home; that is the sad side of it.

Ques. Did they not both stand in the same relationship with God?

J.T. Well, they do not stand on the same ground. As having the Spirit they are in the same relationship, and all that is in the counsel of God for others is for them; but then it is a question of where they are in the experience of their souls.

Rem. You spoke of the plains of Moab as the wilderness?

J.T. Yes, I did, but it was quite different from the wilderness previous to the brazen serpent in Numbers 21. The territory that the two-and-a-half tribes received was, of course, divine; otherwise Moses would not have given it to them. That is to say, the possession of the Spirit is divine territory; but it is not the land of Canaan. So long as the brethren maintain divine principles you can remain with them.

J.M. The proof of a spiritual man is that he will link himself with all the exercises and sorrows of God's people; he will not leave them.

J.T. Yes; however low down their state may be, provided the rights of God are not disregarded, you can go on with them.

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JERUSALEM ABOVE, WHICH IS OUR MOTHER

Galatians 4:19 - 31; Galatians 6:15 - 18

J.T. It seems very suggestive that the expression, "travail in birth", is introduced here.

E.M. Is it a stronger word than "agony" in Colossians?

J.T. It is a different idea in Colossians 2:1. Here it is a maternal thought; in Colossians it is combat.

J.M. Why does he say travail again?

J.T. Because the ideal of the mother was not brought forth. Paul represents the mother. Very often in a family the severest travail occurs after the child is born.

E.J.McB. You mean in order that the child may come up to the mother's ideal?

J.T. Yes; because the mother has an ideal, and if it falls short of that ideal there must be a renewal of travail, although, of course, of another kind. Christ is the ideal. There would have been no need to travail had sin not come in; travailing came in consequent upon sin.

L. Had Christ been formed in the Galatians till then?

J.T. Apparently not; they had made a good start, however. The apostle does not say, 'until Christ be formed again', but "I travail in birth again". Galatians 4:19.

E.J.McB. Your idea is that Christ was before the apostle, and not seeing Christ in the Galatians he had this fresh exercise.

J.T. Yes. The subject of travail is a most interesting one; it begins in Genesis 3, and it is found right through. It is connected with the maternal side.

E.J.McB. Then do you connect with the maternal side the thought of character and formation?

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J.T. Yes; the mother has an ideal. It is a poor thing to bring a child into the world without having an ideal for it. Paul had no such thought; he called the Galatians his children. What God has before Him in His Son. After the fall God spoke of a seed that should bruise the serpent's head. Cain is born, and Eve immediately says, "I have gotten a man from the Lord" Genesis 4:1; that is, she had an ideal in her mind, but Cain was not the true seed.

J.P.W. Does this exercise come in regard to one's self or to others?

J.T. In principle all believers must come to it. It may be in a labourer in regard to others, as in Paul, but one may also be exercised in this way as to oneself. There is no bringing forth of Christ in character without exercise.

E.M. What is the difference of the thought between travail here and in John 16:21?

J.T. It is the same idea. You see, the disciples had seized the thought of the Man. They would have sorrow, but He would see them again, and their hearts should rejoice. Christ was to be brought forth in themselves, as it were; He comes in again through their exercises.

Ques. Was that seen at Pentecost?

J.T. That is where the Man was brought forth. See what the testimony was; the character of Christ was brought forth; the disciples had gone through the labour and the sorrow.

W.H.M. And that leads to enlargement. I was thinking of Isaiah 54.

J.T. Yes. Zion brings forth children, and these would take the place of the "fathers", as in Psalm 45:16, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth". What was brought forth was really greater than the fathers. So the thought of God is to bring in His ideal, and now the labour and sorrow is to bring it forth.

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E.J.McB. Your thought of the apostle here is that he would not rest with anything short of the ideal?

J.T. Yes. I have no doubt that if the apostle had looked forward and seen the outcome of Christianity, he would say, it was a monstrosity. Eve said when Cain was born, "I have gotten a man from the Lord" Genesis 4:1; but he was a man after the flesh; that which is first is always natural. So that although she gave Cain a nice name, he did not come up to the ideal. Then she got Abel, and his name indicates that Eve had not found in Cain what she expected. I have ventured to say so much about this because it is really the crucial point on the subjective line. We hesitate to accept the labour. You may have the right ideal and not bring it forth, because there is not strength for it: "the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth", Isaiah 37:3. Believers generally appreciate Christ, but then the question is, whether there is strength to bring Him forth.

E.J.McB. Yes; whether they will accept the necessary amount of suffering involved in bringing forth that ideal.

J.T. If the light is brought into your soul it ought to produce travail, The earth is a figure of it. Before sin came in there was no thought of ploughing or digging the earth. It was after sin came in that the penalty was laid upon Adam that the earth was to bring forth in that way. Compare Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 3:17 - 19. Now, the earth is used as a figure of man's heart; it is the fourth kind of soil, "an honest and good heart", Luke 8:15.

E.J.McB. Your thought is that normally the earth was to bring forth grass, and herb, and fruit trees after their kind, without toil or labour; but after the fall that was changed, and it was in travail it should bring forth.

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J.T. Yes; and the toil is to go on in regard to the earth until the man of rest appears; that is to say, until the end of Genesis 5, "Lamech ... begat a son; and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed", Genesis 5:29, 30. That is to say, until Christ is brought forth as the one in whom God rests, toil has to go on; that is, of course we know, while we are down here.

L. In John 5:17, you get the thought of the Father toiling, and the Son toiling. Would you say travailing gives the thought of the Spirit's toil?

J.T. It is the mother's side. When you get the ideal, there is incessant exercise until it is brought forth.

E.J.McB. The beauty of the word is this; that when the ideal is brought forth, the travail ceases. It is not everlasting toil in that way; but when the ideal is brought forth the travail ceases.

J.T. Yes; as was remarked about Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9. Every true Christian is born in sorrow; the difficulty is where labour or exercise is lacking; but when the desire is there God gives the strength for it to be brought forth. "It is God who works in you both the willing and the working according to his good pleasure"; Philippians 2:13. Literally, it is the working of God, but it comes out in the way of travail and exercise in the believer.

E.M. Is there any progress or enlargement in the thought of Christ formed in you? The apostle says, "My children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you", Galatians 4:19.

J.T. I think there is, because Isaac is the ideal. You see Abraham got the ideal; he said, "Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless ... one born in my house is mine heir", Genesis 15:2,3. But

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God says, "This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir", Genesis 15:4. Well, now, that was an ideal; but Abram overlooked the mother; and Sarah herself did not have the light, and hence she introduced Hagar as a makeshift. But in Genesis 17:5, God says to Abram, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham"; this means father of a multitude; and Sarai's name is to be changed; she is to be called Sarah, that is, "My princess". Through her Isaac is promised. Now Abraham has the light. Isaac is to be the man. Both Abraham and Sarah would get their ideal from the light vouchsafed in chapter 17. So when Isaac was born, Ishmael must go.

E.N.H. I suppose in line with that, it is the mother, or the maternal instinct, that would have Ishmael to go.

J.T. Yes; Sarah insists on his leaving the house. "The son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac", Genesis 21:10.

J.P.W. Does "Jerusalem above" answer to Sarah?

J.T. Yes. You not only have light as to the paternal side (God is our Father), but you have light also about the mother. "Jerusalem above ... is our mother". Galatians 4:26. The latter has reference to our calling. It is the system we are connected with, and from which we take character.

J.P.W. And is that the thought of formation?

J.T. I think so. Anyone who has the light of "Jerusalem above" would never think of being a citizen of a city or country down here. The maternal side is utterly lacking in Christendom.

E.M. Anyone in the light of "Jerusalem above" would not recognise the legal systems around us?

J.T. No. Christendom is Hagar. "Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem

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which is now". Galatians 4:25. That is to say, it is in a desert, where Babylon is ultimately found; Revelation 17:3. But "Jerusalem above" is our mother, and she is free. I venture to say there is not a thought in Scripture less understood than that of "mother".

A.McC. What do you mean by the mother?

J.T. In Scripture it represents a system of things set forth in Hagar or "mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which is now, for she is in bondage with her children". Galatians 4:25. And children are begotten of her. God was in relation with that system. The father, like Abram, was right, but the mother was simply an Egyptian. Jerusalem was simply a slave; hence her children were like Ishmael, and the test came when Christ was presented. They persecuted Him that was born after the Spirit.

J.M. "Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother", Galatians 4:26.

J.T. What I understand by that is the light we have as to the assembly. It is a principle, that anyone who has that light can never associate himself with an earthly system -- a cathedral, or anything of that type.

T.M.G. Such a system has to do with the wrong man.

P.L. Maternal instincts must be formed if the family spirit is to prevail.

J.M. The working out of the system connected with "Jerusalem above" would really be the truth of sonship?

J.T. The working out of it is liberty; that is, if she is above, you are entitled to go up too.

J.M. It is what is formed in those who are sons.

T.M.G. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

J.T. That is the thought in it. Now this mother, that Paul alludes to here, did not fully come to light until Stephen's rejection. It was Paul's ministry that brought it to light.

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E.J.McB. That is to say, up to the rejection of Stephen there was a link with the Jerusalem here.

P.L. Stephen "looked up steadfastly into heaven". Acts 7:55. Would that suggest the heavenly system?

J.T. Yes. The heavenly system was bound to be in the light that shone around Saul. The light came out of heaven above the brightness of the sun. The light is out of heaven; that is to say, it is not out of Jerusalem; and the voice is out of heaven, not from Jerusalem. Jerusalem has forfeited her title to speak.

E.J.McB. It is beautiful to see how the liberty comes out in Paul, how free he was. Peter was, in a large measure, trammelled. See Galatians 2.

J.T. What one notices in many Christians is that the ideal is there, but there is nothing brought forth for God.

J.M. What would help us in that line?

J.T. Well, we need more than to have the right ideal; we need power. As Hezekiah said, "the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth", Isaiah 37:3. Again, Isaiah says, "we have been in pain, we have, as it were, brought forth wind", Isaiah 26:18. Then later, "Before she travailed she brought forth; before her pain came she was delivered of a man child", Isaiah 66:7. In this respect the birth of Christ was not exactly the result of Israel's travail. Revelation 12:1,2 involves more than His literal birth. He was brought in from God's side. But after Zion travailed she brought forth her children, Isaiah 66:8: that is the day of Pentecost in principle. Bringing this down to practical experience, it shows that, having the light, you have exercises, and then you pray. Because, after all, it is only in divine strength that you "bring forth". So that what is brought forth is the product of God's power.

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W.H. Is that the point in Isaiah -- is it a question of God's power?

J.T. Yes; I think the last chapter of Isaiah develops the thought of travail, and the product of travail: it is not wind, but "sons". "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children (sons), whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth", Psalm 45:16.

J.B. "Strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man", Ephesians 3:16.

J.T. Yes. There, however, it is not simply that Christ is formed in them, but that He should dwell in their hearts.

E.J.McB. With reference to what was said about exercises, it is evident that the apostle in large measure passed through these exercises for the Galatian brethren; and it seems to me that he suggests what would give character to them. Is that the idea of the mother?

J.T. I think so. The father always gives the status. You might have a very dignified person as a matter of rank with a very poor character. The character comes from the mother. She is the one who bears the child; and the ideal of the mother is the father. Do you follow what I mean? Christ is the ideal -- God in Christ -- and all the exercise is to bring about what corresponds.

E.N.H. Referring to Isaiah 66:7. Before Zion travailed she brought forth -- does that refer to the present time; to all that was from Pentecost onward?

J.T. We are not the product of Zion's travail at all; and yet God in grace accredits Jerusalem with the fruit of Paul's labours: "more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife", Isaiah 54:1; Galatians 4:27, That is to say, there are more children now than when Israel was formally owned as the wife. She is not owned now. She is desolate.

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E.J.McB. That in a sense would involve "the Israel of God", Galatians 6:16.

E.M. All this involves real exercise, or travail, on our side, to answer to the position in which we are set.

J.T. That is it; you get the idea, and now you are to be exercised in order that it should be brought about; and, as it has been referred to previously in these meetings, it is the antidote to Antichrist; if you have the right ideal before you, you will not be carried away by Antichrist. Well now, when you come to chapter 6, what the apostle states is that in Christ Jesus circumcision avails nothing, nor uncircumcision, but new creation.

J.M. What does that convey to you?

J.T. It signifies that all in Christ is the work of God; that is the result. There is nothing of man in it at all. So that the result of our exercises is literally seen to be the fruit of God's work. It is new creation. "And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God". Galatians 6:16.

E.N.H. Would you say that "new creation" and "in Christ" are synonymous?

J.T. "If any one be in Christ there is a new creation", 2 Corinthians 5:17. There is nothing else but new creation there; so that although we are exercised and have the labour, the product is all regarded as God's work.

E.J.McB. Our mother being free, she is not hampered by any earthly system, so that she can support and sustain a character that is entirely free from them all. I should like a word or two more as to the remark you made about the thought of the mother being very little understood.

J.T. Well, I think it is very little understood, and therefore it seems to me as if the subject should be traced in Scripture, because all the personages

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that were brought forth, whose birth is signalised, were the outcome of the conception which the light of God previously afforded. The thought conveyed in Noah was a conception. When he was born his parents said that he should comfort them concerning their work and the toil of their hands, because of the ground which the Lord had cursed. Isaac also represented an ideal previously conceived in a marked way; and so you will find all through. Solomon was an example, and also Samuel.

E.J.McB. One can understand the paternal side set forth in Christ -- a beautiful thought it is too. But then you get this thought of "Jerusalem above, which is our mother"; and it would seem as if there was a system of things that would nourish that ideal set before in the paternal side. In speaking of good kings Scripture frequently draws attention to their mothers.

J.M. Is it under that system that formation is carried on in our souls?

J.T. Yes, surely. So that it comes to this -- what is it that God is now in relationship with? That is the idea of the mother. That is the influence you are to be under. There is that with which God is pleased to be in relationship on the ground of the covenant.

P.L. Is that why in Exodus you have "Honour thy father and thy mother"? Exodus 20:12. When you come to Leviticus, where approach to God is, it is reversed -- mother and father. It says in chapter 19, "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbaths; I am the Lord your God". Leviticus 19:3.

E.J.McB. That would seem to be a beautiful suggestion, that in regard to the question of approach, the influence you are under had a good deal to do with it.

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P.L. Scripture says nothing in regard to David's mother; it is a question of his father; but when you come to Solomon you get a very great deal about his mother. See Proverbs 31l -- 9.

J.T. The apostle brought in Christ at Corinth, and he says, "I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ, But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craft, so your thoughts should be corrupted from simplicity as to the Christ", 2 Corinthians 11:2,3. Now Eve was beguiled because she did not hold to her first ideal. Her ideal was Adam, undoubtedly, but she disregarded this in listening to the serpent. Paul was anxious as to the Corinthians, that their minds should not be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

E.J.McB. Evidently here you can see the Galatians had been bewitched, and Paul wondered who had bewitched them. He had presented Christ to them.

R.L. What is your thought about the joy of the mother in John?

J.T. Well, I think the Lord accredits the disciples with His being everything to them. He was the Man of their hearts. The Lord accredits them with maternal affections.

E.J.McB. You have the Man idea in the Gospels, and now what you expect to find with the apostles is the maternal instincts -- the desire that there should be a response to that Man; the saints nurtured in the thought which God had set before them in Christ.

R.L. And that gives the thought that the mother is still in existence.

E.J.McB. And the beauty of it is that she is free to nourish.

E.M. What is the thought of the full grown man, Ephesians 4:13?

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J.T. The gifts have that in view; it is to show the thought in the gifts being given; it is ministry that is in view: "until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ". Ephesians 4:13.

P.L. I suppose all true ministry is from the maternal side?

J.T. Yes; certainly we see it in Paul here.

E.J.McB. It dismisses all ideas of officialism; to a mother, the needs of her children are her needs. So he says, "by love serve one another". Galatians 5:13.

P.L. And the children would rise and call their mother blessed?

J.T. The book of Proverbs sets the mother side before us in a marked way, especially chapter 31.

Ques. What form would the exercises take with us to bring forth the ideal?

J.T. Well, the desire to have the ideal produces the exercises. Children may be born, but the real labour and sorrow come in in the forming of them. I mean, if a mother is spiritual, she has God before her.

E.J.McB. When you see departure from God in the children, then the real pain comes in.

J.T. Yes; hence you see in Psalm 113:9, that it is the woman who learns to keep house, who becomes a joyful mother of children. She learns to keep house first.

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THE ASSEMBLY, ITS PRIVILEGE AND SERVICE

Matthew 18:20; Acts 20:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:1

J.T. I thought that these three passages would help to show the place the assembly has; how being together prepares for special privilege, on the one hand, and also that we are in a position as together to act for the Lord.

Ques. Would you put Acts 20 before Matthew 18?

J.T. Well, I have done so, for it is quite clear we cannot act for the Lord unless we know privilege -- unless we know what we have in the assembly. Matthew 18 follows properly after chapter 16, and the latter treats of the assembly as builded.

Ques. Do you mean that in Matthew 18 we get the principle of acting for the Lord?

J.T. Yes. The apostle in writing to Corinth intimates that coming together in assembly is for the breaking of bread, 1 Corinthians 11:18 - 22; whereas coming together in Matthew 18 is not for the breaking of bread; it is to act for the Lord; to take up His interests.

W.H. So He says "In my name". Matthew 18:20.

J.T. Yes; things are to be carried on in His name.

J.P.W. The "two or three" are connected with the assembly?

J.T. Yes; two or three are a few.

J.P.W. There is no ground for independency connected with the assembly.

J.T. The history of Christianity has been that man became dissatisfied with the provision that Christ made for the maintenance of things during His absence, and there was a turning to human devices. That is to say, the provision that Christ made was not held as sufficient; and my thought is that we might see what that provision is. When

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Moses was leaving the camp he left a provision for the time of his sojourn in the mount; they had Aaron and Hur; but presently the people grew dissatisfied with the provision and sought out a captain. So I thought it would be a great help if we were to look simply at the provision that Christ has made for us before leaving and pending His return; for it must be remembered that His return was looked at as not far off. Moses in no way indicated that his absence from the camp would be lengthened.

W.H.M. What is the provision?

J.T. There are His commandments and the Comforter, love among ourselves, etc., but we are to come together for the enjoyment of privilege. Of course everything in the way of service is privilege; but when we come together for enjoyment the Lord's supper is what is immediately before us, because the Supper suggests family relationships and affections. Then the Lord comes to us, and we enjoy His presence and the affections flowing from the relationship in which we are set with Him and each other. He promises to be with us when we come together in His name, but the very fact that we come together in His name shows that He is not here. In either case we have the thought of coming together.

E.J.McB. Where would you put, He died that He might gather together in one the children of God scattered abroad?

J.T. The point there is that the children of God might he gathered together into one, instead of being scattered abroad. It is not that they should be gathered together in one place.

E.J.McB. If the Lord's idea is to have His people gathered together, you cannot have all the saints together in one place locally, but you can take up the thought locally.

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J.M. Would you say what the force of the word together is in these scriptures?

J.T. Well, first of all, that we are in one place, but the thought underlying that is that we are together in affection. In 1 Corinthians 11:17, it is suggested that we may come together "for the worse". So I think that the thought which underlies the word together in these passages is, that there is affection; there is confidence; there is sympathy. The things that are involved require that we should be together first, the breaking of bread necessitates it; and anything in the way of administration requires it; ultimately translation requires it; hence we see the import of it. We are not translated to heaven as so many separate units. To be translated implies that we should be together.

T.E.W. We are brought together first, and caught up afterwards.

J.T. I think we see the import of the thought if we carry it on to Thessalonians, because there the idea of being together precedes translation.

E.N.H. I suppose it is very important that administration should be maintained in love?

J.T. I think that at the outset everything that was done was to be done in love. "Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer", Acts 3:1. "The Lord added to the church daily". He added to the assembly, Acts 2:47. Service, administration, enjoyment, are all made to hinge on being together.

R.L. And in Acts 2:44 we read that all who believed were together. The Lord's prayer in John 17 was being answered.

J.T. Yes. In Ephesians 2:5 we are all said to be quickened; we are said not to be quickened together, although it so reads in the ordinary version. The New Translation reads "has quickened us with the

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Christ"; but then as quickened we get the thought of together. We are raised up together; we go up in company, and are made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ,

E.J.McB. Do you connect the thought of being together with the thought of order?

J.T. I think that the being together for the Supper leads on to that. We are together in the spirit of regard for each other. I do not understand the assembly in any other way. That there should be any recognition of class or clique is foreign to it. The principle of it is that there is a bond of sympathy; there is sympathy in the sense that we are all under the same reproach, we all have the same interest in Christ, and we all have the same destinies and hopes; so that as together there is a link of sympathy, and that leaves room for the Spirit.

W.H.M. That is because the Lord is there. You spoke of the provision, and that was why I asked what the provision was. The Lord is the centre.

J.T. That raises the question, perhaps, as to whether the Lord is there until the conditions are there. As I was saying, we may be together outwardly for the worse, and surely the Lord would not be there in that case.

E.J.McB. There is a thought abroad that we come together because the Lord is there, whether order is, or is not, recognised.

J.T. But the Lord is jealous as to conditions. I think we do Him injury in assuming He is locally where He cannot be morally. The question to each of us is -- Why do you come? Do you come because it is a religious custom?

E.J.McB. In Acts 2, where they were all together in one place, it was not because the Lord was there that they came together.

W.H. Why do you come?

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J.T. I have in view the breaking of bread; but I come to meet the brethren -- I meet with those whose spirits are kindred.

T.W. "They went to their own company", Acts 4:23.

J.T. Yes; what a pleasure it was for them to go into that company. As Peter and John entered they found sympathy there.

W.H. It is not everywhere in Belfast, for instance, that one could join in with other Christians. I should like to get help on this point: there are a number of people who meet together to break bread, and I should not like to go there, though in a kind of way they have the Lord in view, and there is a measure of affection for Him.

J.T. But I should not break bread unless there was sympathy as to Christ and the testimony.

Ques. Will you kindly say in what sense you use the word sympathy?

J.T. Well, take for instance these people in the Acts; they all met on the day of Pentecost; there was a bond of sympathy between them; they were all followers of the lowly Nazarene; and now He is rejected and He has gone to heaven, and those who love Him are all together. There is a bond of sympathy between them; they had all the same experience to a certain extent, and there was the same reproach attached to them; and, above all, they all loved Christ. But open principles ignore all this. With such it is just a question of breaking bread, and a person is to break bread because he is a Christian; but then there is another question. Is there such sympathy in the exercises and affections of nominal Christians, as to Christ and His testimony, as would exclude wrong associations?

E.J.McB. The bond which those in Acts had was that they all missed Him.

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J.T. It is remarkable how even in the world at the present time, if you are travelling with people and there is danger at hand, a sympathetic feeling springs up at once. I believe there is one thing that saints are very lacking in, and that is sympathy; there is a want of sympathy amongst us. So coming back to the question of why you want to come together -- it is that there is sympathy. We should be together in heart before we come together in one place.

E.J.McB. To return for a moment to one of your opening remarks with reference to Moses, it helps as to what is before us. The Israelites were not satisfied with the provision which Moses made for them during his absence in the mount. As a matter of fact, what we call Christendom is a system of things inaugurated to make up for the absence of Christ.

J.T. That is what it is exactly. The people in the camp were not content with the provision Moses had made, and neither has Christendom been content with the Lord's provision for His absence, and hence they have turned aside to human devices. Now the Lord would lead us back to the provision which He made; and when going away He did not intimate that He would be very long. It was just for a moment, as it were, that these provisions should hold us until His return.

Ques I suppose if we are not in sympathy with one another there can be no sympathy in the things of the Lord?

J.T. The very idea of fellowship suggests sympathy; "they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers", Acts 2:42. There was full sympathy with the testimony of the apostles.

Rem. Moses came into fellowship, as it were, on the point of sympathy.

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J.T. The thought of his brethren came into his heart, and he went out and found one suffering at the hands of an Egyptian, and he undertook to defend the sufferer. He identified himself with a suffering people. The next day he went out and found two of them striving, not with the Egyptians, but one with his brother. And surely the present situation is that. We are suffering, not from the Egyptians, but from our brethren. And the man who did the wrong refused Moses. That is to say, those who are wrong in spirit become persecutors and the persecutor rejects the authority of Christ. So that to be in fellowship supposes that you are to be in suffering. Our day is not a day of suffering from the Egyptians; we suffer, as faithful, from the religious people; and the suffering is no less real.

E.J.McB. I certainly go with that. One of our greatest difficulties in these days is this question of coming together. There are believers who think they have affection for Christ, but they are not really drawn out in sympathy with those who are identified with Him.

Ques. Is sympathy used in a relative sense, taking the illustration of people being drawn together in face of a common danger?

J.T. I think the point of present danger is very important. We see how nations draw together on account of common danger. Well, we are under a common reproach. In Acts 4:23 we read; "being let go they went to their own company". That was a coming together outside of the world, and in the sense of the danger that threatened them; but then, as together, they invoke divine aid, and they get it. I do think every Christian ought to raise the question in his own soul as to why it is that he comes.

J.M. Would not the acceptance of the provision that the Lord has left for His people during His absence intensify the bond of sympathy and lead to being together?

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J.T. I am sure that is so. There is, first of all, a sense of reproach outside, but then there is the sympathy that you find within. And then, beyond all that, the thought of the Lord coming there.

E.M. There was a company in Malachi's day that came together and spake one to the other.

J.T. Yes; the point is they "spake often one to another". Malachi 3:16. We are not told what they said; they spake one to another, and that drew the Lord's attention, and He hearkened and heard and made a record of it. In Christianity you get more than hearkening and hearing, for in addition to that He comes to us.

W.H.M. Would it answer more to Zephaniah 3:5, "The just Lord is in the midst thereof", etc.?

J.T. Yes. Now, I think we ought to be clear as to why we come together.

Ques. Do I understand your thought to be that we should be morally right and of one mind about the things of the Lord before coming together?

J.T. Yes; and that invites the Lord: it opens up the door, as it were, for Him to come into the midst.

Rem. Because coming together in any meeting is not of much use if we are not together in affection and of one mind. You could hardly apply that to the Corinthians?

J.T. These passages are normal. We come together for the breaking of bread, as in Acts 20, and for what might be called administration, Matthew 18. Coming together to break bread is not, strictly speaking, coming together unto Him; nor is coming together in His Name, strictly speaking, coming "unto Him".

Ques. What do you understand by the passage read in Thessalonians?

J.T. What I understand by it is that the Lord is away, and according to chapter 4 of the first epistle

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He returns with an assembling shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them. There you have the principle of drawing together; only then those who have been asleep shall be assembled.

E.J.McB. Do I understand that your thought is to establish the principle that we are to be together before translation?

J.T. Yes. 2 Thessalonians 2:1, is the only place where we get "gathering together unto him", and it is for translation.

W.K. How does that help us in the present time?

J.T. Well, the other passages that we read refer to the present time.

W.K. You do not give 2 Thessalonians 2:1, any present application?

J.T. No; except that it shows the full bearing of being together -- that it goes on to that. But what I want to make clear is that the Lord has made provision for us during His absence, just as Moses made provision for the ordering of the camp while he was in the mount; and we can see what that provision is, and to avail ourselves of it. The provision is that we can come together as those who are bound up in sympathy with each other and in love to the Lord and one another.

E.J.McB. Hence the value of Peter's remark; "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently", 1 Peter 1:22.

W.H. And being together sympathetically, your point is that the Lord come and makes Himself manifest.

J.T. Those are conditions that He can recognise and commit Himself to; but if there are lines of

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demarcation among the saints, the Lord is hindered.

W.H. What was in my mind was that every individual for himself would be regarding the rights of the Lord.

J.T. You want to have conditions such as the Lord can recognise, and if you have He is sure to act for us.

R.L. That is why I thought that the end of Acts 2 gives us the conditions. There was not the smallest dissension amongst the company there present; they were all of one mind.

J.T. Yes; and you see how heaven acted for them. The place was shaken where they were assembled, Acts 4. The Lord is sure to act for us if the condition is right. The Supper is the gathering together now; by-and-by it will be the assembling shout.

E.M. Will you make a little plainer what you mean by "gathering together unto him" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:1), in contrast to the other two passages.

J.T. Because in the latter case He is present. He comes, "the Lord himself with an assembling shout ... shall descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air", etc. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17. Hence, then there is the "gathering together unto him". He is present, not on earth, but He has descended to gather us together to meet Him in the air.

E.J.McB. So that both "gathered together unto my name" Matthew 18:20 and "to eat the Lord's supper" 1 Corinthians 11:20 involve His absence; but when He appears it will be gathered "unto him"; and this involves the whole company of the saints?

J.T. Yes. I do not think the Lord could be connected with any locality in any absolute way; "gathered together unto him" is universal. In the passage in Thessalonians He is present; that is,

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He descends; and He descends before the assembling takes place. Whereas in the Supper the assembling takes place first. We come together. It proves how much we think of Him.

Ques. Then you distinguish between translation and our coming together?

J.T. Yes, because the blessing in the assembly is that He comes to us. Our eating the Supper shows, at least outwardly, what we think of Christ; and His coming to us is after that. Whereas in Thessalonians "the Lord himself" descends first, with an assembling shout; and then it is said, "our gathering together unto him".

E.J.McB. So one point of serious exercise to you is the question of how far we appreciate the provision the Lord has made for us during His absence?

J.T. Yes, that is my thought. "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands", Proverbs 30:27. They have no appointed leader, but they go forth by bands. The provision is there; the provision is our gathering together; going forth by bands. I think the coming together in the Acts superseded everything that had been connected with the temple.

E.M. I often think we becloud the situation with the expressions we use; for instance, it is a very common expression to hear, 'We come around Thyself'.

J.T. Yes. How true the Scripture is to its own principles! If the Lord is away we come together in His name. If it is a question of our love for Him, and our enjoyment of His presence, we come together to break bread. If it is the quickening of our bodies and an assembling to be taken to heaven, the Lord Himself descends from heaven with an assembling shout to take us to meet Him in the air; 1 Thessalonians 4; and then the apostle says, "Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord

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Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him", 2 Thessalonians 2:1. So it is He who brings us together.

T.W. There is a great similarity between the way we shall gather together for translation and the way we gather together now.

J.T. I think there is a parallel in it, because the word "assembling" is very similar to the way we come together now.

W.H.M. The Lord is as good as His word, and He says, "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them". Matthew 18:20. If the conditions correspond to His presence He is there.

J.T. I think that is right. If the conditions are there He is there. But then you must have the idea of being gathered first; because you may be the first in the room; and you must have two if He is to be "in the midst". If it is simply a question of coming to Him, well, then, to be logical, you must say that directly you arrive at the room He is there. But that will not do; you must have the saints gathered first.

Ques. Does what is quoted in Matthew 18 apply to the Lord's day morning?

J.T. There it is for looking after His interests.

Ques. Does the prayer meeting come under that?

J.T. Yes; because the prayer meeting is really in connection with His interests.

J.M. I suppose that one of the principal thoughts with regard to the Lord's supper and our coming together on Lord's day morning is Christ's absence.

J.T. That is true.

J.M. And we come together to break bread in remembrance of Him.

J.T. That is the truth of Scripture; whereas the other side, as in Thessalonians, is that He comes with

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the assembling shout. He is there before the assembly, so we gather to Him. But until that time comes we must gather together first.

J.M. And till that time comes the Lord's supper is the rallying point for saints.

E.N.H. And after the Supper, if we are in the normal state in answering to His mind, there will be the enjoyment of our great privilege -- His presence.

J.T. He gives you the sense of having part with Him. But He comes; and I think it helps to see the simple contrast that in the future when He comes with the assembling shout, the assembling follows upon His coming; whereas now it is that the assembling precedes His coming. He comes to the company now as in John 20; and before He comes in there must be suitable conditions.

E.N.H. And then there is response on our side.

J.T. He says, like Joseph, "Come near to me, I pray you", Genesis 45:4. As near to Him we get the good of His headship. He leads us into the sense of what the Father's love is.

J.B. Would you say we cannot put the Lord under any obligation to come to us, because it is His pleasure to come?

J.T. I think that is right; there must be suitable conditions for Him to come.

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THE MAN OF GOD'S CHOICE

Isaiah 53:1 - 3, 10, 11

I desire to speak on this occasion about the Lord Jesus as presenting to us in Scripture the order of man that is for God's pleasure. It is a very simple and yet a very important thing for us. What I have in mind immediately is a passage in Revelation in which it is said that "the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus". Revelation 19:10. The spirit of prophecy is engaged with that Man; other men may be noted in prophecy; they come into notice in an incidental way, and they come into notice as obstructions, as standing in the way of the Man that is in the mind of the spirit of prophecy.

The spirit of prophecy has in its mind Jesus. It reveals that the earth is to be peopled by a race after the order or pattern of that Man. The spirit of prophecy presents that to our hearts; it presents to us a Man whose character is outlined in the remarkable scripture I have read. No one who knows Jesus will fail to have pleasure in the contemplation of the earth being peopled by men such as He. The men in control now afford no pleasure to those who have come to admire Jesus. We regard them as simply in the way, while subject to God in His providence. We look for that Man; we await Him in patience; we look for His appearing, and for the introduction of an order of things according to Himself. I want to say a word to you about this blessed Man. Firstly, as coming under the eye of God, so that there might be a divine selection secondly, as presented to the eye of man, so that man might have an opportunity to make his selection. I wish to dwell on the word selection, or choice.

What one finds is that, in coming into the world, our Lord Jesus appeared in the most ordinary

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circumstances. There was no attempt on the part of God, nor on the part of His parents, nor Himself, to alter His circumstances. He was born into and lived in these ordinary circumstances for thirty years. God did not make His public selection when Jesus was born. We have a formal declaration of the selection of God in chapter 42 of this book "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my Spirit upon him". Isaiah 42:1. That refers to a Person. It is quoted in Matthew 12 after thirty years of our Lord's life on earth, so that it might not appear that the selection was arbitrary. It was quite true that the angel said to Mary, "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" Luke 1:35; but that was not public. After thirty years of our Lord's precious life on earth God's choice was made public. I am not saying anything as to what was in the Father's private thoughts. "That holy thing" was nothing less than the only begotten Son. I am speaking of what was public. Testimony has to do with what is public, and God waited till it was obvious that Jesus had proved His qualification to be the Man of His choice. It was not arbitrary, but righteous. Whatever God does is righteous.

The heavens were opened on a praying Man; a Man who in all His inner motives had Jehovah only before Him. He could say, "I have set Jehovah always before me". Psalm 16:8. When He was capable of doing anything He was engaged with His Father's business, and yet in the perfection of His humanity, under the eye of God, He went down and became subject to His parents. What was that to the eye of God? The spirit of prophecy tells us in Luke 2 that His parents had left Jerusalem without Him, and they did not miss Him for some time. Alas for their appreciation! He was not with the company. Alas! There are many companies today that He is

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not with, yet they do not miss Him. Where do they find Him? In the temple, engaged with His Father's business. Even to His parents, He became an object-lesson. What was He to the Father? The Father knew that He was not in that company. He never withdrew His eye from that "tender plant". As there in the temple, we are told, that "all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers". Luke 2:47. How fragrant He was to the heart and eye of the Father as He sat in the temple, the "tender plant" in the barren ground of Jewish learning! What understanding and what answers! Jesus could hear, could ask, could answer! Marvellous Boy of twelve! "A tender sapling", says the spirit of prophecy. That spirit took no account of the doctors, but it took account of that Boy of twelve, and writes down in holy page His own comment.

We are told by the Spirit that Jesus grew up in wisdom and stature, and if the Spirit did not use those words we should hesitate to use them. First, there was wisdom towards God, and then wisdom towards men. Who could fail to have pleasure in that Tender Sapling? All the sprouts of life were there. Who among men could fail, apart from satanic influence, to appreciate these holy, divine sproutings? So that He was said to be in favour with God and with man. At the age of thirty we find Him moving, not now "with the multitude to make holy day", Psalm 42:4 not even going to the house of God with the company, not that yet, but moving towards Jordan. Others were going that way towards death, bowing to it, accepting it in figure, and they find a man, Jesus. He appears in the midst of the repentant ones. How befitting! "Thus" (He says) "it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness" Matthew 3:15; not only an element of righteousness, but all righteousness. Who could say that but Jesus? Only in Him can be found the fulfilment of all righteousness. Much was yet to be

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fulfilled, but He was on the way to that. John the baptist was brought to bow to His holy will. A Man prepared to fulfil all righteousness must have His way. He goes down. What a scene for heaven! Heaven was interested in the movement before. It began with John. He was "a voice", and the voice was listened to. Happy for those who listened to it, they were the publicans and sinners. Heaven was interested in that, but when Jesus joins them, the most intense interest prevails. Heaven withholds its public committal till He comes up.

The Spirit of God tells us that "Jesus having been baptised and praying, that the heaven was opened". Luke 3:21. Where were His eyes? They were, without doubt, lifted toward heaven. There was not a cloud between His holy soul and heaven. He could look up into His Father's countenance; that was His privilege continually. The Father's countenance was known to Him, and we find, that as coming up out of Jordan, "he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him". Matthew 3:16. His eyes would meet the Father's eyes; His ears hear the Father's words. The moment arrives for God to make His selection, not an arbitrary selection, but a right selection. The Man selected was the One on the way to the fulfilment of all righteousness, and the Father's voice proclaims, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight". Matthew 3:17. God had found His delight there, and hence the righteousness of the proclamation, the righteousness of the Father's committal of Himself publicly to that Man. The Spirit came down from heaven in the form of a dove, and abode upon Him. That was the Father putting out His hands, as it were, and committing Himself publicly to that Man. What a moment that was! It was foretold in Isaiah 42:1, "Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I will put my Spirit on him". God has made

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His choice. He had so ordained that a choice had to be made, and it was made; not an arbitrary choice, but a right choice.

Now, I want to speak as to men making their selection. You may depend upon it, that it is a critical time with us. From the moment God committed Himself publicly to Christ the crisis was on; it has been one continuous crisis up to the present time. God has committed Himself to that Man. Now He is calling attention to Him, the Man of His choice. Are men going to ratify it from their side? Will they? Let us see. The Psalmist tells us they are against the Lord and His Christ, and they say, "Let us break their bands asunder". Psalm 2:3. They are against the Man of God's choice; "against his anointed". Psalm 2:2. That is the attempt of men politically. I would ask you, What is your choice? Have you made your selection? There is no question more serious, for we have arrived at a time when another order of man is being put forward, a rival to God's Man.

Now, I want to show from the Old Testament how, even those who have faith, may choose the wrong man. Even such a man as Abraham, who is called the father of the faithful, we find committing himself to the wrong man. I would say that the first son, the eldest, is always the wrong one to select, and I add that the great hindrance, perhaps the greatest that Christians experience in making a definite selection, is nature. Nature will always recognise the first-born. Abraham did, Isaac did, Joseph did, wonderful men though they were. One of the most pathetic features of Job's position, as recorded in the first chapter, is that his sons and daughters were feasting in their elder brother's house. That describes the experience of Christians at the present time. We may have faith as regards our consciences, and still live in nature; and if we do the "elder brother" has the first place with us.

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These are the laws of nature, and the laws of every country respect it. It was that very house that was struck in its four corners. It is very serious. A house built upon those principles will come down, and woe be to those who are in it!

You will find in Job 42 the same number of sons and daughters. There is nothing said of the house. In chapter 1 they were feasting without their father. Why was he left out? He was head of his family according to divine order; but that was disregarded and nature ruled, so Job was not at the feast. But recovery is marked in chapter 42 by Job being in supreme command. He assigns to his daughters according to the Spirit. There is no beauty in nature according to God. God's family is a spiritual family, based on spiritual lines. Job assigns his daughters portions or inheritance. Where? Not "in their elder brother's house", but "among their brethren" Job 42:15 typically a spiritual company. Nature is the greatest hindrance to a right choice.

I would refer again to Abraham. He says, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" Genesis 17:18. Why? Ishmael was not God's choice, and God's choice is sovereign. Abraham's second son is the one born after the Spirit. Abraham came to accept that, but Sarah came to it before him. She made a better recovery than Abraham did. She says, "Cast out the bondwoman and her son". Genesis 21:10. And God says, "In all that Sarah has said unto thee, hearken to her voice". Genesis 21:12. Sarah had found the man of her choice. It pained Abraham to cast Ishmael out; and if you make a false choice it will cause you grief. But, to Abraham's credit be it said, he did it, though it pained him to do it, and it was an act of faith, for it was the response to divine requirement.

Now I come to Isaac. He too made a false choice, and his choice was of nature also, but more degraded nature than that of Abraham; he was governed by

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his appetite. Think of that! How many are governed by their appetites! The apostle tells us in Philippians 3:19, "whose god is their belly". The result of Isaac's error was that it blinded his eyes. The gratification of his appetite blinded his eyes! That the desire for gratification should rule is a very serious thing. Isaac had tasted of Esau's venison, and his senses were dulled, but to the credit of Rebekah be it said, that she made a right selection. She selected the right man.

Now I come to Jacob. We read of him that he was a plain man, "dwelling in tents". Genesis 25:27. He was a crooked man according to nature, as the sequel proved; but the traits of Jesus were in that man. Jacob dwelt in tents, as it says of Abraham, "having dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob". Hebrews 11:9. These were features of Jesus. When we come to the close of Jacob's life of pilgrimage, how blessed it was He says of himself; "the days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been". Genesis 47:9. But nevertheless it was a pilgrimage. Isaac is never said to be a pilgrim, and he never blessed Pharaoh. Jacob was in the full consciousness of being the man rightly selected and rightly blessed, and hence the transmitter of the blessing. What dignity there was in the selected man "Without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better". Hebrews 7:7. Then see how he is able to select. He was in the extremity of human weakness; he was dying, and Joseph comes with his two sons. Joseph at that moment is unspiritual. Far be it from us to traduce that remarkable man, but nature deceived him, although he was a wonderful man of faith. See to it, that you are not governed by nature's principles, for if you are, you can be sure that, though you have faith, you will make a selection according to nature, and not according to God. Manasseh is the man foremost with Joseph,

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because he is the firstborn! Look again at Jacob. How did he bless? He blessed contrary to nature. Doubtless he called to mind the error of his father, and profited by the lesson. Doubtless he would say, 'Had nature ruled, I should have lost the blessing'. How often that is the case! Hence Jacob crossed his hands. The Spirit says: "guiding his hands wittingly". Genesis 48:14. He made a right choice by spiritual principles. He says to Joseph, "I know it, my son", Genesis 48:19 and he crossed his hands. I would appeal to you as to whether you have ever crossed your hands wittingly; that is, whether formally and intelligently you have committed yourself to Jesus?

I have shown you from Genesis how nature hinders us in making our selection, and now in turning back to Isaiah 53, what you will observe is, that when the Lord Jesus was presented to Israel, Israel is governed by nature's principles. The prophet says, "When we shall see him, there is no lordliness that we should desire him". Isaiah 53:2. He does not commend Himself to principles that govern men naturally in this world. Is that the kind of a man He is to you? Are you ashamed of Him in public? How many of us are guilty of that! "He was despised and we" -- even the remnant -- "esteemed him not". Isaiah 53:3.

Now I want to point out from verse 10, that after His soul is made an offering for sin, He "sees a seed". I want to leave the idea with you that there is to be a seed of this blessed Man who is selected of God. He was alone until He was made an offering for sin. There were none like Him, but after He is made an offering for sin, "he shall see a seed". Isaiah 53:10. What a triumph! What kind of a seed? "Whose seed is in itself". Jesus produces a generation like Himself. It is not a development. In the death of the Lord Jesus there are principles that give birth to a seed which He sees. "He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand". Isaiah 53:10.

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I wish to close with another word. His "seed" is the product of redemption. Then "there is length of days"; that is a suggestion of eternal life. Then "the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand". Isaiah 53:10. We are in the Lord's hands; otherwise there can be no hope of prosperity for us. We may prosper in this world; but that is not the pleasure of the Lord. Where is His pleasure now? In the assembly. There is a seed ultimately because there is the assembly, and He takes it into His hands; the pleasure of the Lord prospers in His hand. How comforting that we are in His hands! What a wonderful thing! The assembly and every one of us are in His hands, and hence there is prosperity. Out of His hands, the pleasure of the Lord does not prosper in you. Coming into the hands of the One God has chosen, you grow, you prosper.

John in his first epistle wrote to "little children". He had positive pleasure in writing to them. They were prospering in the hands of the Lord, and the aged John takes account of them and writes to them. Where was Gaius? He, too, was in the Lord's hands, and so were the "young men"! John sits down and writes to them, and has pleasure in it. The very words are delightful. He writes to older ones, too, to the "fathers". He says, 'You have made your choice; you know the Man whom God has committed Himself to; you know Him who is from the beginning'. In the Lord's hands there is prosperity, there is growth from babes to young men, and to fathers. What pleasure for the heart of God!

We are in the Lord's hands, if we have made definite choice. In ourselves we are utterly defenceless. "For thy sake we are killed all the day long", Romans 8:36 but the pleasure of the Lord prospers. What could the "seed" be except according to the pattern delineated in the chapter; hence "killed all the day long". But we are in His hands; no one can separate

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us from the love of that Man, the Christ. He holds us; and there we are prospering. Where is the pleasure of the Lord now? In the growth of our souls, according to the image of that Man -- the image of God's Son.

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LOOKING STEDFASTLY ON JESUS

2 Corinthians 4:18; Revelation 1:9

What exercises me in turning to these two scriptures is to point out that the Spirit of God ever turns the eye towards Christ; and in that way the Spirit of God leads those in whom He dwells to where Christ is. In other words, that the Spirit of God always presents Christ to the believer's eye; and in presenting Christ objectively He governs the eye subjectively, so that there is correspondence. Now I want to enlarge upon that; and I have selected these two writers, Paul and John, as setting before us the effect of the Spirit in that way.

First of all, I want to show you how heaven has set the example of interest in Christ. You will all remember that in Exodus 25 we have the pattern of the cherubim, which the Spirit of God in alluding to, in the New Testament, calls "the cherubim of glory". Hebrews 9:5. That is the comment of the Spirit on the attitude of the cherubim in the holiest. He says, "the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat". Hebrews 9:5. Mark that, "shadowing it". That is an allusion to the interest of heaven in Christ as Man down here. Heaven was, so to say, engrossed with Christ. The interest up there was reflected down here in the "multitude of the heavenly host". Luke 2:13. In that way God has set before us an example. If earth was unappreciative and it was, heaven was astir with interest. And who gave impulse to those hosts? God. Everything, every movement, in heaven began with God, and the angels waiting on God saw the first movement, and responded to it; so that we are told by Luke, that "suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God", Luke 2:13.

In what is said of the cherubim of glory much is

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made of their wings, but what is specially said of them is that the attitude of "their faces" was "toward the mercy seat", Below the mercy seat there were the tables of the covenant. Below the mercy seat of gold there were typically all the movements of the heart of a Man for God, of the Man who could say, "I have set the Lord ALWAYS before me", Psalm 16:8. It was upon that Man that heaven looked; and further on, at the opportune moment, the heavens opened on that Man, and there is heard, not now angelic voices, but the Father's voice, the Father's own voice. Jesus saw the heavens opened; it is as if He were looking there; the Father was ever before Him; there was the countenance of a Man looking up which met the Father's eye looking down. The Father Himself looked down and said to Him, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased", Mark 1:10, 11, All that reveals what was below the golden mercy seat. It reveals the inner springs of Christ; every movement within Him was towards God. And those holy wings of the cherubim extended over the Lord in every stage of His life, whether He is viewed as a Boy, or as a Man; divine protection was ever there. And the Father's heart told out in divine appreciation of what was below the mercy seat. In that way God has set us an example of the attractiveness that His eye saw in Christ. He has set us the example Himself. It is as if He said, I am well pleased in Him; what is your estimation of Him? The time arrived later on when those same eyes of the cherubim looked out from the holiest towards the house. They had found their satisfaction in the Man, for every divine attribute rested on Him. The Lord, at the end of His course on earth could say of Himself, "I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gayest me to do". John 17:4. O! how God was justified in that pathway!

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And now that every divine attribute rests there, we read in 2 Chronicles, that those same eyes of the cherubim which had looked down looked out toward the house. You need not think that occupation with Christ will prevent your occupation with the need of man. The cherubim's faces, we are told in 2 Chronicles 3:13 (margin), looked toward the house. They really looked outwards, for the "house" referred to was before the holiest. God would, as it were, beckon to man to come in and find satisfaction there in Christ with Himself. There was that long look out of God, beckoning men in to find the satisfaction of their hearts where He had found His satisfaction, in the Ark of the covenant. John came; Peter came; Mary of Bethany came, and Mary Magdalene came; and myriads since have come, and have found a resting-place for their eyes and their hearts in that Man. The need of man is provided for; and the government of God on earth is also provided for.

We find the same cherubim in the book of Ezekiel associated with the wheels; they have four faces apiece. Those divine wheels move on with infinite accuracy, the wheels of divine government. Nothing escapes the notice of the government of God. We need have no anxiety as to the course of this world. We are sympathetic with men; we pray for them, for kings, and for all men; but the government of God goes on outside that with infinite accuracy. There is not a thing that happens under the sun without being noticed by the eyes in the rings (or rims) of the wheels. Everything will be weighed in the divine balances. Nothing that has occurred from Adam to the end but will be weighed with infinite discrimination, and all will be perfectly adjusted in the government of God. We do well to take notice of that. The book of Ezekiel is a book written to set the hearts of the godly at rest. The awful things

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that are happening will come under the unerring government of God, and all will be dealt with according to the infinite knowledge and discrimination of God. I refer to that so that you may understand that in pre-occupation with Christ and the things of Christ you at the same time may be assured that all that goes on around us is being taken care of by God.

Well, now, I was saying that the divine example set by heaven was not in vain; and I want to trace for a moment for you how Christ obtained a place in the hearts of His own, so that He became their Leader. In saying that He became their Leader I do not for the moment refer to outward leadership, but rather to the leadership that results in our being placed in the inheritance. We are told in the book of Proverbs that the locusts have no king; that is, that they have no outward leadership, yet they go forth all of them by bands; and the secret of the parable is that Christ has a place in the hearts of those whom the locusts represent.

When Mary brought the Babe into the temple, that was a distinct mark of divinely given intelligence. Joseph had been directed, according to Matthew 2:13, to take "the little Child and his mother" to Egypt; this answers to the wings of the cherubim. Why "His mother"? Because she was best qualified to take care of Him then, but when she brought the Babe into the temple, there was a priest there. Luke always presents the bright side. Instead of money-changers and robbers, Luke presents the bright side; he shows us there was a Simeon there. And Simeon took the Babe in his arms. There was at least some reflection of heaven in the temple; it was the "Father's house" still, and the Son is suitably received in the Father's house. And Simeon blessed God, and said, "Now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation".

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In other words, Simeon was content to leave the earth. He "was awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him". Luke 2:25. He had an associate in Anna; she had done according to her ability; she did "what she could", and Simeon did what he could; and the greatest thing was to hold Christ, the Babe, the Son of God, in his arms. But now, he sees that the salvation of Jehovah is here; "mine eves have seen thy salvation", Luke 2:30, he says, and I can leave. Henceforth this Babe becomes the attractive Centre.

You do not find any of those who become attracted to Christ afterwards wishing to go before Him. No spiritual person would wish to go before Him now, we wish to go to Him now. But He becomes the Object of attraction to His own. John leaned on His bosom, and Peter would follow Him to death. They were all drawn after Him. The Lord said, "thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards". John 13:36. Peter meant to follow the Lord. We often speak disparagingly of Peter, but he meant what he said. He could say to the Lord, "thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I am attached to thee". John 21:17. He was attached to Christ; his heart was really fixed, but the flesh was weak. We may condemn the flesh in Peter, but let us not disparage the love that was in Peter. Satan acted on the flesh in Peter, but he could never dislodge the love that Christ had begotten in his heart. That is the hope that one has as regards everyone who loves Christ and who for the moment has turned aside, and there are many, alas! If the Lord were to speak tonight He would say, "Where are the nine?" Luke 17:17. He misses every one of them. But if Christ has a place in the heart it is there for ever, and He will come back to it, and the erring one in whom it is will come back to it; that is the encouragement that one has.

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This is a day of recovery, and if the Lord has placed His love in your heart He will never withdraw His eye from it. He looked on Peter when Peter least expected it; that was enough. At some moment the Lord will look right into your conscience and into your heart, and all is set right. In due time the Lord speaks faithfully to you and probes your conscience, like the high priest dressing the lamps. All that wretched flesh has to be removed, and then you follow Him. Where? Where has He gone? The gospel of John abounds with evidence of where He has gone and how He has gone there. He went by way of the cross, and Peter would follow Him. The Lord had said to Peter, "thou shalt follow me afterwards". John 13:36. Wonderful it was how the Lord gave him the desire of his heart, "When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands". John 21:18. Peter would be brought to perfect resignation. Where the flesh would never go, Peter would go. He tells us calmly afterwards in his last letter that he was about to put off his tabernacle, as the Lord had shown him. How suggestive is the word tabernacle. Peter had come to regard his body as a vessel of the testimony. He had seen Christ on the holy mount; he had talked about "three tabernacles"; as regards himself he had only one, and he was about to put it off; he had cherished Christ in it; he had protected Christ in it, because he loved Christ, and he departs through death.

What about John? John is following, too. In the first chapter of Revelation we find John following; and in dwelling upon that, I want, for a moment, to show you how that for the spiritual a new day had dawned, which was an eternal day. I want to make clear to you briefly that Christianity is connected with what is eternal. This is seen in John. The assembly has its place down here in the ways of God. It is like the four-cornered sheet let down (Acts 10); it has its place here on earth in the ways of God, but

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its face is heavenward, its place is outside the world. There are no limitations to the Spirit. Now I would like to make that clear to you, and I know of no better way to explain it than to refer you to Deuteronomy 16, in which we have three feasts of Jehovah detailed; and you will find that when the Spirit comes to the "feast of weeks" there are no limitations mentioned. It was not for a week or for any specified duration. The Spirit of God has come in from Christ in heaven, and He has linked the assembly up with Christ in heaven, with eternity. The world to come, the millennium, is limited; the very name signifies limitation. The assembly has its place in what is eternal; the assembly, in itself, is unlimited. I would that you could get hold of that. Paul meant it when he said we are looking at what is eternal, the "unseen" things.

Well, John is following; and following brought him into the circumstances of the testimony. He says, I was in the Isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ; that was where following brought him. He says to the saints, to you and to me, "I John, who also am your brother" (that is a lovely expression: the follower of Christ is the brother of the saints) "and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ". Revelation 1:9. These are the circumstances of the testimony at the present time. Do you not desire to be in them? John says, "I am your brother". Are you his brother? You will not misunderstand my question. He says, "I am your companion". Are you his companion? Are you following Jesus into the circumstances of the testimony? The testimony is ever in those circumstances. John says, "I became in the Spirit". Revelation 1:10. Did you ever have that experience? That is the recompense. You will very soon grow weary of the circumstances of the testimony if you have not the recompense.

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There are very few believers who have the recompense. One is pained to see in the saints the sense of loss, as if they felt that something were lost because they have come into the testimony. That is because they have not the recompense. The Spirit of God connects the heart with what is eternal. Is not that recompense? John retired from the circumstances of the testimony into privilege; he says, "I became in the Spirit". Revelation 1:10. Would to God the saints knew something about that! If we did we should be much more content to be in the circumstances of the testimony. "I became in the Spirit on the Lord's day". Revelation 1:10.

If you are in the Spirit on the Lord's day you will be cheerful on Monday. There will be no grumbles in the week if you became in the Spirit on the Lord's day. You may retire from that which engages you naturally into what is spiritual. John was a follower of Christ, and he was in the Spirit. He is engaged with Christ and His things there in heaven; but he had to look behind him to see the things that related to the earth. It was as if the Lord says, John, I must call you back; it would be but for a moment and John would go into the eternal things for ever and for ever. But the Lord says to him, as it were, I must call you back for a little while, to occupy you with the sorrows of the assemblies. Do you know anything about those sorrows? What a contrast that was to being "in the Spirit on the Lord's day". Had the assembly been in the Spirit on the Lord's day there would be no such sad record as we find in the second and third chapters of Revelation, nor for the judicial garb in which the Lord is seen. But John hears the voice and returns to the earth; that is the divine way. If the Lord calls you back to earth you are not likely to be earthly minded; you want to be back "in the Spirit" again.

In John's gospel, which, doubtless, was written afterwards, we have in chapter 20 a true presentation

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of the spiritual man, and the spiritual order of things which engages him on the first day of the week. In the Revelation John is called back from occupation with his own, and indeed, the assembly's special place and portion, to see the course of God's dealings on earth, which culminates in the assembly coming out of heaven. In his gospel we have the unfolding of what is spiritual that is, what is inside. I want you to get hold of that. It is what Paul was looking at. John was in the enjoyment of the spiritual. Having his eye on Christ led him there. He had been one of those who accompanied the Lord to mount Olivet; he had seen Him go up; he knew the Lord was there. He had no thought of finding Him behind him. When he heard the voice behind him he looked back "to see the voice", Revelation 1:12, but he would not have thought of finding the Lord behind. It was different when the Lord spoke to Paul. Paul was on the earth, and engaged with the earth. The Lord spoke to him, not from "behind"; He spoke to him from heaven. A light above the brightness of the sun shone round about him and He spoke to Paul from heaven, and in Paul's own language, the Hebrew tongue. He would encourage Paul as to the simplicity of conditions there. There can be communications between man and man in a known tongue. It is affecting to think of the Lord Jesus speaking out of heaven to Saul of Tarsus in his own language. Well, Paul was spoken to from heaven, and his great objective from that moment to the end of his course was Christ in that place. Stephen had said, "I see the heavens opened". Acts 7:56. In the power of the Spirit he looked into them; he saw the glorious vision of Christ there. The glory of God and Jesus were there. Had Stephen been allowed to live on earth, what would his course have been? He would have pursued the divine course toward that spot where he saw Christ. His spirit went to Christ, and

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the thread was taken up by Paul, and his constant habit was to look into heaven.

Now, where are you looking? Are you looking at the terrible things that are happening down here upon earth? The apostle Paul says, "we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen". 2 Corinthians 4:18. Then he explains, that "the things which are seen are temporal". Everything that your eye rests upon will come to an end. Everything. The things which are seen, whatever they are, are temporal; he makes no qualification; even the millennium is a temporal thing. I am not detracting from it. It will be a wonderful testimony to God, that He can keep men alive here in flesh and blood as a testimony in spite of Satan's assumption. But the millennium, as I said, is limited; it is temporal. But what is not seen, the assembly's proper place and portion, is eternal. Are you looking at that?

I would again remind you that the day of Pentecost is the beginning of eternity for us. The more you sow to the Spirit, the more you reap what is eternal; so that the more you look at it the more you are prepared for it. The Spirit through Paul engages the heart with what is eternal, so that before we get there we are prepared for it, 2 Corinthians 4:13. Hence in chapter 5 he is looking for his "house from heaven". 2 Corinthians 5:2. If you get a "house from heaven" you will not be a stranger when you go there; the house is for that place. And then he goes further and he says, "He that has wrought us for this selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit". 2 Corinthians 5:5. So that the Spirit which we have already is the earnest of all that.

Now, beloved brethren, I would appeal to you. I believe that we have come to a crisis. There is a crisis in the souls of God's people at the present time. We have arrived at a place where two roads meet; the one leads straight to heaven, and the other leads

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into the world. It leads gradually, I admit, but it leads there, and it is for you to make up your mind which way you are going to tread. The Lord is bent on placing us in possession of the inheritance. The daughters of Zelophehad said, 'We want an inheritance amongst our brethren', and they got it. May God grant that that, too, may be the desire of every one of us. Not a fine business, nor a status in the world, but an inheritance amongst our brethren, where Christ is the centre and sun.

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CHRIST SUPREME IN THE HEART

John 12:1 - 3

My thought is to show that in taking us up the Lord intends to be all to us; not only that He should be in us, but that He should dwell in us. It is one thing that a person should be in your house, but another thing that he should dwell there. The epistle to the Colossians speaks about Christ being in us, whereas Ephesians speaks about Christ dwelling in us; that is to say, His thought is to have all the place in the heart. And this not as a matter of conquest, but He would occupy it at our wish, at our pleasure, so that He is at perfect ease dwelling there. "That the Christ should dwell in your hearts by faith". Ephesians 3:17. The Christ, the anointed of God, the One relating to God's purposes, that He should dwell in your heart. That is the object for which He has taken us up.

Now, I selected this passage because it sets out what I have in my mind. It is a question with me very often, Is the Lord a sort of appendage of my establishment, or am I an appendage of His? It is a question to be solved in each heart. It is not that He spurns being an appendage of your establishment, if I may speak in this way, for in His grace He will be anything if He can be of service to you. He will be a friend in the family, and, if you are not quite prepared for that, He will be content to be an acquaintance; and if you are not even prepared for that, He will come and knock at your door to get in: such is the grace of Christ.

When we think of Philadelphia, He was inside, His name was revered there. It is a true evidence of womanly affection when a husband's name is revered and cherished in his absence, and thus it is with Philadelphia; whereas, when we come to

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Laodicea, the Lord though outwardly owned is not inside. He is outside, and His locks are allowed to be wet with the dew of the night. But He is seeking to get in "Behold, I stand at the door and knock". Revelation 3:20. And in spite of all the self-sufficiency that marked that assembly, Christ was prepared to enter in and sup with any one that would open. He says, I will come to any one. He is presented as standing outside and knocking; it is the present attitude of Christ to what is around us, to Christendom in all its self-sufficiency. Those addressed in Laodicea had turned their back on Christ. "We are rich and increased with goods", Revelation 3:17, they say; they are quite satisfied without Christ. But He stands at the door and knocks, and says, "If any one hear my voice and open the door, I will come in unto him and sup with him". Revelation 3:20. That is the situation, and He adds no more, He asks no questions. But what you find is, there is progress. If Christ is admitted, He will make His presence felt very soon, instead of His supping with you, you will be supping with Him. At Emmaus, the two disciples invited Him in, but presently He takes the place of head of the table, and they sup with Him. It was the place of pre-eminence. Moreover, He says here, I am prepared to sell to you; if you are not prepared to accept a gift, well, come and buy. I will meet you on any ground in order to help you. Such is His grace. If you are not prepared to receive at His hand, He will sell to you; that sets forth the present attitude of Christ.

His object, however, is to become pre-eminent. I would refer to Joshua. He had been successful as a servant of God, he had brought a people safely over Jordan, a great achievement; but now a man with a drawn sword appears outside the walls of Jericho; Joshua 5. Although the people had been brought over Jordan, Jericho was still standing. Joshua meets the man with the drawn sword, and

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inquires "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" The reply is "Nay, but as captain of the host the Lord am I now come". Joshua 5:13,14. It is as if the Lord would say; Oh, no, Joshua, that is not it at all; you ought to know better than that. I have been helping you all through the wilderness; the ground is changed now, this is My territory. As Prince of Jehovah's host am I now come. It is not your host, Joshua! Not your meeting! You may be a very prominent brother there, but it is not your meeting, and the Lord will not help you on that line. He is Captain or Prince of the host. All the saints of the meeting belong to the Captain of the host, they do not belong to you, and it was for Joshua to take his place in the ranks. Great leader as he was, he had to learn that the Lord is supreme in Canaan, and He is supreme in the assembly. You may rule your own house, it is your responsibility to do so, but remember the Lord is Son over God's house. The question is not, Am I with you, but are you with Me? That is how the Lord would search our hearts.

Now, referring to John 12, though Bethany was the spot with no equal in its time, the one place where the Lord found sympathy, yet He was only an appendage, so to speak, there He was not supreme in that house. But He was bent upon being supreme; that was in His mind. He was accustomed to visit the family there, but it was what one might call a self-contained family. Many a Christian is like that. The Lord is a good friend, and sought in time of need, but He is not the Head. Here, He was a friend, an honoured friend, but the family was self-contained. Is it not so with many of us? The family has all that is necessary for its maintenance as it is; in cases of special need Christ is resorted to, otherwise it is self-contained. Just as in Psalm 107, the Lord is called upon to help in cases of special need; when they do not exist it is plain

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sailing. Now, the Lord is not content with that. In grace He bears with it, He will not give you up. He will even come occasionally of His own accord to see you, but He will never be content till He gets the supreme place in your heart. The family at Bethany was a remarkable family, but the members were self-contained; that was evident on the face of it. They were loved by Christ, each one was loved, and Martha is named first in this way. Mary is not even named in John 11:5. It is the household that is in view, the house belonged to Martha, and the Lord, we read, "loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus". And He so loved them that He was bent on becoming the supreme object of interest to them. With this in view, He remains away two days, while Lazarus is sick and dies.

Now, before proceeding on that line, I would point out that the great end and result attained is stated before you have the course of treatment that brought about that result. It says, "It was that Mary which anointed the Lord ... whose brother Lazarus was sick", John 11:2; that was the Mary. It was as if the Lord indicated that the great result He intended to reach was viewed as reached before the thing was narrated. The actual anointing did not take place until after Lazarus was raised, yet we are told before the event is recorded, that it was that Mary who anointed the Lord whose brother was sick; that was the Mary. As if the Lord said, The course of dealings was a perfect success. Is it so with you, brother? The Lord has been dealing with you, what result has been reached by the dealing? If discipline is ineffective, it hardens; I say it with all kindness. The Lord deals with every one of us: if you are not a subject of His discipline, you are not a son, "then are ye bastards, and not sons". Hebrews 12:8. But because we are in relationship He deals with us, because He loves us, as the word says; "As many

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as I love, I rebuke and chasten". Revelation 3:19. Rebuke is more serious than chastening. All are not rebuked, John was not rebuked. Peter was, but John was chastened as well as Peter. Of chastening it is said, "whereof all are partakers:" Hebrews 12:8. "God dealeth with you as with sons". Hebrews 12:7. How blessed this is, to be dealt with as a member of the family. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, but all are partakers of the chastening. The state of things in Laodicea involved that rebuke was necessary. Chastening is in order that a result might be reached, and it becomes a serious question as to what result the Lord is reaching with each of us. In the case of the family at Bethany, the result as regards Mary is stated at the beginning. Like the Psalms, it has often been pointed out that the Spirit of God states in the first few verses what is in the mind of God to bring about in the course of dealings described in the psalm. The result is recorded for our encouragement. One is brought back to the great divine ideal, and it always stands at the head of the psalm. The ideal seen here is, "It was that Mary which anointed the Lord" John 11:2; that was the Mary. So it is evident that the course of dealings was a success.

To pursue the point as to Bethany, we find Lazarus taken ill, and the Lord tells us, "This sickness is not unto death, but that the Son of God should be glorified thereby". John 11:4. Wonderful result of the sickness! Sickness brings sorrow, brings anxiety, brings death; but just dwell for a moment on the Lord's comment on the sickness of this man. "It is not unto death". The discipline of the Lord can never be to death in regard of a son. "How much rather", Scripture says, shall we "be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live". Hebrews 12:9. Discipline is for life, not for death. Hezekiah was brought down to the gates of the grave, but he says, "by these things men live". Isaiah 38:16. What things? The things that caused him to weep,

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to turn his face to the wall, the things he regarded as the avenue to death; those very things. "Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits?" Hebrews 12:9. God deals with our spirits. He has His eye on our spirits. He wants to bring about a spirit after Christ. He wants you to live in your spirit. It is not a question of your body, but as subject to the Father of spirits, you live. The great effect of discipline is, that although we suffer in the flesh we live in our spirits, as it is said in Peter, "that they might .. live according to God in the spirit". 1 Peter 4:6. The chastening is for that. Presently the body will be quickened. So Hezekiah could say, "by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit". Isaiah 38:16. Do not omit a single item of divine discipline. You need it, it is an asset, and you should reckon it such. If you omit one item you are at a loss, "in all these things is the life of my spirit". So here the sickness of Lazarus was not unto death. He might be dead actually, but you must read Scripture in the Spirit. The sickness was to life.

Lazarus lived as never before. Think of a man four days in the tomb and made to live! Would you like to have spoken to Lazarus? Many came to see him. At the gates of Nain the dead man was raised up and began to speak. Would you like to have heard him speak? I should. So Lazarus was raised up and lived in a new way. Although he was brought back to natural conditions, yet he had an experience that very few had. Think of a man four days in the tomb and brought back to live on the earth. What an experience! You get such an experience in Jonah. He describes it. God does not repeat Himself; many were raised, but Jonah alone is selected by the Spirit to give us his experience, and it is well worth listening to.

"This sickness is not unto death", the Lord had said, "but that the Son of God might be glorified

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thereby". John 11:4. God is glorified in the course of dealings, and the Son of God is glorified. With Martha and Mary, though they respected the Lord, Lazarus had a greater place in their hearts than Jesus. Although the word says, "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus", John 11:5, what we find Martha saying, and Mary said it too, is, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died". John 11:21. Do you not think the Lord felt that? It is a very searching thing. His thought was that presently instead of "my brother" it should be Himself; instead of His being a friend in the family, a respected and even worshipped friend, for they called Him Lord, instead of all that, He was to be everything in that house. He intends to dwell in that heart of yours, so that instead of being an appendage to your establishment, you will be an appendage to His establishment. You may say, I have no establishment. I very much doubt it.

In Luke 6 the Lord pictures house builders. My understanding of that is that every one is building a house of some kind. Every one of us, as we grow up, becomes a centre of glory, if not actual, it is in our mind. It may be only a little circle in which you wish to shine, perhaps only the circle of the brethren. But the Lord wishes you to be associated with His circle, with His establishment, and anything else than that will come down like a house of cards when the storm arises. The house at Bethany was ever open to the Lord, and He loved each member of the family there. He went to the grave with the sisters, He felt for them in death. Bereavement begets sympathy in our friends, and many came to sympathise genuinely with these two women. And the Lord was not above that. He was capable of sympathy, but His feelings were far deeper, infinitely deeper, than those of the neighbours who came to weep. He groaned in His spirit at the tomb, but note what He said: "Did I not

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say to thee, that if thou shouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" John 11:40. That is the point. If you believe, you will see the glory of God. It is a great thing to see a man raised, but much greater to see the glory of God. How many have seen it? The psalmist says, "My heart is fixed". Psalm 57:7. It is never fixed till you see the glory of God; when you see it your heart is fixed, it is transfixed. "We all beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory". 2 Corinthians 3:18. The glory so holds the heart and mind that all else is abandoned. You may say, 'These things are too deep'. But they are the elements of Christianity. Your heart is never fixed as a Christian till you see the glory. The moment you see that it is no longer "Art thou for us?" Joshua 5:13, but you want to belong to the system of glory.

If you think of Moses, his first ascent to the mount did not bring in glory, it brought in judgment: the second ascent brought in the glory. In the presence of that the tabernacle system is reared up. It is quite true that the representation of that was pitched outside the camp after he came down the first time, but the establishment of the system is after the second ascent, after the glory. All the glory of the world pales into insignificance before it. "We all beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed" 2 Corinthians 3:18, we are made suitable for it. Remember, if you are to be an appendage to the glory, you are not going to detract from it. The Lord will not have you there, if you are to be a dark part, an opaque body. The saints are to shine. "They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars", we read in Daniel 12:3. It is not "As the moon"; the moon shines with reflected light, but the light in which the saints shine is not merely a reflected light, it is inside. "God, who commanded the light to shine ... hath shined in our hearts", 2 Corinthians 4:6. It is a shining inside. As it says in

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Luke 11:34, "If the eye be simple the whole body shall be full of light". Simplicity consists in looking at the best things. If the eye be simple the whole body is luminous. Are you detracting from the shining? Is your body dark? Are you walking in other people's light? Let it shine in your heart, and walk in that light yourself. "We all", the apostle says; he would not leave one out, he embraced in his affections all the saints. "We all ... beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image". 2 Corinthians 3:18. All alike, like Christ and like one another. As Joseph's brethren said: We are twelve brethren, sons of one father. So now all are to be conformed to the image of Christ, and all are to shine in that blessed character in the future. We are changed. How much it is needed. It is not "change and decay"; it is "from glory to glory", and it will never decay, it will never fade. In heaven it will not be "change and decay", nor in the assembly either. It is "changed from glory to glory". There is no limit to it. "Higher and higher yet", till you reach the standard of Christ, who is said to be the glory of God. So though the outward man perish, the inward is renewed day by day, not Sunday by Sunday. The Spirit of God is active on Monday as on Sunday, and the inner man is renewed; that is the opposite to decay. The outward man perishes, decay is there, but the inward is renewed.

Then he goes on: "While we look not at the things which are seen" 2 Corinthians 4:18; he has a simple eye. How many of us are looking at seen things? Terrible things are around us. There were terrible things in Paul's day; there was an era of war and violence, but the apostle was not looking in that direction. Nor was he looking at the temple of Jerusalem, but at eternal things. "The things which are seen are temporal", he tells us 2 Corinthians 4:18. Even the sun is temporal. Astronomers speak of the sun, their figures tire your

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mind, but sun, moon and stars are all limited by time. Is the assembly limited by time? It is bounded by eternity. There is no limit to the feast of Pentecost, which refers to the gift of the Spirit, it links the soul with what is eternal.

So in John 11:40, the Lord says to Martha: "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" And she saw it. In chapter 12, these two women and Lazarus are in the light of the glory. Do we come together in the light of the glory? Every believer should see the glory. Do not speak of small numbers, speak of the glory. There were only three at Bethany; it was a small circle, but they were in the light of the glory. "Thou shouldest see the glory of God", the Lord had said, and the two sisters saw it, and Lazarus was made to realise it, and they were all subdued. What was the effect? Christ was supreme.

Now, I want to show you the importance of the risen man. Glorious though Christ is in resurrection, and it is that in which His glory shines, yet His heart is set on the raised man. He comes to Bethany six days before the passover, our Lord's day really, as if beforehand He was setting aside the sabbath and honouring the first day of the week. It was the resurrection day, the whole scene was characterised by resurrection. He came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. The Lord had said the sickness was not unto death, yet of Lazarus it says here, "which had been dead". John 12:1. He had been dead, but was now raised. The whole scene is characterised by resurrection, and a risen man is before the mind of the Lord. I need not remind you that all of us are raised by faith. Lazarus was one of those, but all were risen in principle: there was no need to mention others. Lazarus was one of those who sat at table, and Martha served. And Mary, what did she do? She did

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what the Spirit records in chapter 11, she anoints the Lord, and the house, the house in which Christ was honoured, where they made Him a supper, was filled with the odour of the ointment. Ponder that scene, and put yourself in it, beloved friends. Do not attach the Lord to your establishment, attach yourself to His; that is an imperishable establishment, it is established in resurrection. The odour filled all the house. What a house that was, a house worthy of Christ. It was not heaven, it does not go beyond resurrection, but it was the gate of heaven. When Christ comes to Israel He will come out of heaven, and there shall be no ending of the heavenly. John the baptist was representative of Israel's best, and he retires in presence of Christ as out of heaven.

I only add one word as to Lazarus. We might have conceived, after his wonderful experience, that he would have returned to Bethany as a more conspicuous person than before; the flesh might have taken advantage of it. What does he do? The Lord says, "Loose him and let him go" John 11:44. See what he will do. I want to show the effect of resurrection. What would we do, if it were not for the influence of the brethren? Thank God for their eyes upon us! They are a safeguard to us, a mercy. The Lord says, Loose him and I will show you how he will honour Me. He does not say, Bring him into fellowship. They were not to do anything at all, except to loose him and let him go. At Nain, when the Lord raised the widow's son, He took very good care that He did not let him go, He gave him back to his mother. No doubt she needed him, and he needed her care. Very happy it is that many of us, young Christians especially, have a mother, that we have the care of the assembly. We may thank God for the mother's care, for the care of the saints. But the case of Lazarus is not so presented. The Lord had never met the young man of Nain, as

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far as we know. He did not even appear to know his name. But with Lazarus, the Lord loved him before he was raised, and after; and Lazarus loved Jesus. What was the result of his liberation? What did he do? He was one of them that sat at the table with Him. That is what he did. It shows how he justified the Lord, he was now an appendage of Christ's establishment, he was part of it.

I should like that the word presented may produce exercise, so that we may give up ourselves as a centre, and let Christ be our centre, that we may all take our place in these closing days as part of His establishment, and thus when He presents Himself, as He does at the close, there may be the response from the Spirit and the bride.

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THE CONTINUANCE OF THE TESTIMONY

2 Timothy 2:1,2; Genesis 9:1; Genesis 18:17 - 19

I have selected these Scriptures in order to show how that it is in the mind of God that what is of Himself on earth should be continued, and to show how it is to be continued. In reading the passage from the second epistle to Timothy we may see how the apostle Paul, as the exemplary servant, was in entire accord with the mind of God in this connection. He desired that the things he had received from the Lord Jesus and which he regarded as a treasure should be continued, and to this end he brings forward his child, as he is pleased to regard Timothy. He was not only Paul's convert, but his child in the faith, and he regarded him as trustworthy.

Now these are the lines on which I desire to proceed, and in referring to Genesis I have in mind that it is the book that records what might be called the era of faith. It is not the dispensation of God which is in faith, but an era in which faith shone brightly, just as in a dark night when the heavens are clear the stars shine. So you have in the book of Genesis the clear shining of stars. It contains more specific acts of faith than any other book in the Scriptures. There are, I think, eight persons in it mentioned as having performed specific acts of faith. Exodus gives us one; Joshua gives us one; Judges, I think, gives us three, and the books of Samuel, two. Then you have a miscellaneous number of persons who had faith; but you will observe that Genesis of all the books records men and persons who had faith.

I am referring to this particularly, to show that it will always be found that faith is concerned as to the maintenance of what is of God during its own

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period. That is to say, the man who has faith always serves his own generation by the will of God; but then he not only serves his own, but contemplates generations to follow, and provides for them in as far as in him lies. Take Enoch as an example. He is the second mentioned as you will remember in Hebrews 11. What is said of him there is, that he was translated by faith "by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God". Hebrews 11:5. He had it before. Now, I want you to have it before. We shall all have it afterwards. We shall all have the consciousness in heaven, after our translation, that we please God, for nothing goes into heaven save that which pleases God. You may be a tiny vessel there, but you will please God, as a tiny vessel. What one desires for oneself and for the saints, is that there should be the consciousness before your translation that you please God. That is what the Lord is doing by the Spirit at the present time. He is working in order that there might be in us the consciousness that we please God now. How did Enoch know that he pleased God? He kept the company of God. Do you? Let me ask you, what is your company? The company you are accustomed to keep, and which you desire to please. Mark what I am saying. Whatever company you are accustomed to keep, your desire will be to please that company. If you do not, you lose that company. It is happy for us sometimes that we do not please our company. One could cite instances in the Scriptures where persons did not please their company, and their company left them for their good. If your companions are worldly, and you speak of the Lord Jesus, and you act like the Lord Jesus, you displease them, and they leave you, and leave you for your good.

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Enoch had the consciousness that he pleased God. He walked with God; and God took him. If he had displeased Him, He would have left him, for God is faithful. Why is it that so many of God's people are not conscious of the divine presence? Their faces show that they have not the divine presence with them. Why is it? Why? Because they do not please God. Enoch, it says, walked with God, and he pleased Him so much in that long walk, lasting for three hundred years, that God says: "I must have him for ever". Before his translation he had the witness that he pleased God, "and he was not, for God took him". Genesis 5:24. Now, Enoch does not tell us that God was with him although he was a prophet. What Enoch was concerned about was what should take his place here, what should follow after him.. He therefore set Methuselah a good example. Directly Methuselah was born, you learn that Enoch walked with God. What an example he set before that young man, Methuselah! As he grew up, what an example he had in his father. But the result was not to be in Methuselah it was to be in Noah. Enoch does not tell us a word about his translation in his prophecy. He was exercised as to what should follow after him. He felt with God about things. The world around him was corrupt, and he felt it. He came to the conclusion that there was no remedy; reformation would not do There was no remedy. So he says, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints". Jude 14. What rest of heart that would give him! If the Lord came in with the holy myriads; mark, it is holy myriads, holy things, which faith ever cherishes; if the Lord cometh in the midst of His holy ones, it is to execute wrath. What rest of heart that would be to Enoch! There is not a word about his translation in his prophecy. Moses gives it, and Paul speaks about it, but Enoch speaks about the coming of the Lord.

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That is to say, his exercises had regard to the conditions around him in the world. He had light that the Lord was coming in with ten thousands of His saints. How happily, how restfully he would go up!

Now, if the assembly goes up, which it will, before its translation, it asks the Lord to come, "the Spirit and the bride say come" Revelation 22:17; but you see, if you individually are asking the Lord to come, you may be overlooking what is here. But, if in the faith of your soul, you provide, as it were, for conditions here before you go, you go up restfully. The Lord is coming. He is coming with His holy myriads, and then there shall be a perfect adjustment of the affairs of this world. As I was saying, it was not Methuselah that took Enoch's place in the testimony; it was Noah. What I would point out about Noah is this, that he found grace in the eyes of the. Lord. He found grace. What a wonderful thing it is to find grace. We speak of God taking a man up and using him, but what about the man before he is taken up? If one has faith, one sees a great deal to be done in every direction. Need abounds. Somebody has to do things. Are you thinking about that? Or are you just leaving it with those who are active for the moment? One does not know how long one is to be left here, but if one is to be taken, how glad one is, if someone is left to carry on the work. There is plenty of work to be done. Have you any exercise about it? You know the Lord's ways are inscrutable. Some continue long, and others short. What about the testimony? Who is to look after it? Well now, it says that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. It is a wonderful thing to find. The Lord took account of that. If you will notice, in the end of Genesis 5, the names of Noah's sons are given, but it is not said there that he found grace. In the sixth chapter, however, it is said that he found grace; then we are told that he begat Shem, Ham and Japheth. In

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other words, the man who found grace has three sons; three wonderful possibilities. Look at the child. What do you think about the possibility of the child? When the Lord gave Timothy to Paul, how much there was wrapped up in that young man! We have to look at the believer in the light of the possibilities. If he is young, you have him as a possibility, as a possible vessel to carry on the service of Christ and to maintain what is due to God here, so that what he receives does not deteriorate in his hands.

If there is one thing one desires, it is that in as far as one's measure goes, what one has found here should not deteriorate, but that it should be passed on, at least as pure as received, to those who are to follow, if the Lord permit, the Holy Spirit will lead on that line. There is not one in this room who has not a responsibility to the Lord. For one to disclaim responsibility, is to disclaim Christian fellowship. If you say you are not responsible you are disqualified for fellowship. The angel of the assembly is addressed by the Lord, as the responsible element in it, and whoever says he is not responsible is disqualified for Christian fellowship. Responsibility rests upon us to hand divine things on to those who follow, if the Lord will permit others to follow us; our responsibility is to maintain intact and in its original purity the heritage that has come down to us. What a wonderful heritage it is!

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and as having found grace, he had three sons; three wonderful possibilities, as I said. God preserved him in the ark, and now coming out of the ark, it is said that the Lord blessed Noah and his sons. It is not his house now. The word was that he should prepare an ark for the saving of his house, but the testimony in chapter 9 is that God blessed him and his sons. One could speak at great length about the term

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sons or sonship. God has great delight in it, and the wonderful light in which we stand is that we are God's sons. In the book of Job we have side-lights thrown on sonship that are very noteworthy. In the first chapter we have them all coming up to appear before God, and they are set alongside Job's sons in that chapter, as if to show their superiority to human sons, the sons of men. The sons of God come up to appear before God, they thought of God. That is what marks the son, he thinks of God, His heart refers to God; his movements refer to God. Now Job had sons. They were feasting with their sisters in their elder brother's house, but Job was not there. The sons of God will not feast without God; they came up before God; and then we are told later, and He calls attention to it Himself with supreme pleasure, that all the sons of God shouted for joy when the foundations of the earth were laid. They not only had God in their hearts, but in all the operations of His hands, they were sympathetic. "The morning stars", it says, "sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy". Job 38:7.

Now, it is in that way that one refers to Noah's sons. They were the sons of a man who had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. It does not say that they found grace in the eyes of the Lord, but there was that possibility in them. Poor Noah, alas! failed in the example he set before them. I do not dwell on that side; it is the dark side, but what was in the mind of God was that Noah's sons should continue, and He blessed them. You see in the end of Genesis 8, God had established a permanent order of things in Christ. "While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease". Genesis 8:22. Nothing shall fail. A permanent order of things is established. Do you think anything can alter it? Here God looks on undoubtedly through

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the course of this world, wars, tumults, revolutions; but He says, While the earth remaineth nothing shall be changed. A permanent order of things is established; what rest of heart that gives! We have the assurance that nothing can overthrow what God has established. Now if things are to be continued on earth, morally, it must be in the sons. Hence God blesses the sons. How wonderful, as coming into the new order of things, into something that He can bless and rest in, because that is what we have here, what is blessed of God! How important for the young people to see it; for the children of Christian households to see it; as coming into the new order of things, wonderful possibilities lie with young people. I use the word possibilities, but I am not overlooking what actually occurred in Noah's case. God knew well what Ham would do. He knew what Canaan would do, and He knew the history of Japheth; but He blessed the sons of Noah. There were possibilities in them to continue what was of God, what their father, who had found grace in the eyes of the Lord, had inaugurated. I appeal to you, young man, that you do not decline from the standard of your father! It is better than anything you can acquire from a wealthy man of this world, from a wealthy father, to be blessed of God as a son of a father who has found grace in the eyes of the Lord. "The blessing of the Lord maketh rich". Proverbs 10:22.

I just wish to go on to Abraham for a moment. God says, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do". Genesis 18:17. He says, Abraham is going to command his house. "For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him". Genesis 18:19. "After him". I want you to take notice of that, Abraham served in his own day; he was a prophet; he was the custodian of the testimony in his day. He was a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth. He had an altar and he had a tent. Now, he says, I do not

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wish this to discontinue. I appeal to you, beloved friends, Things are not to be discontinued. God will have them continued. Now do you want them continued? Then what is the word? The apostle says to Timothy "continue thou in the things which thou hast learned". 2 Timothy 3:14. "The things that thou hast heard of me!" 2 Timothy 2:2. Continue in them! Abraham said, I want strangership and pilgrimageship in my sons to be maintained on the earth. That is what Abraham wanted. "I know him", said Jehovah. How precious that is! Enoch had the witness that he pleased God. He is more honoured than Noah, although Noah is attested righteous, the only righteous man in his generation. But of Abraham he said, "I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him". Genesis 18:19. See how he nourished Isaac! How he looked upon Isaac! What possibilities there were in Abraham's mind in that child Isaac! How he nourished and cherished the child. He says, virtually, 'Isaac, you will be after me'. He, in fact dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob. He was true to his calling, and he made it sure that both Isaac and Jacob should be brought up in the customs of strangership and pilgrimageship on the earth. That is how to bring up children. One can only speak of it; for it is a poor thing to refer to oneself. We are all failures; but there is the light; Abraham's sons dwelt with him in tents. At any time Isaac and Jacob could see their father's altar. What an example! He commanded his children and his household after him; and what more? "And they shall keep the way of the Lord". Genesis 18:19. How restfully Abraham would depart! Indeed it was handed on to Isaac and to Jacob and to Joseph. "I die", says Joseph, "and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob". Genesis 50:24. How restfully he would depart in the light of divine interventions.

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I want to dwell upon Abraham. He commands his children and his household after him. "And they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment". Genesis 18:19. Now, we ought all to be exercised, the elder ones as well as the younger, that in as far as in us lies, those that are to follow have a good example. We know that all depends on God; we know that; but nevertheless God loves to leave with us what we can do, and to credit us. He credits Abraham here for all that should follow after him. Think of the extent of the horizon opened up. "They shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment". Genesis 18:19. What then? "that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him".

How important then that the young should be brought up in right surroundings and with a right example before them! The man of faith, as I said, always provides for what follows. If the assembly is taken, as it will be presently, there will be no void. The Lord indeed says, "When the Son of man comes; shall he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8. But it does not say He shall not. He shall. One would feel it, to have to go, and think of the earth left without faith. One would rather stay. I am speaking deliberately. I would rather stay, than go and leave the earth without faith. If one has to go, let one see to it that there are those to carry on the faith. I am not speaking in a literal way, but I am speaking of a principle. Timothy was Paul's child, not according to nature, but in a spiritual way. Have you ever had a convert? What kind of example have you set him? Has he become your child? If a convert does not become a child, it is a poor thing.

Paul had the light of sonship in his heart. "God", he says, "separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen" Galatians 1:16;

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It was not to him but in him. That was the kind of gospel that he preached, and his converts were to be sons. They were to be sons of God. "Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven". 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10. His Son from heaven.

Timothy became Paul's child in a special way. He lived with Paul; he ministered with Paul; he imbibed Paul's spirit; he knew his manner of life; he became like his father. And Paul said in his heart, I have a child, and in that child is the security for continuance. "Thou therefore, my child, be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. And the things thou hast heard of me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men". 2 Timothy 2:2. He was to take care of them. Be sure that if you entrust them to anyone, let him be faithful. That is the idea. Let us see to it, dear brethren, that the things which have come to us do not deteriorate. Let us see to it, that divine things are continued in the liberty and dignity and in the power of sonship. A son has no fears as to the happenings at the present time. He is like Abraham, he is in the secret. It is a wonderful thing to be in the secret. What was going to happen? Sodom was about to be destroyed. That is to say, the world besotted with corruption and wickedness, was going to be destroyed. "Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do?" Genesis 18:17. No, Abraham was to be let into the secret. Why? Because he had in his mind the continuance of things, important things, and important testimony in his family; therefore he should know.

So, beloved friends, it is with ourselves, if we are in the secret. The son has no misgivings, no uncertainty of mind. Things are all as clear as the noonday sun to him. He looks at occurrences on earth as mere incidents; they are fitting into the carrying out of the divine will. All would tend to the one

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great and glorious end, that is to say, the ripening of the time when the Lord Jesus shall appear; and I would repeat, that what should be upon our lips is the appearing. We want Him to come. We are not unconcerned as to that. Like Enoch, our testimony is that the Lord cometh in the midst of His holy myriads. Ours is not an unexpected end; it is an expected end. Is it so with you? Shall the translation, shall the coming of the Lord be unexpected? God forbid We are expecting things. Enoch had no doubt about it. He says, "The Lord cometh". He had no doubt about his own translation, because he pleased God. I do not know anything more blessed down here than the sense that one is moving about for the pleasure of God, and then talking, not about that, but about the coming of the Lord. "The Lord", he says, "cometh with ten thousands of his saints". Jude 14.

I have wanted to make clear to you that the exercise with those who have faith is that things should be continued down here; that we serve our own generation by the will of God, and are exercised that if the Lord is pleased to remove us the service should continue, and that it should continue equal to what was committed to ourselves. God grant that we may all be exercised as to these things. If you see the work is to be done, you are exercised; and then you get into the sense that you have to do your part, and gradually you will acquire a little ability; you will become a servant in the testimony. The Lord grant that it may be the desire of every one of us here.

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CHRIST DWELLING IN THE HEART -- THE CHRISTIAN'S IDEAL

Genesis 21:8 - 10; Revelation 22:16, 17

My thought is to point out the importance of having an ideal. I need not say that God has His ideal. He had His ideal long before it took form. Christ was in the Father's heart as Man long before He became Man, but the time arrived in which the ideal was produced and, as produced, attention was called to Him. Once God's ideal appeared He became the divine standard; an ideal becomes one's glory; it is one's glory. The Lord Jesus as Man was God's ideal, and in that way He was God's glory; He was the glory of God. The Father's public recognition of the Lord was when He was seen in full manhood, when He had arrived at the age of thirty. I need not say that the divine claim to Him had been put forward earlier, for the statement of the angel Gabriel to Mary was, "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God". Luke 1:35. But the divine ideal is seen in a Man here. Scripture presents the Lord, as a Babe, and as a Boy, and as a Man. He was perfect in each stage of His growth, holy in His development, but it is when this development is complete that heaven gives public recognition to that blessed Man. He was praying and heaven was opened ... . and a voice came out of heaven, Luke 3:21.

As He came up out of the waters of baptism He was praying, and as His eyes were uplifted they met the Father's gaze, and He heard the expression of the Father's delight in Him as the full answer to and realisation of His ideal; and from that day to this, and for eternity, God never recedes from that standard, for that standard is His glory. He has committed Himself to that Man. The coming of the Spirit is

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the Father's committal of Himself publicly to that Man. And what a complete vindication of God there was in His public ministry! He can say at the end of it, "I have glorified thee on earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do". John 17:4. These were words that were spoken by that same Man after His ministry was over. "He lifted up his eyes to heaven", we are told in John 17:1; having spoken all those words burning with affection for His own as recorded for us in John 13 to John 17, He lifts up His eyes to heaven. He had completed the work which the Father had given Him to do, and He says: "And now glorify me, thou Father, along with thyself, with the glory which I had along with thee before the world was". John 17:5. That is the completion, and now that Man is glorified. The work is complete. He came down from heaven and He goes back to heaven and is glorified with the glory of the Father. God is delighting in His ideal.

Now, what I wish to point out is, that God looks that for every one of us His ideal should be our ideal. Not one of us is of any account here in the way of testimony unless Christ is our ideal. There is no definiteness about you until you come to this; but then there is something further, and what I wish to make clear to you is, that the conception of the ideal is not enough, you must bring it forth. The expression used refers to what is maternal. We find in Scripture maternal ideas and paternal ideas. Now what God looks for is that we should, figuratively speaking, bring forth the ideal; it will not suffice, as to God's desire for us, to have it in a hidden way, though that is the beginning, but you must go on to "the joy that a man is born into the world", John 16:21. Christ must be everything to you, otherwise you are incomplete. What we find in regard to the church at Sardis in Revelation 3 is, that there was nothing complete with them. The Lord says, "I have not

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found thy works complete before my God". Revelation 3:2. So I repeat, that the conception of the idea is not sufficient, there must be what answers to it, the bringing it forth, the completion, and this means suffering. If there is to be completion, if you want to reach the joy of the birth of the Man, there must be the suffering of surrender, but it will be joy in your soul. God has reached His joy. There was the birth of a Man for Him, not simply of a Babe, but of a Man.

The cry now in the world is for a man; the world is waiting for its man. The world's ideal is not infantile; it is a man that the world wants, and the man will appear. Conditions are ripe for the appearance of the man that the world seeks. The world awaits the appearance of its ideal, and he will be espoused by the world. This is very solemn to contemplate! The world's ideal is a very old ideal, and has been a long time in coming into evidence, but come it will. The apostle says that the day of Christ will not arrive until the falling away comes, and that MAN OF SIN is revealed. We often speak of him, and wonder at the significance of his number, but what I would press is, that our salvation from him is to have in our hearts the ideal that God has presented to us in Christ. It is either the one man or the other with us. The great antidote to the Antichrist is "the Christ". I am saying what is very elementary and simple, but what is of all importance to us at the present moment. If you have not Christ as your ideal, your ideal will ultimately be the Antichrist. But then, as I have said, you must not stop at the conception of the ideal, the gospel presents this, but to have the conception and not to bring it forth is simply to be like Sardis, incomplete, and God hates incompleteness.

Well, now, I refer to the type. The scripture I read in Genesis presents Sarah as one who had an ideal and who brought it forth, cherished it, and

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refused to have anything different. She would have Isaac, and Isaac only; he must occupy the house. The bondmaid and her son must go. Sarah says, "he shall not inherit with my son". Genesis 21:10. You will find in Scripture that the men who shine most for God are men who are long expected and sought for, who are desired with genuine exercise of heart, promised, and waited for. Isaac is pre-eminently one of these; he was one promised, but long waited for. What we get spiritually we generally have to wait for. Do not misunderstand me: you get what you rightly desire, but very often you have to wait for it. Isaac was a child of promise, a child of desire, a child of exercise, and when he came he shone. Sarah, typically, was equal to such a child as Isaac. Looking at one's own state and history, and observing that of others, one is pained at our littleness. In spite of our professions as to Christ, how little exercise there is to bring Him forth. How little disallowance of self there is to make room for Him, and to disallow all else, disallow even a half-brother of his, an Ishmael. Is he to inherit with Isaac? Sarah says, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son". Genesis 21:10. Mark you, the mother of such a son as Ishmael has to go as well as the son; the relation that brought him forth has to be judged. The mother has to go and the son has to go. The son of the bondwoman must not inherit with the son of the free. Such is the decision of Sarah, and such should be our decision.

Well, I was noting that in Scripture men who shine are men who were desired, prayed for, and who, when they appeared, were appreciated. On the other hand, the children brought in after the order of nature, what were they? Take Cain as an example. Eve says, "I have acquired a man from the Lord", Genesis 4:1 but she spoke too soon. Children that

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come in after that order are not exactly from the Lord. Jehovah had spoken to her about a seed, and it was quite right for her to have expectation of a seed. Doubtless she got her ideal from Adam, but she spoke too quickly. Our judgment is often hastily formed, and the product of our exercise is not for the Lord though it may seem to be. But let it be tested. You have had your exercise, and there seems to be an answer, but it has to be tested. Presently another comes, and Eve has been learning, so she names him not "acquisition", but Abel, something like "a breath". See Note, Genesis 4:2. She has learnt to judge things. Cain was not just what she expected. Very often it is so with us, the early product is not just what we expected; it is simply the man born after the flesh; piously connected with Jehovah, but not yet tested.

We do well to test things. Do not be too sure. The promise of a seed was from God, the seed should come, but do not connect God with what is not of God. Test things before you connect them with God. "Examine your own selves", 2 Corinthians 13:5 says the apostle, see what you are cherishing, test it with Christ, measure it with Christ. In time Cain was tested. What was disclosed? That he was the man born after the flesh, the great progenitor of Antichrist, a serious consideration! What is born of the flesh always persecutes what is born of the Spirit. Bring in what is of the Spirit and see what the man of the flesh will do, he will persecute. The day arrives when persecution begins and Cain is exposed, and Eve's judgment of him is exposed; Cain is the man born after the flesh. Abel is a man born after the Spirit; Eve undoubtedly had been exercised. Compare Genesis 4:25.

Our true beginning is with Abel, recognising the man born after the Spirit. There must be the judgment of what man is; the painful discovery

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in Cain is really the flesh in ourselves, but the flesh that will connect itself with God, piously coming to Him with an offering. All this was in keeping with the name his mother gave him. He professed to recognise God, but he slew him that was born after the Spirit. Let us look within to see what is being formed. Is it of the Spirit or of the flesh? I am not asking you to turn your eye from Christ in heaven, but I do believe that it is well to be called upon to "examine your own selves". 2 Corinthians 13:5. The apostle Paul says, "my children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you" Galatians 4:19. Why "again"? Because something else had been formed in them. Formation is the difficulty. The question is, What are you bringing forth? The beginning of Christ in you is Abel, you begin with the Spirit.

It is a happy day when you begin to feel persecution, for it proves that the formation of Christ in you has begun. You were of no account in testimony until that day arrived. The moment you discern persecution, not because of what you have done, but persecution because of what you are, it is evidence that the formation of Christ in you has begun. Look at Isaac here! What could he have done to Ishmael? He was but a babe a year old; how could he have provoked Ishmael? We all know that a babe of that age is most attractive. Why then the mocking? Isaac was not as yet a man, he had not developed, but he was recognised in the house; that was what provoked Ishmael. What I am referring to is very simple, but most important, as it is evidence of where you are spiritually. I am not now speaking of the conception of your ideal, but of the formation of the ideal in you. You immediately begin to discern opposition because of what you are. Mark that! Not as yet because of what you are doing, but because of what you are. Isaac

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could not be doing anything, he was a babe without any power to do anything offensive. It was because of what he was; he was a child of promise, he was born after the Spirit: that is in figure, Christ formed in the believer. Paul says, "Not I, but Christ". Galatians 2:20. If it had been "I", if Paul had lived, there would have been no persecution; but Paul's first introduction to Christ, or rather Christ's introduction to him was as the suffering One. "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest". Acts 9:5. The Lord was doing nothing to Saul. But later Saul decided that if any one was to live in him it should be that Man. He said, as it were, in his inmost soul, that Man must have all the place. Well, directly you begin thus you find out there is the spirit of persecution against you. It is not now what you are doing, but what you are. Christ is being formed in you. There is a formation of Christ beloved friends, for God. What is God going to put into heaven? The assembly as formed after Christ. God has His ideal. He has taken up you and me in connection with that, and He is going to bring that out in us: that is what He proposes to do with every one of us. You do not want to be outside of that, do you? You want to be with God in what He is doing. God is forming every one of us in connection with His own ideal.

In that connection I would say just one word as to the place Christ has in you. Do not confound the reception of the Spirit with the formation of Christ in you. The reception of the Spirit is to make a place for Christ in you. Hence the next thing you find is, "If Christ be in you", Romans 8:10. In the epistle to the Colossians the apostle's point is, that the mystery is "Christ in you". Christ had a place among the Gentiles; Colossians 1:27. But "Christ in you" is not the full thought. Christ dwelling is the full thought. The Spirit makes room for Christ, and if Christ comes

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in the Spirit operates, so that there should be a dwelling for Him.

I do not know of anything that expresses His grace more than His attitude in regard to Laodicea. If it is in your mind after getting the Spirit to keep the Lord outside the door, He will knock at the door, He will not go away. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" Revelation 3:20: He wants to get in. "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me", Revelation 3:20. After the Lord gets in He makes a home there, so that you sup with Him. He is not now a visitor, nor is He One whom you have taken in in kindness. It is a poor thing to make the Lord Jesus an appendage of yourself, just One to help you in the time of need. He will do that in His grace. He will stand by you in the hour of need. It may be that you have left Him outside until the hour of your need has come or even until your death-bed; but notwithstanding your cold disregard of Him, He will stand by you then in the hour of your direst necessity. But why leave Him outside so long? "Behold", He says, "I stand at the door, and knock". Revelation 3:20. If you open the door and give the Lord a place as a guest, He very soon becomes the Host. "Sup with me", He says. Such is the attitude of Christ.

Now no one will open to Christ who has not the Holy Spirit. The Spirit opens to Christ. The Holy Spirit in you will keep on and on until you open the door to Christ. Thus Christ dwells in you. I think that Isaac weaned is Christ having a place in the heart. It is obvious that Isaac, when only weaned, could not as yet control the house, but he is recognised as the heir; the weaning was a celebration. Did you ever make a celebration of that kind? It is a moment arrived at in the history of your soul when Christ is supreme. You were ruling the house yourself, but now He will rule it. You recognise Him;

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now let Him act for you and see what He will do! He will take up a dwelling in your heart. Could anything be greater down here than that Christ should be dwelling in your heart? The Spirit of God makes a great deal of that.

I have often referred to Bethany, that house where there were two sisters and a brother, all of them loved by Christ, but Christ was not at first the Head of that house. He was regarded more as a friend of the family, truly an honoured Friend, but still not all. But Lazarus died and the Lord was referred to as One who could have kept him alive "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died". John 11:21. True enough, but the Lord had stayed away in order that he should die. Why? Because He wanted to be supreme with that family; He would not be only an appendage to the family, He would not be content with that, He would be everything to it, and so He was ultimately. The next chapter, John 12, shows us how the Lord is everything at Bethany. "Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with him", John 12:2, but Jesus was supreme at Bethany. Such is the Lord's way with us. Sarah took that way as to Isaac. She would not allow any mongrel to be there. I use that word advisedly, because Ishmael was simply a mongrel. His father was a man of faith, but his mother was a bondwoman. The light of God has come into Christendom, but what about the maternal side in Christendom; what has it brought in? It is simply the formation of the man after the flesh, decorated with the light that came out in Christ. Will that do for God? Let us beware of it. Sarah says, "The son of this bondwoman shall not inherit with my son". Genesis 21:10. Now she had a right ideal, beloved brethren, and she had brought it forth; she cherished it and she would have nothing else.

Now I want to show you how that in the last

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chapter of Revelation you have the assembly recovered to that. The assembly is delivered from Ishmael and from anti-Christian principles. The great background of the closing chapters of that book is Antichrist. The great opposite of Jesus is Antichrist. "I Jesus", says the Lord Revelation 22:16. He presents Himself as the Man. Do you appreciate that Man? Or are you engaged with the man with abilities for this world, the six-fingered and six-toed man, the man who asserts himself, the man who is prominent at the present time in the world, the man of violence?

Now the Lord says "I Jesus". Revelation 22:16. Is there any response? Thank God there is a response; the assembly is recovered. She says virtually, 'I want that Man'. What a glorious end! The Spirit of God has been labouring in the assembly to this end all these centuries. He is still with her, He has not left her, He has brought her safely through; she has returned to the Man. He announces Himself by name, "I Jesus". That is the Man who is to people the earth. The book of Revelation is prophetic, it has reference to the dealings of God on earth. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come". Revelation 22:17. It is to say, virtually, 'We have judged antichristian principles, we have judged Ishmael; we want the Man of the gospels'. You may depend upon it that the Spirit of God is labouring that that Man should be supreme in our hearts. The earth belongs to that Man; He it is that is to people the earth; it is "Jesus". What is the spirit of prophecy? It is "the testimony of Jesus". Revelation 19:10. Prophecy is not to call attention to the features "of the beast", those are incidental things. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus, the spirit of it is to engage you with Jesus. From the outset we get in Scripture inklings as to the order of man that is to people the earth. Abraham was called out of the Babylonish world, and in him you

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have outlined the features of the man that is to people the earth. From that day onwards the spirit of prophecy is engaged with Christ. Those who know and love Him say:

"We look for Thine appearing,
Thy presence here to bless;
We greet the day that's nearing,
When all this woe shall cease". (Hymn 200)

It is that Man whose glorious features are outlined by the spirit of prophecy, and now He announces Himself, "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star". Revelation 22:16. It is all over as regards this world, its hideous history, its history of violence and blood, and that Man comes in and takes possession. What the last chapter of the Bible testifies to is that the assembly is brought back to that. She had wandered from it, but the Spirit in faithfulness has held to her and brought her back to it, so that she says to Him, "Come". It is not there a question of going to heaven, it is a question of that Man coming in and taking up the earth for God.

Well, that is the testimony, beloved friends, of the Scriptures, and my exercise is that every one of us should not only have the ideal in our souls, the gospel presents it to us, but that it should form and characterise us. The apostle says to the Corinthians: "If he that cometh preacheth another Jesus" 2 Corinthians 11:4; but there is not another Jesus. There is the "One Man" to whom the apostle had espoused them. Paul had presented Jesus to the Corinthians, and he says, "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" 2 Corinthians 11:2,3. It is the Man of the gospels that Paul presented, and the Spirit of God is labouring with us so that we

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might be brought back to that Man. Then you want to bring that Man forth. God is going to bring Him in. "When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him". Hebrews 1:6. God would have that Man honoured.

Well, dear brethren, what about ourselves? Is that Man honoured? The ideal is perhaps in your heart, but have you brought it forth so that it is Christ instead of yourself? It will cost you labour and "travail", but you will have the joy. What is the joy? The joy that "a Man is born into the world". John 16:21. The result of Christ's ministry among the disciples was, that after all the sorrow was over there was joy. The Spirit brought in, formed, and developed that Man in their souls. The Acts 2 presents the Man, for the features of Christ were in the disciples when the Holy Spirit came. But how was this effected? Every one of those disciples had gone through something. You do not bring Him forth without exercise. It is not clothing yourself with what is called the objective side; you may be connecting it all with yourself, with Hagar. The apostles did not, neither did the three thousand that came in through their preaching. The glorious features of the Man Christ Jesus, are portrayed in them in the early chapters of the Acts. Look at Stephen. What a reproduction of that Man was in him! Stephen had brought Him forth. He portrayed not himself but Christ. There were the features of Christ in his prayer. "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge", Acts 7:60. "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Acts 7:59. That is the Man brought forth, and that is what God is looking for. The testimony, you may depend upon it, dear brethren, is Christ; it is Christ brought forth in the Lord's people. That is what Satan hates he hates Isaac.

May the Lord help us. It is a critical moment for us. The great issue is whether Christ is to occupy the

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place of the man of sin; that is the great issue. Thank God, the Spirit is here, and He never leaves the assembly, but He brings her back to that Man, so that there is a desire down here for that Man to come, and come He will. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come", Revelation 22:17.

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Pages 203 - 212 -- "The Ordering of the Camp, Levitical Service and Priesthood". Belfast, (Volume 27).

The remainder of this Book appears in Volume 6, under the heading, "The Defence of the Testimony", Belfast, 1914 (Volume 21, pages 71, 82, 125 and 138).

THE ORDERING OF THE CAMP AND LEVITICAL SERVICE

Numbers 4

J.T. This chapter is clearly for those who have entered into service; not simply those who are held for service, but those who enter into the service. Perhaps it is important to note that distinction. It is one thing to be held for service; God has a right to us; through redemption He has a right to every one of us; and so He claims us for service; but then it is another matter to enter into the service; and for that we have to wait. It is an important principle in Christianity, to learn how to wait, to wait on our ministry.

Ques. What do you understand by "waiting"?

J.T. Well, it is to wait until the Lord would indicate to us what is to be done.

Rem. Without that, we should have no direction.

J.T. Of course, it is said that if one finds anything to do, he is to do it with his might. That is a word for those who may be lazy, or slothful, but it is perfectly clear that the believer has to wait on his ministry; and in due time he is put into the service.

Ques. Do we take it from what you have said, and what is here, that it is when you wait on your service that your service is allotted to you?

J.T. That is it. You waited; and so they are numbered in this chapter. The number is greatly

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reduced from the number of the Levites in the previous chapter; because in the previous chapter they are numbered from a month old and upward; typically taking in all believers; whereas in this chapter those that are numbered are actually taken into the service. You can well understand that the Lord takes special account of those who have entered into the service; so that they are numbered here from thirty years old and upward, even unto fifty years old; and as thus numbered, their work was allotted to them.

Ques. What about our years of waiting?

J.T. Well, I just alluded to that as a principle. It is an important thing to wait. Saul lost his kingdom because he could not wait. Patience is an element that proves itself in the things of God. On the other hand, we ought not to be slothful; slothfulness is extremely objectionable. A slothful man says, there is a lion in the way; but it is really laziness. What we find to do, we are to do with all our might. With young believers there is certain to be an effort, and a desire to be doing something. Well, one should be waiting. There might be the exercises at twenty-five, and the desire to serve and God takes account of that; but when it comes to actual service that God owns, the Levite is taken account of from thirty years to fifty years.

Rem. I suppose that would be exemplified in the history of Moses.

J.T. Yes; his history is a very remarkable illustration of it. You refer to his endeavour to undertake the deliverance of the people of Israel before the Lord sent him to do it. The desire was right. Stephen alludes to it, and gives Moses the credit of having the desire, and being rejected of the people. But he had to wait in the wilderness forty years. It is in that period of waiting that we become acquainted with the Lord, and learn how to serve.

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Rem. I suppose waiting would produce soberness.

J.T. Yes; you are led to feel you can be done without, during that period; which is a great lesson to learn. We can be done without; and God compels us to wait. But then, when the time arrives you get more to do, perhaps, than you wish.

Rem. Besides, when each one has his work allotted to him, there will not be interference one with the other; things will work smoothly.

J.T. Quite so. I think it is most interesting to see how levitical work begins here. It begins with the most exalted character. That is to say, immediately you have the right kind of servants, under the direction of Aaron and his sons, you have brought forward things that are to be carried; and the order in which they are to be carried.

Ques. Does that indicate fitness?

J.T. I think the Kohathites are marked off as those specially qualified for this work; and there is this advantage, they are immediately under the superintendence of the priests; so that they are not obliged to look at the holy things. To look into the ark, or to touch it, meant death. Aaron and his sons were to go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden; but they were forbidden to go in to see when the holy things are covered, "lest they die".

Ques. What are we to understand by that?

J.T. The priests only were entitled to touch the holy things, or to look upon them. We are viewed as priests, as possessing the Spirit; and the reception of the Spirit implies holiness. So it is only in the power of the Spirit that you can look on, or touch, the things in mind. The things in the holy place, or the holiest of all, typified the things in heaven. Take the first thing mentioned; I venture to touch on these things, because if we do not understand them, we shall not understand service. The first thing

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mentioned is the ark, covered over with a veil. That is really, Christ in humanity; and that is the first great thought in Christianity; the Word has become flesh. That is to be apprehended; and who can apprehend that but a priest? Who can apprehend, for instance, the gospel of John, but a priest? John the baptist says of the Lord, "I knew him not;" John 1:33, although he was related to Him after the flesh. But it was divinely communicated to John that He upon whom he should see the Spirit descending and abide, was the One who would baptise with the Spirit.

Ques. Would it imply a spiritual state formed, and nearness to Christ, in order to see the glory of the One who had taken human form?

J.T. As subject to the Spirit we ought not to have any fear in approaching the great and holy subject of the humanity of Christ; as you read the gospels with a priestly eye you will see the glory; and the nearer you get to it, the more you are at home in it. We need not fear to draw near as priests to meditate upon Christ as Man. But if we touch it with our intellect, we come under judgment. So the first great point for the Levite is, to recognise, as a priest, that Jesus Christ is come in flesh. The ark is covered over with a veil; and we know the veil is His flesh. Do you not think so?

Rem. Yes; I think I see what you mean. The Levite is a priest.

J.T. Yes; and a priest covers it over with a veil.

Ques. What does that convey?

J.T. Well, if you take the gospel that sets forth the humanity of the Lord specially; that is the gospel of Luke. What strikes you is the priestly state at the beginning of it. Zacharias was a priest; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron; that is to say, the priestly line was in evidence. If you read the opening verses of the gospel by Luke you will be impressed by that.

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Rem. That is very striking. And really, it is in the apprehension of that we grow as priests, through meditation on the gospels.

Rem. No subject can be more holy, nor more delightful to the heart that loves Christ, than this; that is the ark of the covenant.

Ques. Does this work of the Kohathites set forth what might be considered as testimony?

J.T. Yes; you are carrying divine things. It means that we all are exercised, so that the things of God may not be neglected, they are carried on our shoulders.

Ques. Would not that indicate that we carry Christ in our affections through this world?

J.T. That is the thought. You love Him because He loves you. He knows us, and we know Him. He is in your heart; but then, if He is in your heart, He has your shoulder. Just as we are in His heart; and have His shoulder, His support. He graciously gives you the privilege of using your shoulder for His service; and you use it in the support of the saints; because He is seen in the saints.

Rem. So that this really comes out in our walk, as well as in our ministry.

Ques. I would like to ask about the priest: Do you view the priest as having to do entirely with what is of God? The Levite is taken account of as in responsibility.

J.T. Yes; of course, Christ is a Priest on the ground of what He is personally. In His case the badgers' skins came directly over the veil; and the blue comes over the badgers' skins. With the things in the holy place, the blue comes first, and then the badgers' skins; because in the holy place you come to what has reference to us; whereas the ark has reference wholly to Christ; and in His humanity there was of course, no sin; and the badgers' skins came immediately over the veil. The blue, the heavenly colour, is outside: He is the second Man out of

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heaven; that is the meaning of the blue. Whereas in our case, as I understand it, the blue is inward and that means new creation. Without the work of God there could be no refusal of evil with us. But in the Lord's case there is no need for that; the power to refuse evil was inherent in Christ.

Rem. So Christ having His place in our affections would seem to have a great part in the service.

J.T. That is the beginning of it; you might say the service could not begin without that. Peter's love for Christ was brought out, and then his service was given him. The end of John's gospel, chapter 21, brings to light that Peter undoubtedly loved the Lord. The love was there, although the Lord had to bring it out. The opening of the Acts shows us Peter exercising his levitical functions; and he speaks beautifully of Christ. His introduction of Christianity is wonderful.

Rem. Although he had denied Him.

Ques Is movement indicated in these chapters? How would that apply to the present?

J.T. These chapters refer to the wilderness period, where there is no resting place; nothing permanent; things are on the move. It is our present state, as in flesh and blood. But then the movement is in a hostile and defiling scene.

Ques. What would be the character of the Kohathite now?

J.T. He would be occupied with the Person of the Lord, and the things in heaven. The gospel of John is largely the ministry of the Kohathite. One can see the appropriateness of John being taken up by the Spirit to set forth the truth of the Lord's Person, because he is specially mentioned as one whom the Lord loved.

Ques. Would you connect the ministry with what was deposited in the ark?

J.T. Yes; only here it is not that. The tables

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of the covenant are not in view in Numbers; it is rather the truth of His Person here. That is what you are carrying. Of course, underlying that is the truth that He carried out the will of God here. But the coverings are very interesting; the veil, first of all, then the badger skins; and then the covering of blue; all these things refer to what the Lord was as Man. His humanity was a real humanity, but a sinless humanity. The veil suggested that.

Rem. It would imply the truth of the incarnation being apprehended in a special way in your soul.

J.T. That is what it does. The opening of the gospel by Luke is a most important section, and brings out the real humanity of our Lord. That is what the veil represents.

Rem. It is the foundation of everything.

J.T. It is. "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us", John 1:14. As Man here He is the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Ques. Why is the altar of burnt offering connected with the Kohathites? It was outside the covered part.

J.T. I think it also typifies Christ here. You will notice it is not covered with blue; it is covered with purple. The utensils of the holy place are covered with blue first, and then with badgers' skins; then in verse 13 we see that the altar is covered with a purple cloth, and the table has a cloth of scarlet laid upon it. Now, all these things have their own spiritual significance. I suppose the table, and the twelve loaves, have reference to administration in man's hands down here; and in connection with that there is glory. But the altar has reference to suffering; and if we suffer, we shall reign; hence the purple.

Rem The golden altar was to be covered with blue first, and then with badgers' skins.

J.T. And all the utensils of the inside place are

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covered with blue; referring, I think to the work of God in us; that we are of a heavenly order.

Rem. "As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly". 1 Corinthians 15:48.

J.T. That is it. One sees how wonderful the Scriptures are in these things, being introduced in this way; and how important that we should know these things, if we want to serve; so that the service should be carried on intelligently. This is, in a way, the most important chapter for a Levite; because it is the chapter that gives you your work.

Rem. "When the camp setteth forward" Numbers 4:5; that is when they come into use.

J.T. Yes, the work begins then. Whenever there is a movement of the Spirit, the Levites are called into activity. You will always find, where the Spirit gives any special impulse, there is a movement amongst the Levites; things have to be taken up in a new way; the point of view you have had in times past will not do now.

Rem. No matter how correct that point of view may have been in time past.

J.T. Yes; things are looked at from another angle now. The angle at which you have been looking from was all right in its time; the Lord was with you in that; but if there is a movement you must follow it.

Rem. The testimony remains the same, though there are different forms of it.

Ques. What place has the golden altar? How does it come in?

J.T. It comes in in connection with administration; it is where the table is; and the loaves. I think one can understand that if administration can be carried on, and if there is to be light, there must be prayer; God must be recognised; and I think the golden altar is that in which God is recognised. The needs of the sanctuary are recognised, and met.

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That, I think, you get in the gospel of Matthew. There you have the table, and the shewbread.

Rem. The golden altar is connected with the going in, and specially connected with prayer in the New Testament.

J.T. Yes, incense. We read in John 7:53, that they all went to their own homes; but our homes are not, in this sense, the places of prayer. The need was there, but they did not recognise it.

Rem. Jesus went to the mount of Olives.

J.T. Yes; Jesus went to the mount of Olives apparently alone. There He was with the Father.

Rem. He takes them there with Him later on.

J.T. Yes, after the Supper.

Ques. Why does verse 16 come in; "to the office of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof". Numbers 4:16.

J.T. I think it is to emphasise the priestly state. It is remarkable that Eleazar exercises supervision over the whole sanctuary. How essential the priestly state is for this.

Rem. That is, there must be the subjective work, the Spirit's work in the soul.

J.T. Yes; that is it. Ithamar had his place, but he did not have the place Eleazar had; he superintended the more external things, the Gershonites and the sons of Merari. A careful analysis of these holy vessels, with their coverings, throws a flood of light on what the servants of the Lord are called upon to do. I am sure of this, that apart from true affection for the Lord, there can be no service acceptable to God; and that is what marks the servant. The ark of the covenant was covered over with a veil. Nothing can be more interesting than to peruse Luke's narrative, and see how one

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and another were drawn and attracted to the Lord. Chapter 4 presents Him as with Satan, and how He returned in the power of the Spirit, and ministered in the synagogue on the sabbath day. The Spirit seems to delight in presenting the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on Him.

Ques. Would what is set forth in the Gershonites and Merarites have reference to what is external?

J.T. Well, take the Gershonites; it is not a question of the deity of the Lord, or a question of His Person at all; but rather the arrangement of what is external, or as to what is becoming before men. There I think we touch what may be regarded as the ministry of the Gershonites. Then we have such instructions as these, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn". 1 Timothy 5:18. The apostle is treating of levitical work. That is to say, a man who is serving as a Levite ought to be supported; he ought not to he hampered, so as not to be overburdened; and when we come to chapter 7, we find that the princes gave waggons and oxen; and these were given to the Gershonites and the Merarites so that they might not be over-burdened with the things they had to carry. Now you will find in the New Testament a good deal of instruction as to what is becoming to the saints; they which minister the word are to be ministered to and those instructions have reference to what is becoming in the assembly of God.

Rem. Concerning things that are down here.

J.T. Yes; things that will come to an end here.

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"FOLLOW THOU ME"

John 21:20 - 25; Matthew 8:10 - 11, 18 - 27

It is on my heart to say a word as to the great importance of following the Lord, what the advantages are that it affords us, and how it gives pleasure to God.

I select John first because he is presented as the follower of Christ. He begins his narrative by presenting followers of Christ and he ends it with a follower -- a permanent follower of Christ. I would emphasise that word permanent. Many begin well, but do not continue: "Many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him". John 6:66. John was a permanent follower. Peter turned round, and saw John following. Now my desire is that we might be moved to be followers, and that we may not turn back.

John, amongst other things, says a great deal about light; doubtless he alludes to the sun as the source of light and as that which, in the physical system, sets all in motion, He speaks of Christ as the true light. He explains that the true light is that which, coming into the world, lightens every man. It is impartial. True light regards every man without reference to caste or colour. It is not national or local, but universal. He introduces John the baptist and quotes him as saying he was simply a voice. Further, he says, he was not the light. John's mission was to Israel, and he was a burning and a shining light, but that was local. The Lord says, "Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light". John 5:35. John says, "The true light was that which, coming into the world, lightens every man". John 1:9. It was thus impartial in a world of darkness. It was God revealed in a Man. The true Light rebukes nationalism and

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local feeling; it elevates the soul to what is universal. So, if mankind is in view, the heart is affected as regards man; if saints, it is as regards all saints. The apostle speaks to the Ephesians of their "love unto all saints". Ephesians 1:15. Such is the effect of the true light. Let us see that it affects us.

John the baptist sees Jesus walking. It was an affecting sight for a man who had such an eye as John had. He had eyes that could take account of what was spiritually beautiful. What kind of eyes have we? Are we appreciative of what is morally beautiful? John looked on Jesus as He walked. What a walk! There was wonderful and peculiar grace in it; all His walk had reference to the Father those steps, each had reference to Him. "Behold the Lamb of God", John says, John 1:36. He was of God. It is a great thing to get a right thought as to what is of God in setting out. Two of his disciples heard John speak, and followed Jesus. That is how John's gospel begins: two followers of Christ. Then the apostle unfolds scene after scene, each resulting in what is pleasurable to God, brought about by Christ. It is His touch which brings about in each individual in question what was pleasing to God.

In John 4, we read of a woman, and if ever there was an individual who afforded in her life less pleasure to God than any other, it was that woman at Sychar's well, but she came under Christ's touch. If you come under His touch the next move indicates whether you have benefited by it. She heard Him speak, and He said wonderful things to her. He said, "Call thy husband". John 4:16. To have a husband is to have a head; alas she had none. What a terrible disclosure! He says, "Thou hast had five husbands". John 4:18. Can you conceive of a life more out of order before God? "And he whom thou now hast is not thy husband". John 4:18. That is worse. She was headless, she was corrupt, she was destitute, but she came under the touch of

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Christ; we may say she found a head. When touched we begin to perceive. She at once says, "I perceive that thou art a prophet". John 4:19. It is a great moment when we begin to perceive. She now immediately begins to talk about the fathers; she could not say much about herself; they "worshipped in this mountain", John 4:20, she said, but He turns her from that. He would keep her to the true light, for worship of the Father was not to be governed by geography. It was to be in spirit and in truth. She said, that "when he [Christ] is come, he will tell us all things". John 4:25. He said, "I that speak unto thee am he". John 4:26.

It is a memorable moment in the history of your soul when the Lord discloses Himself to you. The work was done in this woman; she left her waterpot. There is much meaning in that; her course is altered. The texture of her being was altered. She left her waterpot and the water in Jacob's well. She was rendered independent of both, and goes back to the city and speaks to the men in the city; she takes account of men. She said to them, "Come, see a man" John 4:29. She found One who told her all things that she had ever done. Was He not the Christ? She desired all the Samaritans to know that Man. What a scene for God's pleasure! The Lord brought it about. She, touched by Him, moves in accord with Him and her service pleases God.

In John 9 a man comes under His touch in another way. He is of age, true to the light in every circumstance; the Lord reveals Himself to him and inquires whether he believes on the Son of God. He would do this to each of us. The man replies, "Who is he, Lord?" John 9:36. The Lord says, "Thou hast ... seen him". John 9:37. Much may have elapsed since in his need he had seen Him, but he was now coming directly into touch with the Lord he worshipped. That is a man for God. The Son brought about a state for God's pleasure, a man worshipping, prostrated

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before the Lord, acknowledging His dignity and glory.

Passing on now to John 11, Lazarus is raised from the dead. Bethany represents a scene of sympathy for Christ, but He had not all the place there. Lazarus was four days in the tomb and came forth bound with grave clothes upon him. The Lord, in His dignity, calls out into the open, a man, a loved one: "Come forth", John 11:43, not "Arise". Lazarus is called forth by the Son of God. He comes forth bound with grave clothes. These are unsuited now though suited for the grave. He stands out as a testimony to the power of the Son of God. It was the glory of the Son of God to bring him forth and cause him to stand out. Then Jesus says, "Loose him, and let him go". John 11:44. In the going of such a man God has pleasure. The coming forth is testimony to the power of the Son of God, and the going forth is testimony to the power of life in Lazarus. The Son of God brings about the power of life in the soul.

You get an example of the energy of life in 2 Kings 13:20, 21. The dead man was let down into the sepulchre of Elisha in haste, because a band of the Moabites invaded the land. The Moabites are a very proud people. It was good for the man that he was let down, for he touched Elisha's bones and came up in the energy of life, and you hear no more of the bands of the Moabites. Lazarus raised from the dead is found in Bethany, and the Lord comes there because Lazarus is there; He came "where Lazarus was" John 12:1. This is another scene presented by the Spirit which was for God's pleasure. Lazarus was one of those that sat at the table with Jesus. Lazarus represents those who are in association with Christ, and Mary becomes a contributor. She had learned from Christ. Mary says little, but thinks much she observed all. She sat at His feet and sat in the house, but was learning, and she now has some

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precious ointment; she becomes a contributor to a scene already pleasing to God. The house was filled with the odour of the ointment; all is the result of Christ's service.

Mary Magdalene is another case. John loves these scenes. She had seen the Lord in the garden; she suspected Him of being the gardener; a very natural mistake, but He had ceased to be that. He was now ascending, and so says, "Touch me not ... I ascend". John 20:17. What light! The suggestion is very full. "I ascend to my Father, and your Father". John 20:17. That is a new word The connections are new. "Touch me not ... but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God". John 20:17. She goes directly, we may say, under the influence of Christ as the ascending Man. What delight the Father had in her steps. She went, and what light she had! She carried greater light than Peter, James or John, and told it to the disciples. It involved pleasure to the Father. "I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it". John 17:26. The scene is amplified by the entrance of the Lord in John 20. He comes in from heaven, as it were. He comes into the midst in dignity and glory.

The last chapter is a kind of appendix, beginning with Peter and Thomas and the others going fishing. Peter and Thomas are the leaders and the others are led astray. Is it not often true? Party feeling arising, saints are led astray. Afterwards Peter, who had headed the movement, looks around and sees a follower. It was John. Paul maintained things for God whilst here; John accepts the breakdown, but maintains the principle of following; that must ever abide; it must never be surrendered. The Lord defends him "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me". John 21:22. Become a follower. John is a follower; are you one?

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Matthew shows that the followers get the light. The Lord speaking to the followers in Matthew 8:10, said, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel". The followers get the light, others may get it through them, but it is happier to get it first hand. The Lord did not stop there; He says: "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down ... in the kingdom of heaven". Matthew 8:11. Do not be national. East goes far beyond the North Sea, and west goes far beyond the Atlantic. "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob" -- with those most honoured. The true light leads us to embrace every saint, because they "are Christ's".

In verse 18 the Lord gave commandment to depart to the other side. The way is straight, but involves change of position, especially if there is a "multitude". We must not be affected by numbers. Often they are a great hindrance. There is no order with the multitude, they are not under headship, a crowd never is. The Lord would take you out of that. He compassionates the multitude, as we get elsewhere, but a multitude is not according to His idea. If He feeds them, He sets them by fifties; that changes their character, but it did not apply here. He commands to depart to the other side; it is different from this. Be prepared, or you will miss your way with the multitude, who are without order or benefit from Christ as Head. A command is imperative; it implies that there is urgent need for what is ordered to be done, and so He commands to depart to the other side. It is essential to spiritual welfare. Look at your circumstances, are they ordered by Christ? If not, go to the other side.

One coming to Him says, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest". Matthew 8:19. Do not say that; you will break down. But as He entered into the ship His disciples follow Him. He did not command

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them to do so here. His disciples are signally honoured. There is a voice in it. A true learner has not to be ordered; his eye is on the Leader, and he follows Him. A wonderful exhibition of His power follows to command their minds and hearts. They marvelled. There is little marvelling at Christ among us, but much to be marvelled at. "The men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this?" Matthew 8:27. Antichrist is coming it is well to he prepared. This is the Christ. The winds and the sea obey Him. He has supreme control over all that Satan can act on against us. The inquiry here is as to what manner of Man this is. He is supreme. What manner of Man is He? By apprehending and following this Man we shall be preserved from the manner of man yet to come. We shall not be deceived if we learn from Christ and follow Him.

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"JESUS CALLED THEM TO HIM"

Mark 10:42

The occasion of the apostles being called to the Lord, as recorded in the above passage, was that ten of their number had become resentful because James and John had made a request to Him that one of them should sit on His right hand and the other on His left in glory. To say the least, James and John were not keeping "the unity of the Spirit" in cultivating this special interest, for such it was. For the moment they were separated in thought and desire from the others; indeed, if their wish were realised, there would be a distinction between them and the other ten even in the glory. This could not be love's prompting, for it "seeks not its own", 1 Corinthians 13:5, but rather the things of others.

The ambition of the two brothers excited indignation in the others, and thus a cleavage existed. Alas! this is frequently seen amongst the Lord's people. To form groups, marked by special interests, is a constant tendency. It is evident that natural relationship influenced James and John, for they were brothers after the flesh. This inference is stronger in Matthew's account of the incident. He tells us that it was their mother who made the request for her sons. It was a family affair. There was thus a special interest prompted by natural affection. Such a condition is not only damaging to those in whom it may exist, but it incites resentment in others; thus coteries form and love suffers or ceases its activities. The apostles were divided into groups of two and ten.

Other considerations besides family interests may also become the occasions of special bonds among people of God. Wealth and social distinction are common factors, also special or peculiar doctrinal views, or the adoption of certain brothers as leaders.

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All these features were present in the assembly at Corinth when the apostle wrote his first epistle. In this epistle he deals with them in divine wisdom. Indeed, in both his letters to the Corinthians he amplifies in a remarkable way the Lord's gracious admonition and instruction in the scripture before us.

The Lord answered the request of James and John with exquisite tenderness, reminding them of the cup He was about to drink and the baptism He was to be baptised with. Were they capable of the suffering involved? Solemn question, surely! And then the honour they sought was not His to confer; to sit on His right hand and on His left should be given to them for whom it is prepared. "For whom it is prepared" Mark 10:40 are remarkable words here. A humble, subject Man, truly a perfect Servant, is asserting the unalterableness of God's gifts and callings. In Matthew 20:23 it is, "for whom it is prepared of my Father". The words omitted by Mark are noticeable. Sovereign purpose is in evidence here.

Then Jesus called the apostles to Him. In such circumstances it is essential that we should get near the Lord, for obviously distance from Him exists. The ten disciples were at fault, as were the two brothers. There was danger of the principles that ruled among the nations creeping in among them. This must not be; a new spirit and principle had come in, and were before their eyes every day in Christ, whose disciples they professed to be. In His admonition the Lord asserts this spirit and principle. "So shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many". Mark 10:43 - 45. We thus have a remarkable example of the divine way of meeting and correcting a state of discord among the people of God. The Lord

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adduces Himself as the Model for us, His service, as here in the midst of His disciples, and His death.

May we indeed draw near to Him at this time and learn from Him We shall thus be meek and lowly in heart; and, as under His influence, like Judah and Ephraim in the future, we shall become one stick in his hand, Ezekiel 37:15 - 20.

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"TO THE CHIEF SINGER ON MY STRINGED INSTRUMENTS"

Habakkuk 3:19

Habakkuk speaks of faith. His statement, "the just shall live by his faith", Habakkuk 2:4 is cited three times in the New Testament, and may be taken as a text for Christianity. Paul speaks thus, "God's dispensation, which is in faith", 1 Timothy 1:4. Faith takes account of what is not seen yet. It is the "conviction of things not seen", Hebrews 11:1 and so it is not governed by current public events. The godly ones among the Jews in the last days are to be guided by public events. The word to them is, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place ... then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains". Matthew 24:15,16. In the Lord's discourse in Matthew 24, in answer to the disciples' questions about the temple, He outlined the events that should occur in Jerusalem, and which should afford a guide for the faithful as to the time of His coming. While the enlightened Christian knows that Jerusalem is the centre of God's ways on earth, he regards "Jerusalem above" as the centre of the dispensation of grace, and that it is the only divine metropolis now; for the moment it is the true Hephzibah, the true Beulah; see Isaiah 62. Faith looks steadfastly on what is in heaven; there can be no change prophetically until Christ rises from His present seat.

Habakkuk takes full account of oppression and woe current in his day, but he says, "I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me". Habakkuk 2:1. He is thus in a position to get light; he receives answer from the Lord. "The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it

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tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry". Habakkuk 2:3. Finally he says, "the just shall live by his faith". Habakkuk 2:4. Thus the prophet is enlightened, and set on right lines; he is assured of the ultimate triumph of God; he sees, however, that in reaching His purpose God has to discipline His people. Habakkuk says, "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him". Habakkuk 2:20.

In chapter 3 the prophet begins with prayer and ends with a note of triumph to the "chief singer". Habakkuk 3:19. It encourages one in these days to be assured that the highest note may be struck even now. Our chief singer causes such a note to resound. David ordained singers, chief and subordinate, so that the songs in the house of God should be acceptable to Him. In order that a song be acceptable to the divine ear it must be sung to suitable music; hence the need for a chief singer. Christ is our Chief Singer; He sings in the midst of the assembly. Habakkuk begins with a prayer, his heart evidently pressed and variable, and ends with joy. He says, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation". Habakkuk 3:18. The heart pressed by the state of God's people and other things, turns to God in prayer; the believer thus gets near to Him and becomes restful. God Himself, and what He is to us in Christ, takes the place of the pressure. The heart is restful, triumphant, worshipful. "The Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places". Habakkuk 3:19. Hinds' feet and high places go together; the former refers to the power of resurrection realised in the Spirit, the latter to our heavenly calling. What victory over the world is assured, and what pleasure for God in our walk and ways!

Our high places are well defined. In the historical books of the Old Testament much reference is made to high places. They were not those to which Habakkuk refers. The high places in Israel were not

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ordained of God. High places abound today all about us. The name of God is connected with them but they are of human origin. They existed, indeed, before Christianity was introduced, as did those in Canaan before the Israelites took possession of the country. Modern high places are out of keeping with Christ, although many of them bear His name; their steeples and stained glass windows, their organs and choirs do not comport with, or bear testimony to a rejected, crucified Saviour. The flesh takes pleasure in these products of "man's art and imagination", Acts 17:29 but the man of faith looks elsewhere. Habakkuk speaks of the high places of faith. The epistle to the Ephesians presents these to us. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, and we are raised up and seated together in the heavenlies in Christ. The high places of men are intended for the material eye and ear, they belong to seen things; the high places of God are beyond the range of mere human vision. They are seen by the believer by the power of the Spirit of God.

The Spirit's power has "ope'd the heavenly door". Here Christ is all. The note of triumph and joy is to the Chief Singer, and thus the dispensation continues unchanged, and it is marked by faith: faith appreciates all the advantages vouchsafed. It particularly fixes its view on that which is special to the time. The epistle to the Philippians sets before us the exercises and experience of a spiritual man. The writer speaks of "one thing" that occupied him. "I pursue, looking", he says, "toward the goal for the prize of the calling on high in Christ Jesus", Philippians 3:14. The calling on high in Christ Jesus is the great feature now, but Jerusalem on earth shall be in the future for those who take a place in testimony for Christ after the assembly is translated to heaven, May each one of the saints have this before him till the end!

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THE THRONE OF GOD FAVOURABLE

2 Chronicles 18:4 - 34

In reading from the Old Testament it is only with the thought of illustrating the gospel, for, strictly speaking, the gospel is in the New Testament, and it is only as we understand the New that we can employ the Old as illustrative. The four evangelists, as we speak of them, convey to us the fourfold features of the gospel, and no one can rightly present it to men save as he understands, in some measure, the four records. Matthew records the Lord's commission. Certain ones were commissioned and given authority to make disciples of all nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit The commissioners of Christ were not to be at all preferential in their service for, all nations were to be in view, and if we are to make disciples of them, it implies not only great power, but great ability to set out the gain accruing from the acceptance of the gospel. The believers were to be introduced into the realm of light; they were to be baptised to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The advantages were enormous, and the servants of Christ were to make clear what these advantages were, and that they really did exist.

In Mark, the advantage is to the believer; emphasis is laid on believing. The preachers were themselves to be believers. They were told to go not to all nations, but to "all the world" and preach to "all the creation". Mark 16:15. Such, in the mind of God, is the width of the area in which the gospel is to be announced; and, as believers, the preachers were to impress their hearers with the importance of believing, saying, "He that believes and is baptised, shall be saved", Mark 16:16. Certain signs should follow, too, those

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who believed; they should be immune from all satanic power. These were no mere theories, they were verities, and the preachers were to make it plain that believers should come into the gain of what they presented.

Then Luke leaves us with a company of people who themselves were the very expression of the thing that the gospel proposed. They were not mere theorists, they were persons who had been blessed, and, as believers on the Lord Jesus, they were full of joy, they were happy people, their countenances betokened that they were the possessors of blessing, and that they had something positive from God. They were full of joy and were continually in the temple, we read, praising and blessing God. So that in Luke we have witnesses; that is what he would call attention to, as we read in Acts 3:4, 5, Peter and John said, "Look on us": they were the expression of the thing that they preached. That is Luke.

Lastly, John in his record leaves us with a company of people who had the Spirit of Christ, examples of the kind of men that the gospel produces; not vindictive men, not persecutors, but persons imbued with the Spirit of Christ. He breathed into them, having said, "As the Father sent me forth, I also send you". John 20:21. They are not called apostles; they are simply disciples, breathed into by Christ, and sent out as He was sent of the Father. They were to be the representatives of Him in the spirit in which they carried on their service, so that He tells them, "whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them" John 20:23. Think of the Lord having such vessels of grace here upon earth!

As understanding thus the four evangelists, we can see how effective the gospel was. There was power; there was faith; and there was a concrete representation of the product of the gospel in Luke; and then the spirit of forgiveness marks those who

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were sent out according to John. So that it is in the spirit of the four evangelists that we should approach this great service of preaching the glad tidings, to make it attractive to you. If there is an unbeliever here, one would like to make it clear to you that there is immense gain in becoming a believer. There is not only great danger in remaining an unbeliever, but there is immense present and eternal gain in becoming a believer. Having said all that so that you may understand that I am not simply preaching from the Old Testament, I shall seek to present the gospel as illustrated in this chapter. There are three thrones spoken of in it; one is Ahab's, one is Jehoshaphat's, and the other is God's. It is a remarkable chapter.

I wish to speak first, just for a moment, of God's throne, and that we need not be afraid of it as it is now. What it will become is another thing. At the present time the throne of God is favourable to man. It may be that you have not thought of this, and that you have a dread of God as on His throne; but at the present time it is favourable to man, and it is favourable because a Man, God's Son, has been here and has died as a substitute for men, and His blood has been carried in and placed in the very presence of the throne. What was in the tabernacle and in the temple speaks typically of these things. The cherubim of glory represented the authority of God, and it looked down upon the mercy-seat. The mercy-seat had upon it the blood of the victim; that is to say, typically, the blood of Jesus. He is set forth, according to Romans 3:25, as a mercy-seat; "whom God has set forth a mercy-seat, through faith in his blood". God Himself has provided the mercy-seat; it is a mercy-seat with blood upon it. It is Christ, having died and risen, who is the mercy-seat, and God looks upon that mercy-seat, and in virtue of that He can propose to you forgiveness.

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He can forgive and justify through faith the guiltiest man or woman on the earth; and, mark you, it is God in His majesty, in all that He is in righteousness, and holiness, and power who presents Himself through that mercy-seat. He is favourable to men. He says, so to speak, 'I am for you'. God is for us; God is for men, for "God has set forth a mercy-seat, through faith in his [Christ's] blood, for the showing forth of his righteousness ... so that he should be just, and justify him that is of the faith of Jesus". Romans 3:25,26. It is a throne that is favourable. Jesus is on it. In Revelation, as you will remember, the Lamb is seen "in the midst" of it. In Hebrews, Christ is at the right hand of it. In Hebrews 1:3 He is said to be "at the right hand of the greatness on high"; in Hebrews 8:1 He is "at the right hand of the throne of the greatness in the heavens"; in Hebrews 10:13 He is "at the right hand of God", and in Hebrews 12:2 He is "at the right hand of the throne of God". So that being there as our representative, as having made, as it says, purification for sins, He has made the throne favourable, and it is favourable while He remains there. When He leaves that position, the throne will be otherwise; it will be against the ungodly; for when He comes it will be "in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ". 2 Thessalonians 1:8. That is future; but at the present time, the throne is favourable.

Now Micaiah, the prophet of whom we have read, represents the throne of God. He says, "I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne". 2 Chronicles 18:18. Ahab was on his throne, and Jehoshaphat was on his throne, clothed in their robes. Ahab represents the ungodly man in power. The Psalms contemplate him; they are full of references to this kind of man. He is in power; he has four hundred prophets; they are his prophets. Earlier, he had four hundred and fifty prophets of

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Baal; now he has four hundred prophets, nominally of Jehovah. I need not comment further on what he represents. There is an improvement on Jezebel's time, for although Jezebel was still living, yet her power had waned. We are living in times when Jezebel's power has waned, but she still has her prophets; she herself, indeed, is a prophetess as we learn in Revelation 2:20. Ahab had somewhat emerged from her dreadful influence, and now he has four hundred prophets who are nominally prophets of Jehovah; they speak in Jehovah's name; there are many such. Not that one is here to charge evil against any one, but there are many such at the present time. A serious consideration here is that Ahab is allied with Jehoshaphat. Now Jehoshaphat is not exactly the ungodly man, but he is a worldly man. He is truly a believer, but a worldly one. It may be there is some one here who is a believer in Christ, but allied with the world. What is said of Jehoshaphat later is that he loved those who hated Jehovah. Is there any such here who have close friends among the ungodly, and yet who are true believers? You are in a dangerous position. But Ahab is the ungodly man. At the present time, God is ready to plead with the ungodly man, for in presenting the gospel God is no respecter of persons: it is to all, even to the most ungodly. It is through the entreaties of Jehoshaphat here (typically the Christian), that the ungodly man is willing to call for the true prophet. And now we come to Micaiah: he is a persecuted prophet. Ahab says, "I hate him!" 2 Chronicles 18:7. Think of that! It may be there is some one here who hates the preacher because he preaches the truth. Ahab says; "He never prophesied good unto me, but always evil". 2 Chronicles 18:7. Why? What else could the prophet say, if he said the truth? How can any one speak to you if you are an ungodly person, save to warn you of the evil to come, to say that your way is

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crooked, and that you are under the influence of Satan? It may be that you hate the preacher for that; but he is your best friend, for he is telling you the truth. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend", Proverbs 27:6. "A flattering mouth worketh ruin", Proverbs 26:28. Do not listen to it, but listen to the man who tells you the truth. Ahab was not prepared to listen; his mind was bent on mischief, on his self-willed course; he will go his own way, like Balaam of old.

Many read the history of Balaam and think it unreasonable that God should have acted towards him in the way He did; but Balaam, though he pretended not to do anything without the word of the Lord, all the time in the secret of his heart was self-willed: he had "the reward of unrighteousness" 2 Peter 2:13 in his mind. The Lord knew that, and so the angel stood before him; God would save the man from his wicked course. The dumb ass, speaking with a man's voice, forbade the madness of the prophet, for it was that; 2 Peter 2:16. So with Ahab here, and so with you, if you are deliberately and continually resisting the faithful testimony of the servants of God. You are in the same position, and God tonight is standing right across your path and warning you, as Micaiah did Ahab. It is serious for you, if you refuse. There are these four hundred prophets flattering the king; they are saying all kinds of fine things to him 'You are going up and will prosper', but they were telling him lies. There are many such men today, deceiving souls as to salvation. From the very pulpit lies are being told in regard of salvation, and souls are being deceived, and they are going on their way to darkness, the blind leading the blind; and if blind lead blind, shall not both fall into the ditch? Luke 6:39. The truth was that Ahab was lost. As Paul says, "if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost", 2 Corinthians 4:3. 1 cannot tell who they are;

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God knows. Nevertheless, God would save Ahab. Previous to his alliance with Jehoshaphat, when Elijah spoke to him the word of the Lord, he had humbled himself, and God said, "Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me?" 1 Kings 21:29. The least move in your heart God notices. Ahab humbled himself for the moment, and God took account of it but alas! he did not continue. There has to be a definite break made, once for all and it says "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth", Luke 15:10. Repentance is the thing. Ahab humbled himself, but he did not truly repent of his wicked way. Grief according to God works repentance to salvation never to be regretted. Ahab did not thoroughly judge the matter and here we have him in this chapter resisting the divine messenger, ridiculing and persecuting him. Ahab was a lost man; he is the type of a lost man, a man that will come into judgment. The Lord says, "He that hears my word, and believes him that has sent me, has life eternal, and does not come into judgment" John 5:24. Ahab did come into judgment, because in spite of light through Elijah, earlier, he deliberately persisted in going on his way in rebellion against God. So Micaiah says, "I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne". 2 Chronicles 18:18. It is as if he said, 'You are on your throne, and Jehoshaphat is on his, but do not forget that God is on His, and God has the power; you have four hundred prophets and an army, but God has the whole host of heaven'.

When the Lord Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the gospel, He told them that He has all power in heaven and on earth, Matthew 28:18; it is all in the hands of Christ. So Micaiah says, "I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left". 2 Chronicles 18:18. And what is this great conclave for? It is to deal with Ahab. Terrible thing! God intended that this

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man, being determined, to go on his course, should come into judgment. And so it will be with modern Christendom, it will come in for delusive teaching; "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie", 2 Thessalonians 2:11. At the present time it is the truth that is presented to you, but as refusing it, God shall send a strong delusion "because they received not the love of the truth". 2 Thessalonians 2:10. He has the means of doing that. We see this prefigured in the Old Testament chapter we have read. One comes forth and says, "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets". 2 Chronicles 18:21. It may be that there are some of you who will be in like case, that instead of God striving with you, as now, that you might believe the truth, He will cause that you should believe a lie. Is that not terrible? "That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness". 2 Thessalonians 2:12. I do not know anything more solemn than that. And so this one comes and says, "I will entice him". 2 Chronicles 18:20. "How?" says the Lord. "And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets" 2 Chronicles 18:21; not all Jehovah's prophets, for the four hundred were Ahab's prophets, and Micaiah was not one of them. I should not like to be hired by a man like Ahab; I should not like to be drawing a stipend from him. There are thousands upon thousands in like position, and they are exposed to the lying spirit, and they will become the agents of the lying spirit. I do not say that God has sent the strong delusion yet; but I do say that there is a lying spirit abroad; a terrible spirit, surely, and lies are being told about God and about Christ; blasphemous things are being said from the pulpits, and men are deceived by them. Things will become worse when the Holy Spirit goes, and when the church, all true Christians, leave this scene. An awful condition of things will prevail in this world then; what is depicted here will abound,

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a lying spirit shall be sent abroad, and men and women all over Christendom will believe the lie; there will be a total abandonment of Christianity, and apostasy, as it is called, will become full-blown, and then the government of God will follow. I warn you, if there is an unbeliever here tonight, that this stares you in the face, for the church may go tonight; it may go at any moment; and then the strong delusion will be sent. Now alongside the wicked spirit, there was this faithful man, God's messenger, and he says, "I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne", 2 Chronicles 18:18 having already said, "I saw all Israel scattered as sheep that have no shepherd". 2 Chronicles 18:16. Is it not so at the present time, that the sheep are scattered? The Lord would speak to you, and the Shepherd's desire in the preaching of the gospel is that you should not be scattered, that you should come to Him and find your place in His flock.

Now, to proceed a little further with Ahab, so that we may see how judgment finds out the ungodly. He, with Jehoshaphat, is determined to go into the battle, and he says, "I will disguise myself". 2 Chronicles 18:29. Jehoshaphat put on his robes, and Ahab went disguised, as if he could by his disguisement evade the judgment of God! An unbeliever cannot evade the judgment of God. Even though a Jehoshaphat be clothed with robes, as you may be, God will make no mistake. Twins that may look exactly alike are perfectly discriminated by the eye of God. "Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left", Matthew 25:41. Such is the unerring judgment of God! And He says, too, "Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together". Matthew 24:28. The eagle is proverbially keen in eyesight; he sees his prey, and so with the judgment of God, it is unerring. There is no hope for you if you refuse Christ. Doubtless Ahab thought in his heart, 'Jehoshaphat looks like me; they will

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attack him'. Time was, indeed, when a substitute was taken. The Substitute has been taken for you. The gospel announces a Substitute, and if you reject Him there is no other. However disguised you may be, God knows you. Ahab goes into the battle and, as he anticipated, the Syrians attacked Jehoshaphat. But the matter was God's, not man's; it is with God we have to do, not with man; and Jehoshaphat is saved. Thank God! although the Christian may be mixed up with the world, he is sure to be saved. No sheep of Christ can ever perish, though saved, it may be, so as by fire, but he will be saved, 1 Corinthians 3:15. The Syrians discerned that it was the king of Judah and they were deterred from following him. "Jehovah helped him; and God diverted them from him". 2 Chronicles 18:31. This is a touching reference to God's faithful care of His children, whatever their circumstances. Jehovah is the covenant name; God is faithful, even if we are unfaithful. "He cannot deny himself", 2 Timothy 2:13. God would impress upon the unbeliever that he cannot escape. Even in the midst of the battle and all the confusion, God's judgment must take its course. Would God stay it? It would look as if Ahab were to escape; but did he? No; "a certain man drew a bow at a venture". 2 Chronicles 18:33. Think of that! A venturesome bow becomes the instrument of God's unerring judgment. Is there any hope for you if God can even use a bow drawn at random? Your harness, of what use is it as standing against the divine instrument of judgment? It is futile. Ahab had on armour; but what kind? It was not the armour of God; it was his own, and it was capable of being pierced, and it was pierced. This is a most terrible picture, beloved friends, as warning any ungodly person, any unbeliever, that there is no possibility of escaping the judgment of God. I need not say that the judgment of God is just, and according to truth. This picture is to show you that in

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circumstances when it was thought there might have been escape there was none. Ahab could not escape; even a bow drawn at a venture becomes the instrument of the unerring judgment of God. So the eagles find you wherever you are.

Then there is poor Jehoshaphat, who is in a false position. He has a throne; but of what good is that? I have no doubt that there was but little difference between it and that of Ahab, and putting on their robes was just a show "in an open place". 2 Chronicles 18:9. What need was there for them to mount their thrones at a time like that? It was a time rather for taking counsel. But it is the pride of man as he would show himself off. The secret of the destruction of many is pride; it goes before a fall. If you are conscious of it, if some little bit of pride, some little distinction in the world is standing in your way, between you and Christ, judge it now. We all like to pride ourselves in whatever we may have; and there is not a man or woman in the world who has not something of which he or she can take pride in. It is remarkable how we rake the things up, and sit down on them, on our thrones as it were. And there we are like Jehoshaphat alongside the wicked Ahab, the husband of Jezebel, the enemy of God. Is that where you are living, with those who hate Jehovah? If so, I grieve for you, and I would beg of you to come down from that throne, that pride. Divest yourself of those robes that you clothe yourself in to your own satisfaction, if not to that of others, and humble yourself. Get out of that false position. As you see how God watches over Jehoshaphat, does it not appeal to you as a believer? You may have had bright days in the past, but the God whom you knew in your bright early days is the same God; He watches over you in your false alliance, in your wicked associations. Jehoshaphat was an object of great interest to God, for he loved God. Much is said of him, much that is

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honourable, much to his credit; he served God but, alas here he is an ally of Ahab; he is linked up with Jezebel, and he is mounted on the throne of his pride alongside Ahab. I can see him there in the open place in Samaria, and those four hundred prophets, influenced by a lying spirit, prophesying in his hearing. Yet he had a leaning towards Micaiah, as you can see; as every true Christian today has towards those who are of God; even although he might be in a theatre, if there is anything said dishonouring to Christ, it touches his heart. I know of many illustrations of this. So with Jehoshaphat "Let not the king say so", he says, "is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we might inquire of him?" 2 Chronicles 18:6. He leaned towards Jehovah, in the secret of his heart; and it may be so with you tonight; it may be indeed that in your very wicked associations, linked up with men and women in this world, your heart condemns you, and you long for the time again when you enjoyed the things of God, when you were in the company of those who love God.

It is one thing to be in the company of those who hate Him, and another to be in the company of those who love Him. Christians love Him. And so Jehoshaphat had a leaning towards this faithful man, and God had His eye on him, and He saved him through bitter experience. May you never find yourself in such a position. How narrowly Jehoshaphat escaped! Had it been left to himself, he had gone; but in the midst of the confusion of the battle God Himself intervened, and the Syrians went back. It was God's doing and Jehoshaphat was saved. He, as I said before, should never have been there. I know well that if you are true Christians, you will never be lost -- never; the Lord says, "they shall never perish" John 10:28; but then there is such a thing as being in the company of the world and being saved "yet so

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as by fire", 1 Corinthians 3:15 and that was Jehoshaphat's part. How much happier to be found in association with the people of God, with those who love Him, for there you will never find yourself in a strait like that of Jehoshaphat.

Do not trifle with God. Even although you be a believer and you know your end is sure, you may depend upon it you will "suffer loss". 1 Corinthians 3:15. I cannot tell you how much loss, but I know this, that you are suffering the loss of the greatest thing on earth at the present time; that is, the enjoyment of spiritual things in the company of those who love God, and who love Christ. What you may lose by-and-by I am unable to say, but I am sure you will suffer loss, and at the present time you are displeasing the Lord, as Jehoshaphat was doing. The prophet brought the matter on his conscience and, according to the next chapter, he was restored.

May God help you tonight if your case is in any way like that of Jehoshaphat. It is your opportunity to get out of any association with the ungodly that you are in, and to get into the company of the godly, where Christ is, where the Holy Spirit is, and where His ministry is maintained. If there is one here like Ahab who is persistently an unbeliever, God is speaking to you; He is giving you a fresh opportunity to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" that you may be saved. Then you shall not come into judgment, but will pass from death into life. Such is the gospel! May God bless His word!

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THE CLEANSED LEPER

Matthew 8:1 - 4; Leviticus 14:1 - 20

You will no doubt conclude that I propose speaking about the cleansing of the leper, and I hope to do so, the Lord helping me, but before I come to that, I wish to say a little as to the holiness of God, and it was for this reason that I read Matthew 8. The Lord there, as you will observe, had come down from the mountain. He had been sitting there, so to speak, upon His throne, for Matthew presents the King to us not merely in title but in power, and the King had been giving the laws of His kingdom. You will remember that in Matthew's account of the transfiguration, he speaks of the Lord's countenance shining as the sun and His garments being white as the light. This was ever so; from the time of His coming into the world He was essentially holy, but that holiness found its expression on the mount of transfiguration. As on the mount of legislation, as I may call it, in Matthew 5, He is virtually sitting upon His throne and unfolding the laws of His kingdom, and all is essentially holy and pure; they are holy laws, pure laws.

Isaiah, who in spirit had seen Him, could say, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple", Isaiah 6:1. The throne of God and the temple of God go together; they depend upon each other, and both are marked by holiness; as John says, "These things said Esaias when he saw his glory and spake of him" John 12:41; it was the glory of holiness. It was after this vision that he spoke of Him; no one can speak rightly of Jesus save he who sees His glory. All the apostles contemplated the glory of Christ. "We contemplated his glory", John 1:14 "which we have seen with our eyes", John says 1 John 1:1. Well, Isaiah saw His glory and spake of

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Him; he saw Him high and lifted up, His train filling the temple; he heard the six-winged seraphim saying one to another as they veiled their faces in the presence of His glory, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" Isaiah 6:3. All this had taken form in the incarnation, for He was, according to Matthew, "born King". Matthew 2:2. The Magi from the east came to Jerusalem inquiring, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" Matthew 2:2. You will recall, too, that in reply to Pilate's question, "Art thou a king then?" He says "To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world". John 18:37. Yes, He was born king, and in kingly dignity and authority He ascends the mount and unfolds the law of God, the laws of His kingdom. He was truly holy; the seraphim might indeed say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts", Isaiah 6:3 and every word that He uttered on that mount indicated His holiness, and that He was the King, and that He was there for God, and that He would enforce the laws of God, the rights of God. I desire, therefore, that we should be reminded of the holiness of God, and that that holiness is to be maintained, and maintained to the utmost. It is to be enforced, and yet, wonderful to say, the leper can be brought into accord with it. The King has come with means by Him of bringing the blackest sinner into accord with God, the holy God, and infinite holiness; not only into accord with His righteousness, but into accord with His holiness, for God is holy. He could say to this poor, vile leper, "I will, be thou clean", Matthew 8:3 and his leprosy was cleansed.

In Leviticus 14 we get the means under the law of cleansing the leper, and so in that remarkable vision of Isaiah to which we have alluded, we find, alongside the display of the glory of the holiness of God, the means of cleansing. There was one there who felt the effect of the light that shone; Isaiah himself said, "Woe is me" Isaiah 6:5; and so it always is, as the light

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of God shines through the gospel today into some sin-weary, sin-worn heart. I would appeal to such a heart to make the admission before God made by Isaiah "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts". Isaiah 6:5. Has this ever been true to you? Has the light that shines in the face of Jesus in heaven radiated into your dark heart through some preacher of the gospel? Has the sense come to you, 'I am undone, for I have seen the King in His glory'? There is sure to be that confession if you come into the presence of God, and confession brings the cleansing; without it there can be no cleansing, for cleansing and forgiveness are for the confessor, So that directly Isaiah makes his confession one of the seraphim, who knew and proclaimed the holiness of God, flew and with tongs took a coal from off the altar and touched his lips with it, and the sinner was cleansed, his iniquity was taken away, his sin was purged.

The seraph in Isaiah 6 did not suffer on the altar, nor did he take the live coal in his hands; no, there were tongs for him. The suffering belonged to Him who sat on the throne, to none else, and He did not use tongs. Our Lord Jesus Christ was made sin and as made sin, He suffered, He endured the fire of the altar of God, He endured the judgment for sin; the tongs were not for Him, they were to be used by the seraph as they are by the preacher today. The sufferings on the altar belonged to Jesus, He who sat upon the throne. He whose holiness was celebrated by the seraph in chapter 6 is He who in chapter 53, when bearing our sins, made His soul an offering for sin. He endured the full force of the fire on the altar of God, the full judgment of God against sin; "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" 1 Peter 2:24. Think of that, "in his own body"! And

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this cleansing was for the prophet, as it is for the blackest sinner who comes to Jesus, for He has suffered for sin. The King has brought with Him, so to speak, the means by which He can set you up consistently with the holiness of the throne of God. And so in Matthew 8 the Lord comes down from the mount, having spoken these wonderful things in chapters 5,6 and 7, every word of which is pure, tried in the fire, conveying the holy claims of the throne of God; words which will abide when the world and every material thing has disappeared. He had been speaking for God; words which will abide for ever, for His law shall endure throughout all generations, Well, He comes down from that mountain, having uttered things which in the force of them must have consigned us for ever to distance from God, were it not that He who could sit on the throne of His glory and give utterance to His holy law could be the sacrifice for sin, and maintain the holiness of God in respect of sin; "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree". 1 Peter 2:24. Had He not done so, these wonderful sayings, this law of His, must have expelled us for ever from the presence of God, for who could conform to it? But He went down, as I said, and bare our sins; He bore the full force of the judgment of God, so that there is cleansing. As He came down from the mountain great crowds followed Him. No doubt their interest was enlisted by His wonderful sayings, but there was one man among them who knew that he was a sinner; he was a leper and needed cleansing, and he says to the Lord, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean" Matthew 8:2.

Many, probably, were attracted by the beatitudes as they fell from the lips of Jesus, but the leper said nothing about these. Let no one take the beatitudes in his mouth who is not cleansed by the blood of Jesus; they do not fit. Men take them up and adorn

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themselves with them, but they know not what they do; they are playing with fire, talking about the beatitudes and living in sin, living unrepentant lives, and disregarding the rights of God. Men live under a lie; they have not accepted the judgment of God against sin, yet they presume to live up to the beatitudes as though they had a right to them. This leper said nothing about the beatitudes, what were they to him? He knew himself to he outside the realm of all privilege; he was a sinner, he was a leper; what could he do with them? He had no footing in the congregation of Jehovah, he had no place in the sanctuary of God; but he is concerned about his sins, that is to say, about his leprosy, and he says, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean" Matthew 8:2; that is the first thing; he desired cleansing. Before we attempt to claim the beatitudes, let us seek forgiveness; before we sing in the choir, let us get our sins forgiven; before we become church members, let us know forgiveness of sins. The first question to be faced is that of our sins. The prodigal, when he came to his father, said, "I have sinned against heaven" Luke 15:21; that was the first thing to be dealt with. One is moved as one thinks of how men and women take up the things of God glibly on their lips, talk about the wonderful sermon on the mount, and yet they have never confessed their sins to God. You have to face God about your sins; leave the sermon on the mount until your sins are forgiven. It was His disciples whom He taught on the mount. That wonderful sermon, as it is called, is for believers. So this man is not talking about what the Lord said on the mount; he was a leper and he knew that the Lord could cleanse him if He would. Many a one would say "if thou wilt", but we can tell you, if you have realised you are a guilty sinner, that the Lord will. It is not only that the Lord can cleanse you, but He will; He says, "I will". Matthew 8:3. It is not only

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a question of His power, but of His disposition; He wills to cleanse you! If there is anything one loves to speak of, it is the disposition of Christ to bless.

How delightful to the heart of Christ, as surrounded by these throngs of people who followed Him, to hear one sinner, one leper, asking Him to cleanse him. Are you ready to take your place with this man? Will you not ask Him to cleanse you? He was not any different from the others, for they were all lepers morally: that is to say, "All have shined and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23. But have you ever said to Him, 'O God, have compassion on me -- the sinner'? There were great crowds following the Lord when He came down from the mountain, as there are thousands of people outwardly following the Lord now, but they do not know that they are lepers, nevertheless they are; they are sinners, but they do not admit it; they do not confess it, and hence they do not get cleansed, and they are unfit for the congregation of God; they are unfit for that light that shines from the throne, the holiness proclaimed by the seraphim, and, if unfit now, they may be so eternally. We must all give account of ourselves to God. Let there be no mistake about it, death is not the end; the throne of God will remain, as your soul will exist, and you will have to say to God after death, as it says, "after death the judgment". Hebrews 9:27. If you are unfit for the presence of God now, you will be unfit then, unless you repent in this day of grace. And so, while there were crowds following the Lord as He came down, there was one man among them who knew that he was a leper, and he knew that the Lord had power to cleanse him, but he was not so sure about His disposition toward him. If there be anyone here who has any doubt as to the disposition of Christ to cleanse you, I would point you to the cross. Why did He go there? He needed not to go on His own account, for in Him sin was not, but His presence here

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upon earth brought to light the leprosy of man. We read in Job that God saith to the snow, "Be thou on the earth", Job 37:6 so the presence of Christ here was a testimony to the holy requirements of God. The life of Jesus here was a testimony to the holiness of God, all was holy, all was pure, He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners", Hebrews 7:26. Such was Jesus! He was intrinsically holy and yet He could say to this man, "I will, be thou clean". Matthew 8:3. As sin is brought to light by the presence of Christ in all its hideousness to God so it is removed, for He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. How else could He cleanse this man save by taking it upon Himself and bearing it away? On the cross He vindicated God by suffering for sin; as bearing the judgment of God He could say, "but thou art holy". Psalm 22:3. He recognised that He was dealing with a holy God and that a holy God was dealing with Him as He was bearing our sins, and He bore them away, so that the blackest sinner may be forgiven; his soul may be made as white as snow, his soul can be brought into correspondence with Jesus Himself, the holy One of God. He offers forgiveness now, to the vilest sinner.

Well now, the Lord said to this man, "Go show thyself to the priest". Matthew 8:4. I have in mind to open up a little, by the Lord's help, what was in His mind when He told him to do that. The Lord did not take the place Himself of being the priest. He was the King. He put forth His hand and touched the leper, an act which no priest in the Old Testament times could have done, for none could touch a leper without defilement save the One who took upon Himself the leprosy; no one but Jesus could touch a leper, and He did it. But then He says to the cleansed man, "Go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses ordained, for a testimony to them". Matthew 8:4.

In speaking of this I want to come close, not only

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to those who perhaps know not forgiveness yet, but to every one of us, so that we may see how God would have us as believers in perfect accord with Himself. The Lord knew well what was involved, He knew well what was written in the law of Moses; He knew what Leviticus taught as to the cleansing of the leper, He knew the spiritual import of Leviticus 14; and so I want if I can to apply the passage in its spiritual force so that we as believers may see its spiritual application and the provision there is for us so that we may be in accord with God, not only in His righteousness, but in His holiness. What I would remark, in referring to this type is, that many of us do not go beyond the two birds, and hence, never go further in our souls' enjoyment than our own tents, whereas God is waiting to bring us on the eighth day into accord with His tent. There is a very great difference between your tent and His! There is no ark of the covenant in your tent! There are no cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat in your tent! No, these belong to the divine tent, they belong to God's tent. Now the divine thought; that is God's purpose, is to bring you into perfect accord with His tent, and that you should be perfectly restful there.

The first provision for the leper who was to be cleansed was that the priest was to go outside the camp to where he was. The leper was outside the camp: let no one who is unforgiven assume that he has a place inside, for he has not; whatever he may assume to have, he has no place within; outside the camp was his place, and when the leprosy ceased to operate, the priest went out to him there; an allusion no doubt to the movement of the Lord in coming out to where we were. Then the priest takes with him, according to the provision, two birds, living ones, with cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. These things are to be brought to the leper outside the

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camp; then one of the birds is to be slain, as it says: "the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: as for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: and he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times ... and shall let the living bird loose into the open field". Leviticus 14:5 - 7. Now I want to show you that the two birds, the one killed and the other dipped in the blood of the slain one with the cedar-wood, the scarlet and the hyssop, have reference to what I may call the objective side of the gospel; the thing is done throughout for him that is to be cleansed. The man has nothing to do with it; he was sprinkled seven times, it is cleansing from the divine side, and it is complete. The thief, as we have often remarked, went straight to heaven on the ground of the finished work of Christ upon the cross; he never shaved his hair, he never washed his clothes, he never brought the he-lamb, nor did he offer the ewe-lamb. He went to heaven, to paradise, on the ground of a finished work by another, on the ground of what God had done in the cross of Christ, a work perfect and complete. Thank God! The one bird slain is the death of Jesus. One who had power to go back into heaven but who submits to the hands of men, and is slain. But then there is the bird dipped in the blood of the slain bird, which is a figure of resurrection, and Jesus is raised again apart from the question of sins, in the power of His own blood. There are myriads of people who are as sure of going to heaven as any of us, for the operations indicated in these birds refer to what God has effected in the death of Christ; it is perfect, the cleansing from that side is perfect and complete, and is the basis of everything for our souls. I would

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assure everybody here tonight who is in the light of these birds as to that. The one slain, His life taken, is the death of Jesus; One who had power to go back into heaven, who, as He said, had power to command legions of angels, who was beyond the reach of men, but who submitted to men and was slain, but, as slain by men, effected atonement for us and glorified God. So the cleansing of the leper is a certainty, but then, that is where many are, but it is not where God would have us, they have not come to the sanctuary of God. Peter says Christ suffered "the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God", 1 Peter 3:18. True enough, He brought God to us; God came out in the death of Jesus and showed that He is for us, and that He has effected redemption, that is seen in the two birds. We know that God is for us; but "Christ ... suffered ... the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God" 1 Peter 3:18 -- that is another matter. How many of us have been brought to God? I repeat that God has been brought to us in the death of Jesus, and the soul who has faith in that death is as sure of eternal salvation as Paul was. He would say to any distressed sinner, "I will, be thou clean". Matthew 8:3. It is His disposition towards you, but have you been brought to God? The end in the gospel is that you should be brought to God in His sanctuary.

After the bird was slain, and the man sprinkled seven times, and the living bird let loose, the man himself begins to move; he is now to begin his part. You say, 'I did not know I had any part'. Up till then all has been done for him, but now he begins to act. The question of our eternal salvation is all solved and settled in the death of Christ as set out in the two birds; you are fit for heaven, but you are not going to heaven straight away like the thief; he went at once, he never shaved his hair or washed his clothes. But if we are to remain down here in the light of the death of Jesus, we must see that we

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have to do with God in His house, and that He has great things for us there, and He has much to do with us and by us. So here in verse 8, we find the leper has to "wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water that he may be clean; and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days". Leviticus 14:8. God came out to him in the priest; that is, in the death of Jesus, God came out to us, to where we were, and that settles the question of our relationship with Him eternally; that is fixed, but now the man must begin to wash his clothes. What about my surroundings? If the light of God has come out to me where I am, if I have been in this world affiliated to it and marked by its ways and customs, am I to go on in these? No, I am not to go on in them. Christ suffered "the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God", 1 Peter 3:18 and that is what He is aiming at, and if you are to be brought to God you have to move out of your present circumstances. He moved out of His to bring us to God; He came where we were, and now He looks for us to come out from the circumstances of defilement in which we once had our part that He might bring us to God, and if we are to be brought to God we must wash our clothes; do not mistake it. We may stay where we were with our filthy clothes; that is to say, in our defiled circumstances, but God will not stay in them with us. He came out to us to deal with the question of sin, to make known to us His disposition, and how effectively He has dealt with our sins in the death of Jesus! But having had my part in sin I have to wash my clothes and shave my hair, and to wash myself from all the pollution of the world. I may have been in some social circle, in other words I may have been in the world. A young girl may have been fitted to shine there; been brought up from childhood to shine in that circle, taught to dance, to sing, to play cards,

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and all that was necessary to make her shine in the world, and to make her attractive. But she found out she was a leper, and look at her now! All her hair shaved off; all her colour gone, all that made her attractive in the world washed away. They will not want her now, they will not receive her, with her hair shaved off. How different! Thank God if they will not receive you; but you do not want to be received; as being shaved and washed you are on your way into the camp, to being brought to God.

Think of the process enjoined here. The man is brought into the camp but has to remain outside his own tent seven days. How do they feel about him at home? All has to be adjusted as having to do with God. He has to get right about everything, for he cannot be in God's tent till he is right in his own; and so he remains there for seven days, a whole week. Humbling days! He is a confessed leper, and he has been cleansed, effectively cleansed, and there he is outside his own tent, and all in the other tents can see him; he has still to be isolated. Many a thing has to be gone through with God before he is fit for his tent. Have we gone through these things, beloved? Many, alas! have not, but it will have to come. I would to God that each one of us knew what these experiences are if we are to enjoy what the gospel presents to us in its fulness, we shall have to go through these experiences. But now there is an eighth day. The man has done with his own affairs now; they are all settled, things have been straightened out in his own house, everything is adjusted with him, as they must be, if we are to be with God. The epistle to the Romans implies that a man has to be adjusted if he is to be with God. Then there is the eighth day, a wholly new beginning. I would put it to you, have you started on these lines? On the eighth day you begin over again. You say 'Why, I never knew there was so much in

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Christianity. I have gone through the seven days, humbling days; I have had my hair shaved off, I have learnt that there is nothing beautiful about me, everything has come under review, I am in humiliation, for I am learning what sin really is, what it has brought me to; but I am learning, nevertheless, what the grace of God is, what the love of God has done for me, how He has taken up a poor sinner like me and cleansed me, and now I see a new day opening up, the eighth day, when a believer begins to live, not now in relation to his own tent, but in relation to God's'. That is a wonderful day! So it says, "On the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil". Leviticus 14:10. We have begun on another line altogether now. If Jesus as the priest makes us clean, He is now going to fit us for God's sanctuary, He is going to bring us to God, to God in His sanctuary. Remember that Jesus is the priest all through, and He presents the man and those things before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Now I want you to follow this, because if you do, and lay hold of it, you will be in fellowship according to God; you will not be merely a forgiven sinner, blessed as that is, but you will be in the presence of God in His sanctuary, and you will know how God has made you meet to be a partaker of "the inheritance of the saints in light". Colossians 1:12. Now you see where you are, and what have you with you? You have these two he-lambs of a year old, the development of a year. There is a certain freshness, a certain apprehension of Christ now as He is before God; there is a ewe-lamb too, denoting that affection is springing up in your heart towards God and towards Christ. Have you experienced, young believer, what this ewe-lamb means? The two he-lambs refer to Christ, but the ewe-lamb, I apprehend, has reference to that which

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is being effected in your soul, denoting what is subjective as the work of God in the soul; for the work of God in the soul goes on concurrently with the light. In other words, what we call objective is concurrent with what is subjective, and unless the subjective; that is the ewe lamb, is being developed equally with the objective, we shall be one-sided and we shall not be at home in the presence of God. Then there is the oil, the Holy Spirit. You bring the log of oil; you come to recognise that there is the Holy Spirit of God, and that He is in you, that indeed He is the power in you of having to do with God, for by one Spirit we draw near, we have access, and by the Spirit of adoption we cry "Abba, Father". Have you experienced that? That is the beginning of your relationship with God, your positive relations with God, when you know Him as Father and by the Spirit cry "Abba, Father".

Well, the details here are delightful if we go into them and understand them. The man is set up in the presence of God, in God's sanctuary; and the whole man is marked by the blood and by the oil, and what is left over of the oil is poured on his head. First, the blood is put on his right ear, on his right thumb and on his right toe; he is secured for God in every part of him, spirit, soul, and body. The blood is put on these members, then the oil; and then in the efficacy of the power and beauty of the Holy Spirit upon him, he is brought into the presence of God. It is only by the Spirit that I can be in the presence of God; I can only be there by the Spirit in a subjective way. It is by the Spirit that I cry "Abba, Father", it is by the Spirit I draw near to God, and it is in the power of the Spirit that I love God and that I love the brethren. As regards the oil, that is poured on his head, he is set up in personal dignity in the presence of God; and every one has his own dignity there, as it says in Acts 1:15, "the

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crowd of names". Every one there had his own distinction, and that distinction was by the Spirit. Thus the leper is cleansed and made ready not only for his own tent, but for God's habitation. He is set up in personal dignity with God, and that dignity and distinction are in the Spirit, and by the Spirit.

I would urge on the young people, and on every one of us, not to stop short at the two birds, but to go on to the eighth day and see the provision that is made so that we may reach God in His sanctuary, the sanctuary of His holiness, and know what it is to be in the presence of God as Christ is. "As he is", it says, "so are we in this world". 1 John 4:17. May it be so, for His name's sake.

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Pages 254 - 322 -- "Notes of Readings on Deuteronomy". Belfast, 1915 (Volume 28).

NOTES OF READINGS ON DEUTERONOMY (1)

Deuteronomy 1

J.T. A certain difficulty is felt generally in regard to this book for public readings; but I think we might get help as to the bearing of the book. No one who looks at it even casually can fail to see that it has a distinctive character; and above all books of the Old Testament it is important that we should read it with our thoughts on the New Testament. Perhaps certain damage accrues to us in reading the Old Testament as though it were not intended for New Testament people. If we have our thoughts in the New Testament when we read the Old Testament we shall understand the latter spiritually. What has specially struck me in this book is that it gives great prominence to what Moses says; not as elsewhere what he was commanded to say, but what he says. In the end of the book of Numbers it is what the Lord commanded him to say; or what the Lord commanded the people through Moses; whereas this book opens, as you will notice, with "These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel". Deuteronomy 1:1. So that Moses, personally, in his own intelligence, and his own affection for the people, is brought before us; all of which suggests to us Christ, but viewed as Head, rather than as Lord, although His authority is to be seen in the type. Unless we understand the books which emphasise the authority of Moses, we shall not understand this book; but if we do understand them, we shall see what this book sets forth, and that is, the Headship of Christ; and the sphere into which He as Head would introduce us.

W.H. Do you mean that in the history of our souls the Lord's authority would come first?

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J.T. Yes, or rather the authority of God through the Lord. It is obvious that unless our souls are subdued, there is no room for the headship of Christ; nor is there any inclination to go into Canaan. The mind of the Spirit in this book is full of Canaan; you have even in the second verse of this first chapter the number of days journey it was from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea. This intimates that the saints should not delay long in their spirits until they come into the light of heaven; it is only "eleven days journey". Deuteronomy 1:2.

The boundaries of the land are indicated in Numbers. In this book the land itself is outlined, and a testimony is given of what it yielded. The book of Numbers prepares us for this, because unless we are within the boundaries of the land there is no appetite for the things that are yielded there. The boundaries refer to principles.

E .M. "Faith and love which are in Christ Jesus" 1 Timothy 1:14 are like boundaries.

J.T. Yes. Canaan, in the Old Testament, is a type of heaven for Christians; but it is heaven in the sense in which it is known now. There will be no need that we should be reminded of the boundaries of heaven when we are there literally; but it is while we are down here as a heavenly people, and walking in the light of heaven, that we are not to go outside the boundaries. Hence we have the boundaries outlined in the book of Numbers; but here in Deuteronomy we have the land itself, and the produce of it.

Ques. What would answer to Deuteronomy in the New Testament?

J.T. Well, it includes both Colossians and Ephesians. Colossians in the sense that the headship of Christ is introduced in type; and Ephesians in the sense that the full extent of the territory is outlined, this Colossians does not furnish us with. I

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think Colossians helps us as to the boundaries, because we are told to set our minds on things above; that is what indicates the boundary, that instead of our minds being set on things below, they are to be set on things above.

J.McF. What is the object of the book of Deuteronomy? Is it formative?

J.T. Yes. I think it is formative in the sense that it prepares us for Canaan. The formative work goes on, because they are on ground which typifies the possession of the Spirit. Moab as a territory typifies the possession of the Spirit. There must be that which prepares us for the land. One great formative principle is what Moses is; his own wisdom and his affection. These are two great principles in regard of Christ as Head; He is wisdom for us, and He has unbounded affection for us. That would lead Him to do all possible for us.

J.M. Is not that very much like Romans 8:35, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ"?

J.T. I think so.

P.L. It is Moses in his affection for the people of God, not exactly Moses in the official position.

J.T. In this book, Deuteronomy 33:1, Moses is said to be "the man of God". It is more what the man was.

P.L. His love shines for the people there.

J.T. You cannot read of the blessing of Moses without being struck by the fact that his heart was in it. It is very different from what you get in Balaam. There was light in what Balaam said, but his heart was not in it. One often finds that in ministry there is light without heart. The interest of Moses in the people is manifested throughout Deuteronomy.

Ques. Why is "this side Jordan" emphasised in the first verse?

J.T. Because of its nearness to Canaan, and it

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typifies the possession of the Spirit. It is only those who recognise the Spirit that are prepared for this teaching.

J.McF. They were not actually in it.

J.T. They were not actually in the land, but they had the Spirit typically. A great many people do not recognise the Spirit as a principle in the soul, because the will has not given way. I think it is quite possible to have the Spirit, and yet to allow the will to act. There may not be any overt act of evil, but yet man's will may be active, hence there is no progress; headship is not known.

W.K. That is to say, you would do what you think right yourself.

J.T. Yes, you do what is right in your own eyes. Before there was a king in Israel they did that.

J.M. Would Romans 8 help us as to the Spirit on our side?

J.T. Yes, that is the point in it; and that is the ground upon which Deuteronomy stands; it is all unfolded there. Moses explained all this law, and he goes on to explain Canaan, showing that that is the mind of the Spirit now. It is noticeable how active our wills may be, and yet there may be nothing in the way of gross evil.

W.K. It is a striking word we get in Titus 2:14; "who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous for good works".

J.T. That is it. Lawlessness is the law of your own will. There is a sort of unwritten law sometimes recognised, and people may go on doing their own will without going outside of it.

E.M. Do I understand you to say that this answers to Romans 8?

J.T. The plains of Moab do; they are really divine territory; an essential stepping stone into Canaan.

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W.K. But with Canaan definitely in view, and with the idea that they are going in to possess the land.

J.T. Yes. So it says: "after he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei on this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, the Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying ye have dwelt long enough in this mount ... behold I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them, and to their seed after them". Deuteronomy 1:4 - 8. That indicates the law referred to in this book.

E.M. Would you say that the activity of Christ as Head is recognised?

J.T. This book supposes the activity of the Head so as to get us in.

E.M. But is it through the Spirit now?

J.T. I think all activity is through the Spirit. Romans 8 enlarges on what the Spirit is to you; whereas, what is set forth in Colossians is what the Head is to you; and all is with the end in view, to fix the minds of the saints on heavenly things.

F.L. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God", Romans 8:14. The leading of the Spirit is with a definite end in view.

J.T. Yes; and therefore you get in the book of Numbers, from chapter 21, the leading of the Spirit typically.

Rem. Deliverance and the Spirit are found in Romans 8.

J.T. Of course the Deliverer is Christ, always; but subjectively deliverance is effected by the Spirit. The Deliverer is found at the end of Romans 7. "Who shall deliver me out of this body of death I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord". Romans 7:24,25. But

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then Christ has given me the Spirit that I may be free.

Rem. You would scarcely limit the activities of Christ to those who are in the land.

J.T. If you limit it you would not get any in; Colossians must have its place. The object of Colossians is to lead us into heavenly things. "Seek the things which are above, where the Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God". Colossians 3:1.

W.K. You must distinguish between the Head, and the sphere.

J.T. Now, it is the Head that delivers us from all nationalism, and all sectarian feeling. Those things have no place beyond the boundaries. Nationalism and patriotism have their own place on earth, but beyond the heavenly boundary there is no place for them.

W.K. When you speak of sectarianism, by that we understand you to mean class or party.

J.T. Yes; Ulsterism for instance.

R.L. Would you say that in addition to the encouragement Moses gives them to enter the land, there would be instruction also as to how they should conduct themselves there?

J.T. There can be no doubt that when we are there all our conduct shall be in accord with the place; but the point is to know how to get in. We profess to have the Spirit, and as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God. Now, I take it that the leading of the Spirit is outlined in the previous book; that is, Numbers, from chapter 21. It is what the people did themselves; they did this, and they did that; there was no murmuring; there was failure true enough; they affiliated with the Moabites; but generally speaking, they moved towards Canaan.

E.M. Do you view the land as the sphere of privilege?

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J.T. It is the sphere of privilege, but as it is known down here.

W.H. From Numbers 21 onwards it is the Spirit, and the subjective work of the Spirit; and then when we come to this it is a question of headship.

J.T. Yes; as I was saying, as to Numbers 21, the authority of Christ has done its work, and the believer has given up his will; and instead of the will of the flesh, it is the will of the Spirit; the Spirit is the recognised principle subjectively. Then when you come to Deuteronomy you are prepared for the wisdom that is in the Head. It is what Moses says, a man who loves the people. In verse 9, he says: "And I spake unto you at that time saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone; the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and behold ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude". Deuteronomy 1:9,10. Although he under-estimated the power available, yet his interest was in the people. Now, when you look at it from the New Testament point of view, Christ does not say that; He does not say, "I am not able to bear you myself alone". Christ is for us in the wilderness in the way of support. You must leave out for the moment the failure. You get the sympathy of the Priest, the unfailing One, to support you in the wilderness, and that Man is able to speak to you in the way of wisdom.

P.L. Headship is an eternal thought. The Lord will surrender the kingdom, but headship is eternal; and is it not a position which the Lord has assumed in His affection for the church?

J.T. Yes, I think it is eternal. I do not think we should care to have it otherwise. We should always delight in the thought that Christ is our Head.

W.K. In what sense do you use the term headship?

J.T. In the sense of direction and supply. Have you any other thought about it?

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W.K. No. He is Head to the whole company; and headship would make for unity. If He is your Head, He is my Head; and so we would all come in on that line.

J.T. Yes. And I think it is the way in which He has endeared Himself to us in heaven that prepares the way for our acknowledgment of His headship.

W.K. Yes; and we are glad to have it.

J.T. Yes. So that when Moses says, "I am not able to bear you alone", Deuteronomy 1:9 your mind immediately turns to Christ. He supports us all through the wilderness.

P.L. If He can be that to you where He is rejected, what can He not be where He is loved.

J.T. One great point in headship is wisdom. That is important; because the more you see it, the more subject you are to the Lord; and He can do far better for you than you can do for yourself.

J.B. It is not merely as individuals that He is Head to us, but more as a family.

J.T. He is Head to every family. He says, "I go to prepare a place for you", John 14:2 and really He prepares us for the place. He has gone before to prepare a place, and then He comes to introduce us into it; so that we are there intelligently.

R.L. What is the object of Moses in going over the history of the failures, and all that?

J.T. Well, I think it is to bring in the great interest that had been manifested in the people, both by God, and himself. I suppose in our own experience we are continually reminded of our own path, and what God has been to us. In the book of Deuteronomy you have both the encouraging line and the humiliating line. You are reminded of the past; you have often been on the brink of the precipice, and some unseen hand has protected you from falling over. Then on the other hand, you are reminded of what you are.

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R.L. And you are reminded of the grace of God.

J.T. Yes. The book of Deuteronomy is very valuable to show what God has been to us all these forty years; and what Christ has been to us because Moses is in this respect Christ typically. You see an allusion to it in Canticles "Who is this coming up out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved?" Song of Songs 8:5. Moses was typically Christ; and this chapter emphasises the great interest that Moses had in the people, He says, "The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are". Deuteronomy 1:11. He was utterly unselfish.

Ques. What is in your mind when you speak of wisdom?

J.T. Wisdom cannot be improved upon. The book of Proverbs would set aside the whole fabric of Christendom; because the whole system of Christendom is marked by innovation and human development, and "improvements", whereas, the point in wisdom is that you cannot improve it.

E.M. Would you say the highest point on our side in this respect is that the Wisdom of God is manifested?

J.T. Yes; and how shall it become manifested unless each one recognises Christ as Head. So you have here God's testimony in regard to wisdom; that here is something that cannot be added to or improved upon. I think it is very interesting to see, in our humble and obscure way, that when we return to divine principles we find they are perfectly workable. There are no circumstances or difficulties in which saints may find themselves in this world where assembly principles cannot be applied, and made to work. We have seen cases where meetings have been broken up, and the break up has continued for years. It is tantamount to acknowledging that assembly principles are not applicable; whereas they are always applicable. There are no circumstances

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to which they cannot he applied. Any innovation can only spoil or damage.

J.M. Yes; and recovery is only brought about when they are recognised and bowed to.

W.K. The great point with many now is to accumulate knowledge; but if you have not wisdom it will only lead astray.

J.T. Yes. And then the next thing is, that love is a kind of handmaid to wisdom. Love is the material that wisdom uses in the structure.

J.B. Would you say that Mary had wisdom in John 20?

J.T. I think she had affection; she had that which wisdom could use; and the Lord took it up and used it; He sent her to the company with a message. If you have affection for the Lord, wisdom will place your love where it will become useful to the company; because love itself is often quite misguided; whereas wisdom takes it and gives it its place. The presence of the Holy Spirit brings in the material; but the material has to be put in place. It does not say, Love has builded her house; no, "Wisdom has builded her house". Proverbs 9:1. But how does she build it? She builds it with love. We were saying last night that it is a great thing to have a little bit of means. Really it comes to this, that you live if you have that. The Lord takes account of it, and puts it in its place so that it may be useful, and the whole company gets the benefit of it. Wisdom builds her house.

Directly you recognise the Spirit, you come to the thought that you must have the Head. The Spirit will not take that place. He has come in wondrous humility to be our servant; and God takes special account of that, but He will not take the place of Head.

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NOTES OF READINGS ON DEUTERONOMY (2)

Deuteronomy 3

J.T. It may perhaps help to call attention again to the distinction that is to be made between the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and this book of Deuteronomy, namely, that in Deuteronomy it is more what Moses' personal exercises were, and what he said to the people; whereas in the previous books it is what the Lord said to the people through Moses. That is, it is a question of God's authority in the previous three books, in the main; so you will find constantly in those three books "The Lord commanded Moses"; "The Lord spake unto Moses saying"; and so on. There was no room for Moses' exercises; it is a question of God's authority over our souls. That is largely what the kingdom implies.

T.M.G. The lordship of Christ.

J.T. Yes; the authority of God exercised in Christ, leading to the subjection of our wills to God. When you come to Deuteronomy it is chiefly the exercises of Moses personally, and what he said to them. In the end of the book of Numbers it is said: "These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded, by the hand of Moses, unto the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan near Jericho" Numbers 36:13. In Deuteronomy 1:1 it is: "These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red Sea"; and it goes on to say in this chapter that Moses began to "unfold this law" Deuteronomy 1:5. Moses began to unfold it. Consequently Deuteronomy answers more to the headship of Christ; and the book, in the body of it, is engaged with moralising on the previous history of the people. Moses reviewed their whole history; he shows what God had been to them, and what they had been.

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So a person, in having to do with Christ personally, is thrown back on his whole history as a believer, and is reminded of what God has been to him, and then what he himself has been. So that on the one hand the soul is encouraged in the knowledge of God, and humbled in the knowledge of itself; and then the communications of Christ to us, and the interest He evinces in us, attach us to Him, hence the desire to accompany Him into the land. We are going into it according to what He is. Deuteronomy is very little studied, but no one can fail to be struck with the character of it; it is peculiar; and undoubtedly it is intended to qualify us for the land, for heavenly privilege. We do not get the military side in it, as in the book of Joshua. Joshua is the military book in the main, and hence Joshua is a military leader. In Deuteronomy Moses has compassion for the people, and shows his personal interest in the land, as we see in this chapter; he would "go in and see the good land" that is beyond Jordan, "that goodly mountain, and Lebanon" Deuteronomy 3:25. So he begins to unfold the law in Deuteronomy 1:5. "On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law". He beings with this that they are to go into Canaan; that is the great thought in the book. The unfolding of the law in Exodus is: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might". But the unfolding of the law in Deuteronomy begins with Canaan; it is a question of going in there.

T.M.G. What would it answer to in the New Testament?

J.T. Well, it is seen in Colossians and Ephesians. Headship is specially emphasised in Colossians; and then the extent of the territory in Ephesians; because that is outlined here.

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W.H. That is why you add Ephesians, because the territory is brought in?

J.T. Yes; Ephesians 3 is the territory. There can be no question that headship is very little known.

T.M.G. Would you say that it is the affection side in Deuteronomy?

J.T. Moses' love for the people is a marked feature in the book.

J.M. When you say headship is very little known, is it because we are not sufficiently subdued?

J.T. I think it is. As we were saying last night, there is a great deal of lawlessness within the bounds of the law; that is, your will may be active, while you are clever enough to escape the penalty by keeping within the bounds of the law as to your conduct; but in spirit you may be really lawless. This state of things exists to a great extent; you say 'I will do this', or 'I will do that', without considering whether it compromises the saints, or causes sorrow to the saints, or to Christ. You may be carrying out your own will, and yet not apparently doing anything out of the way.

T.M.G. That is to say, it is yourself you are thinking of, instead of thinking of what is involved in headship. Christ is the Head. It is a collective idea.

J.M. So if that state is existing among us one can readily see that we do not get the gain of the Head. You would say the Corinthians had not the gain of the Head?

J.T. I think not; I think headship comes in where the Spirit is formally recognised. We were pointing out, that this law is unfolded when they were in Moab, In Numbers the two and a half tribes chose to dwell there, and that was falling short of the purpose of God. In Deuteronomy it is divinely given territory. So Moses tells them formally that he gave it to these tribes; hence the position is that

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which Romans 8 points out for us; it is the territory where the will of the flesh is refused, the Holy Spirit being recognised. You cannot step into Canaan without it; Jordan is the barrier objectively; without the Spirit you cannot go into Canaan, for it is a question of power. In the book of Numbers, from chapter 21 onward, where they found the springing well, this territory is outlined; I mean the Spirit is formally recognised. "Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it". Numbers 21:17. It is in that state of soul we are prepared for headship. So the plains of Moab are divine territory; territory to which God is entitled, and which He uses to lead us on further.

E.M. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God". Romans 8:14.

Ques. Why does Moses in chapter 1 say, "Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount"? Deuteronomy 1:6. It was where the law was given.

J.T. Well, mount Horeb stands for the covenant. It is not Sinai here; it is Horeb; the place of covenant relations. God entered into covenant with the people there, and really the Supper stands in that relation to us, because the cup is the new covenant, but then it was not the place to which they were called; they were to serve God there, but it the mountain of God's inheritance. It is a wonderful mount, the mountain of the covenant, but it is not the place of God's inheritance. Moses says, "I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon". Deuteronomy 3:25. Exodus 15 speaks of the mountain of God's inheritance. That is the mountain we are to dwell in. So they had dwelt long enough where they were; it was essential that they should dwell a period there.

Rem. So that knowing headship means real movement in the soul.

J.T. It is. At the Supper you touch it; but it

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leads you on. The great object for us is heaven: "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance". Exodus 15:17.

J.M. And is the Supper in order that Christ might take His place, in our affections, as Head?

J.T. Yes, I think so and it is the Lord's initiative. He goes in first, and prepares the place, and then comes back and takes us in to it, John 14:2. In the meanwhile He comes to us spiritually.

J.M. So that the Supper is to give Him His place in our affections.

J.T. That is what it does.

T.M.G. And we come in now in the power of the Spirit.

J.T. Under His leadership. It is well to have before us mount Horeb, however blessed is the mountain of God's inheritance.

J.M. Would you say that Horeb is the link with it?

J.T. Well, it is the place of the covenant. You see you go in married, as we may say. "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" Song of Songs 8: 5. That is an allusion to Moses taking the people out of the wilderness towards Canaan. Christ is the "Beloved". Nothing can be more interesting than to see how God proposes the covenant in Exodus 19. He produces it in this way, that He commends Himself; and He commends Himself by recounting certain evidences of His care and love for the people. He says, "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself". Exodus 19:4. Now that is God's proposal; and He sends that word to them through Moses. He says as it were, 'I want you to consider whether it is worth your while to enter into covenant with Me; I want you to consider the past, and what I have done for you, what I have been to you. Is it worth your while?' He does not

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speak directly to them; He speaks through Moses to them; and then they send Moses back to God; they do not speak to God, but they send the messenger back to God, saying as it were, 'We accept the proposal; we will keep the covenant'. "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do". Exodus 19:8. Now, that was the formal contract which was made there; and prophetically it is alluded to later as a marriage bond, where God is a husband to the people. He says, "I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant", Ezekiel 16:60.

R.L. The first mention we have of Horeb is in Exodus 3, where the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush; and He proclaimed His name there. What is the thought in it? Horeb is also called the mount of God.

J.T. And there they were to serve Him. God says, "ye shall serve God upon this mountain" Exodus 3:12. That is where divine service is established.

R.L. The preservation of the people is indicated; but, as you say, they were not to remain there.

Rem. The covenant conveys the love of God.

J.T. I do not know anything more wonderful in a way than that God should commend His love to us; not only manifest it, but commend it.

J.McF. Is entering into the covenant responding to divine love?

J.T. I think so. God is showing His love. He not only commends it, but He sheds it abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us; and then we answer to it. So it is not now as in Israel; you do not undertake to do the will of God without the means to do it; by the Spirit you do it; so that the righteous requirements bf the law are fulfilled in us. That is our side, answering to the covenant.

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Now, I was remarking that in these chapters you find that the Spirit moralises on the occurrences in the wilderness; whether it be God's dealings with them, or their conduct. In chapter 2 He calls attention to what they have been; during all the forty years they had lacked nothing; and then when you come to this chapter I think He moralises on the event of the overthrow of Og, which typically was consequent on the reception of the Spirit.

J.M. What would Og answer to?

J.T. Well, he was a very big man. That is what we all are after the flesh in our own account. Self is prominent. It was a great day in the history of the apostle when the overthrow of that took place in him.

T.M.C. Is that Romans 8?

J.T. Yes.

J.M. What is your thought as to the moralising on this?

J.T. I mean that the Spirit would base certain teaching on it for the instruction and blessing of our souls.

R.L. It says they took all his cities at that time and they utterly destroyed them. That would be complete deliverance.

J.T. Quite so: the complete overthrow of that huge man; and this is the only passage where we get the dimensions and the description of his bed. He represents a very great moral hindrance to the soul's progress. Do you not think so?

T.M.G. I think that most of us know it experimentally.

R.L. Not only did they overthrow, but they possessed the land, Deuteronomy 3:12.

J.T. We must not allow a void; the ground occupied by the flesh must be occupied by the Spirit.

J.M. What do you mean by that?

J.T. There is to be no vacancy in the heart; no

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void crevices; all of it is to be occupied by the Spirit of Christ. Mark this is not the sphere of the purpose of God; this refers to what goes on within your soul.

T.M.G. It is preparatory.

J.T. And the occupation of the territory is most essential; no good general will leave any city unoccupied or unguarded, because if he does he will suffer later. You are responsible for your own territory. It is a question of the operation of the Spirit in your soul.

J.M. It is a question of the Spirit taking the place of the flesh?

J.T. Yes and you hold the territory for Christ now; instead of having your own ambition, and conceptions, all that space is to be occupied for Christ.

W.H. In that way appreciation of the land would come in?

J.T. Yes. The Spirit displaces the will of the flesh.

T.M.G. Would it answer to Romans 8:9,10?

J.T. The territory is occupied in that way.

J.McF. Would it go as far as Colossians; "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him"? Colossians 2:9,10.

J.T. That is further on. The Colossians were in danger of listening to men. Man's mind is apt to be interesting, and I must not listen to it; though it is able to say some very fine things. Now I think the apostle meets that danger by saying that we do not need anything outside Christ. "Ye are complete in him", he says, "who is the head of all principality and power". Colossians 2:10.

J.M. It is remarkable how much is said in Romans 8 of the Spirit.

J.T. Very remarkable; it is not only the plains of Moab, it is mount Nebo; it is a question of spiritual eminence. That is, Moses reaches typically

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the highest point of Romans 8; he did not get as far as Colossians, he did not reach to Ephesians, because that is all beyond Jordan. In this chapter Moses formally resigns in favour of Joshua; he can bring the people up to the point where the Spirit is recognised; and he expresses all the activities of the Head; but then he fails in the type, he does not go over Jordan.

T.M.G. It is a point from which you can view all the land.

J.T. Romans 8 and fellowship go together. The Lord says to Abraham: "Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever", Genesis 13:14,15. Well, where was he then morally? He was in the spot where Lot separated from him. There was a separation because of the truth that involves fellowship. The Lord says: "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art". Genesis 13:14. Now there is a point of spiritual eminence in your soul that corresponds with Romans 8. So you lift up your eyes from that eminence, and the Lord shows you the land.

J.McF. That is what Pisgah really means: the hill, or eminence.

J.T. If we are not in fellowship, we never can look into heaven; you do not see things rightly. Now, fellowship is connected with mount Horeb, because the covenant is attached to it; it is the bond that you are in; the contract that you have made. But then the other side is the Spirit. The Lord would lead you into the spiritual side.

J.M. And the bond is the love of God.

J.T. Moses, you may say, resigns here in favour of Joshua; he says, "I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord

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your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest. Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight for you". Deuteronomy 3:21,22. It is Joshua now. Then Moses goes on to speak to the people; he says as it were: 'I would like to have gone in, but the Lord would not let me go in for your sakes'. That is Deuteronomy. It would be quite out of keeping with the Law that the law-giver should bring them into Canaan, but he could speak to them about Canaan. You like to hear a preacher speak about heaven. The book of Numbers, as we were saying last night, gives us the boundaries; the book of Deuteronomy gives us the full extent of the land. The boundaries are in Colossians; "Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth" Colossians 3:2; the "not" is like a boundary. Colossians shows you the boundary between heaven and earth; and you are, in the spirit of your mind, to be inside that boundary; not outside of it. Now when you come to Ephesians, it is not only that your mind is there, but you are there.

T.M.G. Seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

J.T. Moses' mind was in the land, but he could not go in himself because of circumstances. He was a good Colossian!

J.McG. Do you connect the thought of the Head with Joshua?

J.T. In a way; only when you come to Joshua it is more a military idea. One feels one's ignorance about these things; but it is well to take things up as Scripture presents them. Joshua is introduced as a military leader; but it is military in this sense, it is the way you are led subjectively. Joshua leads you directly against the enemy. Joshua is a type of Christ, but Christ known spiritually in the soul. You will remember that in Exodus 17 he led against Amalek. The conflict was dependent upon Moses'

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hands being uplifted. It is intercession rather than authority that is needed in such conflict. In Exodus 33 Joshua is found in the tabernacle That is Christ in some spiritual way known to our souls.

J.McF. At the end of this book it says that Moses laid his hands on Joshua. What is the force of that?

J.T. Well, the laying on of hands is committal; I think he would do that in an apostolic way, as the apostle Paul did on Timothy.

J.McF. I thought it was Moses approving of him in that way as a suitable leader; he was Moses' servant, and therefore was thoroughly instructed and ready to take the lead, so to speak.

J.T. I love to think of Moses as a heavenly minded man. It is beautifully seen here; "I pray thee let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon". Deuteronomy 3:25. How he appreciated the land, although he had not really seen it.

Ques. When the Lord said to Moses: "Speak no more unto me of this matter", Deuteronomy 3:26, would that mean that the Lord would do better for him?

J.T. I think the Lord was indicating, that, as a type, he could not go in; speaking unadvisedly with his lips disqualified him. He called the saints rebels; a very serious thing to do.

R.L. In verse 28 Joshua was to be charged, and encouraged, and strengthened. Moses must have had the mind of the Lord, so he could put his hands upon the one whom the Lord had marked out to lead His people.

J.T. All this is to show the great place the people had in his mind; if he could not take them in he saw to it that another would.

P.L. The Lord encouraged the people in that way. He pointed out the one who would bring them in.

Rem. I suppose on the mount of transfiguration Moses had his desire answered.

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J.T. I do wish we had heavenly minds, that we might see the boundaries, and keep inside them. Although you may be in the wilderness, your mind may be within the boundaries, Moses' mind was within the boundaries.

T.M.G. That is, that we should be good Colossians.

J.T. When you come into the assembly, it is not only your mind, but you have come into the sphere; it is all God's land. I fear there is a great deal of national feeling among God's people, and that is all outside the boundaries of Canaan.

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NOTES OF READINGS ON DEUTERONOMY (3)

Deuteronomy 14

J.McF. Is this the expression you were referring to this morning, "Ye are the sons of the Lord your God"? Deuteronomy 14:1.

J.T. Yes. I thought it would be helpful to see this side of the truth in this book. It is a book of encouragement, and one feature in it is, that it sets before us the greatness of our place and calling. We cannot go over each chapter, but you will notice in chapter 4 how God calls attention to what the nation was, as compared with other nations. In verse 7 we read; "what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day". Deuteronomy 4:7,8. Connecting that with chapter 14, "Ye are the sons of the Lord your God", we are reminded of what we are by calling. It is not what we should be here, but what we are; and certain results, or consequences, are expected. In connection with that it might be helpful to point out that we have to distinguish between covenant relationships, and family relationships. There are two lines running through Scripture; the one having to do with God entering into a covenant with man through the Mediator; and the other having to do with God adopting a family. Now this chapter, I think, touches the latter; we are the sons of God; so that our countenances are not to be disfigured.

J.M. Would you kindly repeat what the covenant relationships are in New Testament lines.

J.T. Well, I think, that whilst the new covenant is not made with us, yet we come into the benefits of it. At one time in our history we had no relationship

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with God at all, but God from His own side approached man in the Mediator; and in the death of the Mediator God commends His love to us. It is not His love for His children, but His love for people who at the time He manifested it were aliens, were sinners. That is very important, if it could be laid hold of. It may seem to be a distinction without a difference, but it is not. The two lines run through Scripture, and they are distinct.

W.H.M. His covenant with Abraham was to a thousand generations, it says in Psalm 105:8. Is that the kind of covenant you are speaking of?

J.T. No doubt there is a similarity in all covenants. But the covenant with Israel, I think, supposes a certain kind of contract, or bond; it was a covenant contracted between two parties. The proposal that the bond should exist came from God; it originated with God. It comes in in our case in the Lord's supper, because the cup is the new covenant in His blood. It is a different thought from family relationships. The Supper, in that way, has more the covenant in view.

J.B. Are we under the covenant on account of provisional position?

J.T. I think it gives stability of soul in view of our position down here. It does not take us off the earth.

W.H. We would not have liberty in our souls if we had not covenant.

J.T. Quite so, because we want to be sure of God's disposition towards us; and God is free not only to manifest His love, but to commend it to us. We should know it; indeed one wonders why it should need to be commended. But before we know it God takes account of the state of our souls, and commends it to us; and the knowledge of it gives stability of soul, in view of the difficulties in which we are here. That is to say, God's love is no less to

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me now than it was before I was converted. If He commended it to me in that day, He would commend it to me now. It gives great stability of soul, because of our weakness.

P.L. Does the mountain suggest stability? The ministry of the covenant was at Horeb.

J.T. I think it does. It is not a mountain exactly in which you are to live. The sphere of the divine life is in Canaan, the mountain of His inheritance but the mountain in which the covenant was made suggests a place of strength and stability to our souls as having to do with wilderness circumstances.

W.H.M. What does Lebanon typify?

J.T. I think the goodly mountain would be the mountain of God's inheritance. "Thou shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance", Exodus 15:17. Moses said that.

J.M. The covenant relationships on our side would be the acceptance in our souls of the disposition of God towards us, and living in what God has for us.

J.T. Yes. In Peter's address to Israel in Acts 2:33, he says: "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear". He sheds abroad in our hearts His love, by the Spirit. The mountain is an objective thought. God commends His love to us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. But in order that we should have means, or ability to answer to the bond, to conform to it, He sheds His love abroad in our hearts by His Spirit. Some of us were occupied with it a little this morning, and it may be helpful to us to review it. God is reaching out to the Gentile with His love, dispensational distance was ignored, so that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, wherever we may be. Christ is "a light for the revelation of the Gentiles" Luke 2:32;

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they are brought into view; and wherever there is state for it God sheds abroad His love. It is worldwide. Now, God is answered to in that way here and there in the Gentile world, the righteous requirement of it is fulfilled, but in whom? Not simply the Jew; but in anyone who walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. So that there is a people whom God has secured for Himself through the Mediator. "There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be rendered in its own time" 1 Timothy 2:5,6 to which Paul had been appointed a herald and an apostle, a teacher of the nations in faith and truth. So that the result was that a people are brought in who answer to the heart of God, who at one time were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world", Ephesians 2:12. That is the connection in which the covenant lies.

Ques. Is our boasting in God in that way?

J.T. Yes. Our position down here is in view. But when you come to the family side, while it begins here, it belongs to heaven. The covenant is not between the Father and His sons or children.

J.B. Is it through the covenant we triumph over what we are naturally?

J.T. The love of God shed abroad in our heart becomes a great leverage; the one who has that has a great advantage over other men. Sonship is received as light in the soul. "When the fulness of the time was come" that is now, we are in the period of it. "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, come of woman, come under the law, that we might receive sonship", Galatians 4:4,5. Now, the expression "receive sonship" is a matter of light received in the soul as to God's mind about you. Then it says, "Because ye

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are sons", not that ye shall be, but because ye are sons, "God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba, Father", Galatians 4:6.

Rem. It is true of all the family.

J.T. Yes, it is for all believers of this dispensation to lay hold of as a matter of light; that is the status; but the gift of the Spirit of God's Son gives you the state. Now, there you are on family ground, which is eternal; whereas the idea of the covenant will necessarily terminate, because we shall not need that any longer; the idea of a bond between God and man is not needed there. Certain consequences flow from the relationship here, namely, that you should not disfigure your face for the dead.

E.M. What does that mean?

J.T. I think our countenances should reflect God, because we are God's sons.

E.M. How are our faces disfigured?

J.T. You can understand in regard to them, that the disfiguration would connect and link them with an idolatrous system, and in that way mar the reflection of God in them.

J.McF. It was an idolatrous practice.

J.T. Then he goes on to say: "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth". Deuteronomy 14:2.

P.L. You come to what He has chosen here. The thought of family affections brings in the sovereignty of divine love.

J.T. I would like to know whether the brethren agree as to the distinction to be made between covenant relationships, and family relationships.

J.McF. You were saying this morning that you get the one in Luke's gospel, and the other in John's gospel.

J.T. I think that is right, in the main. Luke sets out how God has approached man in the Mediator;

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so you will find in the opening chapters that He takes every possible pains to set man at ease. God, I think, in approaching man in the Mediator took all possible pains so that everything should be removed that might hinder men in availing themselves of the divine proposal.

J.M. It is the same people that are in covenant relationship who are also in the family at the present time.

J.T. Yes; and so the importance of the gospel of Luke in seeing how God has drawn near to man in the Mediator; it was an overture on God's part.

J.B. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world", Titus 2:11, 12.

J.T. I think what we all need to begin with is the knowledge of God. I do not mean as our Father, that is further on, although the two lines run together, but to know Him as the God who came out in the Mediator when there was nothing in us at all to commend us to Him.

W.H. You say that the gospel of John is largely the family side; it is that which will abide.

J.T. Yes. So we have "The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him". John 1:18.

R.L. God must come out in Man, before man can go in.

J.T. I think that is what Luke presents to us; his gospel is a priestly gospel. So Christ goes into heaven as Priest. Man goes in as Priest making way for others. But in John's gospel it is "I ascend to my Father and your Father". John 20:17. That is the family side.

R.L. In Luke 15, God went out before the prodigal could come in.

J.M. In Exodus 19, Moses was to speak to the

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house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: What is the difference in the expressions?

J.T. A man's house suggests one idea, and his children another. Christ is to rule over the house of Jacob. You can understand that a man's house is one idea; it includes all the persons in it, your wife, as well as your children; your children stand by themselves; and they have a peculiar place in your heart, but your house is the greater thought. The people to whom Moses was to speak were Jacob's house, and they were Israel's children, and God proposes to enter into covenant with them. In order to do that He commends Himself to them, saying, virtually, I want you to decide as to whether it is worth your while; you know what I have done for you, how I have borne you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself; and then He shows them what they should be if they did indeed obey His voice, and keep His covenant; they should be a peculiar treasure unto Him above all people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. The priesthood side is connected with the covenant. He does not say as yet that they shall be His sons. Then they take that up; Moses comes from Jehovah to them, and then they send Moses back to Jehovah with their answer, saying, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do". Exodus 19:8. There the bond was formed. What answers to that in our history is outlined in Romans 5, which gives us the divine side; and shows how God comes out and commends His love to us. Now, what are you going to do? I think chapter 6 shows what the believer really does; that is, he accepts baptism; and, we may say, the Lord's supper follows upon that. That is something that you formally commit yourself to; so that there is outwardly a bond formed.

J.B. Had the passover anything to do with the covenant?

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J.T. The passover came in before it. God commends His love to us, and then He sheds it abroad in our hearts.

J.M. I should like you to say a word now upon the "family" side.

J.T. The family side is taken up in Romans 8. You have there, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God". Romans 8:14. They are marked off in that way. Not only are they now viewed as in covenant with God, but they are His sons, because they are led by His Spirit. And then He says, "Ye have not received a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father". Romans 8:15.

Ques. Would you not say that all believers are sons?

J.T. Yes, but you might be outwardly in fellowship, and your will not subdued. It is a great thing to be led by the Spirit of God. We have been dwelling on the territory of Moab; it supposes the recognition of the Spirit, instead of the flesh in the believer; and one who is thus marked off is a Deuteronomy Christian. Now, it is a very remarkable thing that the Lord Jesus cited Deuteronomy only, in the wilderness; and that signifies that Deuteronomy is for a people who are marked as being led by the Spirit. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. If you are not led by the Spirit, you are not fit for Deuteronomy.

W.H. Being led of the Spirit is characteristic of a Christian.

J.T. The tabernacle is not in view after Numbers 21; that is, because it is a question of the Spirit in the believer actuating him. After the brazen serpent and the springing well Og goes down before you; there is nothing able to withstand you; and that is why, I think, the Lord comes in in the New Testament on that platform. He comes in on the Deuteronomy

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side of the wilderness; there was no need in His case, of a forty years test; He came in on the plains of Moab you might say. He was led of the Spirit into the wilderness, and He was entirely subject to the Spirit. In Luke 3 He receives the Spirit in the form of a dove; and in chapter 4, He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness; and then we read, he "returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee". Luke 4:14.

J.McF. Do we get in this scripture how the sons are marked off?

J.T. That is what I thought. They were not to be disfigured for the dead: they were a holy people unto the Lord. Then you see the kind of food they are to eat, only what is clean. When you come to feeding, you come into actual touch with people, and you are capable of discerning. You get a good deal here in the way of instruction as to the kind of people we are to have to do with; first the beasts of the earth, who are actually on the earth, and cannot get off it; and then the birds that fly in the air.

Ques. What do they set forth?

J.T. Birds are independent creatures; they represent people who have this world's means, on the one hand, or else they have got spiritual means. Those who are independent as regards this world's means, they are unclean. It is very striking, if you have noticed a bird flying, how independent it is; it mounts over every obstacle. A bird represents either a worldly person with means; or a spiritual person, who has power to mount up to heaven. No list of the clean birds is given. "Of all clean birds ye shall eat" Deuteronomy 14:11; and then again: "Of all clean fowls ye may eat". Deuteronomy 14:20. But then it goes on "These are they of which ye shall not eat". Deuteronomy 14:12. You are to find out the clean ones once the unclean ones are named.

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W.H. The unclean ones would defile.

J.T. Yes. The constitution you have will depend on the food you eat.

J.McF. Would the unclean birds represent those who are under spiritual influences of a bad character while the clean would be those who are under the influences of heaven?

J.T. Yes. Why are people high and lifted up; for instance, like Nebuchadnezzar? His influence reached the heavens, Daniel 4:22. That was because of earthly means; it was not divine. But how does the believer rise? He rises with spiritual power "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint", Isaiah 40:31. Those are the people that are clean.

P.L. They have the spirit of the ascending Man. He breathes upon them.

J.T. I think so. You have title to go to heaven, according to God's purpose; and then you have power to go in the Spirit.

W.K. I think it is very interesting about the food. It is striking with regard to the birds. Taking it in general, I think you will find it is those that are mixed in their breed; they do two things; they walk or creep and they fly; they are not pure. The fish that are pure have something to resist the elements in which they live; that is, they have scales, and they have something to push them along, they have fins; so we need both. But I notice you seem to look at it more in the light of those with whom we have intercourse.

J.T. Yes, I thought so.

W.K. That would lead to our being very careful in regard to those with whom we have intercourse; otherwise we would get contaminated.

J.McF. I think if we were awake to the dignity

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of sonship, we would be very careful as to our associations.

W.K. You did not say anything with regard to the animals that walk upon the earth. They must have the cloven hoof. It must be divided in two. The expression is stronger than that in Leviticus. And then, they are to chew the cud.

J.T. I think chewing the cud is that in receiving the testimony, the word, you assimilate it, and it works out in a becoming walk.

W.K. You do not mix with the unclean. I hope we may all take that to heart, for it is a serious thing for Christians to walk harmoniously with the world.

J.McF. The way to take it to heart is to wake up to the dignity of our position as sons.

J.T. You often see persons evidently listening, and enjoying the things of the Lord, but when they go out it is different. I am sure you have seen it there are numbers of people who seem to enjoy the things of God while among the saints, while in their associations outside they are mixed up with all sorts of things.

E.M. Is not the religious world a great snare?

J.T. Birds are liable to be unclean religiously.

P.L. They lodge in the mustard tree.

J.T. Yes; and so Babylon has become the cage of every unclean and hateful bird; Revelation 18:2.

J.M. Would you say a word as to verse 21?

J.T. Well, that shows that the Lord Jesus is the only right food for us. He died sacrificially. I mean it is food through His sacrificial death. "Dieth of itself" Deuteronomy 14:21 is in contrast with life taken.

J.M. His flesh is meat; we eat of His flesh, and drink of His blood.

J.T. Yes. You will find that what flows from all this, the right kind of food is, that God has His portion, as you will see in the end of the chapter.

W.K. That is, the tithes.

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J.T. Yes; and then you share "within thy gates" with the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless and the widow. Deuteronomy 14:29.

J.F. I suppose our meditation over this scripture would emphasise the fact that God wants sons, and we should delight to respond to His desire.

J.T. He intends to have men around Him; that is, to have men in that relationship, as sons.

W.K. There is a point in verse 23: "Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God". Deuteronomy 14:23. If that were done, I think we should be careful as to food.

P.L. Thou shalt eat "in the place where he shall choose to place his name there". Deuteronomy 14:24.

J.T. I think when you come to place, God's rights are in view, and He is entitled to select the place and, making it practical, it refers to where His principles are held and recognised now. God never gave that up; and we shall see in a later chapter that He prescribed that all the males should appear there before Him three times in the year.

W.K. And they were not to come empty.

J.T. There is such a thing as your own gates, but they come after the divine place.

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NOTES OF READINGS ON DEUTERONOMY (4)

Deuteronomy 16

W.K. There must be a good deal of importance attached to "the place where the Lord thy God shall choose", for it occurs in this chapter many times.

J.T. Yes, prominence is given to it here. Inasmuch as it is not seen at the institution of the passover in Exodus 12, one is led to the conclusion that it is in accord with Deuteronomy principles, namely, that it is not the passover as in its bearing for the believers in delivering them out of the world, but rather the gain that is acquired through the exercises spiritually, so that God gets His portion out of it. Whilst the believer is in Egypt, or in the world, and is exercised, for the moment it is not God that is before him, although, of course, God is in his soul, presented to him in the gospel, but it is a question of his deliverance out of the world; and in all that process he is exercised, and the exercise brings about spiritual growth, which is sure to show itself in reference to God in time. Now, Deuteronomy supposes that all the exercise has taken place, and that the believer is happily with God, and now he connects all that which he had gone through before with God with the place where God's name is.

W.J.B. You would say he is affected by what God has done for him, and now there is some response to God.

J.T. Yes; I think as coming up to appear before God he recognises the part that God had in it all: not only am I delivered from the world, but I see that God has had an end in view in my deliverance; and I think that Deuteronomy supposes all that.

W.K. You mean Deuteronomy supposes that he is in the sense of it.

J.T. It supposes that the work is there; that

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the effect of the exercise is in his soul, and that now you are free to recognise the divine end of it.

T.M.G. That is a very great thing to recognise.

J.T. I am sure it is; it is that which leads to the believer being rightly formed for the assembly.

J.M. It is not so much a question of your deliverance through the death of Christ, but the object that God had in regard to it.

J.T. Yes, the exercise that we go through in the process leads to spiritual growth, so that there is that by which one may approach God.

T.M.G. You attribute all to God, and in the sense of that you have before you what God has in view.

J.T. Yes; it says "thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock, and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there". Deuteronomy 16:2. In Egypt it was in one's house.

T.M.G. Here it is more the assembly that is in view.

J.T. Yes, I think it is the groundwork of it; where the soul has God before it. If you have a number of people with God before them there is material for the assembly.

E.M. Would you not say that the passover is in the mount of His inheritance?

J.T. Well, it is here an ordinance for Canaan; it supposes that they are to be in the land.

W.H. This is the formation in view of taking up the privilege?

J.T. Yes; I think that from the Christian point of view it is what he has gained through the exercise; his deliverance out of the world has resulted in spiritual gain, and God is now before him. The progress that you have made enables you to see that it is not your own house that is before you now; it is the place where God's name is. You consider for God. That is the great point with the Christian. There is now

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a place in which God's name is placed. One's house is where one's own name is, in a way. But now you come to see that God has got a house, and a Name.

T.M.G. You must be in the liberty of it first before you can have this.

J.T. It is a great thing to be right in one's house; and hence the necessity of the passover being there. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us, so that one cannot allow in one's house any principle inconsistent with that. There was a great object in an innocent lamb being slain; first being brought in and kept from the tenth to the fourteenth day of the month. There it was, so that every member of the house might see it and say, 'Surely there is nothing in that little creature to merit death; why then should it be slain?' That raises the question as to the cause of its death, and that ought to affect our houses. So on the fourteenth day it is slain and then the feast of unleavened bread fellows, which signifies self-judgment. That is, in the light of the death of the lamb; if that little creature, which merits no death, has to be put to death, then it must be on my account; and that leads to self-judgment.

E.M. Is deliverance looked at here as an accomplished fact?

J.T. Quite. You see here that while you have the three main feasts, there are seven in Leviticus 23. There are only three here because Deuteronomy has an allusion to the state of the people, that is, to the effect of their exercises; whereas Leviticus has reference more to God's ways. The sabbath is placed at the head of them, showing that that is what God has before Him; then the other feasts show how He reaches that. But here, we have the outcome of the people's exercises contemplated, God's portion in them. There is no book in the Old Testament that is more peculiar than Deuteronomy; because it sets

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forth that it is the mind of God that we should enter heaven now in spirit; and He sets before us the motives why we should do so; and then all that is based upon the exercises that we already have had in the wilderness.

E.M. Is this what is meant by "to do thee good in thy latter end"? Deuteronomy 8:16.

J.T. Yes; Canaan is the latter end. But "to humble thee and to prove thee, and to know what is in thine heart" Deuteronomy 8:16; not that God might know, because He knows beforehand, but that thou mightest know, and to do thee good at thy latter end.

T.M.G. That He might bring us into a large place.

J.T. It would help one greatly as to the wilderness to pause over Deuteronomy 8; it is a crucial chapter, in one sense, because it is the chapter the Lord Jesus quotes from. In all the discipline in the wilderness, in all the things that we endure, God has in view to search us, and to prove us, that we might know what is in our hearts: the depths of evil we are capable of. Now God probes, and probes until it is all out. He means to replace it all by Christ. So that in Deuteronomy 26 you have a basket filled; you come in with your basket full. Of course, your basket is yourself. That is to say, the depths of your heart have been disclosed to you, and displaced; and it is filled with Christ now. "Three times in the year shall all the males appear before me" Deuteronomy 16:16; but no one is to appear before God empty, the Word says. Now, if you are not to be empty, what are you to be filled with? Christ.

T.M.G. It is more the Colossian idea. Ephesians is in Christ; new creation.

J.T. Yes; Deuteronomy is more Colossian; that is to say, Christ is in your heart; and how did Christ get there? God put Him there. He put you in the wilderness that you might discover how bad

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your heart is; and when we discover how bad it is we judge it.

T.M.G. Is not that what God is doing with every one of us?

J.T. I think so; and all the discipline is to that end.

T.M.G. It is a great thing to think in connection with discipline how interested God is in us when He takes such pains, such trouble with us. It helps one greatly to think of it.

J.T. We were singing:

In the desert God shall teach thee
What the God that thou hast found. (Hymn 76)

So that whilst we discover how bad our hearts are, we come to understand that God supports us. Nothing can be more interesting than to trace the latter part of the book of Numbers, where the Holy Spirit is formally recognised in the springing well. That is the basis of Deuteronomy; the Holy Spirit is recognised in the believer, instead of the flesh. Romans 7 is equivalent to the experience of the wilderness; because the effect of the law is seen. By the law is the knowledge of sin. The inner depths of the heart are exposed to the believer; not to anybody else. The apostle, who speaks there, was outwardly a most exemplary character. As we were saying last night, we have a public history and a private history. Now Romans 7 is to bring out what you are; and the need of it is to make room in your heart for the Deliverer.

Rem. We used to hear that we would not be true here without Romans 8.

J.T. You cannot be a truly delivered soul without the Deliverer being in your heart. That is very important point to get hold of.

J.M. Deliverance is a positive thing.

J.T. I think one is really free when Christ is in

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the heart. Who can come up before God unless he has Christ in his heart. God will not have anyone else but a person who is full of Christ. Christ becomes known to us in each of these feasts in a peculiar way. In the feast of the passover it is, that He was judged on account of my sins; that endears Him to me. In the feast of weeks He gives the Spirit, and that endears Him to me. In the feast of tabernacles He comes for me; that is what answers to it in Christianity. Literally it is the introduction of the millennial world for the Jew; but what corresponds with this for us is going to heaven. In Christianity these three feasts are all together.

J.M. I am glad of that remark, because I could not see how the passover was connected with the place where the Lord chose to place His name.

J.T. You see the three are put together in Deuteronomy. You are a fully developed Christian if you appear before God in the light of these three feasts. Christ is in your heart according to all that He is.

E.M. Are not the three feasts in a way entered into in connection with the breaking of bread, and in entering into the privilege of the assembly?

J.T. I think so; they underlie the assembly. If you bear in mind that it is a question of the state of your soul, it simplifies it. You come before God in the light of the passover; and in the light of getting the Holy Spirit; and in the light of Christ coming for you. So that you are a fully developed believer before God.

P.L. I suppose it is anticipative in the feast of tabernacles? In verse 15, "in the p]ace the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name" is left out. Would that indicate that when that feast comes the gathering will be to the Lord; He will probably be there Himself?

J.T. And there will be no contrary element any longer.

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W.J.B. When the assembly comes together there is the past, the present, and the future.

J.T. So that you have the full position of the believer. It is not exactly your deliverance, nor your joy, but it is the light in which you have apprehended Christ in these three connections. If it be the feasts of the Lord given formally as in Leviticus, you have, as I remarked, seven of them, beginning with the sabbath; because there it is the means by which God reaches His end in the dispensational way. What is in view here is the state of the saints, the three appearings before Him being complete testimony that He fully controls the heart.

T.M.G. He will rest in His love and that is what He has before Him.

J.T. Yes; He begins with the sabbath. It is God's way to state first what He has in His mind; and then to show us how He reaches us.

P.L. It is not so much the wilderness that is in view, as the land.

J.T. It is instruction for the land; because we should have Christ in our hearts in the way in which this chapter suggests. We are thus prepared for the land; it is the normal thing for us.

P.L. As in chapter 12; "These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee". Deuteronomy 12:1.

J.T. The thought of the Lord's name involves so much for us now. Every man has his house, and his name and honour are bound up with his house. So God is pleased to connect the passover with a man's house, in order that it might be in accordance with the judgment that was meted out to Christ. But when you come to God's house, everything there is also in accordance with the death of the Lord.

W.K. It shows the importance of having your own house right first, otherwise we shall not make much progress in the house of God; He would have

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unity practically in our minds and spirits so that we may feel that we are one.

J.T. And in our unity are the principles that govern the house of God.

J.M. That would be a test as to people assuming to have the Lord in the midst.

W.K. You cannot eat the unleavened bread if you have not the passover.

J.B. Would you say that the place where the Lord puts His name is connected with being "knit together in love"? Colossians 2:2.

J.T. The Lord's name carries with it all that He is. I suppose the idea of "name" has reference to what a person is. We have come to recognise what is due to that name.

W.H.M. Jerusalem was the place where He put His name. In Zechariah 14:17 there is a very interesting passage in connection with the feast of tabernacles "It shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain".

J.T. We have no choice on our part in regard to the place. The Lord chooses the place.

W.K. And every other place is forbidden. It is a great thing to have the sense of that.

J.T. It settles everything; it disallows all party spirit and system.

W.K. There can be no such thing, there can be neither class nor party.

J.T. You may come up from Beersheba, and I may go down from Dan, and another may come from Reuben; and they all meet there. You cannot say I have no sympathy with the Danite, if he comes to the place where the Lord's name is; and if the Lord has accepted him I cannot say I do not like him. If I cannot have fellowship with a Danite or a Reubenite then I have to leave the place where the

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Lord's name is. We have no choice. It is the place where divine principles are. That brother may not be very congenial from my point of view; but if he is walking according to divine principles I must go on with him.

J.M. Likes and dislikes are not according to divine principles.

T.M.G. It is a very great mistake, when persons are before the mind, instead of divine principles. What a serious thing it is!

J.T. Then I may have very different surroundings, and very different circumstances to a Reubenite or a man of Judah but, whilst in that place, there is no difference. We are in the light of the name of the Lord; we are not simply those who believe in the doctrine of the Lord's coming; we are not to be classified as pre-millennialists. We wait for Him; we wait for our own Lord and that is because we love Him.

Ques. The last feast involves the truth of His presence.

J.T. Present conditions will not continue; the Lord's coming will change them so that it will be no longer His name, but Himself.

W.H. Is not something of the spirit of the new conditions realised by the saints now?

J.T. The feast of tabernacles may imply what we enjoy below when the Lord is in the midst. Where there is the consciousness of His presence we pass out of time circumstances anticipatively into what is eternal.

And see the Spirit's power
Has ope'd the heav'nly door,
Has brought us to that favoured hour
When toil shall all be o'er. (Hymn 74)

Well, that is the principle of the feast of tabernacles.

W.K. "And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast". Deuteronomy 16:15.

T.M.G. It is heaven begun.

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J.R.M. Is not the sabbath God's great end in view? Would that be the eternal state?

J.T. Well, the sabbath is a relative term; that is to say, it has allusion to the previous days of labour; and as far as I understand it, it has a millennial state of things in view. When you come to eternity you cannot compass that; it had no beginning nor ending. We have part in that. The sabbath has relation to God's ways on earth; it is the seventh day. The first day of the week is an eighth day in one sense, and in that sense it may go on to the eternal state. But for us it is the first day, because we belong to the beginning. The Jew does not come in on the first day.

J.R.M. I was thinking of God's rest.

J.T. I know; but God's rest is at the end, not at the beginning; therefore it is a relative term, it refers to six days of labour. But when you come to our period there is nothing previous to that; hence Christ is the beginning of the creation of God, and we have part with Him in that. Hence the Jew comes in after us. The first day is connected with eternity, whereas the sabbath is the end or the completion of a period.

J.McF. What is the difference between the sabbath and the feast of tabernacles?

J.T. Well, as to time they are both realised together. But the feast of tabernacles has another side to it. Look at Leviticus 23:33 - 38, 39, 40, 42, 43. There are certain points in that scripture that show a very great difference between the feast of tabernacles and the sabbath. The eighth day is connected with it; and it is when all the produce is gathered in, and they are reminded that after they came out of Egypt they dwelt in booths. It is a sort of reminder of what they were in the wilderness, and what arrangements and care and attention God had given them when they were there. Also it is

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an allusion to the peculiar way in which we learned God in those circumstances, and that now we are at home with Him.

J.McF. It would seem that all these three feasts spoken of in this chapter have the same thought connected with them: "that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life" Deuteronomy 16:3: that is in connection with the passover; and "thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt", Deuteronomy 16:12 in connection with the feast of weeks; and the same thought is connected with the feast of tabernacles.

J.T. That is all on the side of our state, and enjoyment; whereas the sabbath is really God's rest.

Rem. Would you say that all these feasts were to bring that about?

J.T. No doubt. God rests in His love; and you can understand how He rests in us as we are thus gathered around Him. But this chapter is presented from the side of our experience. In the feast of tabernacles we are dwelling with God, but dwelling with Him as known through all the experience of the wilderness. 'There no stranger-God shall meet thee'; it is that side more.

W.K. "Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine". Deuteronomy 16:13. They were looked at as in the enjoyment of all that God has to give. The previous experiences are all summed up here.

J.T. Yes, it is all the effect of the wilderness experience: the fruit of it, gathered up. So that God is dwelling with a people who can reciprocate His affections.

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NOTES OF READINGS ON DEUTERONOMY (5)

Deuteronomy 21

J.T. If the chapters that follow upon chapter 16 are carefully examined, it will be noticed that there is great consideration for God, and for Christ, and for the priests and Levites, and for men in general. Now, if we apply this to Christianity it shows that the fully developed Christian state ensures all this. The believer is free with God, and he has consideration for others. You have the thought of a man going to war. There was to be due consideration for those whose responsibility it was to go to war.

J.M. What we get in chapter 16 really provides the state for this.

J.T. It might, perhaps, help to point out the things which are in that chapter, upon which we dwelt last night. It presents to us in type what Christ is to the soul, as delivering it out of Egypt through His death; and then the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, bringing in what He is in heaven; and finally the future enjoyment of what we shall have in His presence. The soul is established in that light. It is the past, the present, and the future. One is free from anxiety in one's soul, and in that way we are able to consider for the good of others. No doubt the Lord Himself is in view in Deuteronomy 20, as the One who would go to war. As having the assembly He is exempt for a year, so to speak. Thus there is consideration for Him.

T.M.G. What is the force of being exempt for a year?

J.T. I think it refers to Christ. He has the assembly now, and the believer is sympathetic with Him in that. There is due consideration for the marriage relationship.

J.M. The assembly is in that relationship with Christ.

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J.T. Yes; it says in Deuteronomy 20:7, "What man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her". And in verse 5, "What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it".

T.M.G. Let him get the good of his house now, and the good of his wife now.

J.T. Yes and the believer recognises that. The conflict must not interfere with the enjoyment of the blessings vouchsafed by God in the land.

J.M. How does consideration for others show itself in the saints?

J.T. I think it is seen in a man whose soul is in liberty; he is free from himself. In a certain sense it is right to consider for yourself until you are entirely clear; and when you are clear, then it is that you stand forth in the scene of God's operations, as sympathetic with Him in all that He is doing.

T.M.G. You are sympathetic with Him in His interests.

J.T. Yes; so that everyone gets his due. You have a right judgment about things; you are not legal, nor circumscribed; you are spiritually broad.

J.M. I suppose all that was seen in Christ when He was here He considered for God.

J.T. Yes. Every right object, and every right relation, had due consideration from Christ.

W.K. "Render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's". Matthew 22:21. We see the principle in that.

J.T. It is intelligence in love, so that all receive due consideration from you, and you are a benefactor.

W.H. You are brought to that in your spiritual stature, so that you are free to consider everything according to God.

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T.M.G. And that is what we have had in the previous part of this book; we are brought up to that, so to speak.

J.T. Yes, I think too much stress cannot be laid on chapter 16, because it shows a fully developed state of soul. These chapters present certain sets of circumstances in which the delivered one is seen acting, and moving, and judging. Nothing comes within his range that he has not a right judgment about; he has spiritual observance; he is not unbalanced. It is remarkable how in Deuteronomy the minutest thing is taken account of; a bird's egg, for instance.

J.M. And it is only a spiritual man who has a true judgment of everything.

J.T. Yes; the more you are with God, the more sympathetic you are; without Him a sparrow does not fall to the ground.

W.H. I suppose the way a spiritual man would prove everything would be according to the truth; whereas everything in the world is out of gear, and unreliable.

J.T. Yes, you have a true estimate of everything; but then your heart is in it; you are not above sympathy even with the lower creation. But it especially works out in Christians in their relations with one another; we consider for God we consider for Christ; for the priests, and for the Levites and indeed for everything in God's creation. We all have to admit how unbalanced we are, and how much we are affected by natural considerations. We get affected by things here. Astronomers find out where certain bodies are by their influences on other bodies. And there are so many influences which unbalance us. Deuteronomy 16 presents what produces a fully balanced man; he has all his sense exercised; and if a man has all his senses exercised, he is balanced.

W.K. He that is spiritual discerneth all things.

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W.H. But he has to be vigilant as to every principle in himself which might arise.

J.T. Yes, otherwise he becomes beclouded. Natural considerations are, you will find, very largely the cause of a great deal of difficulty. You may call them harmless, but no matter how praiseworthy they may be, from another point of view natural things are sure to influence us unduly. As the Lord said that, a man has to deny himself daily; that is, that you have to deny natural considerations.

W.H. It is not a question of natural things being bad in a natural point of view, but of what is opposed to following Christ.

J.T. Yes; what is natural is to give way to what is spiritual. Hence a man is to hate "his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also". Luke 14:26. That is a remarkable thing to be said; it puts the natural outside the door for the moment so to speak, but after the spiritual has been fully established, it comes in in its place.

W.K. But on another basis.

J.T. Quite so; when Christ has His place in the heart, then the natural gets its right place; and you will find that that will extend even to your animals, or anything that belongs to you.

S.L. Is not that a beautiful verse in connection with what you say: "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk", Deuteronomy 14:21.

J.T. Yes, that shows how fully every right natural feeling is considered for by God, therefore by the spiritual.

W.K. A merciful man regardeth the life of his beast.

J.M. There is nothing inconsiderate, or unseemly in Christianity.

J.T. No; but, for the moment, while the spiritual structure is being set up and established, the natural is ignored.

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W.K. What are we to get out of chapter 21?

J.T. Well, I think the first great point is what we have heard so much about, "local responsibility". Whilst a man is very broad in his vision and sympathies, and the house of God is universal, nevertheless he cannot ignore his local responsibility.

W.K. This is fairly clear here.

J.T. Yes, and especially if in the locality there is any dishonour, or persecution, in regard of Christ.

W.K. The point here seems to be the location of it.

J.T. Yes, the location of responsibility.

W.H. The elders of the city that is next unto the slain man wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley.

J.T. Yes, responsibility belongs to the place nearest to that where the crime was committed.

W.K. Hence they measured it.

J.T. It is one of the most remarkable chapters in Scripture in the light of establishing what is rightly called "local responsibility".

P.L. Then that would exclude any other city having to do with it?

J.T. Yes. It is the city that is nearest to it.

W.K. Morally nearest?

J.T. And I suppose geographically too. If it be a question of moral nearness, the saint who loves you most, wherever he lives, would be nearest to you. But the idea of geography is not ignored even in the New Testament. It says: "All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord". 1 Corinthians 1:2. That surely has a reference to geographical position.

W.K. I suppose the epistles, both those of Paul and John, to the churches recognise geography.

J.T. Quite so; and geography that man has regulated too.

T.M.G. Would you kindly make a little plainer what you understand by all this.

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J.T. Well, it says; "If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field and it be not known who hath slain him; then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain and it shall be that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer". Deuteronomy 21:1 - 3. There is clearly the question of locality. So that the responsible party is distinctly located.

W.K. And then they are bound to clear themselves.

J.T. Yes; therefore if evil occurs, it always affects Christ; the slain man undoubtedly typifies the death of Christ. Dispensationally the passage refers to the Jews; but it emphasises the thought of local responsibility. Wherever anything occurs that dishonours Christ, those nearest to it have the special responsibility of it.

W.H. So that they would have divine authority to take it up and inquire into it.

W.K. Provided always that they have spiritual capacity to do so.

J.T. Well, as you have it here, there was the acknowledgment that someone did it, and the matter it taken up. In Christianity we are all responsible. You cannot say you are not. Achan had sinned, but that involved that Israel had sinned.

W.H. The Spirit puts it that way, that Israel had sinned.

J.T. Yes the fact is, that something has happened against Christ here; it was, that He was put to death; He was murdered; innocent blood was shed; there is really no other innocent blood but His. However little or much guilt there may be in an ordinary case, it is against Christ, and no true lover of Christ will feel indifferent about it. I believe the real cause of protracted difficulties in localities

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is because the responsibility is not accepted by those to whom it belongs.

E.M. Are we responsible in the sense that if we were fulfilling our obligations to one another we might act as a preservative?

J.T. I think when some evil has occurred, the first thing is for some saints in the locality to accept the fact that it has occurred, and they are obviously the responsible ones. But then if it should be a case where the local company becomes disorganised, or divided; what then? The responsibility becomes more extended. The real secret of the prolongation of these difficulties lies in the fact that the guilt is not accepted as belonging to all.

W.K. You mean not accepted generally?

J.T. If the locality does not deal with it, the direct responsibility becomes more extended.

T.M.G. It should imply us all in a way.

J.T. Yes. The city is responsible, so the elders of it come forward. Then there is to be the sacrifice in connection with the priesthood. If we have a true sense of these things, the due recognition of the guilt, that Christ had to die for it, and the priestly state in regard to it, you may depend there will be recovery. It says, "The elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared, nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley. And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried". Deuteronomy 21:4,5. So that recovery is really in connection with the priestly state.

J.M. And there would be the full acceptance of the thing to begin with.

J.T. Yes, the elders accept it.

J.M. They took it home to themselves and owned it.

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T.M.G. It is the principle of eating the sin offering in the holy place.

J.T. Yes. The elders represent the people. The great difficulty lies in the want of acknowledgment, where there is an avowal on our part that the guilt is there, where there is that acknowledgment, you will always find priestly state.

W.H. So that there will be healing; otherwise the trouble extends.

J.T. Yes; and there is priestly judgment. You see how all that is bound up in verse 5; "The priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried". Deuteronomy 21:5. That is the priestly service in both its branches. The priest has title to draw near to God; but then also his function is to bless; and then further, "By their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried". Deuteronomy 21:5.

T.M.G. All depends upon a priestly state.

J.T. Yes, the priest is supposed to be there.

Ques. Do you mean in the local company?

J.T. Very often where these difficulties have occurred the door for priestly ministry has been closed, and left closed. Now, the divine thought is to introduce priestly intervention. You see the idea of local responsibility implies that there is a neighbour. But to do the part of a neighbour one must have the oil and the wine, spiritually.

T.M.G. We should try to help in the Spirit of Christ.

Ques. In the beginning of Revelation do we get the same thought of responsibility in connection with the angel?

J.T. The angel is representation; and representation in responsibility. It would be more the elders here.

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T.M.G. If there was the priestly state, and the grace, and the priestly intercession so to speak, there would be recovery.

J.McF. Is this the way an assembly is to clear itself if any evil breaks out?

J.T. Yes, that is what I thought.

W.K. Then how would you apply the terms and the figures that are here used, to the assembly clearing itself.

J.T. Well, the assembly is, so to speak, the city, and the elders are the responsible element in it, but, of course, no one would claim to be irresponsible from the Christian point of view.

W.K. You do not leave it to the committee.

J.T. Exactly; that is what I mean. You often find it is left to a committee, so to speak, and the idea is that that clears me of responsibility. Then secondly, you have the sacrifice: you have the heifer. The heifer had never borne the yoke; that is the Lord had never come under human influences. You may depend upon it that the secret of all evil is human influence; that is how crime happens. Now the Lord Jesus was infinitely free from all that. We have to come to the acknowledgment that really the principles of the world have influenced us. The heifer was entirely free from the yoke; that means that those who committed the crime were not free. If the heifer had not been free from the yoke she could not have been sacrificed. That is to say, the Lord Jesus is perfectly spotless, perfectly free from human influences, and was a perfect sacrifice.

E.M. It is in a barren place that the heifer is killed.

J.T. Yes; it is Christ in relation to the creation, taken up abstractly as never influenced by man. The ground we walk on, the moral conditions around us, all are affected by man. But Christ was absolutely free from the principles of the world, so He is in that way fit to be the spotless sacrifice.

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J.M. There would be the force of all that coming home to the soul of an elder; what that blessed One, who was free from every taint of human influence, had to undergo.

J.T. Quite so. The sin has arisen from the allowance of worldly principles. That is what brings it about.

E.M. Is this the owning of it together before the Lord?

J.T. I think so, in connection with the priestly state.

J.M. One feels the importance of what is set forth in chapter 18 being understood first, to enable us to enter into what we have in this chapter.

J.T. It shows, that God is reverting back in the sacrifice of the heifer, the kind of sacrifice she was, and the ground on which sacrificed, to things as He created them. That is to say, all that man has brought into the world has to be blotted out; and we are to endeavour to maintain that. I believe all that man has done, every trace of his invention, all is to be effaced; and we have to come to that in the spirit of our minds. We are so accustomed to what man has brought in that we think lightly of it; but God does not think lightly of it.

W.W. If in a town, or city, everything breaks up, what would the result be? Would it be that those who would be geographically nearest to it would have to take the matter up.

J.T. They might have to take it up; but they would have to recognise the responsibility in that locality, remained in it. If there is one saint there, responsibility remains, and the Lord holds him responsible in that locality. If you profess to be a neighbour, then act in a neighbourly way; and you must have the oil and the wine to do that. Hence the priesthood here. The responsibility is there; and the addresses to the seven churches

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make that clear. In spite of the breakdown of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the angel is recognised in each, and he was held responsible. The angel of the church at Ephesus was not held responsible for the church at Smyrna; and the angel of the church at Smyrna was not responsible for the church at Pergamos. But then there is the thought of a neighbour; but to do the part of a neighbour requires the priestly state.

W.W. Well, let us suppose everything was divided up here; the oil and wine would be found in the nearest meeting?

J.T. But you must fully recognise that the responsibility is here just as much as before the difficulty occurred. I think it is a very great question the Lord has raised in recent years.

R.L. The nearest meeting would be responsible to take up the question, as set forth here, and judge it before the Lord, before they touch it.

J.T. You use the word "judge" I suppose advisedly. But I think it is well to bear in mind that the priests also bless in the name of Jehovah.

R.L. They get right before the Lord, and they seek to set others right.

J.T. The priests not only judge, they bless in the name of Jehovah.

T.M.G. That brings in Luke 10.

J.T. Yes. "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing". 1 Peter 3:9. There is positive power there.

T.M.G. They must take the matter up as if it were their own; but they must also recognise that the responsibility rests with those where it has occurred.

J.T. Yes. Cursed is he that removeth his neighbour's landmark; you get that in Deuteronomy 27:17. It is a very strong expression that. He is your neighbour, but still he has his landmark that you cannot transgress.

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Ques. As to the responsibility in connection with the meeting dealing with the trouble, are there degrees in responsibility? Is one more responsible than another? that is to say, are those who take the care more responsible than those who do not?

J.T. I think one is responsible according to what one has received; that is, the measure of one's responsibility is according to the measure of what one has received from the Lord. And, in another sense, it is the ground you take.

W.K. He gave to one ten pounds, and to another five.

J.T. That's right. Obviously the man who had the ten had the greater responsibility.

T.M.G. He gave to everyone according to His own measure.

R.H. It is the elders that accept responsibility.

J.T. Yes, in the Old Testament it was so, and the principle has been brought over to the New Testament. The apostle called for the elders of Ephesus, and placed the responsibility on them. But no exercised believer would disclaim responsibility.

T.M.G. It would not do to leave out anybody; everyone who is in the assembly is responsible.

J.T. I think anyone that assumes to be irresponsible has disqualified himself for the assembly.

J.McF. Would you say something on what follows in the chapter?

J.T. Well, the time has gone, and there is a good deal in it. The Spirit proceeds to speak of Christ in regard to the assembly; and the placing of the inheritance. A very solemn thing is seen in the stubborn son, and the one who is hanged, at the end of this chapter. Israel was guilty of the death of Christ, according to what we have been speaking of; but then the guilt is put away, and the testimony of it is presented to them. In the earlier chapters of

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the Acts they are held as having sinned ignorantly, and the guilt is atoned for by Christ. So that the Jews had a great opportunity, which they failed to answer to; but the assembly comes in; and I think the stubborn son is seen in the opposition of the Jew to what God was doing. The "elder son" in Luke 15 would not come into the house; he was stubborn. But then another thing comes to light, and that is, instead of him being stoned, you have Christ typically dying on the tree, as a curse; "cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree". Galatians 3:13.

W.H. At the end of the Old Testament we have the words "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse". Malachi 4:6. There was that possibility. But the New Testament brings in the blessing.

J.T. Yes, so that Christ was made a curse for us, as it is written "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ", Galatians 3:13, 14.

See further remarks on Deuteronomy 21

on pages 323 to 335.

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NOTES OF READINGS ON DEUTERONOMY (6)

Deuteronomy 26

J.T. This chapter clearly supposes that the people had fully arrived at the divine purpose for them; typically they are in their heavenly position; they are in the enjoyment, intelligently, of the land, and reaping the good, the fruit of it; and fully owning God as having brought them into it. So it answers, I think, in a peculiar way to the epistle to the Ephesians.

T.M.G. What Canaan is to us now.

J.T. Yes, at the present time. Still bearing in mind what we were, our father a Syrian, ready to perish at one time. Ephesians 2 contemplates what we were, and what we are, and the place we are in. But there are one or two principles that appear after chapter 21 that are important; that is, there is to be no admixture of two kinds, and the careful avoidance of all unlawful alliances and relationships, showing the danger to which we are exposed. Even in a right state we are exposed to intermingling with that which is foreign to us viewed as God's people. It says in Deuteronomy 22:9 "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds, lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard be defiled. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together". These are principles of the very last importance to us, because we may be in the Christian state, in the full recognition of what is due to God in the assembly, and yet be in danger of mixing with what is foreign to us. The point is not so much what is evil, in these passages, but that it is foreign; it is not the same. Scripture insists on things and species abiding in their kind; there is to be no admixture.

W.H. How is it applied practically now?

J.T. Well, it works out in the way in which we

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are to form alliances, and enter into relationships with those who are really not God's people; they are of a different kind; the persons may not be wicked in a sense, but they are of a different kind and order. We get in the same chapter that which is openly lawless; but this is not that. You might not enter into that which is openly lawless; but yet form alliances with another kind; for the believer is heavenly, and he is not to form an alliance with what is distinctly earthly.

Ques. What is the distinction between possessing the land, and dwelling in it?

J.T. Well, I was thinking that the chapter contemplates what we call Ephesian truth. We possess the land as a matter of title; we have title to heaven, and possess it in that sense; but then we are to dwell there also. One may have a title to a house, and yet not live in it. We all hold our title to heaven, and of course that is quite right; but then, alas, we do not seem to appropriate our title to heaven; we dwell on earth. It says: "When thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein", and so on. Deuteronomy 26:1.

Rem. That would be our side, in response.

.J.T. Yes. The chapter sets out with the portion that God receives from a heavenly people, as in the enjoyment of their inheritance, and reaping the good of the land.

W.K. Is there not another thing, the cultivation of the land? They cultivated it and brought the fruit; and that showed they had not only taken possession of it and dwelt in it, but also that they had practical evidence of the value of the land and therefore they had something to present.

T.M.G. I was thinking that what follows in this chapter is really the proof of their possessing the land and dwelling in it.

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J.T. Quite so. It says, "Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there". Deuteronomy 26:2. The land is viewed as yielding fruit; and it is viewed as theirs. Now, I believe that the present is a moment when the Lord would speak to His people as to their proper heavenly portion. I would be far from discouraging anyone from exercise as to prophecy or prophetic lines, but it must be borne in mind that it has relation to the earth; it is the testimony of Jesus, but it is Jesus in relation to the earth; and I am sure everyone would like to have the mind of God in relation to the earth; but we ought to take that up in heaven. John is very suggestive as to that; all that appertains to and is in relation to the earth is given to John as in heaven; he is called to "Come up hither", Revelation 4:1 and he receives in heaven light about the earth; whereas, what appertains to the history of the assembly here is given to him here on earth.

W.K. I consider that of great importance. I am glad you do not discourage the study of prophecy.

T.M.G. It is a good lamp.

J.T. Yes, if it is taken up from heaven. It is our privilege. The Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret to His servants the prophets. Now, we have that privilege; but surely we are right to lay hold of our own place first. So that Ephesians is really the great scripture for us; it is, you might say, our charter. Ephesians is our title-book as regards our inheritance. The Lord Jesus will come down from heaven, and place His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the land; that is taking possession of the earth; but He has not done that yet. He has taken up a place in heaven, and has given us a place there; and the epistle to

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the Ephesians is really the section of Scripture, above all others, that gives us our title. Deuteronomy, and the end of Numbers, give us in type heavenly territory. It is not the prophetic earth; the prophetic earth is clearly outlined in Scripture; the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness of it; and we, as here on earth get the benefit of it, and give thanks for it; but the geography of heaven is given to us also in Scripture, and our distinctive place in it.

E.M. Is not salvation in view of entering the inheritance?

J.T. Yes; and more than that, one is not really saved unless one is in the land; and it is very striking as has been pointed out, that in Ephesians 2, where the great place and privilege of the Christian is set out, we get "By grace are ye saved". Ephesians 2:5. There it is salvation from place. There is salvation from Egypt, and from the wilderness difficulties, but there is salvation from place. Where one settles down in Moab, you need salvation from earth; your living associations are in heaven. The professor here says, as he comes up to the priest with the basket, that he has kept the commandments; he is suited to the place.

W.K. With regard to what you say, there are some here who are only on the way, and at an early stage on it; and you are not referring to anything of the question of sins, or anything of that kind. Everybody has to start; and you begin at the bottom; and the Lord helps us, and ministers to us; and so there is food for every state of soul, from the very feeblest to the highest. But it is the Christian you are considering now.

J.T. I am sure I am fully with you in that the young people ought to be attended to. The attractions of the world are very great, and insidious; and they often do not get the food and shelter that their souls might look for amongst us.

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W.K. I think it is a great thing for the youngest to see that there are great things to be had, not simply coppers, but gold and silver.

W.H. The youngest soul will not miss his portion if he is exercised.

J.T. No. It is remarkable that in Ephesians it is the glad tidings of the unsearchable riches of the Christ; and this book suggests that; it is the wealth and blessedness of the land.

J.M. Would the thought of God getting His portion in the assembly be suggested in this chapter?

J.T. If each person in the assembly has his basket full, there is a true testimony to the wealth and blessedness of Canaan.

P.L. The basket is filled outside, as it were, and brought to the assembly.

J.T. I think that is an important point. You do not expect to find it in the meeting. Of course it is quite true that if there are full baskets there will be a portion for all.

R.L. Every Christian may not be full, exactly, but every Christian ought to be so according to this; the basket was individual.

J.T. Yes; you see in Deuteronomy 16, that they are also supposed to be filled, but there it is that they have appropriated Christ as He is seen in the passover, and as He is seen in the feast of Pentecost, and also as He is seen in the feast of tabernacles. This chapter includes all that, but it goes beyond it, because it is the fruit of the land that is in view here.

R.L. I was wondering when you referred to Ephesians, if chapter 1: 3, applies here "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ"? Ephesians 1:3.

J.T. Yes, in heavenly places; and the basket of firstfruits has reference to what our souls gather in that connection.

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T.M.G. Is not that the force of "dwelling therein"? Deuteronomy 26:1.

P.L. You mean they could not get the fruit outside the land?

J.T. Yes. I think that is a remarkable scripture. He hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. Now, this chapter supposes that the soul is there, and he is reaping the good of it. Earlier than this you get spiritual power in connection with the exercises of the soul in coming out of Egypt, and also in connection with the feast of Pentecost, but this chapter is what you get in the land.

W.K. And of the land.

J.T. Yes, it is the fruit of it. It is not what you get in the wilderness, nor as coming out of Egypt of course those things underlie it; but here it is the abundance of the fruit of the land.

Rem. The basket is the person; and the more you gather, the larger the basket you have.

J.T. Yes, you become enlarged; the apostle says, "Be ye also enlarged", 2 Corinthians 6:13.

J.M. Is the basket the new being that is formed by the Holy Spirit?

J.T. Yes, I would say that; and including your body; you could not be the basket without a body.

J.M. But it does take in the thought of a subjective work in the soul?

J.T. Certainly; Ephesians takes all that into account.

R.L. They were to be filled with the Spirit.

J.M. Well, as to dwelling in the land, is it the position that your soul takes up, and lives in? You recognise the position that divine love has given you?

W.K. In a settled way. You are not a sojourner; you are a dweller.

S.L. Does not Colossian truth help you?

J.T. Certainly. Colossians is what one might

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call the boundaries of the land. You are to set your mind on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. All is clearly defined. But then when you come to Ephesians you have not only the boundaries of the land, you have the land itself; the breadth and the length and the depth and the height. In Moses you have a heavenly minded man typically; he not only knew the boundaries, but he knew the land itself, he had it in his heart.

S.L. You spoke of prophecy. If we are in right relation to Christ, we are fitted to look at prophecy.

J.T. I think so; prophecy brings Christ into the earth again; whereas Colossians and Ephesians bring the saints into heaven. I believe it is of great importance to get the idea of the boundary.

W.K. In connection with what you were saying about the extent of the land, is there also the idea here not merely of the quantity, but of the character of the thing? You have it, you have entered in, and you have taken conscious possession. You are not going out of it; you are dwelling there, you have cultivated that land, and the fruit of that land you bring to God with acceptance. That is what I mean by character.

J.T. Then when you come to the land of Canaan, the food is the "old corn". Now, the idea in that is that the corn was so plentiful that they did not eat it the year it grew; but it is corn you cannot find outside; it is indigenous to the land; it is Christ, the heavenly Man. That is the fruit God accepts now; in the future He will have fruit from Israel, and from the nations, unquestionably; but it is not that kind of fruit God is looking for now. The fruit God is looking for is that which He saw in Christ as you find Him in the gospels. It is the heavenly Man on earth; and we are taken up in that way, and God looks for fruit. It is not simply a question of righteousness in the wilderness; it is Christ, the

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heavenly Man. Of course this chapter does not contemplate us as in heaven; it is what we are here in the light of heaven, and as dwelling there in our souls. It supposes that we are still down here in flesh. My father was a Syrian ready to perish.

T.M.G. Philippians would answer to it; the heavenly Man here.

W.K. Our citizenship is in heaven.

E.H. What is the thought in bringing it to the priest?

J.T. Well, it is only a priest who has to say directly to the things of God. It raises the question of holiness; priesthood refers to the holiness of God. A priest recognises what is due to Him. It is the priest that will be in those days. It is always the character in Deuteronomy. The official side is not prominent.

E.H. Does not the individual seem to have a good deal to say about himself in this chapter?

J.T. It is because he is in accord with the place; he does not say, "God be merciful to me, a sinner". Luke 18:13. There is no disparity between you and the place you are suited to it. "Giving thanks to the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light", Colossians 1:12. That is, you axe not there as unsuited to it. The prodigal helps us as to this: in the house there was no disparity; he was perfectly suitable to it; because the best robe and the ring, mean state.

J.M. Would you say that the basket and fruit set forth state?

J.T. It is Christ as the heavenly Man in the heart. It may seem to be a distinction without a difference, but the fruit here is not that which you acquire through wilderness exercises; it is that which you acquire as living consciously in Canaan.

W.K. The sense of suitability that you have referred to is a deeply important thing, because it is

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impossible to be in meetings and not to realise that the conscious sense of suitability is not the possession of everybody; and is it not of all importance that we should have that sense so that we can draw near to God with holy freedom?

J.T. You feel perfectly restful there.

W.K. You have liberty of access into the immediate presence of God.

J.T. Yes and the more you are conscious of it the more you give thanks for it because it is the Father who has made you that.

E.M. Is the basket of fruit the presenting of our appreciation of Christ to God?

J.T. Our appreciation of the heavenly Man. You have come now to appreciate the heavenly Man.

J.M. What you have been saying would convey that it is more than title. Heaven is our place; we have title to that place; but this is more than that; it is the soul brought consciously into the enjoyment of that.

J.T. Yes; Romans 8 lays the basis in your soul; it introduces this, that we are to be conformed to the image of God's Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Now, that lays the basis for the heavenly position. Light as to Christ has got into your soul, and it leads to this, that you want to be like that Man; and that lays the ground for Ephesians, because that Man is to have brethren in heaven.

E.M. There is another question I would like to ask: What is involved in the thought of every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; Ephesians 1. Is not every blessing in a way in Christianity?

J.T. Yes. We have all our blessings there. The Jews will have spiritual blessings too; only they will not have them in heaven. I think the emphasis is on the place, in heaven. You get the thought in Romans 8 of relationship with Him. The Spirit is the Spirit of God's Son. That is light, and it is the

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basis laid in your soul for Ephesians. You are related to that Man. You are fit for union by the Spirit of God's Son; and you want to know what it is to be with Him where He is.

P.L. I suppose what you were referring to in chapter 16 is fulfilled here; no one shall appear before the Lord empty.

J.T. It is indeed fulfilled here. In chapter 16 it is fulfilled too, but there it is in connection with the passover, and the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles; here the worshipper brings the fruit of the land, in which he is dwelling.

W.K. It is set down not merely before God, but before the altar. You have the thought of worship there.

J.T. Yes; it says in verse 8 "And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs and with wonders; and he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey". Deuteronomy 26:8,9. The land is regarded as a possession.

W.K. It was given to them. God had given it to them, and they were in full appreciation of His goodness. The firstfruits are what we acquire in the land.

Rem. Title will not produce fruit.

J.T. No; for instance, Moses could never have brought this basket of firstfruits.

W.K. That is a very strong illustration; that surely ought to meet the case.

J.T. There was no wilderness Christian like him; and yet he could not have brought this.

P.L. It is all what "the Lord thy God giveth thee", in this chapter. Deuteronomy 26:1.

J.T. Yes, you are blessed with every blessing in the heavenlies. You do not bring any of them into the heavenlies; they are all there. The fruit is that your heart is filled with that heavenly Man; He controls every affection that you have.

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J.McF. Could you enumerate some of the spiritual blessings?

J.T. Well, there are so many when you have every spiritual blessing; the point of it is, that there is not one that we have not got. The Jews would not get them all; and certainly the nations will not get them all; they will get the blessing of everlasting life; even the nations will get that; but they do not get the blessing of sonship; nor do they get the blessing of being companions of Christ before the face of the Father; nor do they get the place in the Father's house.

E.M. Then you would say the assembly is one family where God gets full response to His love.

J.T. Full response; that is, Christ as the heavenly Man having His place in the hearts of people who are themselves heavenly. That is what this chapter presents to us. Now, Christ shall have a place in Israel, surely; but it is not this; it is below this.

J.T. There is another important point to notice; there is no need of manna, when you have the old corn.

J.M. Would you say a word as to how it works out practically in our pathway here. We do feed on the manna here; and we have wilderness experiences; and we have to do with things, and men.

J.T. As regards the manna, it refers to Christ, as He was here on earth, walking about as a Man amongst men in ordinary circumstances. He was here for God's will, and never did anything else. Now, that is what the soul feeds on in the circumstances of everyday life. So the manna was on every blade of grass as it were. Now, John 6 is also food, it is food in order that we should live; not simply to carry out God's will down here, but that we should live; and that is Christ, not as living here, but as having died here, because the blood is separated from the body. But when you come to the "old corn", it is not simply Christ dying; it is Christ as He is, in heaven; "the Son of man, which is in heaven". John 3:13.

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CHURCH PRINCIPLES

Exodus 33:7 - 11 Deuteronomy 21:1 - 9

I thought this passage would help us in regard to fellowship. In the first passage Moses had the light of God's mind in his soul, and it was a question as to that with which he would connect it. The testimony really has a universal bearing, and what is in connection with it locally must be in accord with it. You cannot have one set of principles in one locality and another in another locality, you must have uniformity. In the second passage read we get the thought of local responsibility, in the city next to the slain man. It is not only a question of what I can connect myself with, but having the testimony of God in my soul, I am concerned as to what it can be connected with. Moses came down from the mount with the desires of God in his heart, and what was he going to do? It calls for consideration as to the persons you can connect yourself with and principles which are to govern you.

What decided Moses to take the course set before us in Exodus 33 was the knowledge he had acquired of God. He considered for God and what was suitable to God. The wonderful experience he had had with Jehovah since He first revealed Himself to him, added to the experience on the mount would greatly increase his sense of what was due to God. He had received from God on the mount communications which typically referred to Christ; so Moses would increase his sense of what was due to God, and his action was governed by that, rather than by a specific commandment.

This chapter is interesting, because it gives us the principles of God in regard to the people. You have to take the previous chapter to get the bearing of it; indeed, you have to consider the whole section

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beginning from chapter 25. Holiness, the law of the house, influenced Moses. He must have had a wonderful sense of what God was. The whole environment in which the communications were made affected him. In Exodus 19 your mind is impressed with the particular care with which God guards His righteousness; there was a boundary set round the mount. Of course, there are other sides to it, but God would impress upon His people what He is. Then in Exodus 24 they saw the God of Israel, and the pavement of sapphire under His feet. But Moses was received up there alone with God; for forty days he neither ate nor drank; his soul was sustained in the presence of God; that is, he was sustained outside of nature. A man like that coming down into the camp, as it was at that time, was very serious. His ear was exercised, and he discerned that it was not the voice of war, but of pleasure, in the camp; so he broke the tables; he could not bring them in there. He takes the tabernacle and pitches it outside, indicating that there was a receptacle for the light he had in his soul. He could not connect that with the camp. The light was more to Moses than himself. These are the kind of exercises which govern us as to fellowship not only that I am in fellowship; but I have exercises as to what is of God, and the circumstances with which it is connected. We have to remember that the ark of the covenant was long without a resting-place. Every right minded Israelite would consider for that. Under Samuel and Saul it never had a resting place. That is the thing to consider for can you find circumstances suitable for the ark; suitable for Christ?

The same kind of feeling governed David when he said, "I will not give sleep to mine eyes". Psalm 132:4. He had heard of the ark at Ephratah, no doubt when he was very young; that was the controlling object of his

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life. It was one thing to hear about the ark, and another thing to seek a place for it. He would not sleep until he had found a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. Moses had the same sentiments. He had not had tine to construct the tabernacle; the material was not available; the people had given their ornaments for idolatry; whatever tent he pitched it was provisional for the moment. The wonderful thing is that God put His approval on what he did. "The Lord spake to Moses as a man speaks to his friend". Exodus 33:11.

The tent Moses pitched became an interest to the people. Those who sought the Lord went out to it. The first consideration is the testimony and the place for it. I have thought that if we take care of the principles God will take care of the people. To have a place for the testimony you must, in Christianity, have the people; but if you look after the principles, God will look after the people. Even the putting off of their ornaments did not qualify them to have the tabernacle; the tabernacle was taken away from them. They worshipped at the door of their tents; that was not what God wanted; and those that sought Him went out. God wants us to worship at the door of His tent, and for that you must go out.

Divine principles are abiding; they are eternal; the principles we stand for will be public in the world to come. They will hold good, and will govern the people then. God's thought is that we should stand by them now. If you stand by the principles, He will look after the people. We have a seal with two sides, "Let him that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity" 2 Timothy 2:19; that is our side, that is the principle we are committed to; to withdraw from iniquity. The other side is, "The Lord knoweth them that are his". 2 Timothy 2:19. He will take care of them.

We have to see that the testimony is maintained in a clean place. That is the idea. You would not

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commit it to anything unclean or unsuitable. Here is a man fresh from the presence of God; he comes into the camp which is permeated with idolatry. What does he do? The Lord did not tell him what to do, but he had principles in his heart produced by his knowledge of God. He had a great regard for what was due to God. That is what is seen in this passage. Moses had great love for the people, but he considered for God first. He called it "the tabernacle of the congregation". If he gave the tabernacle that name, it showed that he expected the congregation. The second epistle to Timothy is most interesting; our part is to consider what is due to God, to withdraw from iniquity. On the other hand, the Lord knows them that are His. You have the congregation there too, for you follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. The congregation will always be there. We should never expect to see ourselves without the congregation. The great point is that God is enshrined in the tabernacle. To find our way today we have these principles. The knowledge of God comes through the gospel, but popular evangelists send their converts to different religious systems, but that is not God's mind. The idea of the assembly is called out ones. The call is the gospel. We are called out to something. Christ becomes the Centre for the mind and heart; the gospel is concerning Him. Every divine principle flows from what God is. If you take them up, God will be with you. That is what you get here. Moses had been on the mount with God, and when he comes down his action is established by God.

Paul in similar circumstances says, "at my first answer no one stood by me", 2 Timothy 4:16 and the next point is "the Lord stood by me". 2 Timothy 4:17. If you stand by the principles God will stand by you, and the congregation will come. But you will only stand by the

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principles as you appreciate them; as you appreciate them you are set for them. Moses did more than that, he would die for the people. That is the next thing. If you are in the Spirit of Christ, you will stand for the principles and stand by the people, but the principles come first. It is a great mark of favour when trouble comes if the people are saved as well as the principles. Paul withstood Peter to the face. He stood for the principles, and Peter was saved as well.

Holding the truth in love is the great thing. If you do that you will not let the people go. You hold the truth, but you hold it in love. I think one of the most remarkable instances of divine wisdom is seen in the letters to the Corinthians. We should study them if we wish to serve in the house of God. They show us how a man acts who stands by the principles of God, and who loves the saints. He said, in effect, 'If I go to Corinth, I shall have to use severity, and I do not want to do that. I want to get all the Corinthians'. So, instead of going, he writes a letter and sends it by Timothy, one not only converted through him, but one who knew his ways, and who would put the Corinthians in mind of them. He sends the letter, and the result is the mass of the Corinthians are saved. We do not want to lose the saints, and if we are not to lose any of them we are to act wisely, and love is the most skilful of all things. This raises the question as to how we are to conduct ourselves when difficulty arises. What are you going to do? The study of these two letters in connection with Moses' act here affords wonderful light as to how to act. Paul did not stand afar off from the Corinthians; he went through the exercises with them, which is a mark of priestly service.

Christianity is a system established in wisdom. The four gospels give us wisdom as seen in Christ. Divine wisdom is seen there in relation to everything

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that existed on earth. In other words, they are the book of Proverbs personified. The epistles give us the children of wisdom; they give us examples of persons who had learnt from Christ how to act. Christianity is not like the old system. We have not a prescription for every difficulty, but we have the Holy Spirit here, which those under the old system had not. Now things are more established on precedent than on commandment; it is more a question of discovering how Christ acted and how the apostles acted. We have not commandments exactly, there are such, of course, but we have principles, and how you face difficulties brings out what you are spiritually. The Lord lets us expose ourselves.

Moses here saves the situation. His conduct shows what a knowledge of God he had. The best test of a man as to where he is with God is how he acts in a case of discipline, especially if the persons are known to him, if he has lived with them. If he is not a spiritual man he will be governed by partiality. If we had a prescription for every difficulty there would be no need for exercise or spirituality. The punishment would just have to be made to fit the crime. Now the Lord allows things to arise, as if to say, 'Now what are you going to do?' And what you do proves what you are spiritually. It is a question of love to God and to your neighbour. The question of local responsibility all lies in the commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". Leviticus 19:18. It all hinges on that. If you have to deal with your neighbour, and you are not under the influence of the love of Christ, you will be governed by partiality, by some personal feeling.

The second scripture we read, Deuteronomy 21, gives the idea of what is local. I have thought that no conditions can arise which would prevent the working out of assembly principles. That is saying

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a great deal, but I am assured that we are never shut up. Love is the one thing that has never yet failed. No matter how bad the conditions are, you can carry out assembly principles. Things could not be much worse than in Corinth. It is remarkable how the apostle on the one hand considered for God, and on the other hand considered for the saints; they were all saved. On the other hand, if the conditions are so bad that flesh rules absolutely instead of that which is spiritual, you are not shut up. If such conditions arise the apostle supposes in 2 Timothy, that there is still a way for us; we withdraw from evil.

The foundations were untouched at Corinth. If the foundations are not destroyed you can go on, but if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? If the foundations are destroyed, then it means that Christ is given up, as in the public systems of men. They may not become absolutely apostate, but if Christ has no place there, the righteous must withdraw from that; but then, you do not give up assembly principles. You can go on because you have the congregation. It is beautiful to see the way Paul acted, and his basic principle was love. If he had considered for his own authority and fame he would have gone there. That is what lies at the bottom of many of our difficulties, our fame and reputation. There were those who said that Paul was not truthful; those who said his speech was contemptible; the enemy's attack was to set aside his authority. He did not consider for that, he considered for God.

The difference between the state of the Corinthians and that described in 2 Timothy is, that the saints had not given up the foundations at Corinth. In the main they still held the truth; the Holy Spirit was there; they were still regarded as the body of Christ. "Ye are God's building", says Paul. 1 Corinthians 3:9. They

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had not given up the foundation truths of Christianity. 2 Timothy supposes that the foundations are given up. Luke 10 shows the character of the true neighbour. If you are in the nearest meeting to the one in trouble, the question is, have you the oil and the wine? That is the obligation; the neighbour is to be a neighbour.

The passage here reads "And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near ... and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried" Deuteronomy 21:5. What we see there is that alongside the principle of local responsibility is the priestly thought. The priest is to determine things. What you find, where difficulty arises, is that it is really a question of the constitution of the meeting. It is the outcome of the underlying state of things, and what is required is to build them up. Where difficulty arises locally you will often find that saints are feeding on controversy, and if you do not bring in good food there is very little hope for them. If local difficulties arise, what is needed is a priestly state. I think that is the point, and that is where Christianity comes in. The priest is the man who loves. The leading feature of the high priest is the breastplate and the shoulderpieces. The priest says, as it were, I have you on my heart to speak well of you. The judgment of Israel was to be according to that. Your judgment is not to be based on your feelings but according to your love for the saints. It is the judgment of the breastplate.

The difficulty such as this Scripture has in mind develops where the priestly state is low. The only hope in Israel was the priest. Everything hinges on the priest. If the priest is not there there is no hope. The priest is able to minister Christ to the saints it is in the priestly state that you can minister. Of course, it is Luke that records that. It was Christ Himself who was the Samaritan. He was

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attendant upon man here. It required the priest to do that; to bring in oil and wine. Evidently it is Christ who is Priest. It is remarkable that the apostle can take account of the Corinthians as he does when there was division there. But the foundations were still there. If you go to the place with the ministry of Christ, that will revive the saints' spirits. What souls need when they are hungry is food. They want ministry to lift them out of ruts; even when they say, "I am of Paul, and I of Apollos" 1 Corinthians 1:12. Ministry is the great thing. If the priest is active, there will be help.

The working out of the thing in Corinth produced the spirit of self-judgment. He says, "In all things ye have proved yourselves to be clear". 2 Corinthians 7:11. They proved themselves to be clear, but they had to accept the responsibility of what existed among them. That is the first thing. Now this chapter establishes the fact that the nearest meeting is the one held responsible; it does not say that the others are excluded, because fellowship is general as well as local. So it says, in Corinthians, "To all that in every place call on the name of the Lord" 1 Corinthians 1:2; it is universal as well as local. That is important, because there is danger in applying it only to the local side of things, and people outside of that are not in touch with it.

This chapter guards us, but in a general way, the nearest meeting is held responsible. If we acted wisely, we would act on this principle; you may not have to wait. If the nearest meeting is not acting in a priestly character, try and get it right, because if you go over their heads you may lose them, and then you will not gain much. You act on those lines and maintain that fellowship is general as well as local.

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THE CITY NEAREST TO THE SLAIN MAN

Deuteronomy 21:1 - 9

The above passage has clearly a dispensational significance, "the slain man" referring to Christ as slain near Jerusalem, although the city is not charged with the guilt of His death, but rather in grace given an opportunity to clear itself. The remaining subjects in the chapter follow on the death of our Lord in regular order, bearing on the assembly and Israel as seen in the Acts. The "stubborn and rebellious son" Deuteronomy 21:18 is a type of the Jews as utterly disregardful of divine grace and authority in Christ presented to them in the gospel. He would "not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother". Deuteronomy 21:18. Being brought to "the elders of his city" he is stoned to death by "all the men" of it Deuteronomy 21:21. But verses 1 to 9 contain most important principles in relation to local ruptures, or other causes of uncertainty involving fellowship among the saints of the assembly.

First, as to general responsibility. "Thine elders and thy judges shall go forth". Deuteronomy 21:2. This refers to the saints universally viewed in their responsibility as to any sin or division, the cause of which is unknown, but which must be investigated so that judgment according to God may be rendered. The next direction deals with proximity to the scene of the sin. The nearest city is determined by the measurement of those generally responsible, and this matter of proximity is in view throughout the instruction. The fact that the nearest city to the slain man has to clear itself rather than determine the murderer or murderers, does not set aside the importance of proximity as a principle. A divine principle is always valid. Scripture may confirm itself, but does not necessarily repeat. One scripture is enough to establish any point, as John 10:35 shows. Some would make the Old Testament secondary, or a

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matter of detail, but the New Testament constantly insists on the equality of the Old Testament with itself, Throughout these verses 1 - 9, the mind is focussed on "the city that is nearest unto him that is slain", "the elders of that city", and "all the elders" of it being mentioned.

Then priesthood. "The priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to do service unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall be every controversy and every stroke". Deuteronomy 21:5. They represent the spiritual elements; those who are spiritual, and so can "discern all things". 1 Corinthians 2:15. Note, they are not regarded as local, nor as belonging to the people: not "thy priests". They are on God's side chosen of Him. But observe a very important fact, that as the sons of Levi are mentioned, the elders of the city nearest the slain man are again introduced and the priests are not mentioned again, while the elders of the nearest city speak to Jehovah. The onus of slaying the heifer was on them, and they wash their hands over her. Then they say, "Forgive thy people Israel ... and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel" Deuteronomy 21:8. They act as priests, and not simply for themselves but for all Israel. This as applied today, would mean that the meeting or meetings nearest to a locality in which division and consequent uncertainty as to the sin involved exist, as judging the matter in the light of the death of Christ and depending upon the Spirit, for the heifer had her neck broken in a "water-course", show themselves to be spiritual, and so capable of discerning and judging according to God. A decision reached under these circumstances will be accepted by "Israel", and morally binding.

Christian fellowship is general as well as local, and so if its practical expression in a locality ceases through division among the saints there, the general

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aspect is involved; in principle responsibility as to it belongs to all the gatherings. This is recognised in verse 2, "thy elders and thy judges", but afterwards all rests with the nearest city and the priesthood, the elders of the former merging into the latter. Thus a local sorrow, such as we are contemplating, after general responsibility is accepted, resolves itself into proximity and priesthood. These must go together, and as they do, the nearest meeting will not act arbitrarily, or officially, but on moral grounds, recognising that what they have on hand is not in their own midst and for which they are responsible to the Lord only, but in another locality, and so coming within the range of all; but that wisdom and confidence in others would leave the service of adjustment with them as the nearest to the scene of sorrow.

While the unmanageable and rebellious son alludes to the Jews, as already said, verses 18 to 21 afford important instruction relative to the subject under consideration. He was to be brought "unto the elders of his city and unto the gates of his place". Deuteronomy 21:19. This links with 1 Corinthians, and shows, that when actual sin is in question, and determined, judgment of it must be where the guilty person resides. "All the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die". Deuteronomy 21:21. This is done on adequate testimony, for his father and mother accuse him before the elders. In the light of this, as connected with the letters to Corinth, matters belonging to a given locality cannot be scripturally adjudicated upon in another locality.

Thus while responsibility as to the slain man is determined by measurement, his position is not presented exactly as a locality; the measurement is from him, not the field. Nor is the heifer slain there, but in the valley, or watercourse, and expiation thereby made for Israel, although in professed innocence of the death of the man. But when sin is active, innocency no longer contemplated, the

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guilty person is regarded as of a city and his judgment is there. In truth as evil has to be met the two cities merge into one, for the principle established is that sin occurring in a local assembly must be dealt with there, although a nearby assembly may have responsibility as to it, because of division or inability otherwise in the former to deal with it. Leviticus 14:33 - 53 governs this.

But the extension of fellowship by a nearby meeting to saints in a place where division has existed is not exactly the same as dealing with sin in it, although it may involve the judgment of some who cannot be recognised because of their conduct it is a question of owning "the approved". This action is as of one assembly to another, and so is done, so to speak, by the neighbour assembly in its own locality, after godly deliberation, based on full inquiry.

Referring again to verse 2 of our chapter, it is a grave mistake to assume that what is said of "thine elders and thy judges" warrants brethren from many gatherings, whether of a district or generally, coming together to judge of matters belonging to another locality. There is no scriptural warrant for such a procedure; indeed it would set aside the truth governing the local assembly taught in 1 and 2 Corinthians, which is, that as having the Holy Spirit, it has the character of the temple of God and the body of Christ, and so furnished with what is needed for its guidance and maintenance; gifts, as for the whole assembly, being also available.

The truth governing the assembly, as seen in local companies, taught especially as we have seen in 1 and 2 Corinthians and Deuteronomy 21, the disregard of which has caused widespread sorrow, needs to be constantly pressed, particularly in places where this sorrow was lightly experienced, where many of Israel have not known "all the wars of Canaan".

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Pages 336 - 406 -- "That which was from the Beginning". New York, May, 1915(Volume 29).

"THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING" (1)

1 John 1

J.T. The beginning here is of Christianity as seen in Christ. It is thought that it might help if we were to see what was at the beginning, what was introduced in the beginning in Christ. If we get a right thought as to that, we should have right thoughts as to the measure of our growth. Growth is to be according to that measure, the fulness of it is to know "him that is from the beginning". 1 John 2:13. You will observe, it is not here "that which was in the beginning", but "that which was from the beginning". 1 John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word", John 1:1 is the opening of John's gospel, but here it is "That which was from the beginning".

F.L. And I suppose it is equally significant that it is not He which is from the beginning; it is that which was from the beginning.

Ques. Would you make a difference between eternal life and Christianity?

J.T. There is a difference. The passage here reads, "concerning the word of life". 1 John 1:1. It refers to what the apostles were cognisant of by observation.

J.B. What was it that the fathers knew?

J.T. Him that is from the beginning. They had come to an apprehension of the Lord as presented in the gospels.

B.T.F. Why is the pronoun He not used?

J.T. It is not exactly the Person, but the thing that was seen in Him.

A.A.T. In John 15: 27 it speaks of the beginning, "ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning".

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J.T. That indicates what is in the apostle's mind here.

F.L. The importance of it should be seen for the reason that the individuals who were capable of bearing that testimony had nearly all disappeared, so that unless John brought it out it could not be brought out at all.

J.T. "That which we have seen and heard we report to you", 1 John 1:3. Luke's gospel is founded on the testimony of the twelve; it is not the result of personal observation, but it is the record of one intensely interested in and sympathetic with the apostle's testimony.

E.J.W. John's gospel and his epistle are both written as safeguards for us. The gospel, I suppose, is written to safeguard the truth of the Lord's Person, hence it opens with "In the beginning was the Word" John 1:1; while the epistle is written to safeguard the truth as to Christianity, and therefore it opens with, "That which was from the beginning", 1 John 1:1 referring to the divine starting point of that which is finally for God.

J.T. There is nothing to be added.

E.J.W. And nothing before it.

J.T. No, it was all there.

R.S.S. In the gospel it is "the Son of God" and in the epistle it is "Jesus Christ come in flesh". 1 John 4:3.

E.J.W. I suppose "The Son of God" is prominent in both the gospel and the epistle.

J.T. The truth had taken form in Christ, and it was all there; therefore, it was not something to be developed. Men are to grow up to it, but it was all there in completeness in that Man.

F.L. The epistle was written for "the last hour". That which was from the beginning becomes the point of recovery and safeguard for the last hour.

J.T. John seems to be a sort of reserve man in Scripture, Peter's commission was very clear, and

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Peter desired to know what John was to do, but the Lord was very indefinite as to John's special work. He purposely hid the service that John was designed for, and therefore the word to Peter is, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" John 21:22. There was a saying that that disciple should not die, but John himself does not enlighten us any more as to this than the Lord did; the matter is just left. In due time the wisdom of the Lord in having a reserve man comes to light.

F.L. Wisdom has always a resource; so that when the outward fabric of Christianity is shattered, the Lord brings His reserve into view.

J.T. It gives a peculiar place to John's writings. In Patmos he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day; he was engaged, as we may say, with heavenly things. Presently he heard a voice behind him calling him back, as it were, from his proper heavenly portion to engage him with Christ in relation to God's governmental dealings on earth. He is shown all that God would do from that time until the coming of the assembly out of heaven; in other words, he is the reserve man and prepared to do whatever the Lord has for him to do. Instead of apostolic labours, his are to be those of a prophet or seer. In this crisis, for the enemy was attacking the truth, he comes in to show that that which was from the beginning is the truth; it was all there, there was nothing to be added, nor was Christianity something to be developed.

W.H.F. John goes down to the end, and his ministry is that which brings back to first love; it effects recovery.

F.L. There is no idea of impairment of knowledge in what is spiritual. John was old, but he gives out what is original and in freshness. As our brother says, it recalls to first love. There is no mark of age or infirmity.

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J.T. What you will notice is, that while in Revelation expressions are used that denote distance, in the epistle John is back in family relations. There can be nothing, in a way, that is more important than to be reminded of the completeness of the thing as presented in Christ. There is no development in it; it is all there. There is growth in the saints, as the next chapter shows, but the measure of growth is the knowledge of Him that is from the beginning.

T.R. Growth is on our side; there is none in Christ, nothing less than that which is from the beginning. There is no less at the last hour than there was at the beginning.

A.A.T. Is that why in the next chapter he speaks of fathers, because there is full development?

J.T. The next chapter, in that way, is the corresponding side in us, growth from the babe to the father; but the fulness of knowledge of Him that is from the beginning is the standard. John is like Samuel's mother; year after year she brought a little coat for her son; in making each coat she would be reminded of his growth, for she would have to make it larger. It is a poor thing if the clothes of last year fit one this year.

F.L. I am afraid they hang pretty loosely on some of us!

Ques. What do you mean by clothes?

J.T. The circumstances around you; so that as you grow your circumstances become altered to agree with the growth. There should be agreement between one's circumstances and one's growth.

B.T.F. Was the coat not to be an indication of what the person was?

J.T. It was; so the exhortations are very largely that we should have right clothes.

E.J.W. You mean that if a person is growing, he finds that things he was formerly happy about, such as those connected with his habits and associations,

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do not now agree with the enlarged affection and intelligence, and therefore must needs he discarded.

Rem. Peter says, "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ", 2 Peter 3:28.

Ques. What is the thing from the beginning?

J.T. "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life". 1 John 1:1. The apostle refers to Jesus Christ come in flesh, but what is in his mind is to speak of life. What he had seen and handled has reference to the Word of life.

E.J.W. It would take in the whole purpose of God as to what man should be in relation to Him in life. That purpose has now come to light and been properly established in that Man, and is God's present testimony.

.J.T. The life was manifested, and "that which we have seen", refers to the Lord as come in flesh. It is most important to note as to eternal life that it was with the Father.

E.J.W. I suppose it would indicate the new plane on which this new order of things is established it is "with the Father", not "with Jehovah", or "with Almighty God", but with God revealed as Father.

J.T. Think of all that entered into such a sight! They were privileged to see a Man in all the intimacy of a Son with the Father! That is a great thing to get primarily in the way of light into one's soul. It is all in that setting, and as you said, we now have access to it, but it was objectively before the eyes of the apostles; it was all there, but they had no part in it yet.

E.J.W. At the same time there is, I take it, the underlying thought that it is the purpose of God's

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love regarding man: so "as he is", and "which thing is true in him and in you", 1 John 2:8 are characteristic of the teaching of the epistle.

J.T. The first chapter emphasises what they saw; you cannot see the full thing in any of us or even in the whole assembly as they saw it in Christ. What is in Christ must be unique in itself, but it becomes a wonderful basis in the soul of the believer as a matter of light. "That which we have seen and heard we report to you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is indeed with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ". 1 John 1:3. So that the thing is put on its own proper basis. It is presented to our souls as a matter of light, and that is what we are to grow up to.

E.J.W. I suppose the idea of the testimony is prominent in these verses.

J.T. That is what I thought.

E.J.W. And that which is presented is God's testimony regarding His purpose as to man; it is "the word of life". 1 John 1:1.

J.T. Due allowance is made for something unique in Christ; He must have the pre-eminence. If the eternal life was with the Father in Christ, it was peculiar. One can understand that all that the Son is must have lent a peculiar character to His relations as Man with the Father.

E.J.W. That comes out in John's gospel very distinctly.

F.L. I think some of us would be helped if you would explain a little what you mean by being set in a family setting. We might perhaps confuse it in our minds with our home circle.

J.T. There is nothing more interesting. In one's business or in one's relations with men of the world the thought of growth does not arise. You may have the thought of education, but what does interest a parent or an elder brother or sister is the growth

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of the younger members of the family, and this is what John especially presents to us. So I think the point of introducing that eternal life which was with the Father is, that it is a Man seen in that peculiar place, as yet alone in it, but nevertheless there. A Man was in relation with God revealed as Father. A Man in circumstances, outwardly, such as our own, and indeed in flesh and blood, because I have no doubt it refers to that period. It becomes light in the soul of the believer, so that he acquires a knowledge of the relationship in which he is set with God. There is growth in that, and one may gauge one s growth. I think chapter 2 helps in that connection.

F.L. So the Lord when here looked up to heaven and said, Father! There was a Man in circumstances such as our own, who when here on earth turned naturally and simply to heaven saying, Father! That is your thought in regard to Christ personally here. So speaking, He refers to the fact that the Father's pleasure was that He should give eternal life to as many as He had given Him, and "This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". John 17:3. But His position was unique.

J.T. I think it comes out in a special way in the end of Matthew 11, where all is hopeless on the line of the flesh, and there was positive opposition to Christ. Under these circumstances He turns to the Father and says, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" Matthew 11:25 and then He speaks of the revelation of the Father. Then He invites those that are weary to come to Him to obtain rest, saying, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me". Matthew 11:29. It seems as though He is speaking from His position at that time. Man in the presence of the Father and in the

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light of the Father's prerogative in heaven and earth. These epistles open up to us what it is to learn from Christ. John himself is an example, he found rest in the Lord's bosom.

B.T.F. It is distinct in some measure from what we speak of as assembly privilege, is it not? It is the Lord walking in the pathway of responsibility and being in relation to the Father.

J.T. Eternal life is distinct from heavenly privilege; it is a universal blessing. The apostles saw it in Christ while He was among them. They saw Him "with the Father". Though in flesh and blood and having to do with ordinary human affairs, His life was with God. Death had no influence over His spirit; He had free access to God, whom He set always before Him. He invites all weary ones to come and learn of Him. There was a Man in complete superiority to all circumstances; now He is to be learnt from, and those who take His yoke and learn from Him find rest in their souls. He was a Man, as we see in Psalm 16:8, who had "set the Lord always before" Him He rises above adverse circumstances and speaks directly to the Father. I do not say that these outward circumstances constitute eternal life; the evidence of it was there. It is not, "that eternal life that was with men", but "with the Father" The apostles evidently saw beyond outward circumstances.

B.T.F. That throws much light on what we have in this chapter.

J.T. What the epistle develops is that "as he is, so are we in this world". 1 John 4:17. In chapter 2 we have "which thing is true in him and in you" 1 John 2:8; in chapter 4 we have full correspondence, "as he is so are we in this world". 1 John 4:17.

E.J.W. The early verses have in view the fact that death rested upon everything here; those in touch with God would keenly feel that, as seen in

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Isaiah 38, and all along were looking for the intervention of God which He had promised as that by which He would bring in life where all was death. Now this is come to pass in the Lord having come in flesh, and all the blessed purpose of God as to which faith had glimmerings all along has been fully established, and nothing can be added.

J.T. What chapter 1 presents is, "that eternal life was with the Father". 1 John 1:2. It is what Christ was here as immune from death; all around was under death, but here was One entirely free from it, a Man that could look up into the face of God without a cloud, and who was consciously in victory. No circumstances could in the least degree overwhelm Him, He was in victory, so in that way He becomes a model or object for us, we are to learn from Him, for the apostle says, "that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you". 1 John 1:3.

E.J.W. I would suggest that "the beginning" here is a wide thought, embracing all that was found here in the Lord as Man, going on to His resurrection state, in which He was seen and heard and handled as a Man in the power of an eternal victory over death.

P.H.P. Where do we get light as to what was from the beginning?

J.T. We get it now from the writings of the apostles, and the writings of those who wrote on their testimony, such as Mark and Luke. The Gospels are perhaps the books least understood among the Lord's people.

E.J.W. And we have the anointing to make good in us in divine power and intelligence that which the Gospels bring before us.

W.L.P. Does that passage, "The life was the light of men", John 1:4, refer to Him as seen in this chapter?

J.T. I think so. The apostles were witnesses of it. This chapter presents the apostles' testimony as to

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eternal life as seen in Christ. They are the accredited witnesses of the light; they were told to stand in the temple and "speak all the words of this life". Acts 5:20. They were authorised to bear testimony to that life, and their writings, of course, are accredited to us now, and also the writings of those that wrote on their testimony. We have the truth in that way presented objectively in the Gospels. Then of course you have the Spirit, the Lord said the Spirit should bear witness, too. In chapter 1 the great point is the light conveyed in the apostles "report".

T.A. Do you mean by the light the revelation of God?

J.T. Not quite, although it comes in incidentally. In chapter 1 it is more what Christ was in manhood; that is to say, it is a question of how the truth took form in that which they had contemplated and handled and seen. The apostle was combating the false teaching that Christianity is a development.

J.S. In Christ in manhood we see the truth in its entirety.

J.T. After chapter 1, the apostle proceeds to the subjective side; growth is indicated in chapter 2. In this chapter it is more the completeness of the truth as having taken form in Christ.

Ques. What does it mean as to its being true in us, 1 John 2:8?

J.T. "Which thing is true in him and in you". He was what the "commandment" implies, and now it is true in us, but in a limited way. In the first chapter it is complete. What is in the apostle's mind to combat is the idea that Christianity is a development; there is development, but it is in the way of growth in our souls. All was perfect and complete in Christ.

C.A.M. The latter part of chapter 1 shows that all is taken care of that we might enter into the light of these things.

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J.T. The conscience is no hindrance to you. You are in the presence of all that light, but not hampered by your conscience, for "the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin". 1 John 1:7.

A.A.T. John uses the expression "Alpha and Omega"; that shows there is no development.

E.J.W. In Colossians we have, "who is the beginning", Colossians 1:18. For God there is really nothing before Christ; the pleasure of God in regard to man is completely established and seen in Christ; it is not a development, nor that to which anything can be added; therefore we are to abide in that which we have heard from the beginning.

Ques. Is there any essential difference between eternal life in John's writings and in Paul's?

J.T. In Paul's writings eternal life is presented as effectuated by, or through, Jesus Christ our Lord, whereas, as effectuated, it is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The effectuation of it has reference to what Jesus is as Man, but as effectuated it is seen in Him as anointed. The complete thing is seen in the anointed Man, whereas the effectuation of it is by the Man Jesus Christ. "Jesus" is put first.

The position of it, as effectuated is in the anointed Man; see Romans 5:21; Romans 6:23. Where things are fixed as effectuated it is in "Christ Jesus", but they are brought to pass through "Jesus Christ" involving His death. Death and resurrection must take place before divine blessings could be available to men, but how secure they are for us as in Christ Jesus!

R.S.S. That is Paul; will you speak of John?

J.T. I do not think John differs in that respect, We have "Jesus Christ come in flesh" in this epistle 1 John 4:2; eternal life is through Him. "Jesus Christ" generally presents the Lord as on the divine side to carry out the will of God, but in chapter 5, eternal life is said to be in "his Son". One great point of the epistle

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is that it had taken form in that Man. Now it is fixed. So in the last chapter the life is said to be in God's Son. One difference between Paul and John is that the former says, "Jesus Christ, our Lord", the latter "Jesus Christ, his Son". Then Paul says eternal life is in "Christ Jesus", John says it is in "his Son". Further, Paul presents eternal life as future; John usually speaks of it as a present blessing.

B.T.F. Is not the object of the epistle found in verse 4, "that your joy might be full"? 1 John 1:4.

J.T. So our joy really is full in coming into that glorious light, the light of Christ as Man in the presence of God.

E.J.W. It is important to note that the epistle presses Jesus Christ come in flesh; it refers to His manhood, of course, and has in view that we are men, and that God's love is set on man; that is what makes it valuable for us. If the humanity of Christ is lost, everything is lost.

W.H.F. What the apostle reports is what came out in that Man here. The apostle had seen and handled Him.

J.T. He presents the idea of a Man with God; now we come into the light of that God and that Man. God as revealed has to be known, and Christ as Man has to be known, for eternal life, John 17:3.

Ques. "This life is in his Son". Does that refer to Him as in heaven?

J.T. It is more the Person in whom it is. It is He who came by water and blood; it refers to Him as He is now.

F.L. In this line it might help us to see that John wrote us this epistle; Paul could not write to us thus because he had not been in the circumstances, he had not "seen" and "handled", so that he could not report to us in this way. We have thus a fundamental starting point in the difference between Paul's

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ministry and John's in both gospel and epistles. That is shown all through. John had companied with the Lord during His ministry. Paul had had his interview with Christ from heaven, not as Man on earth, so that his start was essentially different.

J.T. Yes; so that he gave account of Christ as the "second man out of heaven". 1 Corinthians 15:47. With Paul, it is, "as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly" 1 Corinthians 15:48; in John it is, "as he is, so are we in this world". 1 John 4:17. Paul ever leads on to the full purpose of God in heaven. John is mainly engaged with Revelation and its consequences here on earth.

J.L.J. "Which was with the Father" 1 John 1:2; is that present, not past?

J.T. It refers to what they saw, "which was with the Father".

F.L. It is a question of what was and is morally true.

J.L.J. I have a little difficulty in connecting eternal life with the Father in the past.

J.T. I think it refers to the Lord as a Man with God.

F.L. There is nothing morally different in that blessed One here from what was ever true; there was a prepared body, circumstances were different but He Himself was not different.

J.T. Eternal life with the Father alludes to a Man; "heard", "seen", "handled", denote incarnation. Beside, it is "from the beginning", not "in".

F.L. Eternal life could only be displayed in a sphere where death and all its consequences had been in evidence.

C.A.M. I was thinking of John 15. I was going to ask if it is not Christ perpetuated?

J.T. Perpetuated in the saints? Quite. Therefore, one would hesitate in connecting this state with what we speak of as the state of Deity, that is not true in us. So that I think it is what the apostle

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refers to as Man with the Father; eternal life was there, but He was also the resurrection, and it is that which brings us into it. "I am the resurrection and the life", John 11:25. The point is that we are brought in in resurrection. I think resurrection breaks the power of death in your soul. That is what Mary and Martha had to learn; they were to see the glory. The one who believes, sees the glory of God; the glory of God in that respect is resurrection, namely, bringing man out of death. He says, He is the resurrection and the life; resurrection secures the thing for us, it breaks the power of death over the soul.

W.H.F. Eternal life is in the resurrection sphere.

J.T. He has annulled death and brought to light life and incorruptibility.

A.R. "The promise of life in Christ Jesus"; what promise?

J.T. A promise in Scripture is in answer to a desire. A commandment on the part of God is to meet certain requirements; the Father's commandment is everlasting life. The promise of life more meets the desire that you and I would have; but then as to the Lord Himself, He asked life of God, and He gave it to Him, "even length of days for ever and ever". Psalm 21:4. A commandment is imperative on account of certain conditions.

R.J.C. To command the blessing is to establish it?

J.T. It is a necessity, so to say, of God's nature in view of certain conditions; whereas the promise arises from the desire on man's part.

R.S.S. It is a necessity on our part that we receive it.

R.J.C. The blessing of eternal life is now commanded?

J.T. It is the Father's commandment arising, I think, from the necessity of His own nature.

R.S.S. In view of sin and death.

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J.T. I think commandments arise from the necessity of the divine nature; even if you take the ten commandments, they are that.

E.J.W. It would suppose, too, that the sovereignty and power of God are there; He commanded the blessing.

C.A.M. We sometimes allude to eternal life as connected with a sphere; is it collective when it says "manifested to us"? 1 John 1:2.

J.T. That refers to the apostles. Eternal life is enjoyed in relation to the brethren; see 1 John 3:14, but in chapter 2 it is what the apostles witnessed in Christ personally.

E.J.W. That is a rock for us which nothing can move, and therefore it is of such immense importance to be preserved to us. The further we are from "the beginning" historically, the more corrupt Christianity becomes, and the more important that the rock should be preserved to us, and that we should abide in it.

J.T. It was manifested in Christ as always superior to circumstances, always in the spirit of rejoicing. But it refers to what He was with the Father.

R.S.S. All this is a complete answer to the idea of development about which we have been hearing a great deal.

J.T. You find the answer to evolution in this epistle. Even as early as Genesis 1:29, you have the tree "in which is the fruit of a tree producing seed"; as if the Spirit of God foresaw the attack of the devil and placed in chapter 1 of Genesis the exposure of the fallacy of evolution. Whatever there is of God true in man now, it was true in Christ first.

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"THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING"(2)

1 John 2

J.T. It may be helpful to point out that, although the apostle begins with what is presented in Christ as Man, yet in coming to the application of the truth, he begins with God. We do not come really to the opening verses in their application to us until chapter 5. He ends up really with what is in his mind in the opening verses, namely, eternal life. In applying the truth he begins with God. I think it is easy to see the order in which the truth is presented. We have to begin with what God is.

F.L. That is chapter 1, verse 5. "This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all". 1 John 1:5.

J.T. I think it helps in the understanding of the epistle to see that in applying the truth the apostle begins with what God is, because the soul has to bow to that before it can apprehend what man is according to God. "That they might know thee, the only true God;" that is the first thing, "the only true God", and the next is "Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". John 17:3. We do not come to that until chapter 5, the earlier chapters are more what God is.

Ques. Have you that thought in chapter 1: 7?

J.T. Verse 5 gives us the message, then the remaining part of the chapter raises the question of consistency in those who professed to have accepted the truth; so it is clearly intimated that the epistle supposes there had been unreality. These "if-we-say's" raise the question of consistency with the profession made, and the profession has relation to what God is, because clearly that is where the authority lies in regard to our souls.

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R.S.S. In fact, what God is is the source of everything we have and are and enjoy. In this epistle God is "light" and "love" and all is in keeping with that.

E.J.W. The first four verses appear to form the introduction, and to set forth the ground and standpoint of the apostles' testimony, and that in which the Spirit would establish our souls; then verse 5 would seem to be the beginning proper of the epistle, having in view the sad fact that Christianity was being undermined as to its foundations and falsified as to its moral character. To meet this it had become necessary to insist on what God Himself is as being the moral source of Christianity.

J.T. The opening verses contain what the apostle has in mind to lead us to; that is, the ultimate end in his mind, but the message brings in God in the way of authority over the soul. What is in his mind is to report certain things in order that the joy of the saints might be full; then there was authority, and it was essential that that should be pressed on the souls of the saints.

F.L. So it raises the question of exercise, very much as in Hebrews 3:6; "whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end". Things are not taken for granted, but they are tested by what God is.

J.T. The apostle brings in what God is, but the ultimate end is to bring in also what man is. Christ is the true God and eternal life.

A.R.S. "God is light". 1 John 1:5. Is not that the key to the epistle? You have Christianity in that way set forth. There is no darkness at all.

J.T. Christianity is more what Christ is Godward. What God is in the way of light is to adjust things. "Let there be light" Genesis 1:3; that is the first thing but the ultimate thought is to bring in the six days that follow, so that on the sixth day you have man before

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God. That is the great thing, but evidently everything must work from what God is.

A.R.S. So many people fail to understand John because they try to make their experience tally with what is here. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all". 1 John 1:5.

J.T. That is in the way of adjustment; what the apostle has before him is to bring in what Christ is. It is much less understood. Perhaps we do not understand either side very much, but the idea of God is very much better understood than the idea of Man before God. The opening verses indicate that that is what is in the apostle's mind; he reported things, that the saints' joy might be full. Chapter 5 is the witness to what Christ is.

F.L. When it is a case of working with the individual we get it in John 9the man is in darkness and the Lord works the works of God. The beginning is light coming in, and then comes adjustment until you get the light of the "Son of God".

J.T. That corresponds with chapter 5 of the epistle.

Rem. If the darkness is expelled, it is that we might enjoy light.

J.T. Light makes manifest, and that is what God is. Light becomes the adjusting element; but the thing reached is that you see what man is before God.

A.N.W. Would the ark of the covenant answer to the early part or the latter part in this connection?

J.T. It would be more the latter, the Son of God. The fathers understand what is from the beginning. We have to begin with light, so "the message" is formally the introduction and application of the truth.

Ques. Would you say a word about "little children" and light?

J.T. Clearly the least developed have the knowledge of God revealed. That is not so far as knowing "him that is from the beginning". 1 John 2:13.

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A.R.S. It says, "God is light" 1 John 1:5; now what about "God is love"? 1 John 4:8.

J.T. That is the secret of His being light. Light is a relative term; you would not have the word light unless you had darkness. Before sin existed, the idea of light would be unnecessary; it supposes that darkness had come in. God is ever love absolutely.

F.L. So light is necessarily in view of outshining, and showing existing conditions, and for adjusting things in relation to God. That is the point in Genesis; darkness shrouded everything, then comes light.

J.T. In Christianity God is Himself that light. The sixth day is the great end reached. Consequent upon the sixth you have the seventh; God has reached His thought in man in His presence; God rests there.

R.S.S. A Man in His image and likeness!

J.T. That is the end God has in view, and I think that is the end in view with the apostle in writing this epistle.

W.H.F. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all". 1 John 1:5. "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light". 1 John 1:7. Is that God coming out as revealed in Christ? There is no fellowship apart from that.

J.T. Fellowship is there; it is adjustment. The point now is fellowship with one another, not with God. We are set in relation to one another, and "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin". 1 John 1:7. Sin ceases to be a disturbing element on account of the efficacy of the blood of Christ in the conscience.

B.T.F. We get here the first principle for believers; that is, walking with God. For the practical pathway here we are brought into the light, then the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin, and then if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive.

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J.T. It really condemns the tendency to isolation. There are those who like to walk alone; it is all well to walk alone if sin is in question, but if you walk in the light, you are sure to find the brethren, and you will be with them. It really sets aside the anti-christian principle of going out. They "went out". Why? The light was there. Judas also "went out" John 13:30; he went out from the light.

B.T.F. I was thinking of it in regard to the chapter we have read; that is, before the gradations are spoken of, there are principles in the end of chapter 1 that enable the believer to walk before God in freedom.

J.T. That is most important. The application of the truth introduces "the message", which is that "God is light", 1 John 1:5 and it becomes an adjusting principle; hence we are set in relation to one another. We ought to be with our brethren. Christian growth is greatly promoted by association with the brethren.

E.J.W. It is a sorrowful thing to consider that the falsification of Christianity had already begun before the apostles passed away. It had already become necessary to safeguard the truth as to what Christianity is morally, by insisting, first of all, on what God Himself is, as being the source of it. If there is any moral discrepancy in God, the same may be allowed in Christianity, but if He is light, and only light, having no part dark, then nothing lower can be accepted for ourselves.

R.S.S. There are two statements here, "God is light", 1 John 1:5 and "he is in the light". 1 John 1:7. What is the distinction?

J.T. I think it is an allusion to Old Testament times, when He was in thick darkness. The light in which He is, is Himself, and it is that in which we are to walk.

R.S.S. Does the latter refer to revelation?

J.T. Verse 7 refers to revelation; He is come to be known.

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R.S.S. But the first is what He is in Himself?

J.T. Quite; but the suggestion that there is no darkness in Him would arise from one having light and being dark, or partly dark, practically.

E.J.W. It has been said that there are dark spots in the sun; it would appear that the enemy was bringing that into Christianity.

J.T. I think the attack was that those who professed to have the light were in darkness; that is, they were not in accord with God.

C.A.M. But the darkness has to pass away. Judas went out, and it was dark. It would imply that there was no darkness where the Lord was.

J.T. Judas went into the darkness, but really he carried an element into the darkness that never had been there before, because he had been in company with Jesus; so that the world that ensues was not the world of the Old Testament. The world of this epistle is that which is influenced by certain ones who have gone out from Christianity. False prophets had gone out into the world, 1 John 4:1.

F.L. Judas is the expression of that. He carried out from that circle intelligence as to divine Persons, and divine things, and yet he himself was darkness.

J.T. "If ... the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?" Matthew 6:23.

F.L. Christendom is totally different from heathendom or Judaism. It is man false to the light of God.

A.N.W. You would not use John 3:16 in the present tense?

J.T. It would be better to keep to the text. The world that then was, in a way centred in Jerusalem. John 12:31 is the result of rejection, "now is the judgment of this world". John 3:16 had reference to the world as it then was, which God Himself had loved.

F.L. I connect it with the world after the flood.

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God gave the opportunities right up to the rejection of Christ, and then that world is judged and terminated.

J.T. We have to bear in mind that God had established an order of things at Jerusalem which as yet was not given up. Deuteronomy 32 would show that the order of things established after the flood had Israel in view as a centre. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.

I think we ought to get into chapter 2, but I think it is important to see the place the light has. It is a matter of adjustment, and the effect of being in the light, or, rather, walking in it, is that you are adjusted in relation to the brethren. We have fellowship; we are bound together under a common influence. We have fellowship, not now with God, nor with Christ or with the apostles, but with each other. That is the great feature of adjustment, and in that fellowship sin ceases to be an intruder. Sin broke up what God had ordained in Genesis 1 and 2; but now, although sin remains in the world, it does not interfere with our fellowship, for the reason that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. Our consciences are quite clear in the fellowship; a most remarkable state of things to be brought to pass! In the opening of chapter 2 you have the great fact of an Advocate with the Father. This introduces what may be called the family sphere, involving the gradations spoken of.

W.B. The fellowship would be in the outside sphere.

J.T. Quite. That is what is public, but in chapter 2 the apostle begins with the term of endearment; it is not a question of our being God's children, we do not come to that until chapter 3; it is what we are in the affections of the apostle; but at the same time in relation to the Father, and as having One with the Father who manages our affairs with the

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greatest interest and accuracy. I do not know any thought more precious than that of an Advocate with the Father. It is not yet our Father; we must not confuse our Father with the Father.

W.B. Why is that?

J.T. Because "the Father" refers to revelation. "The Father" is the source of everything, and the One from whom everything is. "To us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him". 1 Corinthians 8:6.

A.N.W. To whom is the confession of sins made?

J.T. It is general. Of course, you confess your sins to God first, but obviously walking in the light and with brethren, you must take them into account. While one would not say that one is not forgiven until confession is made to the brethren, I believe it is much happier to confess to them also.

R.S.S. Please open up the difference between "the Father" and "our Father".

J.T. The Son is the revealer. It is not that God is my Father yet, but He is the Father in revelation. In John 20:17 it is, "my Father and your Father". There is formal recognition of the link of relationship, but all through the gospel you will find the expression "the Father".

R.S.S. He is not ours until chapter 20.

J.T. No. We must not connect the idea of "the Father" with our being sons. The instruction in this epistle begins with the revelation of God. So far as I know, we are not said to be sons, or children of the Father, but of God.

R.S.S. What you say makes an important distinction in regard to "the Father" in connection with eternal life, and "our Father" in connection with sonship.

J.T. "Our Father" takes us to heaven. That relationship is for us. The message, "go, tell my brethren", John 20:17 involves our heavenly position. "That

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they might know thee", John 17:3, refers to the earth. He becomes an object of veneration for those that believe; God and man are together in righteousness. The Father is in sovereign control of everything, and He works in grace to bring things about for His own pleasure. Compare 1 Corinthians 8:6, and Ephesians 4:6.

R.S.S. "I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you", John 16:26, 27. That does not go so far as "our Father"?

F.L. I think in reference to all that is coming out, it is important to remember that what we have here has purely to do with what is on the earth and the conditions of things consequent upon the generation of light being upon the earth; it has not to do with purpose, or heaven. God coming out in light has not to do with heaven; the Advocate has not to do with our position in heaven; but all is in regard to the condition of things pertaining to those who are of the light passing through a scene of darkness.

J.T. That is what I understand. When you come to the second chapter you have things maintained with the Father, not now with Jehovah, or Almighty God, but with the Father. Things are adjusted and maintained there for my soul in all that glorious light by Jesus Christ, the righteous One. It is the One who was down here and effected redemption, but it is that One who carried out God's will down here. It shows the solidity of the position in which we are set.

E.J.W. What seems to be before the apostle's mind in connection with advocacy is that which is continuously true for the whole number of saints, the like what is said of the Spirit in John 14. Proper Christian life is to live without sin, to "sin not"; yet the possibility of sin is always there; but the whole system of relationships and blessing is maintained

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in righteousness "with the Father" in Him who is the righteous One, and who is the propitiation for our sins. It is not "If any man sin he has", but "we have". All the saints are in view.

A.N.W. Is verse 2 the basis for advocacy?

J.T. I think so; the Lord is there on the ground of His death. It is "Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins". 1 John 2:1,2.

Ques. In what relation will the saints be to eternal life in the world-to-come, as in Jude's epistle, for instance?

J.T. It is the whole thing there, including the resurrection, and this is also how Paul presents it. We have our part in it, but we are not only raised, but glorified, it is all included in our position. I judge it is the full blessing as in the mind of God that is referred to.

F.L. After the rapture would you not rather speak of the church as being in life, than in eternal life? While the church will see and be interested and be occupied with the manifestation of eternal life upon the earth, has it not rather ceased to be restricted to eternal life after the rapture?

J.T. As regards the testimony of God's power, we have life and incorruptibility, but we have more than that. "As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly". 1 Corinthians 15:48. In 1 Corinthians 15, we have the triumph of God, but in the second epistle the heavenly is more enlarged upon; "our house which is from heaven", 2 Corinthians 5:2, "eternal in the heavens", 2 Corinthians 5:1, so that although the church is undoubtedly a witness to the quickening power of God and of Christ, it is also a witness to what is heavenly; it comes out of heaven.

C.A.M. Did you make a remark about sonship and eternal life?

J.T. It is well to keep things clear as in Scripture, and if Scripture speaks of "the Father", it does not follow it is our Father. The Spirit presents that

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Person. There is one God, the Father, the Supreme Object of veneration to my soul, but I am a man down here, and if I know "the Father", that is, God revealed, then I ought to inquire as to the order of man in which He has been revealed, so as to conform to that. "There is one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him". 1 Corinthians 8:6.

F.L. Then in Ephesians we have, "of whom every family in heaven and earth is named". Ephesians 3:15. He is the Father of all, and the purpose of God brings us in before Him, as "our Father".

J.T. In regard to the naming of families, He names them in the measure in which they take character from the man that is before Him.

C.A.M. Do you get the thought in Matthew 17? You have the thought of sons, and in the end of the chapter there is "me and thee" Matthew 17:27 in connection with the tribute. In connection with Peter's denial, the Lord is the Advocate, and He is adjusted and set in relation to His brethren. Do you get the advocacy in connection with his restoration?

J.T. Certainly. John 21 shows how he gets into the good of it; he gets a commission and he raises the question of John. The Lord puts it that his point is to follow; it is entire submission to the will of the Lord. That is adjustment.

F.L. Luke 22 brings that out very clearly; "I have prayed for thee", Luke 22:32.

A.R. Do you look upon sonship as a higher truth than eternal life?

J.T. You do not get sonship in this epistle as applied to Christians, nor in John's gospel, and yet these are the two Scriptures that treat of the subject of eternal life; therefore, we ought to accept these facts, and the more you look into it the more you see that in resolving the question of life, it is what Jesus is as Man, although as a matter of power it implies His sonship. Power is of course implied; it is the

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Son of God who has that. But in resolving the question of life, we must go back to Genesis 2. "By man came death, by man also, came resurrection from the dead". 1 Corinthians 15:21.

B.T.F. Are there not two aspects of sonship; that is, the Old Testament aspect, "ye shall be my sons and daughters"; and then the New Testament aspect of sonship?

J.T. I think "sons and daughters" is God's parental interest in them. I think it has a present application to those that come out of the world. "I will be a father to you", 2 Corinthians 6:18. That is wholly the exercise of parental care.

B.T.F. Would you say that has reference to eternal life?

J.T. I think eternal life is greater than that. 2 Corinthians 6:18, does not go beyond God's parental care here.

W.H.F. Eternal life has to do with this sphere, and "sons" has to do with the highest position in which man can be with God. The first relates to this earth, where death is, and the latter to glory.

J.T. God is leading many sons to glory.

Ques. Is sonship not the highest thought?

J.T. I think the thought in the first chapter of Ephesians, predestinated to sonship, means to be wholly before Him in love. The second chapter is the work of God placing us there. The former is the purpose of God. "God ... for his great love wherewith he loved us ... hath quickened us together with Christ ... and hath raised us up together and made us sit together" Ephesians 2:4,5 & 6; it is a question of placing you there.

Ques. Would you speak of Christians having eternal life after the rapture?

J.T. It is implied. If you have a king, or man of great wealth and magnificence of circumstances, the poorest man in the realm lives just as much as

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the king; but if you think of the great person, you think of the greatness of his circumstances. That is the way in which I regard the assembly. Think of the magnificence of our position before the face of God in love! We have eternal life, of course, for we are raised, but we are sons of God in heaven.

E.J.W. Eternal life in the future is set before us as the proper Christian hope. See Titus 2:2, and Jude 21.

J.T. When you have a spiritual man talking about what is before him, what does he say? What does Paul say? "That I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus". Philippians 3:12. While not denying the importance of eternal life, we must not ignore the great things we are called to.

L.T.F. How do you apply eternal life to the Christian?

J.T. I am afraid very few of us have got as far as everlasting life, because it means that your spirit is entirely free from the pressure of death, and that you are in a constant sense of victory.

A.N.W. According to Psalm 133, it is where brethren are in unity that the blessing is commanded.

J.T. It really is a stepping-stone into what is properly Christian privilege; it means you have victory, and you can go on untrammeled to what is your heavenly portion.

R.S.S. So you have both.

J.T. The soul is escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowler.

W.B. Is the family circle an illustration of the sphere where you enjoy it?

J.T. It is more the gradation of growth. You will find the Father's name is used nine times in the first two chapters, because it is a question of establishing our souls in the light of revelation. After chapter 3: 1, the name Father appears only once.

W.B. We grow in the light of the Father.

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J.T. Yes, you grow there. The little children know the Father; that is the beginning of the soul's history; it is marked by a knowledge of God revealed, but it is not that they know Him who is from the beginning.

E.J.W. Reverting to eternal life and sonship, I would like to suggest that both must be regarded according to the connection in which they are found in the various passages of Scripture.

It seems to me that eternal life will be enjoyed by the various families on different planes; and so with sonship. The nations in Matthew 25 go away into eternal life, Israel will be established in eternal life, and we shall ourselves enjoy eternal life, but all with differences according to the knowledge of God and of Christ that will distinguish each family. So in regard to sonship; no doubt it is God's thought for man generally. Of Israel it is said, "Ye shall be called the sons of the living God", Hosea 1:10. Sonship for us is on a much higher level than anything in Israel. I believe it is helpful in thinking of eternal life and sonship to see the extensive, or universal character that attaches to them.

R.S.S. So that raises the question as to those who come to the Lord, as the one who said, "What good thing shall I do?" Matthew 19:16. What had he in mind?

E.S.W. I suppose eternal life as it will be enjoyed by Israel.

R.S.S. Blessing here upon earth.

A.N.W. The Lord in defining it did not specify what He defined. "This is life eternal that they might know thee". John 17:3. He did not specify the plane.

E.J.W. I would think it is a general idea, or principle, that applies to all; a true knowledge of God. "The only true God" supposes that God is not known, and does not have His right place with men. The Lord intimates that eternal life lies in the true knowledge of God, involving, I have thought,

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recognised and enjoyed relationship (see "know" in Amos 3:2; Galatians 4:9; John 10:14, 15; Philippians 3:10), and of Jesus Christ as His sent One.

R.S.S. Would you not think the two great features of eternal life which would apply in all these planes you were speaking of are love and intelligence, but now the abiding one of the three is love; faith, hope and love. God lost the love of man in the garden of Eden, and now in establishing eternal life, that is recovered for God and for man. God is love, and God is known; "This is life eternal that they might know thee". John 17:3.

E.J.W. Yes, God is to be intelligently known and enjoyed, and this in relation to the One whom He has sent; One who introduces and establishes an order of things which answers to the revelation of God, in which are found eternal conditions of life for man. I have connected with this, Moses, who was sent by God, anointing Aaron and the whole tabernacle system. Compare Exodus 10, and Leviticus 8 and John 1:33, and Galatians 6:8, and Psalm 133.

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"THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING"(3)

1 John 3

F.L. I think it was expected that we should look back a bit at chapter 2; we hardly touched on what we have there.

J.T. It may be helpful to consider the gradations in the family that are seen there.

F.L. You refer to the "fathers", "young men" and "little children".

J.T. Attention was called to the occurrence of the designation Father in the two earlier chapters, how that it appears some ten times in chapters 1 and 2, including the first verse of chapter 3; whereas God is of much fewer occurrence in the first two chapters. In the succeeding three chapters it will be observed that God appears about fifty times. So that, among other things, what one would gather is that the believer is nurtured in the light of the Father, he grows there, whereas in the succeeding chapters we have largely his position toward the world as having been thus nurtured. We have therefore, "See what love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God". 1 John 3:1. That is all Christians, including the apostles. It is not "that ye should be called the children of God", but "we"; therefore, it includes all believers; irrespective of growth, the privilege being accorded by the Father, the Father having, as it were, brought them up. Now they obtain the title to be "children of God", which is in a way a representative position.

F.L. That is to say, they have obtained an impression of the character of God; they have the moral features of God. The Lord in addressing His disciples and sending them out, tells them that the Spirit of their Father should be with them; that is

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the idea of their being nourished under the love and affection of the Father; they receive characteristics of the Father, and so are seen as the generation of the children of God.

J.T. That is what I thought. They are the children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom they shine as lights. I think a consideration of chapter 2 in that light would help us greatly as to the designation Father, not as yet "our Father", for it is not so presented; it is presented as "the Father".

W.L.P. Does the term "little children" in verse 13 imply that they were young in the faith?

J.T. I think so; it is the least grown.

W.L.P. Yet they have known the Father.

J.T. That helps as to the point of the chapter; the believer viewed in the minimum stage of growth is regarded as having a knowledge of the Father, whereas only the fathers are regarded as knowing Him that is from the beginning. This shows that to be in the light of revelation is not in itself so far on as a matter of growth as to have the knowledge of Him who is from the beginning.

F.L. Is knowing Him that is from the beginning simply all that is set forth in the Man, Christ Jesus? Would you not say it includes what is known of Him as Son of God?

J.T. I think so; His sonship underlies the teaching of the epistle.

A.N.W. Would children in verse 12 refer to verse 1 rather than to degrees in the family?

J.T. Verse 12 refers to all the saints without reference to growth.

F.L. In verse 12 such an one as John, the aged, looks upon the whole company of believers as children, and uses a general term; then in the following verses he speaks to them according to spiritual growth

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and development, that is, "fathers", "young men" and "little children".

J.T. That is what I understand; and further, in the beginning of chapter 3 he himself is included in the "children", because now it is "children of God".

Ques. Does not this epistle suppose all the children are in the light?

J.T. I think so. When he says, "If we say", or "he that says", and so on, there is a possibility that such an one may not be real; but when he addresses the saints by the parental term "children", he assumes that all are real and that the very youngest is in the knowledge of the Father.

F.L. So hence on in the epistle it is the hard and fast lines of "children of God" or "children of the devil".

Rem. I thought that "he that hateth his brother", 1 John 2:11, was seen in Cain; it is the murderer, not the true believer; it is simply the professor.

F.L. I think it is beautiful to see how this line comes into evidence in Acts 16 and 17, where Paul and those with him are cared for and nurtured, being passed on from hand to hand by "the brethren".

B.T.F. Would you say a word or two, to open out the thought of the youngest believers, the "little children", knowing the Father?

J.T. I think it means that the youngest believer is regarded as in the light of revelation, because knowing the Father is that you know God as thus revealed, and unless you have that light you are not a Christian at all.

B.T.F. When you speak of the revelation, you mean what came out in the Lord Jesus Christ.

J.T. "The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him". John 1:18. The Father has come to light. "Declared him" covers both the ideas of "God" and of "Father".

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B.T.F. Not only the forgiveness of sins is grasped, but the sense of relationship is entered into.

J.T. Yes, but it has to be observed, that it is invariably "the Father". You have, however, in the early chapters of Matthew "your Father", because God is brought into evidence as caring for them, but with John it is more the Person, "the Father", and so it is in this epistle.

F.L. Philip turns to the Lord, saying, "show us the Father and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father", John 14:8,9. That would help us as to coming into the knowledge of the Father as you put it, it is really the abstract thought of the Person.

J.T. And therefore the Father becomes one's God. Instead of being, as with Israel, "Jehovah", He is known as "Father".

A.R. Growth seems to be in the knowledge of Him who is from the beginning.

J.T. Full maturity is seen in the knowledge of Him that is from the beginning; He is God's Son, Jesus Christ.

A.R. That starts with a knowledge of the Father.

J.T. Evidently the first principle that comes into the soul is light, the revelation of God.

A.P. What is the difference between "the Father" and "our Father"?

J.T. "Father" is the designation of that Person in the Godhead, as we saw yesterday; but in John 20 the Lord links us with Himself, saying that His Father is ours, and His God our God. There we are formally recognised as in relation to the Father. When you have, "I will declare thy name", it is more than revelation simply which is available for all; there is further the declaration of the Father's name, the opening up of the Father, and of our relation with

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Him, which is special. This epistle is not on that ground.

R.S.S. Where it says "our Father" it introduces the thought of relationship.

F.L. In connection with that designation it comes in at the point where the Lord says; "I ascend". John 20:17. That is the position He has taken up now. "I ascend unto my Father and your Father". John 20:17. Coming into sonship, we come into the knowledge of Him as "our Father".

J.T. You will find in John's gospel and epistles, that the expression Son is carefully connected with the Lord; it is a question of His personal designation; whereas Paul freely uses the expression in regard to ourselves, because he is engaged with the heavenly calling of the saints, with which John is not engaged. John takes up the subject of revelation.

F.L. It is only by inference we would gather from John that this relation to the Father is ours with Christ ascended.

J.T. The great fact of revelation requires the greatest attention by the saints in order that we should be here on earth as rightly representative of God. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons [children] of God" John 1:12; they are here representatively, having derived their origin and character from God as revealed.

P.H.P. One apprehends God as Father in three distinct lights. In 2 Corinthians 6:18, "I will be a father unto you;" the "Father" here and "our Father" in John 20.

J.T. "The Father" is God revealed. It is in view of our position here, that we might be representative of God as thus revealed.

F.L. As "the Father" He puts His name upon every family in heaven and earth; in their several characteristics the name is put upon every family;

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"Of whom every family in heaven and earth is named". Ephesians 3:15.

J.T. And therefore revelation holds good for every family.

F.L. And "I will be a father to you" 2 Corinthians 6:18 really takes account of the saints in their pathway here.

J.T. And it has in view any loss you might sustain.

F.L. And recompense!

J.T. That is what I understand. The Spirit of adoption leads you to cry, "Abba, Father". Romans 8:15. This corresponds really with John 20.

R.S.S. In connection with the Jewish remnant, however, they will say "our Father", but it will be in a different sense.

J.T. Undoubtedly; every family will be named of the Father.

R.S.S. But it is in a different sense that Christians say, "Our Father"

J.T. I do not know if any but those forming the assembly will say, "Abba, Father"; it seems it would be confined to the Lord Himself and to us. He used that expression in addressing the Father.

P.H.P. In Matthew 6:9, the Lord says, "Our Father, which art in heaven".

J.T. It supposes the saints on the earth.

L.T.F. What difference does "Abba, Father", make?

J.T. It is intensification of the thought of Father. The fact that the Lord uses it makes it sweet, and we by the Spirit of adoption are enabled to use it too.

W.H.F. Dispensationally God would reveal Himself in the character of Father, as previously Jehovah to Israel, and God Almighty to Abraham. The Father is in connection with Christianity.

J.T. It holds good for all that are blessed subsequently. It is revelation, The apostles went out

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baptising to the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; that was said for the nations. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost", Matthew 28:19.

R.S.S. When once God reveals Himself as "Father" every family gets the good of it.

J.T. Quite so. So millennial conditions shall not be simply on the ground of Almighty or Jehovah, although these designations are included in that of "Father". It is the Father that raised Jesus from the dead; that is the testimony to God being almighty; and so in regard to the faithfulness of God it is found in "Father".

F.L. But until Christ came and made the revelation it could not be said that the little ones knew the Father. If the little ones were addressed in Israel, it would be, 'I have written to you because ye have known Jehovah'. Now that Christ has come, the feeblest believer is addressed on the ground of knowing the Father.

J.T. All families get the benefit of the revelation of God. But then there is what is special to Christians. The Lord said, "My Father and your Father" John 20:17; and we have the Spirit of adoption crying "Abba, Father", as He did. That is special.

Rem. That is not outside of revelation.

J.T. It is in excess of revelation. There is always that which is within. The special declaration of the Father's names and all the system of relationship that hangs upon it, is private, it belongs to the inner circle. Revelation is that God has come into the light.

J.A.M. That is, in Christ.

J.T. "The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him". John 1:18.

R.S.S. We do not get the revelation of the Father in the Old Testament. It is in Matthew 2 that the Son of God appears in incarnation, and the

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moment the Son appears the Father cannot now be hid; the moment had come for the Father to be revealed.

J.T. Quite so. The fact was, that the Father and the Son came to light at the Lord's baptism.

R.S.S. In the fact that He was a Son on earth.

J.T. I think we might add that revelation refers to what Christ was as Man here; that is, what the Father is, is opened up in revelation, not simply that He exists, but who that Person is. Revelation is not only that God is seen in the relationship of Father, but also what He is in character as thus seen.

F.L. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father". John 14:9.

J.T. We have in that way laid down in the gospels what the Father is. It has been often pointed out that the term is invariably connected with grace, which is a most important point.

J.S. Is it what He is characteristically?

J.T. What He is characteristically! Formally it came to light at Christ's baptism, but it required the Lord's ministry to bring out the character of the Father. What the Son was the Father was. "Now have they both seen and hated both me and my father", John 15:24.

F.L. That is revelation. John writes after everything had transpired, the days of the Lord's incarnation were over, and he says, "he has revealed him". John 1:18.

R.S.S. The "long time" John 14:9 during which Philip had been with the Lord, three years, is the time of revelation.

B.T.F. Is the thought of children in 1 John 3 that they take character from the revelation?

J.T. That is the thought. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on his name", John 1:12.

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B.T.F. And that character is displayed in the sphere of responsibility.

J.T. We were pointing out that Paul writes in Philippians, that we are to shine as lights, as children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

W.L.P. I would like to inquire what the excess is that has been referred to?

J.T. The excess is that the Father's name has been declared to Christ's brethren. "I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it". John 17:26. See Hebrews 2:11, and John 17:26. That is different from the first epistle of John. "The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" John 1:18; that is general; but then in John 17 He speaks to the Father about having made known His name to the disciples, and that He would yet do it; this latter undoubtedly refers to the message by Mary in chapter 20.

Ques. Is that included in revelation?

J.T. Not in the sense in which it is spoken of in John 1:18. This distinction is important; if you do not admit it, you deny what is distinctive of the assembly.

F.L. Revelation is universal in its bearing; but the saints of this dispensation have special privileges; we have the Spirit of adoption, and we are the brethren of Christ.

Ques. Would the death of the Lord Jesus be a necessity in order to have revelation?

J.T. Surely; it is there, that God fully shone out.

A.N.W. Referring to Romans 8, is your thought that that is for us to enjoy rather than to give expression to; the Spirit crying "Abba, Father"?

J.T. What I understand is, that according to Galatians 4:5 we "receive sonship", while in Romans 8:15 we receive the "spirit of sonship". In Galatians the

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Spirit in us cries, "Abba, Father"; in Romans we cry, "Abba, Father" by the Spirit.

Ques, What the "fathers" knew did not take them off the earth?

J.T. You mean that Paul's doctrine is not included; that "him that is from the beginning" 1 John 2:13 refers more to Christ as He was here. At the same time you can understand what a wonderful class of men they were. And what you will notice is that the past tense is used only in regard to the "fathers" and "young men". He writes to the three different grades in the present, giving his reason for doing so, but he repeats, "I have written", (verse 14), indicating that while the minimum growth is formally taken account of, yet it is not taxed specially with responsibility. In writing definitely to the fathers and young men and leaving the writing with them, there is permanent responsibility, but it is not so with the babes.

Ques. Who are the fathers in our day?

J.T. Well, it is a dangerous thing to single out persons in this way now. I think, however, that what marked a father in John's day would mark a father now. It is one who in the history of his soul has come to a definite knowledge of Christ as presented in the gospels. I would repeat that the gospels are the least understood of the New Testament writings.

J.S. Why so?

J.T. Because they are strong meat. The gospels are not written to meet local conditions; they are presented from God's standpoint; hence the bearing is universal in the gospels. They present perfection in Christ, and in that way are the "pattern". I refer to what God gave Moses on the mount, everything has to conform to that pattern. In Exodus it does not say once for all, "Thou shalt make", and then give a list of the things to be made; it says,

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"Thou shalt make", and, "Thou shalt make", and "Thou shalt make", and afterwards it says, "And he made", "And he made", "And he made".

C.B. What produces the "young-man" condition?

J.T. It is not only that the Father is known, but the "Word of God abideth in you". 1 John 2:14. The mind of God is cherished. There is strength, which is the result of separation. You get the apprehension of a man; you gradually become strong as the idea of a man develops in the soul. It is so in natural things: a boy wants to be a man; it is remarkable how boys desire to be men. It is quite right, and gradually they arrive at it.

J.S. The gospels present a Man.

F.L. It is beautiful to see in the Old Testament a God-begotten desire for a man, but that phase of things ceases when Christ comes, for Christ was the Man ever before them to be hoped for; but when Christ has come that is terminated, the desire has come. Full growth is known in connection with the apprehension of Him that is from the beginning.

J.T. And then as the Man is presented in Christ, gradually those that believe on Him get the idea. It is one thing to have the idea and it is another to bring forth the idea you have in your soul. You want to bring out the result of your exercise, what you have seen objectively in Christ.

J.S. That requires power.

J.T. Yes, and it necessitates pain and exercise.

C.A.M. All through where there is the production of a man, it is with sorrow. Jabez is a man brought forth in sorrow.

J.T. The apostle says he travailed in birth again until Christ was formed in the Galatians.

F.L. Characteristically it is seen in Paul: God had chosen him to reveal His Son in him, but he did not go to Jerusalem, but to Arabia, where every man's hand was against every man.

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A.N.W. Would what you are saying be confirmed in that one of the qualifications for apostleship was to have seen Christ?

J.T. I think in effect the principle is seen in everyone that has gift. There is some way in which the soul apprehends Christ. He has ascended on high and led captivity captive, and given gifts to men. Gifts, coming from Christ, are to bring about down here the same conception or idea; that is, in ministry you have that thought in your mind. Paul had in his mind to present every man perfect in Christ.

F.L. The aim in all ministry is to produce an impression of Christ.

J.T. Hence a man is not really qualified for service until he apprehends the gospels.

Ques. Is there a limited time before you are eligible for service?

J.T. We have to take the spirit of it. Service should begin with the right ideal. You cannot bring others beyond where you are yourself, so the great thing is to be something in that way, to have received a character from Christ. Paul spoke of himself undoubtedly when, in writing to Galatians, he said that Christ was "evidently set forth, crucified among you" Galatians 3:1; it referred to the reflection of Christ in Paul.

C.A.M. Is it not remarkable that Ezekiel in bringing out what is future commenced with "the likeness of a man"? Ezekiel 1:5.

J.T. It is a fine suggestion. In Ezekiel you get a wonderful array of power in certain creatures, but above all that, in the brightness of the throne there is the appearance of a man. That is the gift that Ezekiel got. One can understand that that is what he had before him in his ministry.

F.L. We are competent for the defence of the testimony at twenty, of course a spiritual conception, Numbers 1:3.

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A.A.T. What is involved in the fathers knowing Him that is from the beginning?

J.T. What is in view as to time is no doubt the Lord's baptism. The testimony began when Christ was anointed. The "fathers" knew the Man thus presented. Paul says, "that I might know him and the power of his resurrection ... being made conformable to his death". Philippians 3:10. I think Philippians 3 presents to us the normal desires of a spiritual man,

F.L. I was connecting the thought of "fathers" with Philippians 3 myself. It brings in the fellowship of His sufferings and conformity to His death, and there could not be any entrance into what is here said to be known by the fathers apart from that pathway. The fellowship of sufferings and conformity to death is not greatly coveted, but a father has to know them. A father is not an old Christian merely.

J.T. No. Paul knew whom he had believed, and could commit everything to Him 2 Timothy 1:12.

W.H.F. Every family is named of the Father, but none of the families know Him as we do.

J.T. The Father names them according to the character they have derived from Christ.

C.A.M. Referring to Hebrews 12:9, the "Father of spirits". Do you connect that with "bringing many sons unto glory"? Hebrews 2:10.

J.T. It is "the Father of spirits". God is taking care of our spirits. He takes care of the body, but the great thing is the spirit. If you are subject to the Father of spirits you will live.

F.L. Our position as children of God is dependent on our apprehending our place in sonship rather than the reverse. That is, we are brought into the light of sonship and are thus qualified to take up the place of the children.

J.T. I think that is right, and I would suggest that those described as "young men" and "fathers" have reached sonship.

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F.L. Thus Philippians is the pathway on earth, of one who is in the value of Ephesians, of association with Christ, and in that way we can understand what is developed in this epistle better when we see that the way is through sonship.

A.N.W. Perhaps we need to know where to find the "milk", if the gospels are the "meat".

J.T. The epistles provide the milk. Paul was a nursing father, 1 Thessalonians 2:11. He is concerned about bringing up the children, but then, it is bringing them up to what he has arrived at.

F.L. He is prepared to give them meat.

J.T. If they are ready for it. He could not give meat to the Corinthians.

Ques. Do the gospels present Christ in different lights as under the eye of God?

J.T. I have no doubt the number is designed; You have a complete presentation of Christ.

A.R.P. There are not five.

J.T. There are only four; everything is included in that number. There are four cardinal points, four winds, four living creatures, and so on.

Ques. What place would the Acts have in the Scriptures?

J.T. Luke's thought was to gather up in two treatises the whole testimony presented, first in Christ, and then in the apostles, so that we might see how the testimony of the grace of God was introduced into the world.

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"THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING"(4)

1 John 4

R.S.S. Do we get in chapter 3 the two great features of eternal life; namely, righteousness and love?

J.T. Chapter 3 seems to develop the traits of the children of God, that by which they are marked off here. The manner of the love that the Father bestows upon us affords a theme for our holy contemplation.

R.S.S. That means that that love towards us is special; it has taken the form that we are now called "children of God", 1 John 3:1 which, as you were saying, is really the excess of grace.

J.T. Yes, we have a unique place.

R.S.S. Which is not given to other families, even though those families have the revelation of God. Perhaps it might be helpful to see the difference between "children" and "sons". It is reversed in the Authorised Version.

J.T. The distinction has often been pointed out, namely, that sonship refers to the dignity of the calling and corresponds with our position in heaven, whereas children refers to derivation, to parentage, and has reference to our place here where things are opposed to us. "The world knoweth us not", 1 John 3:1, that is because it knew Him not. As born of God, we are not known by the world and have to encounter opposition.

R.S.S. Would the ordinary thought in connection with the eldest son of the family, as regarded in Great Britain, for instance, show the difference? He often has the legal right, and he is the son; he has a position which the rest of the family have not; they are all the children, but the thought of sonship is more seen

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in connection with the eldest son. I refer to dignity of the relationship.

J.T. The position of children corresponds the Lord's position down here, so the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. This shows that that kind of generation is outside of the ken of the world.

H.M.B. Is there the thought of care, God a Father and we children? Although associated with the lord, we would not speak of it in that way.

J.T. It is the same nature that shone in Him that shines in the children.

F.L. We have the thought of the generation that is begotten of God as left here in the sphere of responsibility, so it is conceivable that with such there may be failure. Of course, we take character from Christ, and as begotten of God we do not sin, but we are in the scene of responsibility. The thought of sonship is privilege, and the idea of responsibility and failure does not attach to it.

J.T. God is leading many sons to glory, it does not say children. I think many are disappointed in that there is not the progress they desire in the ordinary circumstances, but the children of God are not discerned by the world, and that which we cherish brings us into discredit in the world, and discounts us there.

A.R. Is the enjoyment of our place as sons collective or individual?

J.T. Of course, one always enjoys a thing as a matter of light; that I am a son is a precious thought in the soul at all times; but that our affections may flow out and be reciprocated we need to be with others. The full realisation of it will be in heaven.

Ques. Is it because we are sons that we are admitted into divine secrets?

J.T. I have no doubt there is a good deal in that as to our being in the confidence of God. That is dependent on sonship.

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F.L. What is in the mind of God if it is appreciated is, "Son thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine", Luke 15:31.

J.T. That is Israel's place. She would have been the confidant of God on earth, but the elder brother failed to enter into the father's thought. The assembly is now in the secret on account of the fact that we are in sonship and have the spirit of it.

B.T.F. We know that when it is manifested, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is". 1 John 3:2.

J.T. Our heavenly dignity is still future as to its manifestation. For the moment we have to be content to be misunderstood; "the world knoweth us not". 1 John 3:1. It is a path of suffering for us; to be misunderstood is the most acute suffering.

B.T.F. With children it is rather the manifestation of divine traits.

J.T. The traits of the children of God come out in chapter 3.

Rem. Until the day of manifestation comes there is a process of conforming to what Christ is.

J.T. "Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself even as he is pure". 1 John 3:3.

R.S.S. The new translation says, "what we shall be has not yet been manifested; we know that if it is manifested we shall be like him". 1 John 3:2. The consolation is that we shall be like Him.

R.S.S. Growth is contemplated with the young men and with the little children, but not with the fathers.

J.T. You have "children" in three ways: You have it in a patriarchal sense, the sense in which the apostle John had title to address all the saints by that term; it is what belongs to a man on account of what he is, he had a moral title to address the saints in that way. He also says, "little children"; that refers to measure of stature, and then you have the expression here: "Behold what manner of love

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the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons [children] of God". 1 John 3:1.

W.H.F. Do you think the distinction between children of God and sons is, that children are viewed as down here connected with suffering and God is with them, but in sonship the soul is with God?

J.T. I think that is right. Sonship is our being with God, so in Romans 8 the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. The Spirit is more with us witnessing that we are children.

F.L. And then it is as children we suffer.

J.T. Yes; whereas the Spirit of adoption leads the heart toward God; by Him we cry, "Abba Father".

F.L. The thought of sonship is Godward and for heaven, while that of children is in character what Christ maintained here.

J.T. In chapter 4 you have the kind of spirit that marks the believer, so that the question for the children of God is to see that they are characterized by the Spirit of God. It is not as in Romans 8, "the Spirit of Christ;" it is the parental character being reflected in the children; hence you have God so often in these chapters. The Spirit emphasises the importance of God being seen here in His children. We have here referred to the spirit that is of the world and the spirit that is of God. In the end of chapter 3 you have, "And hereby we know that h abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us" 1 John 3:24. John then opens out the subject of spirits, a most important phase of the position, so that we might know how to discern them. You are not to believe all the spirits, you must prove them. The apostle is pointing out that what marks the spirit that is of God is that he is engaged with Jesus Christ come in flesh; that is more than simply saying the thing as a doctrine; it is what characterises the confession.

Ques. Is that what Nicodemus had in his soul?

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J.T. Well, the principle of it is there. "We know thou art a teacher from God". John 3:2. There was a recognition of what is of God. I understand the spirit that is of God is engaged with the order of Man seen in Christ in the gospels. If teaching develops and enlarges your mind after the flesh, you may depend that the spirit behind it is not of God.

F.L. Hence the importance of what we have in the third chapter, that the devil brought evil in from outside and transformed man in the power of it into his own likeness. Then the Son of God is manifest that He might undo the works of the devil. He that confesses Jesus Christ come in flesh is of the spirit that recognises One come to undo the works of the devil, and in you as a believer I see the works of the devil undone. It is an accomplished fact.

J.T. The devil has wrought through the first man. Not that he has any regard for man, but it is the only way to oppose God. The acme of pride is in Satan; it is his own importance he is thinking of. We know that man is not his ideal; he is thinking of himself, but he eulogises man as away from God, and establishes him here for his own ends That is the spirit of the world.

J.S. That is seen at the close.

J.T. It is the spirit of antichrist. Antichrist is the man opposed to Christ, a man that speaks great things; he will not be an ordinary man, but the product of Satan, for Satan is shut up to that; it is the only way in which he can combat God. God meets him in Christ; hence the spirit that is of God makes much of that Man -- the Man who carried out God's will. Satan is acting against that, and you have the development of man after the flesh.

F.L. So that so far from regarding all that we see around us as curious or interesting in the various developments that arise in the religious world, we should be alive to the fact that there are positive

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spirits behind these things that are hostile to Christ. It is very serious.

J.T. It is very serious, and what they have comes largely from Christianity. There is utter want of consistency; they borrow all they can from Christ. The antichrists went out. They gathered up all they could from the Christian system, and went into the world with it; the development of that is the antichristian system; it is the spirit that has gone out from the Christian company that works in the world.

B.T.F. Jesus Christ come in flesh meets that spirit that is abroad.

J.T. It is the spirit of those men that went out from the apostles' sphere. The apostles spoke "all the words of this life", Acts 5:20 the life of Jesus; they enlarged on the features of that Man. There were those who, like Judas, had the opportunity of learning of Him in so far as man in the flesh can learn it, and having learnt it, they went out. Here he says, "many ... are gone into the world", 1 John 4:1 and not now "creeping in". In the presence of the apostles they could do nothing; things were nipped in the bud in the apostles' days.

A.N.W. The position of the nations today would seem to confirm that. The most advanced nations have the light of Christianity.

F.L. Everything is logical; Satan came to the Lord; he sought Him. The Lord said, "The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me". John 14:30. He had nothing in that Man, in that life, and therefore he entered into Judas and there became the characteristic of what we see in the religious world.

J.T. So the one begotten of God is beyond Satan's influence, Satan "toucheth him not". 1 John 5:18. Antichristian principles have operated where there is no restraint. During apostolic service there was restraint, the antichristian principles could not make

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headway in the apostles' days. This epistle is to meet their influence. They went out into the world, and in the nations where Christianity has been accepted, you find antichristian principles the strongest. It is important to see the definition of sin in this epistle; it is not transgression of the law simply, it is "lawlessness", disregard of restraint. That is what marks antichrist.

F.L. Hence it is a feature, not of the heathen world, but of the religious world where the knowledge of God has been. That is the substance of Enoch's prophecy.

J.T. The knowledge of God is there, but there is no regard for it.

J.L.J. The young men overcame the wicked one; was it in this line they overcame?

J.T. The Word of God abode in them. In chapter 5 you find our faith overcomes the world. "Our faith" implies that Jesus is a divine Person, and centre of a new system. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God". 1 John 5:5. All the machinery of Satan's warfare is overcome by what we see in the Son of God.

J.S. What you have said shows the moral value of that which God has held in reserve to combat the spirit of antichrist.

J.T. It is the epistle for our time. There is more antichristian history in our time than we are apt to take account of. Now, how are we to hold against all that? I believe the apostle in a marked way here shows us how.

H.C. In speaking of the gospels, the only thing that will do for God is the spirit of the Man, Christ Jesus, as set forth there.

J.T. Quite so. The issue now is as to which man one prefers; whether it is "Jesus Christ come in flesh", 1 John 4:2, the Man that simply submitted to God's will

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and made it everything, or the man that casts off all restraint, and does his own will.

J.S. The epistle defines the issue, and there no neutral ground.

F.L. We have suffered much from defective presentation of the gospel. The desire of Satan to get souls into hell is emphasised, but as one sees in the light of Scripture, the habitable part of the earth is the fighting ground where Satan seeks to wipe out the spirit that is of God in man on earth. This epistle helps us much on that line.

J.T. There is perhaps no expression less understood than Jesus Christ come in flesh. In the confession of Jesus Christ come in flesh you have what is agreeable to God; you are according to that Man. God abides in you.

Rem. In doing this you are setting aside man's will.

J.T. Our confession is not merely what we say, it also implies our manner of life. Instead of confessing yourself, or giving out like Simon in Acts 8, that you are some great one, you make everything of Christ. Simon had no thought of confessing Jesus Christ come in flesh.

T.R. That is how we are tested as to where we are.

A.R. How would you meet that person?

J.T. I think the great point is to bring in Christ. Jesus Christ come in flesh refers to the order of man before God. Of course, His Deity is implied, for He came. His coming was in that condition.

E.J.W. I thought what was said earlier in the meeting was very helpful; that is, as regards what engages us. One that confesses Jesus Christ come in flesh is engaged with God's Man, and this gives character to him.

P.H.P. Would that be a heavenly man?

J.T. The children of God for the moment answer to that; they answer to the pattern that is seen in

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Jesus Christ come in flesh; but nevertheless they are here in the way of testimony on the part of God; they represent the generation that God can identify Himself with. Indeed, in the future, in the millennial world, there shall be the same kind of generation in a limited way. This chapter enables us to judge by the spirit of things; so you inquire into the history of whatever is presented to you, as to what spirit is behind it. On principle, I would not read anything as ministry unless I knew the author to be commendable.

F.L. It is important that no matter who or what the person, we should not accept anybody until we know his associations and what is back of them. We can accept individual believers, and one is glad to recognise them, but when it is going further it is a question of what is behind and what they stand for.

J.L.J. Does not confessing Jesus Christ come in flesh involve a removing of the old order of man?

J.T. That is the next chapter. He came by water and blood. If you go on with Jesus Christ come in flesh that is involved. I think we generally take things on the surface, but we are called upon here to try, or prove, the spirits. Things are generally in the abstract in John's epistles; it is what the thing is in its nature. Jesus Christ come in flesh is what is delightful to God.

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"THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING" (5)

1 John 5

T.R. At the beginning of the readings you spoke about having in this chapter the Man. Will you say a little about it?

J.T. At the end of the chapter it is formally stated that He is "the true God, and eternal life", 1 John 5:20, and also that "we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ". 1 John 5:20. The chapter really treats, as I understand it, not exactly of Christ as He was here in flesh, the previous chapters treat of that, but rather of Him as He is now. The previous chapters present what is from the beginning, whereas this chapter views the Lord as the Christ and as the Son of God. It opens with that statement, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ". 1 John 5:1. That is a testimony in addition to the testimony of the apostles; it is not the apostles' witness here, it is the Spirit's witness. They were qualified to witness of what was from the beginning as having been companions of the "Word", but the Spirit also was to witness, and this chapter is connected with the Spirit's witness, as to Christ as He is now; and therefore you have the statement that He came "not by water only, but by water and blood". 1 John 5:6. It is the Spirit now that bears witness.

R.S.S. The apostles should bear witness because they had been with Christ from the beginning; John 15:27.

J.T. Here the Spirit is said to be witness; therefore it suggests that here we have come to what is established in Christ, not so much now as He was as Man. The first statement in the chapter is, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God". 1 John 5:1. The platform is changed in this chapter because He is in testimony presented as the Christ, having died and risen and been glorified.

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B.T.F. It has always been difficult to understand the statement, "This is he that came by water and blood". 1 John 5:6.

J.T. I think the best way to put it is that He came into the sphere of testimony in that way. He has come, not now by incarnation, but by death, or, more correctly, by the means of cleansing.

J.S. That was a moral necessity.

A.N.W. Whereas chapter 4 is incarnation.

J.T. Yes, "Jesus Christ come in flesh". 1 John 4:2. You have more definitely the order of man in the previous chapters, what He was as witnessed in His pathway here; whereas "the Christ" is the Man who carries out the purpose of God, and all things are established in Him now.

A.R. Is that in resurrection?

J.T. It implies resurrection; He has come by death.

A.R. "God has made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ". Acts 2:36.

F.L. The witness of the Spirit follows the exaltation of Christ; that is, the Spirit comes when Christ is glorified, and the witness that accompanies Him is that Man according to flesh has been removed, purification has been effected.

J.T. First, you have the statement, "it is the Spirit that beareth witness" 1 John 5:6, a remarkable statement! It shows that the platform is changed. As here in flesh, the Lord said, "I am ... the truth". John 14:6. He is not here now, but the Spirit is here, and He also is said to be "the truth". You have a full witness in the Spirit; the apostles could not say they were the truth, only the Spirit could be an adequate witness, so that you have what is correlative on earth to what is in Christ in heaven. Then we have the three-fold testimony, the Spirit, the water and the blood.

J.S. In the gospel it is "blood and water". John 19:34. Why is the order reversed here?

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J.T. If it is a presentation of the truth from God's side, obviously the blood must come first. The blood was taken inside the veil and placed on the mercy seat; the blood was for God, so that clearly in the presentation of the truth from the divine side, as in Romans, it is the blood first. The blood is in Romans 3:25, "whom God has set forth to be a mercy seat through faith in his blood". It is a question of God declaring His righteousness. The water is in Romans 6; it is connected with baptism. Here in John what is in the mind of the Spirit is not to justify God in regard to sin, but rather to bring about the state in the saints suited to God; therefore the prominence is given to the water.

R.S.S. It is cleansing by death; it removes you altogether.

J.T. It removes you from your own mind and heart here. The water does not remove you from before God judicially; it is the blood that does that, because the life was in the blood.

F.L. Expiation is in connection with the blood.

J.T. In connection with sin the victim is slain and the blood carried within for God's eye, and the carcass burnt. If it is a question of God vindicating Himself, it must be blood. There is nothing said about water there. If my mind, heart and affections are to be purified, the water is essential; you must have water. I think, therefore, the importance of the water being mentioned is witness; it does not detract from the witness of the blood; it has its own value.

R.S.S. Why does it say "not by water only"? 1 John 5:6.

J.T. In case there might be any weakening as to the atonement on the divine side.

F.L. The contrast is with the flood; that was water only. There was an intolerable condition that God must remove, but it was done by water only. The time had not then come when there could be expiation, but when God removes all flesh in the cross

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of Christ it is not water only, it is the blood that gives us a standing in the resurrection world.

J.T. Quite; if it is water only, there would be nothing left. Therefore you have in chapter 1 the standing maintained. "The blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanseth us from all sin". 1 John 1:7.

A.R. How would the water apply in John 3:5; "born of water and of the Spirit"?

J.T. The principle of cleansing is there, but it is a very initial stage.

J.L.J. In Hebrews 10:22, we have "bodies washed with pure water". Is that the same?

J.T. Pretty much.

W.H.F. We have been set aside in the spirit of our minds in the water, and in the blood we have been set aside before God.

J.T. I think the blood gives us a standing. It was put on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat, so that while it denotes that the sinner has been fully dealt with, it also denotes a life that is acceptable, the life of Jesus. There is full expiation, but there is also a standing before God for man.

R.S.S. The remark was made, that "This is he that came", 1 John 5:6 is not the Lord coming in incarnation. Why then is it "he that came"?

J.T. It is to prevent any thought of building upon testimony rendered in Christ after the flesh. Much is often made of the life of Jesus, where His death is ignored. The fact that He came by water and blood puts the man after the flesh out of court altogether; he has no place in connection with Christ now. There can be no structure reared except consequent on the death of Jesus. He became flesh, but there is nothing built up on that. He must be alone if it is only incarnation, but coming by water and blood is to give us a footing.

F.L. So in the testimony at Pentecost He is presented not only on the ground of His exaltation,

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but also on the ground of His death. That is the testimony, and the Spirit supports that testimony.

J.T. Hence you might say that Peter's address in Acts 2 brings in this Man that came by water and blood, and that the result is, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37. There is the means of re-establishing things in the water and the blood, and then the Spirit was there. "Repent and be baptised every one of you" (there is the principle), "and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Acts 2:38. That is the situation now.

B.T.F. Would you say the new man is built up on what we have here?

J.T. Yes; quite so. The new man is according to the truth "in Jesus", Ephesians 4:20 - 24. The apostles were to speak "all the words of this life". Acts 5:20. But the new man is a new creation, and could only exist through the death of Christ.

F.L. What you have emphasised in verse 6 is of all importance. The Spirit is the truth. The One that passed through death could not be testified to independently by the apostles; they could not testify of where He was, of the acceptance of the sacrifice, and of the great High Priest going in. This must be by the Holy Spirit come down from heaven.

J.T. The apostles take you along from the baptism of Christ and show you all His wonderful works, words and ways; they can lead you right on to the time when He ascended. They were witnesses of all that; but if you are to learn anything of the Lord as ascended, you are dependent upon the Spirit.

A.R.S. And when the Lord spoke of the Spirit He said, "He shall bear witness of me". John 15:26.

J.T. It is pointed out in the end of John 15, that the Lord said to His disciples, "ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning" John 15:27; that is the basis of chapters 1 to 4 of this first epistle of John; but the Spirit was to bear

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witness also, which is chapter 5. The Spirit bears witness of much more of course than what is in chapter 5; what He is engaged with here is eternal life.

J.S. Is the assembly supposed?

J.T. The truth here underlies the position of the assembly. The assembly is established in life, but its special privileges are beyond this.

A.R.S. It says, "Spirit, water and blood" 1 John 5:8; do you connect that with what goes before?

J.T. The Spirit is the witness. Not a cloud above, not a spot within, the latter is by the water, the blood removes the clouds above, all is clear before the throne of God. Often there is a clear apprehension of the value of the blood before God as to one's sins, but the effect of the water as relieving the heart from the unclean state in which man is by nature is not known. Not a spot within. A perfectionist might build up on that; but it really comes about by efficacious application of the water.

C.A.M. Where it says "the witness of men", 1 John 5:9, does it refer to the apostles?

J.T. I would rather regard it as a general statement. I think it is more the general contrast. Under certain circumstances we would receive the witness of men, but the witness of God is greater, and found in these three things.

Rem. Christ dies for the man that sinned, and He was presented as the righteous Man; but it is as in resurrection we have part with Him, not as the Man of perfection in the flesh.

J.T. We know and have part with Him as He is now.

F.L. You were referring to the life of Christ on earth as not being by itself sufficient; that life must necessarily connect itself with His death; water and blood are essential, and the Spirit coming and identifying Himself with the witness of water and blood would save us from regarding the death of

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Christ as only that of a martyr. Christendom is a system built up of men largely occupied with Him as the holy martyr, but in this witness of the Spirit we are preserved from both errors, from regarding the life of Christ as propitiatory, or His death as that of a martyr only.

J.T. I believe the witness of the water is much less understood than the witness of the blood. In actual experience it is but little known, I fear; the conscience is merely eased, but how much is there freedom in one's mind and heart from the man that sinned?

W.H.F. Would you say the water and blood removed everything out of the way of the eunuch? Does water connect with communion with God?

J.T. If you want to go in, the laver is that which meets you.

A.N.W. John gives the blood and the water in his gospel, but not the Spirit until the Lord had ascended.

J.T. It is the blood first; "forthwith came there out blood and water". John 19:34. It shows one difference between the gospel and the epistle. The gospels axe usually from the divine point of view.

A.N.W. It is the only gospel that emphasises His death in this way.

W.B. Is the witness to a dead or a risen Christ?

J.T. It is to a Christ who died and lives. He came by these things. If it is a dead Christ, you could hardly put it in that way; the Spirit has Christ as He is now in His mind. How has He come in testimony as He is now? By water and blood! So He has the means of recovery. The witness is to establish us in the great fact that we have eternal life, and that life is in God's Son.

R.J.C. What are the particular facts the Spirit gives witness to? You distinguished between His testimony and the testimony rendered by the apostles.

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Their testimony ended with the resurrection, after that you must have a divine Person come down.

J.T. It is the Spirit that bears witness, for the Spirit is the truth. The Spirit coming in bears witness of the whole range of truth in Christ. Only a divine Person could be the truth. Of course the apostles themselves were employed by the Spirit in presenting the testimony of Christ in heaven, but then they could also witness to what they saw and heard of Christ on earth. Peter says, the gospel was declared by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

F.L. So the High Priest, Jesus, has gone in, and the question is as to His acceptance. Will the universe of God go on; will all that has to be established stand; is it on an adequate foundation? We are dependent upon the Spirit to witness as to the truth of all this.

J.T. It is formally stated that the Spirit is the truth; therefore, as here, He witnesses to the whole scheme of truth. There are details and the three-fold witness is to convince us. The Spirit from heaven, being a divine Person, bears testimony to the whole truth. But God graciously takes account of us, and therefore gives three witnesses; it is God taking account, in grace, of our position here. It is as if God were to say, 'I am so desirous you should be in every way satisfied that I provide a three-fold witness'. It is on the principle of Hebrews 6:17, "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath".

F.L. In that case there are two things, here there are three things, and they all agree to one purpose; each witness testifies to the same thing.

J.T. Yes; so in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God". God has proved that conclusively. Now, having made the case good from His side, He wants to make the case good from

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our side; what is witnessed here clears us, and sets us up in life in Christ, His Son.

W.B. Would you say, that the water and the blood are more a witness to what took place in the death of Christ; whereas the Spirit is witness to Christ glorified?

J.T. Yes; and all bear witness to one point.

W.L.P. What is that one point?

J.T. That God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Verse 10 is another point as a believer, you have the witness in yourself. Verse 10 is the permanent witness in yourself; it is an immense thing to have Him all the time, the constant testimony of the Spirit witnessing to the soul as regards God and the great purpose of God, eternal life.

B.T.F. You do not find it in the letter of Scripture, but a living link between yourself and God.

J.T. Quite so; you have it in yourself. There are very few Christians that pay attention to the witness within. If anyone disbelieves God's witness he makes Him a liar.

W.L.P. It must be an outside witness. The witness within one is the Spirit. How could we make Him a liar if the witness is in us?

J.T. It is a separate statement; he that does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the witness given of God; that is objective; God has made His case good. If you were to bring witnesses and commit yourself to a statement, to disbelieve that would be to make you a liar.

F.L. In connection with the witness of Christ, we get the same thing in principle which applies to the Holy Spirit. In John 3:31,32, "he that cometh from above is above all, ... what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth". That is true also of the Spirit, "he has set to his seal that God is true" John 3:33; that is the opposite of making Him a liar.

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R.S.S. He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself; does that suggest a new order of man?

J.T. I would say so, but of course faith discerns that He is more than a new order of Man. He is a divine Person, as an Object of faith. How earnest God is that we should believe the witness! Our brother spoke of the difficulty of defining eternal life, but God is bent on impressing us that He has given it to us, and that it is in His Son.

W.B. It is in the Son, the testimony is to the position of it?

J.T. Quite; and that it is given to us. The closing verses are written that we might know that we have it.

F.L. It is because we are in Him. As having it, we are not viewed apart from His Son.

J.T. "He that hath the Son hath life". 1 John 5:12. Having the Son is not in the way of possession as property, you have Him in your soul in the way of testimony received.

F.L. It is really perhaps a little on the line of the living sap that runs in the living branch in the vine; there we are viewed as in Him.

R.S.S. In Matthew 16:16, Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God", and the Lord said, "upon this rock I will build my church". Matthew 16:18. It is an apprehension in the soul of who that One is. He had said "Whom do men say that I am?" Matthew 16:13. It was a question of the apprehension of the Son. In that way we have the Son.

J.T. A Unitarian could not have the Son. He might come a long way on the line of Jesus Christ as a man, and that is what they build on; but this epistle condemns that in toto. It condemns it unsparingly. If one has not the Son one has not life, nor has he the Father, as the second chapter testifies. I think it might be helpful to bear that in mind;

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having the Son is the testimony of the Person received in the soul.

R.S.S. John 9 is an illustration of it; the man who was cast out believed on the Son of God.

J.S. The question is, "Who is He?"

R.S.S. He wanted to find a Man after another order, no doubt.

J.T. There was a witness there that his eyes could take account of: "Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that talketh with thee". John 9:37. He had taken the testimony into his soul, he says, "Lord, I believe". John 9:38. He also worshipped Him, which shows that he recognised the deity of Christ.

A.N.W. Is "Son" a little fuller than "Son of God"?

J.T. "Son of God" would bring in responsibility of rejection; it is God rejected.

B.T.F. Would you make a difference between the life in "Jesus Christ come in flesh" 1 John 4:2 and life here? The actual life would be the same, but here it is in the Son of God.

J.T. He has come with the means to put us in possession of the thing. It was with the Father and witnessed to by the apostles, but this chapter brings out what the Spirit brings in. We must bear in mind that the position of it is in Him. In Romans 6:23 we read, "The wages of sin is death; but the act of favour of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord"; whereas here it is "in his Son".

R.S.S. Is there a distinction between "Son" and "Son of God" as used in verse 10? "He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself; he that does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has witnessed concerning his Son", 1 John 5:10.

J.T. I think where it is "his Son" it is the peculiar way in which God takes account of the Person; "his Son", not "the Son", so that God's affections

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are bound up there; whereas I think the "Son of God" puts the rejector into a serious position; he has to say to God in regard of it.

F.L. Something like Psalm 2:12, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry". It is a serious position.

J.T. In the expression in Matthew 28:19, "baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", the Persons are in mind; whereas the "Son of God" refers to a new order of man, as we have been saying. But He was here in testimony to God. Now God testifies of Him.

F.L. So in Matthew 11, it is "the Son"; that divine Person here in manhood.

H.G. "This is the witness, that God has given to us eternal life". 1 John 5:11.

J.T. It seems as if it has reference to the witness which is so much emphasised in the passage so that our souls might be assured of the great blessing of everlasting life. I think God would have us thoroughly assured as to this great blessing. It is a very remarkable passage, and the word witness is so prominent, because God is so desirous to assure us.

P.H.P. Therefore God gives us now three witnesses.

J.T. That there might be no shade of doubt in our souls.

A.N.W. So the Spirit comes first; we should not understand it at all without the Spirit.

C.A.M. I suppose the additional witnesses emphasised the truth in that way. The light of this was known to Peter when the Lord told him the Father had revealed it to him. That was before the witnesses here.

J.T. Yes; and there it was "the Son of the living God". Matthew 16:16. It was not eternal life that was in question. You could say of a man like Peter that he had the Son.

F.L. Figuratively such an one has walked on the water to go to Jesus.

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R.S.S. I confess to have difficulty in understanding this life that God has given to us. We have not eternal life in ourselves, we have it in Him. In what sense do we have it in Him?

J.T. You would not like to have it anywhere else; it is the fixity and permanency of the thing. When things are in Christ risen from the dead it is on the line of establishment; things are fixed there and so here, this life is in His Son. -

L.T.F. If we had it in us we might lose it.

J.T. The net might break again. One thing involved is establishment of souls. The net did not break, although there were so many fishes in John 21:11. The light in that figure establishes our souls in security as to everything in Christ risen from the dead.

F.L. "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish". John 10:28. It is eternal life and security.

J.S. Verse 13 -- "That ye may know". 1 John 5:13.

A.A.T. The gospel is objective and the epistles subjective. We want to know where eternal life is.

J.T. John says in the gospel, "these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, ye might have life through his name". John 20:31. In the epistle he says, "These things have I written to you that ye may know that ye have eternal life". 1 John 5:13. That is the difference. In the gospel it was, "that ye might have life in his name", but here it is "that ye might know that ye have eternal life who believe on the name of the Son of God". 1 John 5:13.

Ques. Is that conscious knowledge, and does it not involve enjoyment?

J.T. Surely it involves enjoyment if you have it as verse 13 presents it.

F.L. Mr. Darby's note on verse 13 would make it read, "These things have I written to you that ye may have the consciousness that ye have eternal life who believe on the name of the Son of God".

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R.S.S. "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son". 1 John 5:11. Is that an objective statement?

J.T. I think so. The point here is not "words of eternal life"; they convey knowledge as to it, but verse 13 is that you might know that you are in possession of it. The "words of eternal life" would disclose what it is, irrespective of whether you have it or not, but it is being brought to light now. The question is, who has it, and who knows he has it? Now the gospel is that they might have it, and this epistle is that they might know that they have it.

J.S. The point is where it is and who has it.

J.T. That is the point. What the life is is found more in the gospel.

R.J.C. Would it be fair to assume that numbers have eternal life that are not conscious of it? You have no difficulty in including all the people of God in eternal life?

J.T. All believers have it from the divine side. In John 20 we read of having life in His name. There is nothing said as to the consciousness of it. But the epistle is to give us the consciousness of having it. It does not make it any surer from the divine side, but it is surer to me practically. The person that is conscious of having it is in victory.

R.S.S. Eternal life suggests a certain character of life. Now what is the character?

J.T. I think it is well to recall the Lord's word, "Ye search the Scriptures, for ye think that in them ye have life eternal", John 5:39. It was remarked that it is difficult to get a definition, and I think that is right, for John 17:3 is scarcely that fully. The Lord appealed to the Scriptures: "Ye search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me". John 5:39. It seems that the Scriptures should be looked into; the testimony they present, in type or otherwise, as to Christ

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in regard to death, enables us to gather up some thoughts as to what eternal life is. It would therefore require patient search. It is quite clear it is a moral thing, and requires spiritual perception. It is a gradual unfolding in the Scriptures. I think the testimony of eternal life came out especially in Abraham's time; it was then God began to speak of blessing. Men's lives were becoming short, so that the necessity for life was more obvious; hence God announced to Abraham the blessing. I believe every man of faith had exercise as to why he had to die, as, for instance, Joseph. He said, "Behold, I die". Genesis 50:24. They all recognised it as inevitable, and yet what they said in dying indicated that they had glimmerings of another life.

W.L.P. Is that other life eternal life?

J.T. Yes. You gather up the elements in the Scriptures until you come to Christ, who is formally presented to us as it.

W.L.P. But with us it is to live in an order of life different from that to which we are accustomed in nature.

J.T. It has been pointed out that you must have light and atmosphere in order to live, and clearly you must have food.

A.A.T. In the Jewish mind it was a long existence of life in the flesh.

J.T. That is what the young man had in his mind; whereas men like Abraham and Joseph had no thought like that, because they recognised death was upon them, and yet they had the light of another life.

F.L. They were willing to live and die as pilgrims and strangers, because they had the light of a resurrection day.

J.T. Quite so; and all their exercise about burial indicated that they had that light. Christ "has abolished death and brought to light life and incorruptibility though the gospel". 2 Timothy 1:10. This chapter shows

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how we can be partakers of it, and we have the assurance that the net will never break again.

F.L. Verse 11 treats of "eternal life", but verse 12 of "life" in the abstract. Life in any connection, not alone eternal life, is in the Son; life in its broadest aspect is in the Son, hence "that eternal life" is more limited than "life".

R.S.S. Do you say, that the thought of the young man in saying, "What must I do?" was not right? We can understand that the doing is wrong, but was not the desire after eternal life good?

J.T. The desire was right, but the thought of giving up was not there.

C.A.M. Nobody, whether in Old Testament times or at the present time, would have any knowledge of it except as beyond death.

A.N.W. Was not the patriarchs' light as to life dependent upon their knowledge of the true God?

J.T. "I am the Almighty God" Genesis 17:1; that is where it came out.

R.S.S. Abraham knew God as the God of resurrection.

J.T. The Lord's quotation, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob", Matthew 22:32 is of great help. He added, "for all live for him". As we said before, wherever Christ is presented in the Old Testament in relation to death, there is some light as to eternal life. It is seen in Isaac received back from the dead in a figure. "I am the Almighty God", was confirmed in Christ. Christ is the power of God.

F.L. Wherever death comes in God brings into view the presentation of life, and that connects itself invariably with Christ.

R.S.S. In Isaiah 53 it is seen. Christ is viewed there in relation to death.

J.T. The Man is there with whom the pleasure of Jehovah prospers. When you come to Christ Himself,

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He is "the true God and eternal life" 1 John 5:20; there you have it formally in a Person; that is, Christ as He is now. The apostle in 1 John 5:20, is not referring to what he had seen and heard and handled; it is more what Christ is now, and that helps as to the location of eternal life. It is not in the wilderness, it is in the Son, who has passed out of the world through death. He is risen and glorified.

R.S.S. In the beginning we had the expression of eternal life in the Lord on earth. Will you connect the two?

J.T. There it was in Him only, but chapter 5 shows how we come into it. The three-fold witness precludes all thought of man in the flesh having part in it. As believers on the Son we have it, and it is in Him.

F.L. How we come into it is by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. That is the appropriation of Him in death.

J.B. Is there a similarity between this book and Joshua?

J.T. Yes, especially in the early chapters of Joshua; all believers are seen to have life, we have it there; it is not in the wilderness, it is very important to keep before us the location of it.

F.L. One might say the beginning of this epistle answers to the manna, but the end implies eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

B.T.F. You mean in regard to the location that the environment is all heavenly, not earthly; it is connected with heavenly things enjoyed on earth?

J.T. I would say rather it is beyond death. The point in eternal life is the victory of the saints rather than their heavenly privilege.

W.B. Why is prayer introduced?

J.T. Because it is the time of asking, and therefore you have a good bit about prayer in this chapter. It all goes on the line of victory, that you might not

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be harassed here. But it is asking "according to his will" 1 John 5:14 here. As in eternal life, we think of God's will, not of our own.

F.L. We, as an exclusive people, I mean those in the good of redemption, now have brought to us through the Spirit what will be universal in the world to come; now it is in evidence in the sphere of the Spirit.

A.N.W. Is it in this way idols are spoken of?

J.T. It is helpful to connect that with the Lord's word in John 17. In this chapter you have, "He is the true God and eternal life;" 1 John 5:20; in that passage you have, "this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". John 17:3. All that is presented in Jesus. There is the knowledge of the true God, and then on the other side the knowledge of the Man in the presence of God; that is also in Jesus; therefore you have the additional statement in the epistle, that He is "eternal life". The saints are to be free, on the one hand, from idolatry, in the knowledge of the true God; and on the other hand, free from lawlessness and the pressure of death in the knowledge of Jesus Christ whom He sent.

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Pages 407 - 486 -- "Beginning of the Glad Tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God". Belfast, 1915 (Volume 30).

BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD (1)

Mark 1:1 -31

J.T. I thought it might be profitable to have our attention called to Mark's gospel at the present time, he being one who had turned aside, but who was recovered. It answers to our own circumstances. It is a record of the Lord's life by one who had been an unfaithful servant, but who had been restored, and the evidence of his recovery is that he is taken up with the Perfect Servant, and he delights to present Him to us. The true evidence of recovery is that we are taken up with what we departed from. The Spirit through Mark begins, not with the Lord personally, but with the glad tidings, "Beginning of the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God". Mark 1:1. It suggests how thoroughly imbued Mark was with the glad tidings. He was a companion of Paul and Barnabas, and no doubt after his recovery he was more interested in the gospel than ever.

Things are introduced abruptly here. In Matthew it is "Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, the son of Abraham". Matthew 1:1. He is connected with the roots of promise there. In Mark we have "Beginning of the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God". John has "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". John 1:1. That is the key to his gospel. Luke writes on the ground that he was accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, but what he had to say was about the word, the things "fully believed among us". Luke 1:1.

J.P.W. Is this presentation in Mark, the kingdom beginning in the Second Man?

J.T. It is the "glad tidings", the "beginning of

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the glad tidings". Mark 1:1. What you expect to find in the glad tidings is the manner in which it was presented. One difference that should be noted between Mark and Luke, is that Luke enlarges on the things that the Lord did; Mark enlarges on how He did them. Mark engages you with the Workman, and the skill with which things were done.

E.M. It is frequently said in Mark, that "they were amazed", or "astonished". It is the greatness of the power that Mark presents.

J.T. Yes, the greatness of the power; the skill with which the Lord did things. The Lord did everything well, We may do things, but they are not well done.

T.M.G. He was the Perfect Servant.

R.L. Why is there no genealogy here?

J.T. It is not so much His personal greatness here, but His perfect service. The genealogy is unfolded in Matthew because of the heirship. He was the Son of David there. So in Luke we get the Son of man, because it had to be shown that He was really Man and connected with men.

E.L. He is a divine Person, just as in John.

J.T. All that is said is that He is "Son of God", and service is made to depend on sonship. Moses was a servant, and a faithful one. Christ is a Servant, being the Son. He is Son over God's house.

H.B. Does not true service always depend on sonship? "Let my son go that he may serve me". Exodus 4:23.

J.T. Yes. The service is carried on in liberty.

T.M.G. The liberty you get in John 8.

J.T. What value there is in this opening chapter. The future servants begin by following. In chapter 3 these same servants, who begin by following the Lord, are taken up to the mountain, so as to be with Him there. Thus they are sent out to preach.

I believe it would be a great help to us as to the glad tidings to see how it begins. The Spirit always

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presents us with the beginning. If it is the Word, it is the beginning. If it is life you get the beginning. In order to get a right apprehension of a thing you must have it from the beginning. Take marriage; to get the right idea of it, you have to go back to the beginning. The Lord says, "from the beginning it was not so". Matthew 19:8. The idea of precedent is very prominent in connection with Christianity.

T.M.G. You mean what is started with.

E.M. That was so with Mark.

J.T. Yes, the best evidence that he is restored is that he makes no apologies for his fall. The "beginning" was there before his fall, and he takes you back to it.

T.M.G. Yes, that is very interesting.

R.L. In the address to Ephesus you are taken back to the beginning; they are reminded of whence they had fallen.

J.T. Yes, often when failures occur there are apologies and excuses, but the beginning is the beginning, and the beginning was before any of us.

J.M. Abraham returned "to the place where his tent had been at the beginning". Before this Mark had parted company himself.

F.M. Why are the glad tidings put before the Person?

J.T. It gives you a sort of key to this gospel.

J.M. What was in your mind in connecting Mark with Paul and Barnabas?

J.T. He had been their minister when they had started out first. They had an excellent start. They went out from Antioch, where things were fresh, but Mark returned to Jerusalem in Acts 15:38, before the service was completed. That is where he failed. You will always find that failure is marked by things being left undone or half done. Things should be completed: The Lord says to Sardis, "I have not found thy works complete". Revelation 3:2. There was nothing finished. I do not think any popular evangelist

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completes anything. He would not be popular if he did.

W.H. How is that?

J.T. Because he is not thinking of the assembly. The completion of the work is to bring the converts into the assembly.

S.M. Does Mark's gospel run along with Philippians?

J.T. Yes, one feature of Mark is, that there is increase. His relation of the parable of the sower is that there were thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold. That is increase, not decline. Whereas Matthew says a hundred, sixty, and thirty. That is decline. Mark does not contemplate decline. When you are recovered you do not contemplate decline.

S.M. The glad tidings were in his heart.

J.T. I hope as we go on with this gospel, that the connection with Philippians will become clearer. The assembly at Philippi was composed of households; we shall see the connection very clearly in the two next chapters. As regards completing things, there is a tendency with us in these days to look for decline, whereas a truly recovered person never looks for that. He looks for increase, and I believe he gets it. Certainly I think we should look at things from the divine side, and see that God is not going to have a dark finish. Things may be reduced in quantity, but it should not be so in quality. John the baptist was finishing, but he says One mightier than I is coming. He does not look down. His ministry was not on the down grade. It was on the up grade. John disappears, but he knows the greater One is coming after him. So with Mark, there is no thought of decline.

T.M.G. "He must increase, but I must decrease". John 3:30.

J.T. Yes. "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptised you with water; but he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost". Mark 1:7. That is the completeness of his ministry.

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H.B. I suppose that principle is constantly seen m Scripture. "The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts", Haggai 2:9.

J.T. Yes, it was so even in the Old Testament. Take Enoch. He was living in a dark day. We do not know that he had any fellowship except with God; the testimony is that he walked with God. If he tells us what he sees he says, "Behold, the Lord cometh with his holy myriads". Jude 14. Every man of faith really looked on to the increase there would be at the coming of Christ.

R.L. The end of this gospel would show what you have been saying. The Lord went up to heaven; the disciples went everywhere.

J.T. Yes, they went everywhere; they were not circumscribed.

J.P.W. How do you apply that in connection with what is on your mind as to the servant?

J.T. Well, the little bit any one of us may be doing is not for the benefit of this world, but for the kingdom of God. If you are working with souls your end is to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. God takes account of a man's aim. In that way you are carrying on the work of God to a completion, not as in Sardis, of whom the Lord says, "I have not found thy works complete before my God". Revelation 3:2.

J.P.W. There is confusion of mind if that does not control one.

J.T. Yes, whatever you do, do it aright; do it with the Lord before you. Whatever your hand findeth to do, do it with all your might.

T.M.G. I suppose we should have God's thoughts and God's purpose before us.

J.T. Yes. I have been often struck with Exodus 39. Every item of the tabernacle is there specified by itself as made; then at the end it is said, "and Moses blessed them". Exodus 39:43. That is very beautiful. The

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Lord comes in and blesses those who complete a work. Bezaleel went by the pattern. If you have an idea before you, it results in a complete work.

J.P.W. And when all is completed the glory fills the tabernacle.

J.T. Yes, you will notice in the last chapter but one it says, "According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses did look upon all the work, and behold they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it; and Moses blessed them". Exodus 39:42,43. He blessed them. That is a very beautiful touch, and then you have the tabernacle set up, and the glory of the Lord fills it. I think all this is most important, because it is a question of what you complete. It is not what you begin; but what you finish.

E.M. The finish is to be according to the beginning.

J.T. Yes, and the pattern is in Mark's gospel.

T.M.G. It must be according to the pattern.

J.T. There is nothing more detrimental to the testimony than drooping saints, looking at what is external instead of having faith.

T.M.G. It is not honouring to God.

J.P.W. Whatever is done for God is the Lord's own work.

J.T. Yes, and you would have the Lord working with you. Mark says, "they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them". Mark 16:20. But I think God gives us the credit of it. Not that you are looking for the credit, but you get it. I think the word in Numbers 23:23 is remarkable, "according to this time it shall be said ... What hath God wrought?" Man may be doing much at the present time, but what hath God wrought? Mark's gospel teaches us that God works according to His own pattern; it is not only that things are done, but that they are well done.

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R.L. Everything has to be according to the pattern. There was to be no deviation.

W.H. You seem to lay a good deal of stress on the way the servant serves.

J.T. Yes, in one short paragraph you have stated of John the baptist the history of this great servant before Christ. It was a complete service; and we are told not only what the man did, but how he lived and what kind of clothes he wore; his meat was locusts and wild honey, his clothing leather and camel's hair.

S.M. What had you in your mind about the clothing?

J.T. He was clothed with camel's hair. He bore the true marks of a prophet. There was an entire absence of the ease and comforts that mark the natural man. The giving of the Spirit and all was preparatory to the Lord entering upon His service. He does not take up His service till John is delivered up, as we are told.

H.B. What do you gather from that?

J.T. It is a feature of service that you do not interfere with another's line. You wait your opportunity. You wait on your ministry. That the Lord should wait till John is removed is so perfect.

J.M. The Lord was the pattern in that way.

J.T. Yes, and here they began to follow Him.

J.M. It would be necessary to be with Him in order to learn how to do things.

J.T. It is very fine to see how John's ministry culminated in Christ.

R.L. In this gospel the word from heaven is to Him, "Thou art my beloved Son". Mark 1:11. It is direct. In Matthew 3:17 it is "This is my beloved Son".

J.T. You must have for yourself the sense of God's approval. If you are to have the approval of others you have to commend yourself to the consciences of men, as Paul exhorts Timothy, "Study

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to show thyself approved unto God". 2 Timothy 2:15. God gives His approval to the soul that is true and upright before Him. Enoch got that for himself. Before his translation he had this testimony, "that he pleased God". Hebrews 11:5. "The elders have obtained testimony", Hebrews 11:2. God gave it to them for themselves. Abel "obtained testimony of being righteous". Hebrews 11:4. God gave him the sense that he was righteous.

R.L. To the Lord the word was "Thou art my beloved Son. In thee I have found my delight". Mark 1:11.

J.T. John understood that his service was finished, his work was done, before he went out.

J.M. As our brother was calling attention to it, it is it, the liberty of sonship and in the consciousness that he pleased God that the service was carried out.

J.T. Yes, like Enoch who got the testimony, that he pleased God before his translation. We know it after we are translated But we shall know it then because there will be nothing contrary to God's pleasure then but the Scripture is careful to say that Enoch had the testimony before his translation. God by His Spirit produces a state in the soul that is pleasing to Him. Enoch began to walk with God when Methuselah was born, and during the time that followed, three hundred years, he had a family of sons and daughters, but they did not interfere with his walking with God. He walked with God, and he had the testimony that he pleased Him.

T.M. How could you serve in the liberty of sonship if you had not the consciousness that you were pleasing to Him?

J.T. I do not know anything that would encourage me more than to know that. If God is looking at a man's heart He sees his motives. He searcheth the hearts. He looks at your motives, and He sees what you are aiming at. You may miss your aim, but He will tell you to try again.

E.M. It is the service of love.

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J.T. Yes, and it puts you into liberty before God. If you begin to serve with the sense that the service is greater than you, it will overwhelm you; but if you begin with the sense that you are greater than the service, your dignity is above your work, and, therefore, you are kept from being puffed up. The service does not increase your personal dignity. The service passes away, but sonship does not.

J.P.W. Should not service be the result of overflow?

J.T. If it is carried on truly, it is not carried on as a mere duty. A son does not work for wages. The man who worked long got the same as the one who worked an hour in Matthew 20. Another mark of the true servant is that he shrinks from having to do with evil. He may have to do with it in the ways of God. The Lord was driven into the wilderness. That is a very remarkable word. It was not easy for Him to go into Satan's realm. We are greatly damaged, because we do not avoid evil, when we can avoid it.

W.H. The servant has to be exercised.

J.T. Yes, he avoids evil when he can. It brings in the supremacy of the Spirit in the servant. The Spirit drives Him. We are greatly damaged by occupation with evil. The Lord shrank from it. So should we if we have to touch it. We have heard of a beloved brother of whom it was said that he not only read the Bible, but that he read bad books because he had to combat the latter. We damage ourselves by going into evil and being occupied with it. The Lord went into the wilderness because the Spirit drove Him there, but He recoiled from it.

H.B. Why do we get that He was with the wild beasts?

J.T. It is where there is conflict. Paul went to Arabia for a considerable time. Any servant that God uses has in the secret of his soul to do with

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Satan. He has to come into contact with the devil.

H.B. Do you get the idea in the thought of the lion and the bear that David met?

J.T. Yes, that is an example, and Moses had a similar experience; and see what Joseph had to contend with. With the Lord there was no man. He was alone in the wilderness with the wild beasts. We, alas! rush into evil, and read the records of evil doings, and violence, and blood. Well, we suffer in our souls if we feed on these things. A man who dwells on high "stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil". Isaiah 33:15. If you have to do with it, as the Lord had to do with it, it is a different matter.

E.M. He was sustained from heaven.

J.T. Yes the whole position is put in the two statements, "the Spirit driveth him" and "the angels ministered unto him". Mark 1:12,13.

H.B. Are the angels interested in the service of God?

J.T. I am sure they are, but they do not represent the power by which you carry on your service. The Lord did things by the Spirit. He did not do things by angels. They are for our ministry in temporal things.

R.L. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?

J.T. That is for our bodies. They do not support our ministry.

R.L. It was in the conflict that they ministered to the Lord.

S.M. It would be more providential.

J.T. Yes. Angels keep you from illness and accident and the like. We are not to regard them as myths. They are very real in regard to our bodies.

R.L. What is the difference between the kingdom of God here and the kingdom of heaven in Matthew?

J.T. The kingdom of God is connected with the

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Spirit down here. The kingdom of heaven is more rule and authority.

H.B. Would the Lord indicate the importance of this in regard to prayer in His word, "Hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come". Luke 11:2.

J.T. It is a second thought. When John was delivered up the Lord began His ministry. It was following on with the glad tidings. "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn nigh; repent and believe the glad tidings". Mark 1:15. The kingdom of God had drawn near in the Lord's ministry.

R.L. That is, "the kingdom of God is among you".

J.T. Yes. The power of it would be displayed in His works.

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BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD (2)

Mark 2

J.T. One is increasingly impressed with the thought that is attached to the opening portion of this gospel. It is "Beginning of the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God". Mark 1:1. We have to be prepared to follow the course of it, and I believe this chapter 2 helps to show us the associations in which this gospel is found. We were pointing out that the first chapter, after setting before us the beginning of the Lord's ministry, shows how one and another became followers of Him; and that chapter also shows how the household arrangements of Simon, the leading servant, were put right by the Lord. Chapter 2 pursues the subject further of the household's connection with the course of the glad tidings. The gospel of Mark is found in connection with houses, or households. That is to say, it will be found that the course of the gospel in this world is in connection with a system of affections. It is not yet the house of God as constituted by the coming of the Holy Spirit that we have here, but the gospel of Mark speaks more than any of the four gospels of the Lord's presence in houses. This chapter opening with the Lord in a house is characteristic. It does not say whose house it was; "he was in the house". Mark 2:1.

J.P.W. Does not that mean blessing for the whole house?

J.T. Well, the house in the opening of this chapter supposes the previous chapter, where Peter's house was regulated. His wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and the Lord healed her. It is said that He went up to her, and having taken her by the hand, straightway the fever left her, and she served them. The mother-in-law, instead of being a burden through

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sickness, is ministering to others. Naturally, there would have been irritability in such circumstances but the woman was completely recovered, and not only that, but she learns to serve. She ministered to the Lord there. It is a house in which there is ministry, as the effect of Christ's work.

H.B. Do you suppose this in chapter 2, to be Peter's house?

J.T. The inference is strong, but it is not of any consequence whose house it was, provided we bear in mind what we are taught in the first chapter. It was in the same town, and the house was free for the Lord. There was no restraint there. The owner made no protests when the roof was broken through.

E.M. "The whole city was gathered together at the door", Mark 2:2 and there was no room at the door.

J.P.W. Will you say a little more about the house we dwell in. Would the influence extend outside the house?

J.T. Well, it is certainly a great advantage to the testimony in the place if the house is true to the Lord. Of course if there is more than one all the better, as at Philippi. What marked the ministry at Philippi was that houses were opened. First, Lydia had her heart opened, and then she opened her house; indeed she went further, saying, "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord come into my house and abide". Acts 16:15. She opened her house to the vessels of the testimony, through whom the gospel came to her, and one is led to believe it was that which gave rise to the thought of the house in the apostle's mind, because he told the next man he preached to, that is, the jailer, about the house. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house". Acts 16:31. Salvation came to pass in that house, so that at least there were two houses at Philippi in sympathy with the testimony.

H.B. What would the fever represent?

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J.T. I think it is a certain irritability of the flesh, augmented very largely by the awkward circumstances in which the woman was. She was a mother-in-law.

J.P.W. There is an incident before this in the chapter, the man with the unclean spirit. What does that represent?

J.T. That represents the conditions in the religious sphere. It does not say that anything resulted in the way of sympathy from the casting out of the demon. It is quite clear that the Lord could make nothing of the religious system. Nothing accrued in the way of support to the testimony in the synagogue. No sphere of testimony was opened whereas in the house it was different. The Lord did not effect anything in the religious system. His power was shown, but the connection in which the glad tidings were, was in the house.

T.M.G. I suppose it was more the setting aside of the synagogue?

J.T. Yes, I think Peter's house was a basis from which the Lord could work. The synagogue gave no support to Christ, but the house did.

S.L. Blessing proceeded on the line of affection.

J.T. Yes, the gospel goes on its way; the word of God has free course. It is much easier for the minister to preach where there is affection than otherwise. The Lord did not touch the man in the synagogue, but He did touch the woman who had the fever. It is a picture of a converted person who has not yet learned to be free from the flesh. The Lord touches the woman and everything is regulated, so that instead of irritability you have affectionate service. It not only says that she served the Lord who had healed her, but it says, she served them.

S.L. What about the four who carried the man?

J.T. That is the extension of affectionate service, but you get nothing like that in relation to the synagogue. It is a great matter if there is not only

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fellowship but exercise in prayer on the part of those who are locally acquainted with the need. The Lord was in the house and carried on His ministry, but there was more than that. Were it not for the sympathy and service of these four, this poor paralytic would have been outside the blessing. It all goes with the "beginning of the glad tidings" Mark 1:1 which is seen in the Lord's ministry. It is to show, that not only the preacher was interested, but every one around was interested in the man. Four is a numeral that denotes universality. The sympathy was general. Then as to the house in which the Lord was, it was a house in which the owner sympathised with the Lord's ministry. He does riot object to the roof being digged through. In the synagogue there was a worldly atmosphere. In the house there was love; there was liberty attached to it. Ordinarily you would not like the roof of your house to be broken through. The truth is, the Christian's house should be open to the Lord and to His people, and be in sympathy with His servants, so that there is no restraint attached to it. The previous chapter shows, I think, how it came to pass that this house was so free.

J.M. This is all very important in connection with what you were speaking of last night, the connection that the preacher has with the house.

J.T. Yes, and it is very encouraging as to having faith about people who have need, whether it is your children, or relatives, or anyone. It says, "when he saw their faith". Mark 2:5.

J.P.W. In what connection does the forgiveness of sins come, after the household has been set right?

J.T. Well, the Lord goes to the root of the trouble. The sin question has to be solved; that is the root of the difficulty. What is very touching is that the Lord uses a designation which denotes relationship, the relationship of affection. He calls

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him child, in the light transmitted to the man's soul there is a basis laid for the relationship that is to follow.

S.L. If we proceeded on that ground, the ground of affection and universal interest, we should be great people.

J.T. That is what the gospel is intended to bring about. Recovery is to bring you to what was at the beginning, and it is very encouraging in this way that if you have not assembly conditions in a place you can nevertheless always say, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord". Joshua 24:15. You can hold your house at the disposal of the Lord.

S.L. When Levi was called he made a feast for the Lord in his own house, and brought in needy souls.

J.T. That is what you get here. It is a continuation of the subject. You see a man who has his sins forgiven, and the Lord says, "Go to thy house". He sends him there. The house in which there is to be blessing, is his own house. The Lord extends His territory. He does not extend it in a political way, but He extends it in the family relationship. Thus Levi's house is thrown open to the Lord, and He uses it.

R.L. Then every Christian's house should be open to needy souls.

J.T. Those invited should not be invited on the basis of society status, but in reference to Christ. It is a question of the kind of society He would like. Levi was a rich man. He was not exactly like Peter and John and James. He belonged to a different class in society, but the kind of people he invited were such as the Lord sought, as He said, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners". Mark 2:17.

R.L. You think Levi had intelligence as to the company the Lord would like to meet.

J.T. That is on the face of it; they were the kind of people He had come to seek and to save.

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He was seeking such, and Levi intelligently facilitates it.

E.M. People with whom the Lord has sympathy are encouraged to come near to Him.

J.T. That is the idea; the extension of territory that is faithful to Christ; so that in that way it is a course of triumph.

E.M. Would this be the line for the true servant?

J.T. That is what it is written here for.

E.M. We find the gospel going from house to house.

R.L. What is set forth in taking up his bed?

J.T. It shows the healed man's superiority to his circumstances. Instead of his circumstances governing him, he is superior to them. I suppose it refers to the gift of the Spirit. A paralytic is a man who is weak, unable to do anything for himself. He is dependent on other people. What a change there will be when he goes back healed, to his house.

E.M. There was no movement as long as the bed carried him, but there was when he carried the bed.

R.L. Would you say that sets forth the power of Christ as Son of man? "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to remit sins". Mark 2:10.

J.T. It is the testimony of His power. "So that they all were amazed, and glorified God, saying, we never saw it thus". Mark 2:12. Things are entirely new, and the way in which they were done was new, What strikes one is how differently things are done from what they were at the beginning. The beginning is always the test, whether it be the service of Christ or whatever it is, the true idea is presented in the beginning.

J.P.W. Would there not be a difference in the beginning of the Acts?

J.T. I do not think that would be quite the idea of a new beginning. This gospel is the beginning of

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the glad tidings. It is said of Jesus, He did "all things well". Mark 7:37. The whole idea of the clerical system and of the machinery used professedly in the work of Christ is shown by this gospel to be all wrong.

E.M. You were saying last night that recovery goes back to what was there at the beginning.

J.T. Yes, but if you take the Lord's own Person, you cannot speak of the beginning of His Person. In this gospel it is "the beginning of the glad tidings". Mark 1:1. As to Himself, He was in the beginning.

J.McF. Every Christian's house should in that way be a sphere of interest.

J.T. That is the point, but each one is to be free as to it. Even if assembly conditions do not exist in a place one can always have one's house right, like Joshua.

J.McF. The Lord says, "Arise, take up thy couch, and go to thine house". Mark 2:11. When the man got the blessing he was to go to his own house in order that he might influence his house first. That is the third house, and the fourth is Levi's.

J.T. You can understand, if the Lord came back to Capernaum again, that the area of His influence would be extended. If you go into a town where there are no Christians at all that you know, and you have to go to the religious people of the town, you will not get much sympathy there. In Levi's house you find that something is being done for Christ: "And it came to pass that as he lay at table in his house, that many tax-gatherers and sinners lay at table also together with Jesus and his disciples for they were many and they followed him". Mark 2:15. Levi had made a feast for the Lord.

J.McF. I notice in connection with the house in the beginning of this chapter, "many were gathered together, so that there was no longer any room, not even at the door, and he spake the word to them". Mark 2:1. That is, from the house the word goes out.

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J.T. The word has free course and is glorified. In this chapter you come from the individual's house to the thought of the bride-chamber and the children of it. There is much teaching in that. The thought of the bride-chamber and the Bridegroom takes you out of your own circle. You honour Christ in your own circle, and then He brings you into His circle.

T.M.G. That is the assembly?

J.T. Well, it leads to that. The bride-chamber is not one's own house.

E.M. He comes to our side in order to lead us to His side.

J.T. Yes, and what follows upon that is that things become altogether new. He leads us on to His circle of things. Then you get the place of children, not now guests, but "sons" of the bride-chamber.

J.P.W. Is this what you were saying, that everything is perfect and complete?

J.T. Yes, this chapter really denotes a complete period. All this leads up to what is new, and the standing corn, and that was as far as the Lord could bring them at that time. The corn was standing, not yet cut down, Mark 2:23.

H.B. How do you connect that which you have been saying with regard to the absence of the Bridegroom?

J.T. The time had come when the Lord would be no longer standing, and when He would be absent. Fasting then would be in order. He leads them on as far as He then could in that line. Already there was the voice of the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom suggests the bride, and the bride-chamber, and those who followed Him had the privilege of being sons of it, not simply friends. John was the friend of the Bridegroom. The difference between John and the disciple is that John stands. The disciple sits. John

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stands and hears. The disciple sits and hears. John heard the voice of the Bridegroom, but he did not belong to the bridechamber.

T.M.G. He was not with Him in it, but he could recognise His voice.

J.T. It was the discernment he had. He discerned the voice of Christ. In the ministry of Christ there was the Bridegroom's voice. The Lord was looking for something. His affections sought something, and His ministry indicates that. The friend standeth and heareth, whereas the disciple sitteth and heareth, like Mary.

T.M.G. She sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His voice.

H.B. Is that circle open to us whilst He is absent?

J.T. Well, it really comes to that, for the bride now is the assembly. We have Ephesians now, you know. If you insert Ephesians here you have the full assembly conditions, but this passage does not give us the Lord's full place. The end of the chapter is the standing corn, but it is available as food for the disciples. There was that present which was available to them.

E.M. Does the wine in verse 22 abide with us still? Does that not refer to a moment further than this?

J.T. Well, it is what the Lord was going to do. New wine was to be put into new bottles. Already the new wine was really there in Himself. The bottles were not yet formed. The Spirit had not come.

T.M.G. The fasting would come when the Bridegroom would be taken away.

J.T. Yes, there is nothing amongst us harder to lay hold of than what is new. That is the most difficult thing to take in.

T.M.G. It is easier to take in the old than the new. The old is ingrained in our very nature.

J.McF. What is meant by the old?

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J.T. Then it was what was established at Jerusalem.

J.McF. The Jewish system?

J.T. Yes, I believe so. There is nothing more difficult to take in than what is new. The book of Ecclesiastes says, "There is nothing new under the sun". Ecclesiastes 1:9. Whatever may come up has been before. The New Testament teaching insists on what is new. You find that in Romans. You find there newness of spirit, of life, renewing of the mind. All is on the principle of what is new.

E.M. New things that never grow old!

T.M.G. The heavenly things, the things that are above are new.

J.T. Seeing that would save us from attaching ourselves to old principles in service. It is remarkable when a servant gets away from the Lord how he goes back to old ways and methods that had previously been given up. It is virtually saying that the new is ineffective, but the new is really the only effective method. One might allude to what is called popular evangelism. It is largely carried on by those who had their part in the recovery. They are doubly guilty. To be recovered to first principles and to give them up is a double sin; compare Galatians 2:18. There may be the holding of the letter of the truth while giving up of the right methods of service. What Christ did He did well. "He hath done all things well", Mark 7:37 is the testimony to Him.

H.B. Is there any contrast between the standing corn and the corn made into bread?

J.T. What helps us in Leviticus is the sheaf of first fruits. The grain had evidently not been detached. But afterwards the people were to bring from their houses two wave loaves baked with leaven. In order to have bread you must have fire. It would refer to the Spirit as bringing about self-judgment.

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BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD (3)

Mark 3

J.T. You will observe that this is the Lord's second visit to the synagogue. "And he entered again into the synagogue". Mark 3:1. This gives the thought of complete witness there; and what is further to be observed is, that antagonism to Christ seems to have arisen there, showing that there is no hope of support on the religious side. The Lord's service only brought out a murderous opposition.

S.M. What does the synagogue stand for?

J.T. It stands for accredited religion in contrast to the house. The Lord would have owned the synagogue, were it possible, but this chapter shows that though He cast out the demon from the man it elicited no sympathy. The word "again" in verse 1, is significant. It is His second visit to the synagogue. Again He works a miracle, but He calls attention more to the weakness that existed. There was a man there who had a withered hand. He calls the man out into the midst to show that he was impotent. The man described the condition of the religious system. It could do nothing. It was powerless. It helps us to take account of that now. Although you may get a hearing in the synagogue you will only find the more that opposition springs up, and no matter what activity there may be, there is no power in it to do anything for God. The hand signifies ability to do things. It is the power to accomplish things, but the hand was withered.

J.P.W. What would answer to the synagogue now?

J.T. The religion accredited in the world. So now there are "established churches", and so forth. The synagogue represents the accredited religion of any locality. You will always find a link between it

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and the world, and what marks it is that there is no power to do anything for God. The hand represents the ability to do things, and the hand was withered. The restored man, therefore, represents the believer as having ability to work, and this chapter shows how you are to use that ability. The possession of the ability is not enough. It has to be regulated and used and the Lord shows in what follows how use is made of it. Everyone who is a Christian has some ability given to him or her. "To each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ", Ephesians 4:7 (New Translation). The first thing is to recognise that you have the ability, and secondly, what is your aim in using it; and how you are doing the work?

S.M. There are many who have ability and yet cannot use it.

J.T. The Lord calls to him whom He Himself would. It is not enough for you to have the ability. When you have it you must use it, but under His authority. It is given by the sovereign appointment of Christ. He called some "that they might be with him, and that he might send them to preach and to heal diseases". Mark 3:14,15.

E.M. Having the ability supposes having the Spirit, but there is more.

J.T. Yes, one has not only to have the Spirit, but to become the subject of the Spirit's work, so that you know how to use the Spirit as the Lord did. By the Spirit He cast out demons.

J.McF. You learn that by being with Him.

J.T. Yes. Nothing in a way is more important in studying Mark's gospel than to note the change of position. He went up to a mountain. He withdraws from the influences of the synagogue and the crowd. You must go up into the mountain, if you are to do anything in gospel work. The disciples were with Christ before He sent them forth to preach.

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J.M. It is the difference between orthodoxy and vital Christianity. Being with Christ involves exercise of soul.

J.T. Quite so. You withdraw from the influence of the plain, and then you are in that wonderful society above; thus the idea of apostleship is being with the One whom you represent, being sent out from the Person is the idea in it.

J.B. Do you connect it with the verse "he gave some apostles"? Ephesians 4:11.

J.T. That is the doctrine of it. "He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers". Ephesians 4:11. One point is that He gave them wisely. He gave the greatest gift first. Authority had to be established first, and this is seen in the apostles.

R.L. Would you say that you get the same thing in Moses when he was with God forty days?

J.T. Yes, what marked Moses when he returned first to the camp was not so much that he did what he was commanded to do, but he did what was right from the judgment he had formed from being with God; he had gathered up divine principles in his soul. So far as we know he had no command as to what to do as finding the golden calf in the camp. You gather up the principles that govern another world, and these are your guide. Some say you cannot carry out these principles now, but Moses did in circumstances as difficult as ours.

E.M. Is that the thought of the holiest?

J.T. Yes; you get light here as to how things are before God.

T.M.G. Like Asaph when he said, "until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I", Psalm 73:17.

R.L. The Lord did not gather the disciples around Him in the synagogue.

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J.T. That is a good point. What confusion would be there!

R.L. It was a sort of out-of-the-world condition the Lord was in on the mount.

J.T. It was; the Lord was at home there and free to express and carry out what lay upon His heart. He called "whom he himself would". Mark 3:13. It is a question of His sovereign choice. He sends them out, and He gives them distinguished names, such as "Peter" and "Boanerges".

R.L. Is there something set forth in His naming them?

J.T. When you get a name from Christ you are distinguished. You go in as a disciple, but you come out with a commission. The name you get indicates what the Lord intends to be set forth in your testimony. He gives names to us when He gives us something to do and the name He gives distinguishes you; you do not need D.D. or "Reverend". You have upon you a distinguishing name, that no one gives but Christ.

J.B. You go in as Jacob, and you come out as Israel.

J.T. Yes, I think that every servant should have some distinguishing stamp upon his service. The work is his work, the line is his line, and no one else can do it but himself.

W.H. Everything given by the Lord is sufficient and complete.

J.T. Wisdom is seen in it. He gave "some apostles", etc. That was discriminating wisdom. Moses was honoured in a remarkable way in that God left him to act as he thought right according to Him. God confirmed what Moses did in pitching the tabernacle outside the camp.

T.M.G. God identifies Himself with what Moses did.

J.M. And what he did was done in the consciousness of having been with God.

R.L. Paul could say, "the Lord stood with me". 2 Timothy 4:17.

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T.M.G. There is a great deal in being on the mount.

J.McF. Is not that the secret of power? You must come from the Lord.

J.T. Yes and if you do, the principles of another world govern you. You refuse the principles of this world. The whole system of Christendom is based on worldly principles. The same principle in college is applied to the clergyman as is applied to the doctor. They are all worldly principles, whereas the Lord gives new names. "Peter" is a new name and "Boanerges" is a new name; these names are given by Christ. As receiving a name we must maintain what it sets forth in work and service. He did not give them in the synagogue, nor in the house. The names were given on the mountain. It is for you to show publicly that you are called to it. You are to be formed by what that name signifies.

H.B. I suppose it was on the same occasion that Matthew 5, 6 and 7 were spoken.

J.T. I cannot say, but at any rate a comparison serves to show the difference between the two Evangelists. It is the new law in Matthew, but here it is the new service. In Acts 13:2 we read that the Spirit said, "Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them". Barnabas and Saul were with the brethren in the assembly at Antioch then, and it is from among the brethren that the Lord calls out some to serve in a special way. In the end of Mark 3:34, it is said that the Lord looked "around in a circuit at those that were sitting around him". That is the circle of the brethren; it is from that circle the ministers go out. They go out evangelising, but they get the sympathy of the brethren in going out on their labours.

T.M.G. They go out from the assembly.

J.T. Yes, the brethren are in this chapter marked out. The Lord looked "around in a circuit at those that were sitting around him". Mark 3:34. Think of that!

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Think of the eyes of the Lord travelling around that circle, and not omitting one of the number. What were they doing? You might say that they were doing nothing, but they were; they were doing the will of God, for they were listening to Christ. It suggests the circle of the saints. He comes down from the mountain, and they enter into the house; Mark 3:19. His relatives are outside, and now regard Him in a peculiar way; they say He is out of His mind; Mark 3:21. There are those nearer, His mother and brethren, they are in the precincts of the house; Mark 3:34.

Rem. It is very blessed to belong to the circuit, People say you are not doing much. Well, you are doing the will of God if you are listening to Christ.

J.M. It was in the "circle" that the Holy Spirit said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul". Acts 13:2.

J.T. There is a link between the mountain and the circle.

E.M. That circle is influenced from heaven.

J.T. The relatives do not know that. It shows how little relatives can be trusted.

J.P.W. The Lord says to His disciples, "to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God". Luke 8:10.

J.T. In that way the first principles of the Lord's ministry are seen; it is the beginning of the assembly. There can be no truth more important for us than that which bears on what the brethren are.

J.P.W. Are they determined here by spiritual characteristics?

H.B. They are not outside the door, nor in the synagogue. Being in the synagogue does not prove that you are a brother.

E.M. It is not some low place within the door. It is in the circle.

R.L. His mother and His brethren according to flesh were outside.

J.T. All that shows that the circle is not found

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in the dearest natural relationship on earth. His mother and His brethren outside, think of that! It is remarkable how the Spirit of God speaks of Mary. She does not specially shine after the Lord was presented in the temple.

R.L. In that way the relatives are still outside.

J.T. Yes. In the journey from Jerusalem they were a good distance on the way before they missed Him. His father and His mother did not miss Him for some time. Nature is absolutely unreliable. He was about His Father's business.

W.K. You said that being in the synagogue would not mark out the brethren.

J.T. Yes, being prominently religious in no way marks out any one of the brethren.

W.K. But you intimate that you might be found in a correct place outwardly, and yet not be one of the brethren.

J.T. That is no guarantee of itself; therefore the importance of this intimation the Lord gives as to what marks the brethren; they do the will of God.

J.P.W. Will you say a word more about the top of the mountain?

J.T. That is the place where appointments are given. I am afraid we do not know much about that place. The influence comes from thence into the circle. The Lord "calls whom he himself would", Mark 3:13 and from among them He appointed twelve, who would be with Him and to whom He gave commissions. From thence they came down into the circle, into the house; Mark 3:19.

J.P.W. Does that indicate separation of heart to the Lord?

J.T. That is just what I think separation leads to. Satan is ever seeking to hinder one from going up to the mountain. Satan is foiled if even one or two brothers go up to it.

W.H. We should all aspire to it.

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J.M. I suppose it requires exercise of soul to get near to the Lord? We cannot teach one another this in terms of doctrine.

E.M. Is it not education by the Lord?

J.T. Yes, but it says that they might be with Him. This advantage is, in principle, open to us all. The order is, that He is first in the synagogue, and in the synagogue the murderous opposition arises against Him. "The Pharisees going out straightway with the Herodians, took counsel against him, how they might destroy him". Mark 3:6. Then He withdrew to the sea and the multitude followed Him. Then He spoke to His disciples that a little ship should wait upon Him on account of the crowd that they might not press upon Him. He is leading on to what we have been dwelling upon. He is showing them that effective service must be free from the crowd. You are to serve the crowd, but in order to serve them, you must be free from them. That is what He is showing. Then comes the next paragraph in which He shows, as it were, the necessity of not only being free from the influence of the crowd, but that you should get under the influence of Christ. You want the positive influence of what is above, so that the position is extremely clear if you connect it with the Acts and Ephesians. The preaching of Jesus Christ has come out from that atmosphere and the place where the disciples were with Him, the disciples whom He distinguished by the names He gave them there.

E.L.M. He said to Paul, "delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee". Acts 26:17.

J.T. He delivered him from them, and then sent him to them. You cannot serve people unless you are free from them.

R.L. This is the same occasion as when the Lord continued all night in prayer.

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J.T. Yes, Luke shows Him as the dependent Man. I like the thought of the names; that you have a certain title or commission from Christ; that is given to you in private. It is for you to discover that it is given to you, and that it carries with it the sense of His approval and of your fitness for what He has given you to do. Then you are to prove that you are "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed". 2 Timothy 2:15.

E.M. It is the opposite of officialism.

W.H. It is so encouraging to know that you are approved of God.

J.T. You get your commission in private, but the service is to be performed in public. What you get in private gives you an impression of Him, so that you have light in your soul as to what you are to do. You know it yourself. You do not run and tell the brethren about it. You know you have your commission, and that is enough for you.

H.B. Is there any moment in Peter's history when this teaching marked him?

J.T. Yes. I think it was seen when he stood up on the day of Pentecost. He stood up at Pentecost with the eleven. There was wisdom in that. It showed that Peter had been at school. He was not a novice. He remembered that these had been on the mount, and that they got their commission then. One often hears that the meeting is responsible for the gospel. Scripture never places responsibility for preaching on the assembly. Peter showed that he had profited by the Lord's teaching; so he stood up with the eleven; not with the one hundred and twenty. The eleven were the preachers; the others were not preachers and they were not "sent".

R.L. When Moses came down he wist not what others saw, and of the disciples, it is said by the Jewish council in Acts 4:13, "they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus".

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J.B. "We are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works". Ephesians 2:10.

J.T. It was "ordained" that we should walk in them.

J.P.W. Peter is the first that is named.

J.T. He was the leading apostle, so much so that Paul refers to him as the one who received the apostleship of the circumcision. The Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom. The Lord made no mistake.

J.P.W. He is true to the place that the Lord gave him at the beginning.

J.T. Yes, you see that in the first chapter of Acts he quotes the Scriptures, and he quotes them correctly and intelligently.

E.M. In regard to Peter standing up with the eleven, would you give that a present application, that the preaching is dependent on gift?

J.T. It is dependent on commission. You must be sent to preach "the preaching that I bid thee". Jonah 3:2. It is a remarkable thing about Paul that he says, "that by me the preaching might be fully known". 2 Timothy 4:17. When Lydia was converted she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul. I do not think anyone can preach unless he has a sense of gift. Of course, he finds it out.

E.M. Paul says to Timothy, "do the work of an evangelist". 2 Timothy 4:5.

J.T. That shows that we are not to be presumptuous in a day of weakness. We get that in 2 Timothy, not in 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy assumes that the evangelists are there; in 2 Timothy the work is there, and has to be done. If you have power to do anything, do it. The work has to be done. These two things should be kept together.

S.M. What is the difference between power and gift?

J.T. A gift is power itself. It is a power that is superior to all that is contrary. "Having ascended

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up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men". Ephesians 4:8. He has overthrown all that was against Him and He gave gifts to men. The gifts that the Lord has given to us are greater than all contrary power. They are to be used, however, in subjection to the Lord.

J.M. If we have no gift in the meeting should we not have any gospel preaching?

J.T. Well, the Lord would come in and give gift. The assembly was to be evangelical, although, as already said, it is not to preach.

J.P.W. Mr. Stoney said that gift is in most cases subject to desire.

J.M. We should go back to the beginning for our instructions as to how to serve, and not seek to do things according to human methods.

S.L. What about the universality of the service?

J.T. The palsied man in Mark 2 was borne by four; that is 1 Timothy.

S.L. Is it not a great help when you feel you have the sympathy of the saints?

J.T. That is what you get in the four.

H.B. Is not that the eleven as in Acts 2?

J.T. No, I think it is the 120. In 1 Timothy prayer in the house of God is universal. There is prayer for all men. That is the work of the four. The whole world is in need, and there is sympathy and prayer, so that all men should be saved.

R.L. In the sheet that was let down to Peter there were four corners.

J.T. That is universal, too. All are included. "What God has cleansed". Acts 10:15.

S.L. No one is shut out from the gospel. Everyone should be invited.

J.T. Yes, we should pray for all men.

S.M. The gospel, as you said, is not preached by the assembly.

J.T. The assembly represents the four that bare

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the man. The saints are to bring those in need to where the preacher is. It is remarkable what is said in chapter 2; "it was reported that he was at the house". Mark 2:1.

H.B. It would not have been enough to have simply invited the man.

J.T. No, it was urgent. The Lord was in that house. The people gather, and these four would get the man there at all costs. It was noised that Jesus was there. It was made known that this wonderful MAN was in that house. The reporting shows that an evangelical spirit was active.

J.P.W. If we all knew what it was to be with the Lord on the top of the mount there would be much service of this kind.

J.T. "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all". 1 Timothy 2:5. This is the basis for evangelisation. God will have "all men to be saved", 1 Timothy 2:4 and the preacher is a herald of this. There is abundant encouragement to pray.

R.L. What gives interest to that house is, that the Lord is there.

J.T. And like the four who bore the paralytic, we may still bring people to where the Lord is. Of course you invite them, but it may be open to you to do more.

T.M.G. The saints bear up the preacher.

J.T. Yes, and they bear up needy souls also.

H.B. The service is the same, whether I am simply praying for the preacher, or whether I have the need of souls on my heart.

J.T. Timothy shows that the house of God is sympathetic as to human need, hence the prayer. We have a priestly place in regard to all nations.

H.B. Will you say a word about speaking injuriously against the Holy Spirit?

J.T. Well, that is a thing you have to deal with

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too. Where service has been carried on according to divine principles and the work is undeniable, it brings out inveterate opposition to Christ. The enemies of the truth attribute the power by which He did the work to Beelzebub. The Lord shows the foolishness of it saying, "How can Satan cast out Satan?" Mark 3:23 and, "if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand". Mark 3:34.

Ques. Can that exist now?

J.T. Yes, it has existed all along from the time clerisy came in, which always militated against the recognition of divine principles. Opposition to the work of the Spirit is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

T.M.G. That is what clerisy is.

J.M. The thing is for us to get back to first principles.

J.T. Then you come to the circle of the brethren. The Lord says, "Who is my mother or my brethren?" Mark 3:33.

And, looking around in a circuit at those who were sitting around Him, He says, "Behold my mother and my brethren: for whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and sister and mother". Mark 3:34,35. Here the crowd sitting around Him are regarded as His brethren. It is well also to note what is said of the crowd in verse 20; they prevented the Lord and His disciples from eating. It shows what a crowd may do. In verse 20 we read, "again a crowd comes together, so that they cannot even eat bread". Mark 3:20.

E.M. What is in your mind in connection with that?

J.T. People may be very favourable to you, and show you all sorts of kindness, and yet they may really hamper you. You cannot get anything for yourself.

A.A. In chapter 2 they prevented the paralytic from getting into the house.

J.T. Yes, that is the same thing.

W.K. So that a crowd may hinder you.

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BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD (4)

Mark 6:30 - 56

J.T. It will be observed that in this chapter the apostles had their first trial in service. In the early part of the chapter, verse 7, the Lord "calls the twelve to him and he began to send them out two and two, and gave to them power over the unclean spirits". Mark 6:7. The chapter furnishes us with the result of their first trial in service on their own account. On their return they are occupied with what they had been doing. They are occupied with what they had been doing and teaching. So the Lord's instruction to them in this chapter is to bring them back to Himself that they may continue aright, and not be occupied with their doings and teaching. It may be helpful to see that point in this chapter before we get what leads up to this in chapters 4 and 5. These have reference to what we have in this chapter to prepare the disciples for their service.

W.H. You said that the result of their going forth was that they got occupied with what they had done.

J.T. They told Him "all things, both what they had done and what they had taught". Mark 6:30.

W.H. And the Lord regulates them in regard to Himself.

J.T. There is much made of Him at the end of the chapter. In service we are apt to think that we are doing something, but we have to be brought back to see that it is really His work. I refer to this in chapter 6 as giving the position which chapters 4 and 5 lead up to. In chapter 3 you have the circle, the circle of the brethren; then in chapter 4 the parable of the sower. After the parables you see the Lord where Satan is active in the sea. At the

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end of chapter 4 there is a remarkable test as to how they regard the Lord Jesus. "On that day when evening was come, he says to them, Let us go over to the other side; and having sent away the crowd, they take him with them as he was, in the ship. But other ships also were with him, and there comes a violent gust of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it already filled; and he was in the stern sleeping". Mark 4:37,38.

J.M. What does that convey to you?

J.T. It looks as if they had come to see that they did not need to add to the Lord or alter Him in any way. "They took him as he was". Mark 4:36. It looks as if they were coming to see that things were as they desired. We are apt to wish things to be different from what they really are, and to think that if they were a bit different they would be better; "they took him even as he was". Mark 4:36. It is not that He goes. They take Him. They send away the crowd, too; verse 36. They are beginning now to do things rightly, and are getting a right judgment about things.

J.M. Do you think that was the result of the teaching in chapter 4?

J.T. Yes. Chapter 4 gives great instruction and support for faith. There is a malady among the Lord's people, from which they suffer very much. They wish things to be different from what the Lord appoints. We would all wish things to be different sometimes. Why do we wish to have things different from what God has appointed? Because naturally man would like something different from Christ, from what He was when here. So in Isaiah 53 we read, that they despised Him because He was not what they expected. To their eyes there was no beauty, no lordliness in Him. It is a mark of progress in your soul when you come to find satisfaction in what God has appointed, and when you do not look for something different from that.

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R.L. Would it give you the thought of His being despised and rejected by others?

J.T. There was nothing in Christ to commend Him to the natural eye. Isaiah 53:2 shows that there was "no lordliness in him ... no beauty that we should desire him". There was the absence of that which would commend Him to the natural mind.

J.M. It is just the opposite of the natural man.

J.T. So chapter 4 shows that the apostles were coming to see things as they really were. They sent away the crowd, and took Him just "as he was". It shows they were coming to a spiritual judgment of things. All the great men of the world depend upon the crowd. If they do not have followers their projects come to nothing, but here the disciples part with the followers. The Lord proposes that they should go to the other side of the sea.

S.L. Would you say that they were beginning to realise that He was the Son of God?

J.T. They were gradually coming to it. The whole instruction here is leading up to that. In chapter 8 He feeds the four thousand, and He puts the question formally to them as to who He was. There is a distinct mark of progress. In chapter 6:45, He dismisses the crowd and compels them to go to the other side, but in this chapter 4 there is no compulsion necessary nor has He to send the crowd away. They do it.

S.M. There could not be any appreciation of the Son of God without spiritual perception.

J.T. It shows that they were coming to that. They had received the commission in chapter 3, and there is a course of instruction in chapter 4, and then this is said, "having sent away the crowd, they take him with them as he was, in the ship", Mark 4:36.

J.M. That would involve that there should be in us what is spiritual in order to take Him.

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J.T. Yes, to take Him as He was. We like to change things, to have things altered a little. It is not that we wish to discard Christ altogether, but we want to have things a little different.

J.McF. What is the thought of the ship? It is very much alluded to in this gospel.

J.T. It is for the water. The point is, going to "the other side", it means going through death.

R.L. Would you say the other side is resurrection?

J.T. It is, in the spiritual application of it. The other side comes when we have finished a course of instruction; after we have had a certain experience, then He proposes that we should go to "the other side", for we are apt to live on the experience we have gained. There is a new chapter when we have come to the other side. In going to the other side we meet with opposition. Movement towards the other side is what Satan opposes.

Rem. It is the truth taking shape subjectively in our souls.

J.T. It is movement from a given position towards another position. Having made progress, you advance towards another position.

R.L. You were saying there is opposition on the way to the other side.

J.T. Yes, Satan cannot touch the other side, but he opposes while you are on the way to it. The fact, however, is that his opposition only brings out what the Lord can be to you. It is on going over that you realise the resources you have in Christ.

J.McF. He was in the stern of the ship asleep. How would that come in?

J.T. Well, it is a testimony to His greatness that He was so truly superior to it all. It is really in going to the other side that you consolidate the ground acquired. It is not sufficient to acquire new territory, you have to consolidate it. The opposition brings out what grace there is in us, so that you are consolidated

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in the new territory, whereas on the other side you begin over again. Going over to "the other side" is prominent in this gospel.

S.M. We do not like the opposition.

J.T. If you do not go to the other side you lose what you have got. That is a principle in our experience. You are brought to an end of your previous experience. What are you going to have now? What effect has the lesson had on you? It is on going through death in principle that the lesson is confirmed to you. After you get light and ministry from Christ you will always find that you are tested; things may seem to be hopeless, and you begin to murmur. The Lord seems to be asleep. There is nothing tests you more in trouble than the thought that the Lord does not seem to be helping you. But you must have faith; if you just have a little patience in the storm all that you have previously acquired will be consolidated, and you will get a new start, a new view of Christ. They say, "Dost thou not care that we are perishing". Mark 4:38. That shows the selfishness of our human hearts.

W.H. We suppose the Lord is not paying attention to us.

J.T. Sometimes it is assumed that nothing will happen to one of the Lord's people; he is prayed for, and so on. How do you know that? You must not be too sure. Very dreadful things are allowed at times to happen to the Lord's people. One remarkable thing about Paul is that he was allowed to he shipwrecked. It is important to have the fear of God in regard to the things that all men are subject to. What they are subject to we are subject to. God's ways are past finding out. Paul says, "I believe God". Acts 27:25. He had no doubt as to the ultimate issue, still he had to go through it.

W.A.W. Would you say that the Lord in the storm removed the trouble?

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J.T. He will remove it after you have learned the lesson. You are to be learning while He is sleeping. He removes the trouble after you have learned the lesson. It is very trying when the Lord does not seem to raise a hand to help you. You wonder why it is that there is no hand stretched out to help you.

Rem. That is like John 11.

J.T. Yes, the Lord remained away that this terrible thing, death, might happen. The resurrection day also was allowed to pass; Lazarus was four days dead. They were tested to the very core, but He did it purposely.

J.P.W. Would the Lord allow us to be in such circumstances as that?

J.T. It shows that you are missing the lesson if you are disturbed.

W.A.W. It is a great difficulty to saints.

J.T. Well, it is while He sleeps that you learn. When He wakes up your trial is over, for when He wakes up He is sure to act. In the storm they think only of themselves.

W.H. Sometimes we think He pays no attention because there is something wrong in us.

J.T. Well, as a rule there is something wrong. If there were not something wrong He would not permit the storm to arise. The storm is allowed to arise in order to bring out what was wrong.

W.A.W. Is it the Lord's way that His people should be lifted above the things of the present time?

J.T. Well, if we were above them He would not bring them on us. They are for a purpose, as Habakkuk says, "thou hast established them for correction". Habakkuk 1:12. Now, the man that said that went on to say, "he maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon my high places". Habakkuk 3:19. When we have learned by the discipline we are fit for resurrection ground and to play upon "stringed instruments", Habakkuk 3:19. The discipline is for correction, and so here they are

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prepared for resurrection ground after the Lord had brought out the natural selfishness of their hearts.

R.L. He did not need the storm. The storm did not affect Him.

Rem. Paul writes in Romans 8:37, "in all these things we are more than conquerors".

J.T. He refers to the Christian's triumphant path. In all those things they were conquerors through Him that loved them.

E.M. It is in moving to "the other side" that these things are found out. If people remain on this side they do not find them out.

J.T. Yes, we are liable to rest on this side, and do not get on any further.

R.L. What about the "other ships"? There is no record of any storm for them. It does not say that the storm beat into them.

J.T. It beats into the ship in which those are who take the Lord as He is.

W.K. Would you say that the lesson to be learned is the question they ask in the last verse of chapter 4, "What manner of man is this?" Mark 4:41.

J.T. The issue is that there is an increased appreciation of the Person.

W.K. Yes, of His superiority and ability.

R.L. There was a great lack of faith on their part.

J.T. He says, "How is it that ye have no faith?" Mark 4:40. They had no faith. The Lord gives you the sense after trial that "the days of thy mourning shall be ended". Isaiah 60:20. You get a sense of that after trial. It may take a considerable time till you come to it historically, but after the storm you get a sense of it. "The days of thy mourning shall be ended". That comes in time, and after it is over you wonder why it upset you so much, but the Lord intended you to feel it.

R.L. Hezekiah realized that after his illness.

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W.A.W. Some of us know a great deal of trial, and it helps us to see that He order these things to teach us what He is.

J.T. Yes, and not only that, but who He is. You get an increased knowledge of Him. "Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Mark 4:41.

W.A.W. Sorrows bind us to Him and to each other far more closely than joys.

J.T. It is a great thing when you get a sense in your soul that the days of your mourning are ended. We have all had some experience of that. Hezekiah said, "By these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit". Isaiah 38:16. I have often had comfort from the word to Smyrna, "Ye shall have tribulation ten days". Revelation 2:10. There is a limit to the tribulation. In the end you acquire an increased apprehension of Christ.

J.P.W. Is that when you get to the other side?

J.T. Yes, you get to the other side in the experience of your soul. One thought in the "other side" is that it is different from this side. You move into a new set of circumstances.

R.L. The defect was lack of faith in Him, they failed to apprehend who He was.

J.T. In chapter 5 you come again to the power of Satan in a man. In chapter 1 the man with an unclean spirit is in the synagogue; but here it is man as such. It is not man religiously now, it is man irreligiously. He had broken all fetters; he had thrown religion overboard.

J.McF. It is the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.

J.T. Yes; that is what it is, and the Lord's power in meeting that so that you have here the true effect of the gospel in the man sitting, and clothed, and sensible.

J.McF. It is like what you get in Ephesians 2:1,2?

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"And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience".

J.T. Man has cast off all restraint.

W.K. No form of control is of any value whatever.

R.L. In that way the man was in a fit condition for the Lord to commence His work upon.

W.K. Is it not really what is going on today in the efforts to try and control man without bringing in the power of God?

J.T. The country, which at one time received light from God, is now showing itself to be quite unrestrained. Man after two thousand years of grace is thus exposed. Naturally he is utterly unmendable or untameable.

W.K. I hope that we are all aware of that, that you cannot make this man live for God. Whatever power and authority there may be in the world will not affect the natural man; he cannot be restrained or controlled in that way. You must bring in God as set forth in Christ.

J.T. Do you not think the culmination of those efforts will bring forth the man of sin, who casts off God, and sets up himself.

W.K. They are on the line of the man of sin.

J.T. The scriptural definition of sin is, that it is lawlessness. It is not subject to any law, it is marked by absence of restraint. "Sin is lawlessness". 1 John 3:4.

W.K. How solemn a thing it is for a Christian to do his own will.

E.M. You said this was all education for the disciples.

J.T. That is the way we ought to take it up. What man is naturally is fully exposed, so that it is entirely a question of God's power. Then, following upon this, we have the healing of the woman with

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the issue of blood, and the raising of the daughter of Jairus. In other words, there is the cure fur sin in the flesh; the woman with the issue of blood was healed and the daughter of Jairus was raised. Chapter 5 is a picture of the efficiency of the gospel. Man is no longer unrestrainable. He is sitting, clothed, and sensible. A sensible man is a man whom you can speak to, a man capable of listening to divine things. He has light from God; he is capable of being instructed, but he may not yet know the secret of deliverance from sin within him. For that trouble you not only need the work of Christ, but virtue coming out of Christ.

Ques. What is the significance of the issue of blood?

J.T. It is the secret thing in the life. It involves the truth of Romans 7. It is the stage reached in which the believer realises there is no remedy; what he requires is virtue coming out of Christ. She says, If I shall touch but His clothes I shall be healed.

W.H. The only thing that is needed is virtue coining out of Christ.

J.T. We need to come into touch with Christ. In the case of the man who dwelt among the tombs, the Lord casts out the demon with His word. It is the power going out that effects a man like that, but as regards the state of the flesh, sin in the flesh, one has to come into touch with Christ. It is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets you free from all that.

E.H. The woman seemed to have lost confidence in herself and in all others. She had confidence alone in the touch of Christ.

J.T. Yes, she had sufficient light. She is a type of a converted person. In figure she is a continuation of the man who was sitting at the feet of Jesus.

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S.C. She had found out by experience what our brother refers to.

E.H. She knew from what she was delivered.

J.T. She went further than that. The answer to "who shall deliver me?" Romans 7:24 is thanksgiving. I do not believe deliverance comes except in thanksgiving. That is the answer.

E.H. Is that because Paul saw the need of deliverance?

J.T. He does not wait for anyone to answer. He gives the answer himself. The answer is in thanksgiving.

E.H. Therefore, he who could give thanksgiving was another person.

J.T. It comes about in that way. What she needs then is that she is to tell all the truth. The difficulty comes from not telling all the truth. The popular evangelist does not help that difficulty. It is what Christians suffer from. To be a faithful servant of Christ you must have the whole truth told out. The man sitting, and clothed, and sensible has not come to all the truth yet. It says of her, "the woman, trembling and frightened, knowing what had taken place in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth". Mark 5:33. She knew what had taken place in her. How many know that? Many know what has taken place at the cross, and that is a wonderful thing indeed, but she knew what had to take place in her.

W.A.W. There can be no liberty until we tell all the truth.

J.M. It is not simply that the thing should be preached, but that souls should come to it. Would you say you get "all the truth" in Romans 7 and 8?

J.T. It is all the truth. It is not only the bad that is in you, but the good that has come to you. Do not be afraid to speak of the good. Not simply the disease, but that the disease was cured. The whole

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of Romans 8 has regard to what has taken place in us.

W.A.W. It is a kind of mock modesty not to speak of that.

E.H. The woman did not know she was a daughter till that moment.

J.T. The Lord uses terms of relationship implying affections. It is often overlooked that in Christ's ministry there is a parental voice. There is a parental voice in the gospels, so that when the Lord deals with a soul He lays the basis for relationship. For Christian happiness it is essential that the believer should know what has taken place in him, and he should not be silent about it either. The woman gets the blessing publicly. She would have it private, but the Lord would have it to be public. The actual state must be confessed, and what He has done in you must be made known. As regards raising the daughter of Jairus, that is done privately. Household affairs are all private. He takes Peter and James and John, and puts the people all out. "And entering in he says to them, Why do ye make a tumult and weep? The child has not died, But sleeps ... But he, having put them all out, takes with him the father of the child and the mother, and those that were with him [Peter and James and John] and enters in where the child was lying". Mark 5:39,40. It is a household affair, and so things are private. The child is raised up, "and he desired that something should be given her to eat". Mark 5:43. It is what you give them that your children eat. He did not provide the food. The parents had to do it. If your daughter were raised up like this, you would scarcely allow her to read novels. Would you? "He desired that something should be given her to eat". Mark 5:43. That was the parents' responsibility. What is it that your child gets? What kind of food will support the constitution of one who has been raised from the

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dead? Nothing that this world can provide will do.

J.M. As you were saying this morning, all that is in the world is opposed to the Father, so that you could not make a selection from the world.

J.T. I am afraid we do make selections from the world. We think there are some things in it of use to us, but whatever is in the world is not of the Father. He spoke of "the house". Here is another house, one set up on the principle of resurrection. We shall, however, see more of this in chapter 7.

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BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD (5)

Mark 7:31 - 37; Mark 8:22 - 38

J.T. If we could see, that the instruction here is to lead up to the revelation of the Lord according to what He is personally, it would be a help to us; the transfiguration is the consummation of all that. One thing to point out in regard of the gospels, is, that they suggest a paternal influence in Christ, involving the thought that a generation was being formed. The expressions, "son", "daughter" and "child" denote that. Whilst the Lord is not formally regarded as Father, yet there was in Him, both in His teaching and character, a parental influence bringing about a generation of a special kind.

E.M. He said, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father". John 14:9.

J.T. Yes; but that would be more representative; you would not there lose sight of the Father as being God; 1 Corinthians 8:6. Christ's works were the Father's works, indeed, as He said. I think we have to distinguish between the Father in what may be regarded as relationship and character. The Father's relationship to Him was disclosed at His baptism, but it was in the ministry of Christ that the character of the Father came out. Thus, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father". John 14:9.

E.M. I quoted that statement of the Lord's, because I want to follow your thought in regard to the parental idea.

J.T. Well, it is what the Lord is in virtue of His moral supremacy and His influence. In the Old Testament there are those who are regarded prophetically as His house.

J.P.W. Is it additional to their instruction as servants?

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J.T. Yes, it is. I do not say it is distinctive of Mark's gospel, for it is generally in the gospels; it brought about a generation after its kind.

J.M. The manner of the Lord's preaching to souls would produce responsive affection.

J.T. Yes. It is said in Proverbs, "my delights were with the sons of men". Proverbs 8:31. It does not say there "the sons of God": we have to distinguish, I think. It reads, "my delights were with the sons of men".

W.H. Would the idea be in Psalm 45:16, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children"?

J.T. Well, yes; only there it is the maternal side; Israel's side. Her children shall give her distinction instead of the fathers. Israel always prided herself on the fathers. Christ distinguishes us more than any earthly parent we may have.

T.M. It would not refer to sonship in relation to the Father, but to our being in Christ's place here.

J.T. Yes, and having derived from the MAN. The sons of God are regarded in that light as having the divine nature, and as answering to God; but then the idea of the sons of men is different. I do not say that the thought does not go on to heaven, but it is certainly connected with the earth in Scripture, the earth shall be given to the children of men. "My delights were with the sons of men". Proverbs 8:31.

W.H. Is the generation to be produced in order to take the place of Christ here in His absence?

J.T. Yes; wisdom's design is men, but it is to be men in that peculiar relationship; that is, as a son with a father. It is entirely different from a servant with his master. A son with a father reciprocates affection; and that is what wisdom has in mind. So that if there is any pleasure in men, as in Luke's gospel, it is that there is affection between them. We often read that passage in Luke 2 carelessly; it is not good pleasure in man it is good pleasure in men; it is the race that is in view.

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E.M. Man would be found here in the pathway of God's will.

J.T. Yes, quite so. The Lord looked on the young man in Mark 10, and He loved him; that is, as God's creature; but then if you put a number of those young men together, and suppose they are born again and that they love God, and love Christ, and love one another, there you get wisdom's idea. It is not simply that wisdom loves the creature, but it loves the creature that is seen in the relationship of sons. I thought it would be interesting to call attention to that, especially as it comes out in these scriptures. In chapter 5 the Lord addresses the woman who is healed as "daughter". Mark 5:34.

J.B. Do you connect that with the original thoughts of God?

J.T. Well, yes; you get it in Proverbs 8.

J.B. Apart from the thought of the assembly?

J.T. Oh; it is distinct from the assembly; it is a thought that applies to the millennial world; "the habitable world", Hebrews 2:5, as well as to ourselves. It is a very important truth to notice, because it brings about the thought of spiritual affection; and it is that the Spirit delights in. The book of Proverbs sets before us what cannot be improved upon; and whilst we know we can speak of Wisdom as Christ, yet it is better to let the Scripture speak for itself. It is Wisdom that speaks; and if Wisdom approves of a thing you cannot improve upon it.

I think the demoniac in Mark 5 is typical of man in his natural state as casting off all restraint; he is living among the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. Well, the kingdom of God meets that; he is affected by the word of Christ, and so the man is seen sitting, and clothed, and sensible. The kingdom has been effective, but we need more than the kingdom. So the woman who was healed in the same chapter tells out "all the truth". Mark 5:33. That is to say, the

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inward hidden state that causes all the sorrow is confessed after our sins are forgiven. The Lord compels the woman publicly to tell out all the truth.

T.M.G. That is Romans 7.

J.T. Yes; it is not simply that virtue goes out of the Lord and heals her. She would have been content to have gone home and to tell nothing about it; but after you are healed the Lord would have all the truth out. And then He says, "Daughter, thy faith has healed thee; go in peace". Mark 5:34. The next instance in that chapter is Jairus' daughter who was raised up, which would answer pretty much to Colossians in its application to Paul's doctrine.

Rem. Risen with Christ?

J.T. Yes, risen with Christ. Not only is the fever dismissed, as in chapter 1, and the paralytic healed and set up in his house, but now in chapter 5 there is a risen person in the house. If you apply that to the house of God you see the effect. In that way chapter 6 introduces the service of the apostles. They are formally sent out in that chapter, and what may be noticed is that the Lord is pleased in His wisdom to send out His servants in twos; "he began to send them out two and two". Mark 6:7.

W.H. What is the thought in that?

J.T. I think it brings out wisdom. In all the Lord does He acts wisely; and we know that two are better than one as a principle; we also know that two is adequate testimony. It is interesting to see that Paul was the only one, so far as we know, who acted upon it. There is nothing said about the twelve going two and two in the Acts, The Spirit said, however, in Acts 13:2, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them". But on his second journey it was Paul's proposal that two of them should go. We know that it was Silas who accompanied Paul the second time.

T.M.G. What is the point for us there?

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J.T. Of course we have come to a broken up state of things, but there can be no doubt that two are better than one. If two can be of one mind in the testimony it is a great power. A threefold cord is not quickly broken; if you get three you have a stronger cord; but two is a great power.

J.McF. They can support each other.

J.T. Yes; there is sympathy and support. I believe, that in our meetings, as a practical thing, if you can get two or three brothers of one accord, things are carried. "If two of you shall agree". Matthew 18:19. One would, however, be afraid of cliques.

J.M. That is a very important thing, if it is with the Lord's approval. Any amount of agreement apart from the Lord would be of very little use.

J.T. Yes, and Paul's letter to Timothy shows what great sympathy he had with that young man; he loved him with a parent's love. It seems as if Timothy had been given specially to him; there was no one to him like Timothy; he does not speak of Silas in the same way.

E.M. It was in Timothy he saw the continuation of faithful men.

J.T. He was a brother born for adversity; his mother was a Jewish believing woman; and his grandmother had faith.

J.M. What is the thought in what we have read?

J.T. Well I thought we might just look at chapter 6 leading up to this. In the portion commencing with verse 30, the disciples returned from their labours in which they had been eminently successful, and it is said that they related to Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile. For those coming and those going were many, and they had not leisure even to eat". Mark 6:31. That is to say, however successful one's service may be, the Lord would

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divert you from it to rest and eat. Occupation in service, and especially if it is successful, is apt to produce barrenness in one's soul. So there is further instruction there; the Lord does not say a single word as to their success; they had said enough about it. He thought of their souls, He watched for their souls. Very often the saints have no idea that the servant's soul needs to be helped.

W.H.M. Instead of criticised!

J.T. Well, of course, criticism does not hurt him, but a servant's soul is not like an inexhaustible spring that may be pumped all the time. It is said of the saints generally, that he that is born of God "keeps himself" 1 John 5:18; but it is said of the servant, the man of God, that he should "take heed" to himself 1 Timothy 4:16; if he does not he will damage not only himself, but others. Here the Lord is the Overseer of the servants as well as of the saints; and He is taking good care that they shall get rest and something to eat. Now, in chapter 5 He enjoined that the little girl who had been raised up from the dead should be given something to eat. He did not give her something to eat; He enjoins that the parents should do so. If you have children you have to look after them and give them something to eat, and see that they get right food, too. The Lord here in chapter 6 31, takes them aside in order that they should have something for themselves.

J.M. The Lord's interest in them is seen right through this gospel; when He chose the twelve it was that they might be with Him; then He sends them forth to preach; then He takes them aside.

J.T. "He restoreth (or reviveth) my soul", Psalm 23:3. That was not because it had gone astray. That is great comfort for the ministers. Your soul needs to be kept up for the service, or the service will be too much for you. He revives, or refreshes you.

Rem. You are restored.

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J.T. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul". Psalm 23:2,3. That is what you get for yourself; then you can come out and help to minister to others. You get watered in your own soul. In Exodus 15 there were seventy palm trees and twelve wells of water, which were there at Elim for the whole company. That would be the shelter andrefreshment of ministry, but in the end of the wilderness journey Israel brings water and pours it out of their buckets; they had it themselves; that is the effect of ministry.

J.P.W. He recompenses you.

J.T. And refits you, so that you can resume the work more effectively.

J.McR. He replenishes my soul.

J.T. Then a servant may say, Well, if I do not keep at it the saints will starve, and the people will not be converted, and nothing will be accomplished. But what we see here is that the Lord takes them aside into the desert after all their report of what they had done. Then it says after that, "that he had compassion on the multitude" Mark 6:34; showing that He knew the need of the people; see verse 34. The servant in that way may be quite assured that in looking after himself the saints will not suffer, the Lord will look after them. He will take care of them.

J.M. If the servant does not see to his own soul's need, the tendency with him will be to give them the same thing over and over again.

J.T. I am sure that is true. It is very hard to keep from repeating good things, but it is most deplorable to repeat a sermon. I do not think anyone would do it habitually who knew this chapter.

So the Lord proceeds with the feeding of the multitude. He began to teach them many things. And when it was already late in the day, his disciples coming unto him say, "This place is a desert; send

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them away that they may go into the country round about and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat". Mark 6:36. That was a very poor thing to say. If they had been in the secret of the lesson of retirement with Christ they would have known that the Lord could feed any number. But the effect of this further instruction is to lead our souls into the abundance of what is in Christ, so that a liberal spirit would mark us. "Freely ye have received, freely give". Matthew 10:8.

E.M. He says, "How many loaves have ye?" Mark 6:38.

J.T. Yes; "Go and see". Mark 6:38. It was for them to go and find out now what they had. But a great testimony comes out here incidentally, the fulfilment of a great prophecy as to Christ. "I will satisfy her poor with bread", Psalm 132:15.

J.M. I suppose, that is the intention of the instruction here: that we might know the sufficiency that is in Christ for all.

J.T. How much greater it is to impress the crowd with the greatness of what is in God than to impress them with your ability as a servant; if they were to pursue man's line it would be to impress people with the greatness of their achievements; whereas it should be to impress them with the greatness of God. Earlier in this gospel, in chapter 4:36, the crowd is sent away, they are dismissed; but here they are taken account of, being taught, and set down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties, and fed; they are really, you might say, brought into fellowship. The greatness of what God is comes out, and how He could meet the need of the crowd! It is practically what God can do for the world. The world is now divided up into nations governmentally; but we are looking for the time when the Lord Jesus will come when He will teach the nations, and feed the nations, and regulate the nations; that is what He will do.

J.M. He is doing that now with His saints; He

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is setting them down in companies all over the country, and feeding them.

J.T. I have often thought of this feature of Paul's manner in forming assemblies. The house of God is constituted in that way, in local companies; and the disciples are of those who give them to eat; because it was what they gave them that was multiplied.

T.M.G. They may have had little, but it was a very great deal in the end.

J.T. The effect of this instruction is to lead the disciples to recognise the greatness of Christ and at the end of the chapter we find that they are thinking of Him, and bringing people to Him.

R.L. God meets every true exercise and one cannot help being exercised when one sees the state of things today; it is, as you say, a much wider scope than the assembly.

J.T. O, yes it is; it is more the world at large coming under the administration of the twelve. I think it suggests what will be brought about in the millennium. And in that way it impresses the servants as to the resources that are in Christ.

J.M. And it has a present application, that wherever the Lord's people are together there should be that which would benefit men according to God; there should be light and refreshment; the light of Christ; so that when souls would come into the room they would find something they never had before.

J.T. It is a great thing that those who serve should make what God is, the point in what they say. If the disciples had had their way it would have been what they were doing, as at Corinth, they were taking account of this servant and that servant. The Lord reminds us that He could do without all the servants. I think, chapter 7 teaches us how to speak aright because that is really the point. Of course there are other things in it, and chapter 8 teaches us how to see aright.

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J.M. Will you kindly open that up a little for us -- How to speak aright?

J.T. Well, it is that there is such a wonderful Person come on the scene; One who can do these things; One who can feed the multitude, and take care of human necessities; it is of all moment that there should be one to speak of Him.

J.M. Why do you think speaking comes before seeing?

J.T. I do not know. Paul said, "According to what is written I have believed, therefore have I spoken", 2 Corinthians 4:13, but then he goes on to say later in that chapter, "we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen, for the things that are seen are for a time, but those that are not seen eternal". 2 Corinthians 4:18. Seeing, after all, is the greatest, because the horizon is so extended for Christians; our horizon is eternal.

E.M. The speaking is more connected with testimony?

J.T. Yes, it is testimony.

W.H.M. You pass over the hearing? The one who speaks aright is the one who hears aright.

J.T. Yes; further on "they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech". Mark 7:32. I was thinking of that and what the Spirit specially notes there. As you say, in order to speak right you must hear right.

W.H.M. It was the Lord's own voice he heard.

J.M. It is remarkable again here that it is noted, "he took him aside from the multitude". Mark 7:33.

J.T. Yes, you see it in both instances. In this chapter the Lord took him aside from the crowd, and in the next chapter He took the man outside the village before He did anything to him.

J.M. In order to impress anyone about God, you need to be with God, apart from the crowd.

J.T. You cannot always reckon on sympathy

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from a crowd. What often marks a crowd is curiosity; they are sightseers, they want to hear and see what transpires; therefore in the raising of the little maid in chapter 5 the Lord put them everyone out except the father and the mother of the damsel, and Peter, James and John. You can get on better in a meeting where there is sympathy than where there is none. In fact, we know that the Lord could not do many mighty works amongst His own relatives because of their unbelief. He might have expected support from His own relatives, but He did not get it. So you would not think of presenting to the crowd the mysteries of God, but you can speak of them inside, where there is sympathy.

E.M. "He does all things well!" Mark 7:37.

J.T. Yes, that comes in here; the only place you find it. It is really the key of Mark's gospel.

T.M.G. He is the perfect Servant.

J.T. In Mark it is not only what He did, but how He did it. If another evangelist were recording this, he might only say, He unloosed the man's tongue, without saying where, or how, He did it; but here you have both.

J.M. Yes, and it says of the healed man, "he spake plain" Mark 7:35.

J.T. "And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake right" Mark 7:35. You see the point was that the man should speak right, "If any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God", 1 Peter 4:11. It is not a question of oratory, it is a question of communicating spiritual things by spiritual means.

J.McF. What is the difference between the crowd and the town?

J.T. Well, I think the town is the more dangerous; in any case, the crowd after all are cared for by the Lord. But a village is a miniature town, and a town is a miniature city; and the idea of a city is a centre

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for evil. So the Lord led the man outside the town. Young people, as a rule, like to see the town, forgetting that it is there that evil is centred. You would not like your children to see the mass of corruption in a city; you want to keep them away from that. If the Lord opened the man's eyes He would open them on creation, so to speak. A city denotes man s works. Cain went out of the presence of the Lord and builded a city: it is man's works, and man's glory; man's name is called upon it. The operation is most interesting. There is not time, however, to go into it, but it just bears out all that we have been speaking of as to how He does things.

T.M.G. He took him by the hand and led him out of the town, spat on his eyes, and put His hands upon him.

J.T. Quite a number of things were done. And then the first question the Lord puts to him is, Whether he saw anything? It is a good thing to ask a convert as to what he sees. The Lord asked this man if he beheld anything. One wonders what people would say if they really told the truth when asked that question; what they have seen since they haw been converted. Most of them would probably say that they have seen men. They have not seen beyond the brethren, and they are very big in their eyes; "as trees walking". Mark 8:24. That will do them harm.

J.B. In both cases the Lord spat.

J.T. It refers to His humanity. All this is in connection with His humanity.

T.M.G. Like John 9.

J.P.W. What answers to the second touch?

J.T. The second touch is the Spirit. "He put his hands again upon his eyes". Mark 8:25. Notice the words, "again" and "hands"; both His hands, too. It is not a question of the Lord's power; it is committal. One hand denotes His power, His right hand; two

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hands denote that He commits Himself; that indicates the gift of the Spirit, as I understand this second blessing. He lays His two hands upon him; and then "he saw all things clearly". Mark 8:25. After the Spirit is received all things are seen aright, and not till then. It is said that he "saw all things clearly" -- all things; not simply all men, but everything. A spiritual man judges all things.

E.M. He sent him to his house, telling him not to enter into the village, nor tell it to anyone in the village.

J.T. That is another remarkable touch. A true evangelist not only sees that a person is converted, but he is exercised that such a one should get the Spirit, and he is exercised as to where the man is going. The Lord told him not to go back to the village; he must not go in the way of temptation. A Christian was never made for the village. The idea of a Christian is that he is a stranger and a pilgrim. God says, as it were, now you have given up the world's cities, now I will make a city for you. So faith waits for that.

J.P.W. And you think if the man had gone back to the city he would have lost the sense of the touch?

J.T. I think he would. Many a young Christian has been damaged by the city. I mean the spirit of the thing.

J.P.W. Does the Spirit come in in connection with Romans 8?

J.T. Yes; one of the most important points in Romans 8 is that; it is figuratively Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah. Mount Nebo looks into Canaan. You see everything from there; you take a retrospective view of your own course, and you see that God has been with you in it; and then you look into the land, and you see all that you have there. So the second touch gives you a vision; it gives

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you a view; you review the wilderness and get a view into the land; you look into Ephesians from Romans. But then the great end of all that is, now that you have eyes, that the Lord says, What do you think of ME? You have seen men, what now about ME? It is not men now; it is ONE MAN. "But ye who do ye say that I am", Mark 8:29.

E.M. Was that a test of their affections?

J.T. I think it was a test as to what they had learnt from all the previous instruction He had given them, and what they had seen in Him. We have nothing here as to the Father's revelation; that is Matthew. It is a question here of the Lord's instruction that had preceded. Peter does not say here; "Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God". Matthew 16:16. Here it is simply as He is presented in the light of this gospel, The Anointed One for service. "Thou art the Christ". Mark 8:29.

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BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD (6)

Mark 9

J.T. There is a stage reached in our souls in which we need confirmation, and I think there are many believers who are not really confirmed.

T.M.G. What do you mean by that?

J.T. They are not confirmed in regard to the things they have been taught; things they have endorsed, and are quite orthodox about. There is a good deal that is right in principle in confirmation, as taught in a certain religious body. The mount of transfiguration is confirmation. I do not say that is all that is in it, surely not, but speaking from the side of our experience, there is that in it.

W.K. Confirmation of what?

J.T. Confirmation of things they had been hearing from the Lord, as contained in the previous chapters; the confession Peter made in chapter 8. The confession he made was that Jesus was the Christ, and it was amply confirmed to Him on the mount. What was there was not simply faith. He says, we "were eye-witnesses of his majesty". 2 Peter 1:16. That is how Peter refers to it. "We have not made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly imagined fables, but having been eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, such a voice being uttered to him by the excellent glory; This is my beloved Son in whom I have found my delight", 2 Peter 1:16, 17.

J.M. Would you say it was also in view of the testimony which they were to render?

J.T. It was that they might be fully confirmed as to that.

W.K. Peter says "the prophetic word made surer". 2 Peter 1:19.

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J.P.W. Is it the glory of the Person of the Lord that is contemplated in our souls?

J.T. I think so. I do not think any Christian is confirmed unless he enters the holiest, though he may receive much in the way of teaching. The confirmation is in entering the holiest, which, I think, answers to this. This was special of course. The apostle Paul was confirmed in the third heaven. All that precedes leads up to this. They had committed themselves. It was not Peter only that made the confession "Thou art the Christ". Mark 8:29. The Lord says, "whom say ye that I am?" Mark 8:29. No one contradicted Peter. If a thing is said and you hold your peace you commit yourself to it. The rest were committed to what Peter said. Sometimes in a meeting we may sit silent, but that is committing yourself to what is said. If a wrong thing is said you should not remain silent about it. So all the twelve were committed to the confession that Jesus was the Christ. The instruction which followed showed the seriousness of such a confession. So when Peter attempted to rebuke the Lord, the Lord rebuked him, and He turned round to the disciples so that they should get the benefit of the rebuke. In a way the confession was theirs, and the rebuke was for their good as well as Peter's.

W.K. Peter was spokesman on their behalf.

J.T. Peter represents what we are after the flesh, and thank God he also represents what we are after the Spirit. He represents in his confession what we are after the Spirit, and in the rebuke which he administers to the Lord he represents what we are after the flesh. The flesh would encourage us to take our ease, and have some compassion on ourselves. Peter says, "God be favourable to thee, Lord, this shall in no wise be unto thee". Matthew 16:22. But He [Jesus] turning round and seeing His disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, "Get away behind me Satan, for thy mind

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is not on the things that are of God, but on the things that are of men", Mark 8:33. It is a very serious thing to be in fellowship. You cannot escape from the seriousness of it. You may say, I am not responsible for anything that is said and done. You are. You have to take the whole thing as it is, not what you like only. You get the assets and the liabilities in the fellowship, and if you look into it you will see that the assets exceed the liabilities, otherwise you could not get on at all; you would get into bankruptcy.

W.K. You have both the benefits and the disadvantages.

J.T. Yes. I believe most of us would admit that it is a paying concern. Only those who are unexercised speak otherwise. They do not know the value of the coin in which the dividends are paid. We want to know what spiritual things are; chapter 10:29 shows what you get. "There is no one who has left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, that shall not receive an hundred-fold now in this time; houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the coming age life eternal". Mark 10:29,30.

Rem. Those are the dividends.

J.T. Persecutions are assets. Like a ship at sea, you cannot go on without ballast. Ballast is an important asset. It is one of those assets that the apostle gloried in. "We also boast in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works endurance, and endurance, experience and experience, hope", Romans 5:3. We cannot escape from any of the responsibilities of the fellowship, but then we get the benefit from the assets.

J.P.W. Does it come in in connection with the joys and sorrows?

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J.T. "Your grief shall be turned into joy", John 6:21. The assets are convertible, to use another financial expression. The sorrow shall be turned into joy. The Lord says, "Fill the waterpots up to the brim with water; and they filled them", John 2:7. You cannot have the wine till you have the water first. It was the water of purification; but then that is convertible. He converted it into joy, He made the water wine.

W.K. It is a great thing, that it is not only sorrow, but He said "I will see you again, and your grief shall be turned into joy". John 6:21. Where there is sorrow it is dispelled, just as death is swallowed up in victory.

T.M.G. It is the principle of Marah.

J.T. Yes; it was not water to drink. It was water for purification, but it became wine to drink. It is a remarkable thing that it was the water of purification that was turned into wine. But then there is water to drink that does not need to be changed. The waters of Marah were brackish. They had the flavour of Egypt -- judgment.

T.M.G. It has to be learned experimentally.

E.M. Does this lead to confirmation?

J.T. I think it is leading to it, but there has first to be the learning of ourselves. The Lord says to Peter, "Get away behind me, Satan". Mark 8:33.

T.M.G. Peter was looking at the wrong side.

J.T. It is very solemn that one should become so quickly a mouth-piece of the devil, after such a remarkable confession as Peter had just made. You notice the Lord does not say, Get away behind me, Peter. He does not say that. It is said, "He rebuked Peter". Mark 8:33.

E.M. Would you say that Peter had not yet been confirmed in the light he had received?

J.T. It did not characterise him.

S.M. It shows what a place the natural mind may have in the things of God.

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J.T. "To be spiritual]y minded is life and peace". Romans 8:6. To be spiritually minded. The Lord said to Peter, "thy mind is not on the things that are of God, but the things that are of men". Mark 8:33.

W.K. "Those that are of men", and yet He said, "Get away behind me, Satan". Mark 8:33.

J.M. How do we get the gain of what the Lord teaches His disciples here; the gain of confirmation?

J.T. Well, the instruction at the end of chapter 8 is most essential. There is the confession to which you are committed, and following upon that, the discovery of what you are. Romans 7 shows that the exercised mind serves the law of God. He may fail, but that is his mind. The flesh serves the law of sin. He has really come to Psalm 119 in the spirit of his mind.

T.M.G. A man for God upon earth.

J.T. The whole of that Psalm exalts the law. Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of Christian experience. David makes use of the whole alphabet in that Psalm, and it is all to eulogise the law of God. Romans 7 tests the man but he serves with his mind the law of God. The proof of genuine conversion is that the law of God is paramount in the soul; the flesh is still active, but his mind delights in the law of God.

J.M. In the end of chapter 7 he distinguishes between his mind and the principles of the flesh, and then in chapter 8 he gets the power.

J.T. In chapter 8 he comes to recognise a new order of things, not now the law of God. The point of chapter 7 is the law of God. In chapter 8 there is "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus". Romans 8:2. There is a new order of things in which there is life, and there is a Spirit in that life, and there is the law of the Spirit of that life. That is the thing that sets the soul free.

Peter thought that he was doing the Lord a kindness

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when he said, "Pity thyself". In Romans 8 you are set free, not indeed from the law of God, but from the law of sin and of death. The law of God is essential. There is a law even in the new creation, Galatians 6:15, 16.

E.M. Without law all is chaos.

J.T. Law is a fixed thing. It is remarkable in regard to the offerings that regulations are made for everything, and then afterwards the law of the offering is given. I have often wondered why that was not given first; but the law is a fixed thing, it remains.

J.P.W. Is there anything in Romans that answers to chapter 9 of Mark?

J.T. No; not so far as I understand it. The Lord's path was ascent and descent, but the ascent is the same as that descent. The mount of transfiguration is the summit of the ascent, and then there is the descent after that. He was entitled to go into heaven at that point on the ground of what He was as a Man.

J.P.W. "The kingdom of God come with power" Mark 9:1. What does that mean?

J.T. That is the way Mark presents it, the kingdom in power. Power is absolutely essential for service. "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power", 1 Corinthians 4:20. Of course, there is more than that in the transfiguration. The transfiguration suggests the whole order of things which God is going to establish, the heavenly and the earthly, and Christ the centre of it. The holiest is what answers to this in our experience. That is not all, but I am speaking from the side of our experience. We want to see Christ as He is before God.

T.M.G. That is why you say it is beyond Romans.

J.T. Yes; He was transfigured before them. It was for them to see. Well, the holiest is not something that takes place before us now. It is what

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Christ is before God. In Matthew, the Lord said, "ye shall see the Son of man coming in his kingdom". Matthew 16:28. To see the kingdom in its entirety, not, indeed, the King, but the Son of man. The title in which Mark represents the transfiguration is most attractive. In Luke it is the kingdom of God. The emphasis there is that it is God's kingdom, but here it is the kingdom of God in power. All is intended to be confirmation for the apostles in their service. If you get a view of the Lord Jesus like that which Peter got you would say, How different from the men that we know; how different from what I am myself. Though He was transfigured, it was not that He was essentially changed. "He is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever". Hebrews 13:8.

J.M. Does it refer to His present place?

J.T. It refers to what He is now.

T.M.G. As you were saying, what He is now as in the holiest before God.

J.T. You see it is a testimony to His Person that He was transfigured without dying.

J.M. As you were saying, it was the end of His path of service,

E.M. Would you say, the way He appeared would express what He was morally?

J.T. I think so. In appearance He answers to everything that He was morally. He was veiled when on earth, His flesh was the veil. But here on the mount the veil is removed. So it is said, "his garments became shining, exceeding white as snow, such as fuller on earth could not whiten them". Mark 9:3. There was no power on earth to whiten like that. It is a whiteness that shines, which I do not think could be found in natural things. The bride in Revelation 19 makes herself ready. Her clothing is "bright and pure", reflecting what Christ is.

J.M. It is not like Luke, who speaks of His decease; that is not here.

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J.T. Exactly. If He went up from the mount of transfiguration it would be private, whereas His exodus was to be public. The exodus is not going into heaven. The, exodus is going out of the world. It says of the exodus that the Israelites "went out ... in sight of all the Egyptians", Numbers 33:3. He would go out publicly. He said, "it is impossible that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" Luke 13:33; as if He would emphasise the sad state that was there. It was there He would go out.

T.M.G. Finishing His labour there.

J.T. The difficulty in connection with many Christians is that they want to go out privately, like the woman with the issue of blood. You will get all the privacy in the Father's house, but our baptism is the beginning of our public history; baptism is public. The principle of it is publicity.

T.M.G. The tendency is to shun the reproach.

J.T. The Lord uses this occasion as a confirmation of the testimony, and not only of the apostle's testimony, but of all previous testimony; the word of prophecy is "made surer". Moses and Elias who represent the old dispensation witnesses retire, and all attention is called to the Son. "This is my beloved Son, hear him". Mark 9:7.

T.M.G. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

J.T. Quite so. All the prophets spoke of Christ, but now He has come. John says, "I must decrease". John 3:30. He disappears in the presence of Christ, saying his joy was fulfilled.

R.L. Peter refers to the cloud as "the excellent glory". 2 Peter 1:17.

J.T. Moses and Elias were manifested in the glory of the kingdom. They appeared in glory. That is the glory that we share. But then the cloud comes; there came a cloud and overshadowed them. Elsewhere

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it is called a bright cloud; it was the Shekinah, the divine dwelling-place.

R.L. There is the glory that we share. The Shekinah belongs to God.

J.T. That was the Shekinah from which God spoke, the same as in the temple of Ezekiel. Here it is in connection with the holy mount. Peter says, "Let us make three tabernacles", Mark 9:5 but there was only one tabernacle, and that was Jesus. The cloud had reference to Him. It says, "they entered into the cloud". Luke 9:34. It was from that the voice came.

T.M.G. It is the difference between the two glories of John 17. There was the glory given by the Father which they were to behold, and the glory which we are to share. The Shekinah is what we are permitted to behold.

J.T. He took them up into a high mountain by themselves. It is a vision for their confirmation, but they have with them that One who is the only One to whom they are to listen. The greatest person in the Old Testament, the most honoured servants, are inferior to Him. The testimony of the Law and the prophets had reference to Him. Now all was in Himself.

J.McF. Have you any thought as to His being the true tabernacle?

J.T. I think the Shekinah alluded to the fact that Jesus was the true tabernacle.

J.McF. And Moses and Elias were not.

J.T. If you read Exodus 25, 26 and 27, you will find they all answer, in some sense, to Jesus.

R.L. Peter speaks of being "eye-witnesses of his majesty". 2 Peter 1:16.

J.T. Yes; what strength there is in the words Peter uses; "the excellent glory" and "his majesty" 2 Peter 1:16; "the holy mount"; all is clothed with power. When you allude to anything, the strength of your language indicates how you feel about it. Peter puts

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it in his own language. It shows the strength of his feelings. "The power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ", he says. 2 Peter 1:16.

W.A.W. Is there anything in the gospel of John that answers to or alludes to this?

J.T. Well, John says, "we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only begotten with a father, full of grace and truth". John 1:14. I think that is an allusion to it.

W.A.W. John was one of those who was with Him on the mount.

J.T. John does not make much of position as regards the Lord's person, because with him the Person is everything.

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THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN

Genesis 7:11; 2 Kings 7:2; Malachi 3:10

You will observe in the passages I have read, the expression, "windows of heaven". I want to speak a little about the windows of heaven, or as, they may be more correctly rendered, the floodgates of heaven. Man is accustomed to pay but little attention to heaven, whereas in the Scriptures heaven always takes precedence of earth; and it will be found that, amongst other things, heaven is regarded as a place of reserve, a place in which things are reserved, whether it be judgment, or whether it be blessing, things are reserved beyond the reach of man.

In the first chapter of the Bible you will find that heaven is mentioned before earth; although when earth is mentioned considerably more is said about it than is said about heaven. Heaven appears, as most of you know, in the second day of the creation; and what is noticeable is that the work of the second day is not pronounced good. God commented on His own work, but you will find that on each of the days, save the second, God is pleased with what He has done, He pronounces His work good; He omits to make that pronouncement in regard to the second day's work, and yet it was on that day that the heavens were introduced.

On the fourth day He again returns to the heavens to tell us that He placed the two luminaries in them, the sun and the moon; then He pronounces the work of that day "good". Now that is our day. The second day introduced a heaven without Christ in it; that is not a heaven that we desire. We want a heaven with Christ in it, and we want an earth with Christ in it; a Christless earth is intolerable to faith. We want Christ in heaven, and faith looks for Him

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to govern the earth also. In the book of Revelation there are those who are earth-dwellers, and they give "glory to the God of heaven". They say nothing about the God of earth. Now, faith recognises that heaven is God's throne and earth is His footstool. He must have both. To take away the footstool from the throne of God would leave things very incomplete. Looking at things as they exist, if you want the earth without God your future is dark indeed; in saying this I am not referring to what may happen to you presently; you may die very soon.

Need I remind you that you have no tenure of life here? The graveyards remind you of that, the tombstones, the undertakers! You have no lease of life. You may have a lease of a piece of land; they make them out, I believe, for 999 years; it is a remarkable figure to put it at, one less than 1,000, but the land remains and you go; that is how the matter stands. It is dark above the ground, but how much darker below! The future of this earth is black; and this is to say nothing of death, which faces all who are unsaved; no thinking man can deny it. Are you at home in it? Be it ever so bright, which it is not, as I have said, it must be dark for you presently, for you have to consider death and the grave. Yea, more, there is not only what we speak of as the first death, the first death implies a burial; you may get that, some do not. The "two witnesses" in Revelation did not get a burial. Thank God, they did not need it; they did not remain even four days after they were killed, only three and a half, they did not need a burial. I do not expect one myself; there are many here who do not expect burials; if we die however, loving hands put us into the grave in the light of resurrection.

The first burial recorded in Scripture in Genesis 23 was after the truth of resurrection was introduced

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for burial in Scripture is carried out in faith; we "sow a natural body" 1 Corinthians 15:44; that is, we bury believers who may fall asleep and God raises them. God gives each one a body as it pleases Him, and oh! what a body! A body that pleases God; that is the kind of body we shall get. Well, that is the hope of the Christian, but the hope of a man whose prospects are in connection with this earth, and who leaves Christ out of his reckonings, is very dark. Present conditions speak of nothing else. The most thoughtful amongst men recognise it; they cannot but recognise it, it is forced upon them; it is a mercy from God that it is so. I believe God is appealing to men through the present helpless state of things in this earth as things are dark for them. But then, to lay that aside, think of your own personal future; death is ahead of you; that pale horse and his rider that are spoken of in Revelation 6. Then there is the second death, which is the final doom. The prophet says, "I saw the dead small and great". Revelation 20:12. Who are they? Scripture speaks about resurrection from among the dead; that is the first resurrection; blessed and holy is he that hath part in it, but who are the dead small and great that the prophet saw? I quite grant, that you will be raised even if you die in your sins, but you wilt not be "raised from among the dead". Resurrection as it is presented in the gospel is resurrection from among the dead; that is the first resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection, on him the second death has no power". Revelation 20:6.

The prophet says, "I saw a great white throne ... and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God". Revelation 20:11,12. Who are the dead? They are a class; those left in their graves after the first resurrection. There are those who shall come forth; those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment, John 5:29. "I saw the dead" and, mark you, it is

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not that they are inanimate, they are standing, a remarkable expression. The dead are standing before God, a terrible thought. Well, that is before you if your aspirations are on the earth, if you think to get on without God and without Christ on the earth. Poverty is no virtue, littleness in this world is no virtue in itself; the cedar and the hyssop go together. Do not try to shelter yourself under your poverty in the presence of God. On the other hand, I need not say that you cannot take shelter in your riches for all is vanity. I saw the dead, small and great, they are all there together. How terrible is the scene! I feel it is right to call your attention to these things as regards the earth.

In Genesis 1, the Spirit of God introduces the earth to us in the third day's work, and it is an earth that suggests Christ; there is fruit in it, and God pronounces it very good. You may depend upon it God would not pronounce anything very good in which there is not a place for Christ. So on the fourth day He puts Christ, typified in the great light, in heaven figuratively, and now there is a heaven with Christ in it. Do you so regard it? There is a great deal of sentimentality in people's thoughts about heaven. It was a heaven with Christ in it that Stephen saw; he fixed his eyes on heaven, and he says, "Lo! I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God". Acts 7:56. How much has come out of it since!

Now, in Genesis 7 heaven is again alluded to, not now to tell us that the sun, or the moon, or the stars are there; no, they are all obscured now, it is to call attention to the fact that judgment is there; the floodgates of heaven were opened, and they poured out judgment for forty days and forty nights. Now, you may say that is all past. Is it past? No! It was a very real thing then; but it was really only a figure of that which is alluded to in the

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New Testament. We read in Romans 1:18, "There is revealed wrath of God from heaven"; from heaven, think of that! Think of the overwhelmingness of what comes out of heaven. Take a thunderstorm, for example, it is simply overwhelming; nothing on earth can affect it or stay it. You may stop an army, however powerful, but a thunderstorm and lightning out of heaven man is utterly powerless to cope with it.

Now think of wrath -- that is the word Scripture uses. Wrath is a terrible word. Heaven has control over all the earth, and the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men, every bit of it, every item of unrighteousness of men from Cain's day down to the lawlessness of Antichrist; all that, including the sins of every unrepentant one, all is taken account of. Do not hope to escape, if you are a Christ-rejecter; it will find you out, "Two women shall be grinding at the mill, one shall be taken and the other left". Matthew 24:41. What does that mean? It is the discrimination of judgment; even though you may be doing what is right at the moment, such as "grinding at the mill", you cannot cover yourself with that. What about yesterday? What about the day before? "God requireth that which is past". Ecclesiastes 3:15. Two women are grinding at the mill, apparently equal in every respect, yet one is taken and the other left; there is the infinite accuracy of divine judgment. "Be sure", says Moses, "your sin will find you out". Numbers 32:23. "Wheresoever the carcase is", says the Lord, "there shall the eagles be gathered together" Matthew 24:28; they come down on the carcase, and how remorseless they are! It is the figure of divine wrath. Even if you are "grinding at the mill", remember the past; God is thinking of that, too.

Well, judgment found out sinners in Noah's day; the floodgates were unlocked and the highest mountains were discovered, everyone of them;

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though they had climbed to the highest summit of the Himalayas, 29,000 feet high, the wrath of God would reach them there; the tops of the highest mountains were covered. David understood this; he knew that wherever he went God would search him out and find him, Psalm 139.

Well, now, in the second book of Kings we have grace. I cannot enlarge upon it at the moment, but it is a very beautiful scripture. In chapter 2 Elisha goes back over Jordan with the spirit of Elijah, with a double portion of it. It was the spirit of the ascending Man with which he came back. He saw Elijah go up; that is typically Christ going up, and as a reward for the attention he paid Elijah, he receives a double portion of his spirit. So he goes up into the land of Israel with that spirit, and what we find is that it is the spirit of grace; he heals the waters at Jericho; Jericho was the place of a curse, and he turns it into a blessing.

Now, in chapter 7 we have these words, "Hear ye the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria". 2 Kings 7:1. That was glad tidings at that time; he did not say where it would come from; he announced the blessing, and that is what we are here tonight to announce. God has commanded blessing; it is available to faith. If there is a man or a woman here upon whom the world leans, who is a support of this world; now mark what I am saying, you will be sceptical. You know the world claims your support, and it seems to have a certain amount of right on its side in claiming it. You will remember the building in which the Philistines feasted as they taunted Samson; it was supported by pillars. It may be you are something like one of those pillars, bearing up the world's system which the enemies of God delight themselves, and

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glory in reproach of His servants. If you are a supporter of the world you will come down, and the part of the world you are supporting will quickly come down, too.

Let us look at this man called a lord here; he is supporting the king, a son of a murderer; that is what Elisha called him, and Elisha was a very gracious man. The king was supported by a "lord". This lord was supporting a murderer; that is what the world is at heart; it murdered Christ. This king would have murdered Elisha had not God intervened. Now, am I going to support a murderous world? If I am doing so you may depend upon it I am a sceptic in regard to the things of God. I may have some interests to serve; people's living depends on it, or their honour or prosperity; a host of things depend on your support of the world. And you are sceptical, your selfish heart thinks only of the present, and you forget the future; you are sceptical about the gospel, about Christ, about the people of God; you are a scoffer.

This "lord" was sceptical; he said, "Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven might this thing be?" 2 Kings 7:2. Why should he say, "If the Lord would make windows?" If he had read Genesis 7 he would have known they were there already. Malachi does not say anything about making them, they were there, and they are now, thank God, at the disposal of Christ. But why could not God make windows in heaven? Why, He made the heavens; and if that "lord" had been a simple man he would have bowed to it.

Well, here was the word of the Lord, "To-morrow about this time shall a measure of flour be sold for a shekel". 2 Kings 7:1. Now the gospel does not say to-morrow; it says there is food now in abundance if you appropriate Christ; if you receive the gospel. The man in Mark 9:22 said to the Lord, "If thou canst do anything

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be moved with pity on us, and help us"; and the Lord replied, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth", and the man was prompt to say, "I believe; help thou mine unbelief". Mark 9:23,24. Would that you could say that tonight! If you can the Lord will help you, and you will get the blessing as that man got it.

This dignitary refused to believe the word of the Lord, and though he saw the fulfilment of it with his eyes, he did not eat of it; that is a terrible thing, to see the blessing and not to be able to partake of it. As Balaam said, "I shall see him but not now, I shall behold him but not nigh", Numbers 24:17. You will see wonderful things with your eyes; you will see the "great white throne and him that sits on it" Revelation 20:11; but appropriate His grace you cannot then; it will be too late. This "lord" was trodden to death in the gate as the man of God had foretold. The judgment of God is unerring; it finds out its object.

I pass on in closing to say one other word to show that the floodgates of heaven are now open for blessing. We read in the second book of Kings that what that lord did not think possible actually took place. The windows of heaven are to be opened. The Israelite in a future day will bring the tithes into the storehouse, but I do not dwell on that side of it. I only wish to point out to you that there are windows in heaven, and that those windows are now in the hands of the Lord Jesus. Peter tells us, that the gospel has been preached "with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven". 1 Peter 1:12. The windows are open, so to say, and the blessing pours down. I wonder if you believe in it, or if you are a sceptic? Men do not believe much in heaven; even Christians do not apprehend the bountifulness of what is there, Now the Lord Jesus has gone into it. You will remember that the disciples saw Him go up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. He went into heaven, and

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He has, so to say, taken the administration of everything there; as having gone in, He is in supreme control of heaven and all that is in it; all the blessedness that is there is poured out in this dispensation, nothing is held back; the very best things are available.

Think of the gift of the Spirit! Have you received it? That is a question that others have put with much more authority than I have. Paul put the question to certain believers at Ephesus. "Have you", he says, "received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" And they reply, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit". Acts 19:2. Well, you cannot say that; you have heard there is the Holy Spirit. Now I ask you, Have you received Him? The apostle Paul, writing to Titus, speaks about the Holy Spirit; and says, "which he shed on us abundantly". Titus 3:6. How? Through "Jesus Christ our Saviour". All comes through His hands. Now one look of faith secures it all for you. One look of faith and it is yours. Do not be a sceptic; be a believer. The believers in this dispensation are believers in all the light that is vouchsafed to us. Are you one of them? The blessing, as we see in Malachi, is not dealt out promiscuously. He says, I will pour you out a blessing. I do not say the Spirit comes down from heaven now on every believer, because the Spirit is already here. He is given to those who submit to Christ.

May the Lord grant that you be not sceptical, but believers in Christ, and so get the good of all that He administers out of heaven.

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THE BEARING OF PRIESTHOOD

Malachi 2:1 - 9

J.T. I thought it might help us to look at priesthood in its bearing manward. The priests were to serve and minister to God, and according to what was established under Moses, all depended on the priest, both in judgment and in the ordering of the temple.

Ques. Is there an answer in the New Testament to what is set forth in this Old Testament economy?

J.T. Yes; Christ is set forth as Priest for ever over the house of God; Christians also form a holy priesthood. The priests were set apart. Moses spoke of Levi as the holy one, so Aaron was called the saint of the Lord in Psalm 106:16. Levi said to his father and mother, "I have not seen him"; Deuteronomy 33:9. At that time Levi did not recognise the natural, but the spiritual. The apostle (writing to the Corinthians) said, "Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you?" 1 Corinthians 6:5.

All in the Mosaic system was based on precept, but christianity was introduced in connection with the children of wisdom. There is only one High Priest, and He is over the house of God. A priest considers as to what is suitable to the sanctuary and the rights of God. In Christendom there has been no regard of the rights of God, but it is the first thing with the priest. See Exodus 32:26. Moses said, "Who is on the Lord's side?" There were three thousand slain that day!

The priest is not merely local; he is concerned for the rights of God everywhere. A priest is connected with the tabernacle. Wisdom marked him. Three things marked certain men of the children of Issachar: they kept rank and had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 1 Chronicles 12:32 - 38.

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According to the passage in Malachi, the priest had failed in all this!

The consecration of the priests is given in Leviticus 8; the blood being applied to the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the foot. All this indicates they were sanctified. The priest as filled with the Spirit of Christ, judges for God, and is free from partiality. We are apt to prefer persons who are in our own station of life, character, etc., but the priest knows none of these things. A very strong point with Levi was, he knew not his father, mother, brother, or children, according to nature. He was without partiality.

The first thing towards recovery to all this is to give glory to His name. You consider for God. See verse 2. The Lord honours any exercise in reference to His people. If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally, and upbraideth not. The sons of Aaron would see their father's breastplate, and therein was the Urim and Thummim+; the means which God had of making His mind known. Any priest could see that. For instance, John as being in the bosom of Jesus had access to Christ and Peter beckoned to him to ask the Lord who should betray Him? It was when the Lord raised that question, that the Urim and Thummim was needed, but not when the question was asked, "What shall this man do?" John 21:21.

According to Ezekiel 44:15,16; God says that the faithful ones "shall approach unto me to minister unto me ... into my sanctuary". What exercises arise in a ease of discipline, because it is a moral question. We have principles to guide us, but not for each thing separately, it is left to the priests' judgment. We are all priests by calling, but there

+Meaning light and perfection. Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:5; 1 Samuel 28:6.

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should be state in accord. It is there that consecration comes in. Recovery is brought about through the priestly state, or else by self-judgment, as in Corinthians. What Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians showed that the priest was needed.

If you are a priest your love will not let your brother go, even though like Paul you are not actually of the company locally. All the brethren are in the breastplate, though they may be very naughty, and these two epistles show how Paul considered for God first, then for man, or else Satan might get advantage. In a case of discipline we should act as a company. The priest will not let the brother go and if he is dealt with, it is only for recovery.

Rem. In verse 6 of our chapter the order is very remarkable, and it is all very beautiful. Then each one is in the breastplate -- the place of love. What a great heart he had! The weak brother, too, you must not upset him.

J.T. There is the principle of local responsibility, but finality is by the priest. We must be balanced. Decision is by the priest, and the first mark of the priestly state is that he considers for God, and is related to the sanctuary wherever he is, so a priest is concerned about things that refer to Christ. He gets his orders and directions in the sanctuary. Love is really the most skilful of all things. If a brother is weak you will consider him; whether weak or wilful, he is to be cared for, for we are to have compassion. To make more of one brother than another is not priestly. The Lord is said to be the great Priest over the house of God, Hebrews 10:21. That is very beautiful.

Malachi tells us that "he shall purify the sons of Levi", Malachi 3:3,4. Verse 16 says that they were speaking to one another, and the Lord observed it and heard. So surely the priesthood is restored, as we see also in Luke. There is recovery, they bring

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tithes into the storehouse and the people are fed, Malachi 3:10.

So in the instructions in Leviticus 14 for the cleansing of the leper or house, it was the priest who was required, one of intelligence and salvation. I like to see a person clothed with salvation. One cannot pull another out of the fire unless clothed in salvation oneself. In Luke we learn that Zacharias, through unbelief, had his lips sealed. It should exercise us, if the lips of any are sealed. If Christ was before us our lips would not be sealed, but one would have the words of wisdom.

The priest can go into the sanctuary, that is where he learns the mind of the Lord. Priestly power and wisdom refers more to a state among the Lord's people, and any exercise should be respected, for to disregard it may be to disregard what God is doing. It is as well to acknowledge the state of weakness and paralysis.

In the epistle of James we see the traits of priestly wisdom; it is "first pure, then peaceable, without partiality, and full of mercy". James 3:17. I often think of Joshua and Caleb among the remarkable men in Scripture. They bore the sufferings of the desert for forty years for the sins of others, and thus gave God the opportunity to show what He could do. Joshua said, God kept us alive after forty years, so that we never suffer by waiting on God.

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THE LEVITICAL PLATFORM

Psalm 50:5; Deuteronomy 33:8,9; Luke 9:17 - 20

My thought is to say a word to you about the tribe of Levi, the tribe which was specially selected from the tribes of Israel, and, as such, was typical of Christianity, of those who are partakers of the heavenly calling. I hope I maybe able to show how they suggest the thought of our being a kind of "firstfruits" of God's creatures. There is always something special about firstfruits; they refer to the early product of the Spirit as coming from heaven. The Lord having ascended to the heavens as man, proceeded to bring about a heavenly state of things down here, hence He gave the Holy Spirit in a peculiar and unique way to His followers, so that in the freshness and energy of the Spirit there might be brought about a heavenly order of things in a people whose calling is heavenly, and whose relationships are heavenly. In that way we have brought to light the sovereign acts of God referred to by James in saying, "Of his own will begat he us ... that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures". James 1:18. The sovereign will of God came into evidence in that which was begotten through the coming in of the Holy Spirit. There was the freshness and energy of the Spirit giving character to the disciples of Jesus, so that the sovereignty of God was apparent in it, and then He had something for Himself, the firstfruits. It is wonderful that we should come in, dear brethren, on that line, that we should have part in that which is called in Scripture firstfruits. Jesus was the firstfruits from the dead; we are the firstfruits of God's creatures, and our destiny is heaven; we belong to what is called "the assembly of the firstborn ones registered in heaven", Hebrews 12:23.

Now that is what the tribe of Levi pointed to. And I desire to call attention to the road travelled

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by us, as brethren, in order to get on to the levitical platform; not now the Levites of Numbers, but the Levites of the book of Joshua. The Levites of the book of Numbers are the same family of course, but they are referred to as God's servants, being in the service of God down here, bearing burdens, whereas the Levites in the book of Joshua refer to us as a priestly family. But before we get on to that platform there has to be sacrifice; and so I felt encouraged to read the passage in Psalm 50, because it refers to God's interest in a people who sacrificed. I do not say that God is not interested in us before, beloved brethren, for the word shows us that God was interested in me before the world was, and in you, and in every saint. Our names were known before the foundation of the world. Wonderful thought! The divine interest was there, not according to what our crooked history may have been on earth, but according to the great fruit of God's work in us, answering to His principle of love; we are all of interest to Him in that connection. He delights in us; He predestinated us specially to sonship, that we should be to the praise of the glory of His grace, that we should be before Him holy and without blame. In His eternal counsels He had us in view according to the full fruit of His own work in us as set down in the heavenlies before Him. There will be a place for every one there, there will be no crowding there, beloved brethren; every one will be there according to the fixity of eternal counsels. But God has a great interest in our movements down here, and He takes account of our sacrifice.

The book of Leviticus is provision, divinely made, for voluntary sacrifice. But, alas! as far as Scripture shows, no voluntary sacrifice was offered in the wilderness. There were doubtless fixed ones offered by appointment through Moses and Aaron, but there is no evidence of voluntary ones, though provision was made for them. Yet before ever the people left

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Egypt, Moses ordered that the cattle should go, in order that there should be sacrifice. Pharaoh would detain them with the children, but Moses stipulated that the cattle should go in order that there might be sacrifice. But, alas the cattle once over, self retained them; and then the Gadites and Reubenites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, in their earthly mindedness, had much cattle. Had they sacrificed they would not have had "much cattle", but they had much, and their attention to the cattle became a snare to them, it attracted them to the Moabitish side of Jordan. Cheerfully they went over Jordan to give out the inheritance for others, but their work accomplished they returned to their wives and their children and their cattle. We have to beware of the increase of cattle, of worldly goods. If we sacrificed more we should have less cattle, but more spiritual power, more spiritual desire, more heavenly mindedness. They fell short in the way of spiritual energy and spiritual desire, they fell short of heavenly mindedness. No one ever goes into heaven without a heavenly mind. I take Moses to have been the most heavenly minded man in all Israel. No one spoke so fluently about the land as Moses, and he had it in his heart. I do not speak of the reason why he did not go in; his mind was there. He was not detained by his cattle.

Now I will tell you what cattle, what earthly belongings, tend to. They tend to natural links. Natural, family links are fostered most where there are most cattle. You will find history in Scripture proves this, and the great salvation for us is by sacrifice. So the Lord assembles His saints. We are all of those, I need not say, who are called out of the world; but we are not now simply His saints, but those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice. He has made a covenant with us by sacrifice. Think of the sacrifice that the blessed God has made

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in order to establish a link in your soul with Himself. He gave up Jesus, the Son of His bosom. What else did God think of? The cattle upon a thousand hills were His. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof". Psalm 24:1. He did not give the cattle for us; they were a small matter to Him, but He gave the Son of His love, He gave up Jesus. When I say "Jesus" I speak advisedly, for I refer to what He was as man down here amongst men for the divine pleasure. During the thirty-three years of His blessed life down here God's heart was delighting in Him, His eye was resting on the holy life of Jesus, that green spot. He was the green tree cut off in the midst of His days, His life taken from the earth. God gave it up, God made a sacrifice in order to establish a link between Himself and your soul. That is what the blood of Christ means "the new covenant in my blood". 1 Corinthians 11:25. The covenant referred to God, and Christ is the Mediator of it between God and the people. God made a sacrifice in order to establish a link between Himself and our souls.

Well now, He looks for a return of it, and He calls for an assembly of those who make a return, those who in their souls make a covenant with Him by sacrifice. Levi was not burdened with much cattle, but his sacrifice was much more than cattle; he sacrificed his father and mother, his brother and sister, he sacrificed his own children; Deuteronomy 33:8,9. He repudiated all on the ground of nature. How perfectly that, was seen in Christ! "Woman", He said, "what have I to do with thee?" John 2:4 and yet she was His mother. Have you not something to sacrifice? Are natural ties more to you than spiritual ties? If they are, you are not on the levitical platform; you are on the ground of nature. Levi's sacrifice was by the Spirit. Three times over it is said in the book of Joshua that Levi received no inheritance. First of all it is said that Moses gave

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him none on the other side Jordan among the two and a half tribes. His inheritance was connected with the tabernacle, with the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire. Moses valued such an inheritance. And in that connection I would just say a word as to the distinction between the inheritance given by Moses and that given by Eleazar and Joshua. The Spirit is given to us under Moses, but Moses could never give us a heavenly inheritance. He has commanded it for us, but to put us in possession of the heavenly portion did not belong to the ministry of Moses, that was reserved not for Aaron but for Eleazar the priest the son of Aaron, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Well, Moses gave Levi no inheritance because the sacrifice of the God of Israel made by fire was the inheritance of Levi. Think of that to begin with! Think of what you gain as making a covenant with God by sacrifice! But it is very evident that if sacrifices are not brought into the court, there will be none there. The sacrifices brought into the court to be offered to God were for the Levites, they had their part in them. Think of what was theirs, it was no earthly inheritance, no land, but their portion the sacrifices of the God of Israel made by fire. What a holy portion to feed upon! And then, too, it is said, the Lord God of Israel Himself was their inheritance. Is it not worth while surrendering an earthly portion for that? The Levites thought it was.

Levi, you will remember, was the tribe that resorted to Moses outside the camp of Israel when the golden calf was set up there, when Moses said: "Who is on the Lord's side?" Exodus 32:26. How the Spirit of God would have that word come home to our hearts! Who is on the Lord's side? "Let him come to me". Exodus 32:26. They took the Lord's side. Let us ever remember in the hour of dilemma to consider for the Lord.

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The true Levite ever considers for God. He takes the Lord's side. Depend upon it, difficulties will disappear if the rights of God are in your soul. It will entail suffering, but the suffering brings its own recompense. Levi had recompense. He suffered earthly loss for the Lord, because the Lord had His place with him, and the Lord said of him, "My covenant was with him of life and peace". Malachi 2:5. How God valued the sacrifice of Levi! He took the Lord's side and he sanctified himself, and from that point onward Levi is marked off as a privileged tribe in Israel. They would not suffer want or hunger; if you commit yourself to God's side you, too, will find your soul will be sustained. The Levites were sustained by the sacrifices made by fire.

Then they were dignified: they had God Himself as their portion: think of that! And then, as you will find later in Joshua 18, the priesthood was theirs. What a wonderful thing to have access to God, to be in the divine secrets! That was their privilege. The glory attaching to the breastplate of the high priest was theirs. In that breastplate were all the names of the tribes, and the Urim and the Thummim. Think of the privilege! Who is there upon earth that has divine secrets? Only the priests! The family of the Levites was in possession of all the divine secrets, they had access into the holiest. The high priest had access, at any rate once a year, into the holiest of all. In this way we have outlined the great privileges that belong to ourselves as a levitical family on the ground of sacrifice.

In Joshua 21 they come forward and claim their own proper heavenly portion. Added to what they had in the wilderness, when you come to Joshua 21, we see their desire to have cities to dwell in. In the wilderness, in connection with the tabernacle, they had firstly, the sacrifices of the God of Israel made by fire; secondly, they had the Lord God Himself for

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their inheritance; and thirdly, they had the priesthood. But they could have had no cities in the wilderness. A city is a divine thought. If man built Babylon, God would call Abraham out and point to another city, not on earth, but in heaven. He has prepared for His people a city, and that is an heavenly one. So the Levites had forty-eight cities, a number which is, doubtless, typical, though I cannot dwell upon it, but they had forty-eight cities and they claimed them all.

You will find that the book of Joshua is a book of claims. God loves claims. Caleb had a claim; the daughters of Zelophehad had a claim; in fact, all the nine and a half tribes had claims. But why? Because divine counsels had given them a portion. Think of what the divine counsels of God thought of for us; think of the allotments made in the counsel book of God for us! The book of Joshua is a book of claims. God loves to see His people come forward and lay claim to their own heavenly portion; have you made your claim? It is all given to you in divine purpose and you will get it, but let us be on the lines of Scripture, which shows us how we can enter the inheritance by claiming it. The Levites claimed theirs and they received every city that was promised, forty-eight cities. Now I take that to be the highest teaching of the levitical position.

The seventy whom the Lord sent out in Luke 10 were, so to say, levitical, corresponding to what is presented in the book of Numbers; they were servants,, and most acceptable ones. It is a poor thing if we are not servants in some sense; and as taking up service with purpose of heart we are sure to be supported. The Lord will support us. The seventy were wonderfully supported, and they returned to the Lord flushed with victory. The Lord would not take away their success, for these seventy men, having been over the cities of Israel two by two, had brought the kingdom of God

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near to men. That is the idea of service, to bring the kingdom in the way of men down here. That is to continue; it is wonderful service, but we are not to rest in that. So the Lord said, "In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven". Luke 10:20. In other words, Do not rest in what is yours in the book of Numbers, wonderful as it is, as showing the carrying out of divine service here in the wilderness, but rejoice in your part in the book of Joshua. Let us rejoice that our names are registered in heaven. We are to put in our claim. God loves us to do that. There is the true Joshua at our disposal, the true Eleazar; he comes first in the book of Joshua in the portion of the inheritance. It is a holy inheritance, not one that the flesh seeks for. Eleazar gives nothing to the flesh. Are we in possession of our heavenly portion? The Lord loves to set it before us plainly, and so the Lord meets His servants, the seventy missionaries, with these words, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven". Luke 10:20. Think of that! Think of having your names in the heavenly roll! Can anything touch it? Peter tells us that an inheritance is reserved there for us, reserved and bespoke; and there is no crowding there. The inheritance is there, reserved, and we have a place in it; "for you", Peter says.

Now there is just one other word in regard to assembling. In Psalm 50:5 it says, "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice". That is the position which is to mark us down here. We have made a public committal to God. We have committed ourselves to public relationship to God by sacrifice. He has committed Himself to us, and now we commit ourselves to God by sacrifice, and He calls for an assembly of such saints as these. How one loves to be in such an assembly as that. Presently there will be another

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assembling. The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with an assembling shout, not then to gather us together in public. Our public position is now and is demonstrated by sacrifice. We are committed to God on the ground of surrender. Without that there is nothing established as the result of separation. But when the Lord descends with an assembling shout the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we which are alive and remain will be brought all together; we shall be thus assembled.

In the same epistle the apostle speaks of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our "gathering together unto him". 2 Thessalonians 2:1. There you come to the great private assembling, but morally if you are not in the public one on the ground of sacrifice, you are not fit for the private one. I do not say you will not be there, but loyal hearts would like to have part in the public assembling. God is not ashamed of those who have given up and surrendered for Him. Christ's death was public, but He went into heaven privately. We go out of the world publicly in our baptism, and our fellowship is outside of it. Baptism means that you are committed to an outside position, but how poor the position is without sacrifice! God has pleasure in sacrifice, that is what marks the public position. The private one is alluded to in the passage I quoted, "our gathering together unto him" 2 Thessalonians 2:1 not now in His name, but unto Him; the last great assembling on earth is private. We gather together, beloved, to be translated, to be brought in actuality to our levitical portion. We have it before our hearts, but in the meanwhile the Lord would have us come forward and claim the inheritance, and in claiming it to make it our own, take possession of it and live in it.

As we are living in our heavenly portion, we become an influence. A levitical city was found in every tribe, not only in Canaan, but in the land of

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Moab. The point is that God would influence all by heaven, so that our influence, for every one of us has some influence, should be a heavenly one, and that we should influence others in a heavenly way.

May the Lord grant that we should know these things better, that we might be in our proper heavenly portion. Our names are there, but we need to take possession.

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TRANSLATION

1 Thessalonians 4:1,2; Hebrews 11:5, 6; Genesis 5:21, 24

I want to say a word as to translation. Enoch comes before us as an example. The testimony of the Spirit is that before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God, Hebrews 11:5. I feel sure he had it afterwards, for there could be nothing to displease God when He had translated him. He was a self-judged man before. As you know, he was the seventh man from Adam, through Seth, not Cain.

I venture to connect the first epistle to the Thessalonians with this passage, because it shows what the apostle had in his mind. He shows them how to walk. That is a most important thing. Mothers always become especially interested in their children at that period. Paul addressed them: "The assembly of Thessalonians in God the Father" 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and it was in connection with their walk. "The assembly ... in God the Father". This is very striking.

Enoch learnt how to walk with God, to keep step with God. How can two walk together unless they be agreed? We are living in a day in the direct period before translation, so the apostle's word should bring about a state suitable for that.

Genesis 4 is largely taken up with Cain, chapter 5 is the death chapter. Adam is found at the beginning of chapter 4 and Seth at the end. Seth called his son's name Enos, acknowledging the weakness of mortal man. The Lord is bent on bringing about self-judgment in us. When you discover the utter worthlessness of the flesh, the incorrigibleness and wretchedness of it, then you call on the name of the Lord. "O wretched man that I am!" Romans 7:24. "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord". Romans 7:25. The giving of thanks is the beginning of the history of God's work in the soul. It is in thanksgiving that the

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thing is laid hold of. Depend upon it, to be unthankful is to be unholy. We read at the end of Genesis 4, that "then began men to call upon the name of the Lord". Genesis 4:26.

In chapter 5 after each long life you get "and he died;" six times this is said and then comes Enoch -- he lived! The seventh man does not die. The testimony is that he pleased God; that is the generation of life by the Spirit. If Christ be in you, the Spirit is life. Mere orthodoxy speaks in past and future tenses, but what about the present? Enoch represents that. He "that liveth and believeth in me shall never die". John 11:26. If you begin with giving thanks you will end with it. The Spirit says, "If Christ be in you ... the Spirit is life, because of righteousness" Romans 8:10; you are for God's pleasure.

God is looking for righteousness. If there is anything I delight in, it is that I may walk about here for the pleasure of God and for His will.

The gospels are intended to show us how to walk. No one learns how till he understands the gospels. There we see One walking here for God, and who could say, "I do always those things that please him". John 8:29. A Man moving about for God's pleasure; that was the life of Jesus. So the apostle Paul was leading the Thessalonians on so that they should know better how to walk for God's pleasure. Is it irksome? No! the more you taste it the more you abound in it. Enoch lived and walked with God, and begat Methuselah. He felt the responsibility of walking with God, in bringing up a generation to follow after him. I should not like to see this earth without faith; it never has been, nor shall it ever be. Whilst there is faith there is pleasure for God.

I know the assembly is to be translated, but what about the earth? As of the assembly we are more exercised about His coming than about our going. Nevertheless, we are going to be translated. One

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loves the thought of it. We see in Revelation 11 that the "beast" slew the two witnesses and left their bodies in the streets of the city where the Lord was crucified. They were allowed to be left in the streets of the city, they were not buried, but the next thing is that they go up.

It is our privilege to walk here for God's pleasure all the days of the life of our pilgrimage, and to walk in the consciousness of victory. "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory by our Lord Jesus Christ". 1 Corinthians 15:57. There is nothing to be cast down about except our own crooked ways. We need to go on day by day. That thought is emphasised in Scripture. We read in Matthew 20 of those who were hired by the day, and we are given "day by day" our needed bread, Luke 11:3. We are to encourage ourselves "each day", Hebrews 3:13. The two witnesses of whom I have spoken witnessed every day. Then after their time of suffering, the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and fear possessed their enemies. The Lord said, "Come up hither". Revelation 11:12. They were energised by the Spirit of life from God, and able to stand in the place where they had laid dead.

It is in Christ Jesus that we have all this. If it is a question of life, or our position here, it is all there. Hence we walk about in this world in the dignity of that blessed One. The two witnesses go up to heaven in the sight of their enemies, but we shall go up privately.

The apostle first teaches us how we should walk so as to please God, and afterwards he shows us how the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and take us to be with Him. He will not entrust us to any one else, He will come Himself. The triumph of God is there. "The dead in Christ shall rise first". 1 Thessalonians 4:16. "The dead in Christ!" It is a remarkable expression, and "we which are alive

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and remain shall be caught up together with them ... to meet the Lord in the air". 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Now, how are we going up? Do you believe in the Lord's coming? People who are not converted do that, but Enoch went up by faith, consciously suited to the place. Are you going up in that way? If so, we must please God now and abound in it.

God thinks of you. He cares for you all the days of your pilgrimage. Happily, we have no misgivings. We shall go to meet the Lord in the air. There can be nothing, after we are translated, to displease Him, so may we move about down here for His pleasure as long as we are on earth. We can please Him in our bodies here.

May the Lord further the work in our souls by the present condition of things, and bring about that which pleases God, that we may always do those things that please Him, so that we abound more and more in these critical times. He is faithful, and we thank Him. Blessed be His name!