Pages 1 to 257. From 'The Continuance of the Testimony' and Other Ministry between 1911 and 1920 (Volume 202).
Acts 20:7, 11; Revelation 1:9 - 11; 1 Corinthians 16:1 - 4
J.T. I thought it would be advisable to consider the first day of the week, and how the Supper stands in relation to it, and also to look at other features of the first day of the week, which we find elsewhere. In this passage we have the Supper in connection with the first day of the week; then in Revelation, John is in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and in the last chapter of 1 Corinthians you get the apostle's injunction to the Corinthians to set apart on the first day that which they wished to contribute. The three thoughts might be put together, the Supper, the Spirit, and the effect seen in giving. An important point to remember is that christianity is founded on precedent, rather than on injunction or commandment.
J.S. The Supper comes from a precedent. The Lord instituted the Supper, therefore we have it. It is not a command.
J.T. Well, we have the request, but He instituted the Supper, "This do", He says. The first day of the week is not given by commandment; it represents a spiritual idea and the early christians took notice of what Christ did on that day. They took notice of what He did when He instituted the Supper, and what He did on the first day of the week.
J.T. He came to His own on the first day of the week; they took notice of that. The Lord's day was never intended to be recognised by the world,
and we should never attempt to impose it on the world. It is a spiritual thought, whether it be the first day or the Lord's day. The first day sets forth a new beginning; the Lord's day the day in which His authority is recognised. Evidently it cannot be used by the world; the Lord's authority has no place there. He is rejected, but we anticipate the day when His authority will be universally recognised. John anticipated it as he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. We begin with the Supper. The three scriptures may be taken, I think, in proper order as I have cited them, (1) The Supper; (2) "in the Spirit"; and (3) practical righteousness down here coming out in giving.
Ques. Would there be any connection with what we do at the Supper, the bread, then the cup, then giving?
J.T. The giving has reference to the scene down here; the Spirit has no reference to the external world; He has reference to the spiritual world. In giving you are not beside yourself, but in the Spirit you are. In giving you are considering the needs of saints, taking account of things in a sober way, but being in the Spirit puts you in accord with what is spiritual. They came together with the Supper in view, and it is mentioned as if it were customary on that day, but we are not told to do it then. The Lord came to the disciples on that day, therefore the precedent is established for us. Christianity is a free system, and is based on what others did; the Lord and the apostles. You will find that the Spirit of God in recording what is in the gospels aims at showing that the apostles' ministry and administration were in accord with what Christ did. Matthew shows that what Christ did supports what the apostles did in administration. Mark shows that the apostles' ministry was in accord with Christ's ministry. Luke shows that Paul's ministry was in
accord with His ministry. Thus we have the apostles linked up with Christ in the testimony, so we may be perfectly sure of our ground, if following the principles established by them.
Ques. The first day is more a day of privilege than of rest, I suppose?
J.T. Yes, it ought to be a day of rest, but the conditions that exist in the world forbid this; so the Lord, on the first day of the week, was marked by great activity, but His activity had one end in view, I think, to get the saints together. The saints were given to Him as a sort of recompense for Israel, and He wants them together, to be entirely for Himself. Each "week" is a figure of the whole christian period; every week stands by itself, and marks a course; so the assembly begins afresh every first day; the convening is renewed.
Ques. Does not the apostle receive instruction as to the Supper in 1 Corinthians 11, "For I received from the Lord"?
J.T. That was to show it was for gentiles as well as Jews, as the record in the gospels does not extend beyond Jewish believers. The Lord shows the importance He attaches to the Supper by committing it to the apostle of the gentiles.
Ques. What is the import of the Supper?
J.T. It is the last meal of the day, ordinarily a meal in which we are free, using the figure of the ordinary meal. It comes in at the end of the day's labour, and not at the beginning. Your mind is not charged with the cares and responsibilities of the day. We should come together as free; the family idea is more seen at the Supper when all are free.
Ques. How are you to secure that?
J.T. There ought to be great exercise as to the Supper, I believe saints ought to be greatly exercised as to it, that we might have moral power to lay aside care, for the Lord is aiming at having the
assembly for Himself. The word in Genesis is, "It is not good that Man should be alone", Genesis 2:18. We forget that the Lord seeks companionship; He seeks to have His affections reciprocated. God provided for Adam, because of that, and what God has provided for Christ is the assembly.
Ques. Do we specially come into touch with Christ then?
J.T. He puts Himself into touch with us, I think.
Ques. Why did you put the three points alluded to at the beginning in the order you did?
J.T. The Supper is the proper starting point. From thence we are led on to the spiritual side, and the result of all is you come out here to exhibit the grace of Christ in giving, and the three things are connected with the first day of the week.
Ques. Should we be exercised more about this?
J.T. Apart from individual exercise, we are not equal to the Supper. We come together, I think, as we are here in flesh and blood as those who have to do with the world outside. Our exercises are very shallow with regard to divine things. What John says is "God is a spirit" (John 4:24), and hence having to do with God requires that we should be spiritual, for spiritual persons worship Him in spirit and in truth. Hence the necessity that flesh should not intrude. We come together, I think, as here in this world, and He reminds us that He knows each one of us by name as we are here; but as we lay hold of the spiritual world, of which He is Head. He gives us to understand that we have a new name, that all in His world is under His control, just as all in the natural creation was under Adam's control. As he gave names to all, so in Christ's world, He has all control.
Ques. What is the reason for the order in Acts 2, "The apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers"?
J.T. If not abiding in the apostles' doctrine, one would not be suitable for fellowship.
J.S. It is necessary to have things rightly distinguished in our souls, in order that our exercises may take a proper channel.
J.T. The Supper was never celebrated during the forty days in resurrection before the Lord ascended, but when He ascended, and the Spirit came, you find the Supper immediately. There is nothing about it during the forty days. This is significant. It was on the night in which He was betrayed that He instituted it, and the apostle who records it afterwards tells us the same thing. Hence, I take it, it has reference to the sphere in which He died, not the sphere of resurrection. Clearly He did not die in Canaan, as Canaan is the sphere of His resurrection. He died here in the world.
G.G. What do you mean by the world?
J.T. The world as it stood, where Christ was put to death; it was all arrayed against Christ. What was the disciples' path? Were they to go back to the world? Christ provided that they should have a fellowship; they were not to go out of the world, but to have a fellowship in it, the fellowship of His death; therefore in presence of the world, we are committed to His death.
Ques. How do we partake of it?
J.T. We are in flesh and blood when we partake of it; we are assumed to be so. John says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day", and Paul says he was "caught up to the third heaven"; that is spiritual; that is the assembly. The breaking of bread introduces us to what is spiritual.
Ques. Can the terms "breaking of bread" and "Supper" be used interchangeably?
J.T. The regular formula is "the breaking of bread". The Supper means both bread and cup. If analysed, there is different teaching attached to the
bread and cup, but that was the way they spoke of it -- the breaking of bread.
Ques. You attach importance to the act of breaking?
J.T. In the chapter you have the two thoughts distinguished, breaking and eating. The breaking is the reminder of Christ, the eating could not be. He never ate the Supper, only the Passover. Hence you have in the Supper what is objective and what is subjective -- for the eye and for the mouth. You see and then you commit yourself to it. You get, "As often as ye shall eat".
A.P. Have you any thought as to the expression, 'We receive it from His hand' which is frequently used?
J.T. He primarily delivered it to us. As it is commonly used I do not go with it, as we do it when He is not here. Seeing He is not here, it has to be done by someone. I do not understand the Supper if Christ is present. If it were to be a supper over which He was to preside, I cannot see why He did not have it when He arose. As regards Emmaus it was an informal supper, and He just remained long enough to break the bread. If He were present at the Supper, we should not need to be reminded of Him, "This do in remembrance of me".
Ques. What about that line of the hymn, 'In Thy presence break the bread'?
J.T. I would not limit the Lord. You can never make divine Persons act automatically, I would not pretend to say when He makes Himself known to us; but I do say this, when He does it is discernible to the affections.
Ques. What as to His leading the praises?
Ques. Does it involve His presence?
J.T. I think He does it in the assembly as convened. We must distinguish between what we are in our ordinary circumstances and our position in assembly.
Ques. Do we break bread in the wilderness?
J.T. I do not understand it in any other way. Canaan represents a wholly spiritual idea. We are in conditions of flesh and blood. The Supper is a literal thing that we partake of. Corinthians contemplates the saints as here in the world, so that if an unbeliever came, it would be a testimony to him.
Ques. Does the presence of the Lord affect everyone?
Ques. What does "in the Spirit" involve?
J.T. The assembly in the mind of God is spiritual.
Ques. Do you mean the material or moral world, when you speak of the world?
J.T. Both; we are in a position to be taken cognisance of. Christ was not during the forty days. The world is foreign and adverse, but it can take cognisance of us. The assembly itself cannot be taken account of in that way. Into that company an unbeliever might come, and go out to the world and report that God was in them of a truth, but that is not the assembly in heavenly privilege. The old corn of the land is partaken of in the assembly; we touch Him in that character; that is assembly privilege properly. The old corn is Christ going up to His own sphere, not the bread of God coming down. John 20 conveys an entirely spiritual idea; the doors were shut, yet the Lord came in, in spite of that. We are here under the eyes of the world, and they take cognisance of us, but the world knows nothing of what goes on in our souls. As we enter into the significance of the bread and the cup we enter the spiritual world.
J.T. Yes, if He is there. He is sovereign; He does not work automatically. You cannot put it that way.
Ques. The Lord broke the bread and now we break it.
J.T. We do it because He told us to do it. It was His customary act, and this was the last time He did it; and now He says, 'You do it'. The bread sets aside our wills. Christ's body was the vessel in which He did God's will, so our wills are set aside. It is brought in in chapter 10 so that you cannot be independent, or do what you please.
Ques. What about Matthew 18:20, "There am I in the midst"?
J.T. That is levitical, it is those burdened with God's administration in the assembly. That is a great burden, and the Lord is with them to support them, but John 20 is what is for Christ. When burdened you are not then for Christ. You are occupied with service, and the Lord helps you and supports you; but in assembly it is what is for Christ.
Ques. What about "I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you"?
J.T. These chapters set forth the provision the Lord made for the disciples, in view of His going; and chapter 20 is the inauguration of what is new. One of the provisions the Lord made is "I am coming to you". First you get another Comforter, another divine Person coming to take His place. He would not leave them. Christ was leaving them, so He says, "I am coming to you", not when or where, or that He is coming to stay. I do not think we should add to it. The thing is to be in expectancy, and He will not disappoint that.
Ques. You get in 1 Corinthians 1, "The assembly of God ... sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints". Can the world take account of that?
J.T. Oh, yes, I think so; you are set apart. The Corinthians were endued with all gift, and set apart
down here. The world can take account of that, I think, from its own standpoint. They are viewed in the wilderness condition, "all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord".
Ques. What about your second point, "in the Spirit"?
J.T. Well, our time is gone. That suggests what the assembly is, viewed in relation to Christ. In order to touch this, you must know something of being "in the Spirit".
2 Timothy 2:1 - 26
J.T. I would like to suggest before we proceed with this chapter that it would help us if we could see more clearly what the position of the apostle Paul was. A right understanding of the epistle requires a right understanding of the apostle in relation to the testimony. The Lord's sovereign authority is involved in Paul's position. Paul as a vessel was His choice, and to him the complete testimony was entrusted; hence you will find a great deal is made in the epistle of Paul's witness of his sovereign place on the one hand, and of his character on the other -- what he was as a man. I think you will find that these two things are emphasised in this epistle -- especially what he was; and, in keeping with that, that Timothy was his child; I mean what he was as formed by the truth, and thus the product of his testimony, that is to say, what kind of children he would beget. I thought I would mention that more particularly so that we might realise the importance of it.
H.D'A.C. It is most important.
J.T. Well, I think it is what we endeavour to get to know of the testimony.
H.D'A.C. What was the other deposit that Paul had entrusted to Him, against that day?
H.D'A.C. I thought Paul had put everything he had into the concern. He had entrusted everything he had into the concern. He had put every penny he had into the business. There was nothing for him on earth but the testimony. Now, what do you say to that?
S.B. Does that mean he was completely under the authority of Christ?
H.D'A.C. Yes, he knew Him whom he had believed. He knew what he was doing.
Rem. Those in Asia had turned away from him, but he looks to Timothy as the one whom he could trust.
J.T. Yes, Timothy was his own child. It is well worth considering the relation in which Timothy stood to the apostle.
J.S.A. I suppose there was no one with whom the testimony was so closely linked, save Paul himself.
J.T. Yes, I think that. You get that fully confirmed in his letter to the Corinthians. They had ten thousand instructors, but only one father. He says, "As my beloved children I admonish you". He gives them the place of being beloved children, but they require to be warned, and the conditions existing at Corinth hindered his coming to them. He stayed away lest he should have to execute judgment; so instead of coming himself he sends Timothy. He says, "I have sent to you Timotheus, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ", as if the apostle intended to prepare the Corinthians for his own visit by sending his child who knew him so perfectly.
J.A.M. It is all to show the character of the vessel in whom the testimony is carried on.
J.T. The Lord takes care that the testimony comes out in a suitable vessel.
T.M.G. "The same commit thou to faithful men".
J.T. That is how the apostle intended it to be transmitted. I am sure the Lord would bring the light very near to us as to what the testimony is, but then the question is as to the character of those who have got the light, whether they are really
formed by the light. The apostle's wish was to have children begotten by the testimony in a way after his own character.
T.M.G. "Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose".
H.D'A.C. Even in the very charge he gives to Timothy, he himself was a witness of it. He did not charge Timothy to do anything he had not done himself. He was the expression of it.
R.L. Is that why he says in Philippians, "I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state"?
H.D'A.C. It is a very serious thing to give a charge to another unless you are yourself the exponent of it. Paul exemplified all that he charged upon others in his own life.
J.T. It was the Lord's intention that there should be no lowering of the character of the vessel. Paul was especially taken up as one who should be near to Christ. He brings himself forward as one who followed Christ. Follow me as I have followed Christ, he says in effect. He asks Timothy to remember his ways.
Ques. Did the testimony come out in an individual way?
J.T. It came out first in the Lord. The assembly is the pillar and ground of it. The assembly upholds the testimony. The communication of the mind of God is to an individual, and I believe that Paul is especially taken up and fitted by the Lord as an adequate vessel connected with the testimony. He was not only capable of expounding it, but, as Mr. C, says, he was himself an exemplification of it.
T.M.G. The assembly does not teach.
J.T. No, but it supports what is taught.
Ques. Would that be implied in what the apostle says to the Corinthians, "Ye are our letter ... known and read of all men"?
J.T. Yes, it was great grace on the part of the apostle to give them such a place, and his thought was that he would send his beloved child in the Lord to them, that they should be put in remembrance of his ways in Christ. He wants to speak well of them. They were in his heart. I have often thought that a brother who cannot speak well of the saints is not commendable. The apostle says, 'Do we need letters of commendation from you? why, ye are in our hearts'.
Ques. As to the testimony, did you say the testimony was not in the assembly?
J.T. I said the testimony was unfolded by an individual or individuals specially called by the Lord for His purpose; that is, one fitted in regard to the administration of the truth. Paul was supported by his Master here. He says, "By the grace of God I am what I am". By his own account, every bit of him was by the grace of God. He was specially fitted to unfold the testimony, but the assembly supported what he taught. The assembly at Ephesus, I think, was specially fitted by the Lord to support what the apostle taught. It is due to the Lord that we should consider all that he said in the unfolding of the testimony.
H.D'A.C. I think it is due to the apostle, because where would the truth be without him? They might support the truth firmly, but it did not exist till he came. It is a wonderful thing to be set to support the truth.
J.S.A. If we want to get a right thought of the testimony or of expressing it, we must come back to Paul.
H.D'A.C. That is just what I think, to recognise that all the activity would be in keeping with the vessel. To whom do we owe all that? We owe it to the apostle Paul.
With regard to his being the vessel, I suppose it was hinted at in his conversion, "This man is an elect vessel to me, to bear my name".
W.K. The word 'support', Mr. T., is a little ambiguous. What do you mean by that?
J.T. I mean they should be in sympathy with the minister through whom the light comes; that should characterise saints. It did not characterise the saints at Corinth. The defect at Corinth was that they did not value the vessel through whom the light came to them. He had begotten them. Now, if you stand up to minister, you know what it is to have the support of the saints. How sweet it is! Paul was very much concerned about the church being the pillar and ground of the truth. The ways and walk of the saints go with it. It would be manifested in them. They would support what the apostle taught. You take the church at Philippi. The apostle's letter shows that the saints there were in sympathy with him, in sympathy with the gospel. Is not that so, Mr. C.?
H.D'A.C. Yes. He enlarges on that in his first chapter, "From the first day". They appreciated the testimony. The result of that was they were interested in the gospel because it was through him it came to them.
T.M.G. "Your fellowship with the gospel, from the first day until now".
J.T. Yes. Onesiphorus in Rome sought him out diligently and was not ashamed of his chain. There is a man singled out specially by the apostle because of his sympathy and interest in the vessel of the testimony.
Ques. What are the things Timothy had heard from the apostle?
J.T. He had heard these from Paul, not from the twelve, so one can understand the verse only by what Paul has written.
Ques. In presence of many witnesses. What does that mean?
J.T. Well, what he did was brought out into the light. If it was communicated to Timothy personally, it was not communicated to him alone.
Rem. It was not communicated to Timothy or Paul apart from the truth that was ministered to the assembly.
H.D'A.C. It is found in the assembly, though you cannot look at the assembly today as having that character; so this epistle hinges on the individual position. It is entrusted to Timothy, not to the assembly; that is, to one of Paul's children.
J.S.A. Then the position of the testimony has reference to the broken state of things.
J.T. He was more than Paul's child. There were a great many children of Paul who did not answer to Paul. He says, "Thou hast fully known ..."; thou hast closely followed in my line.
I think the second chapter sets us on an important line which must have been a great stay to the apostle's heart. He had no one like-minded with Timothy who naturally cared with genuine feeling for the saints how they got on. I think you have here first of all the character of the apostle, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". That is the descending line that goes down. It is a very great study, I think, what the Lord was as a Man; and then what Paul was, and then what Timothy was, and then what Epaphroditus was. They were all on the same line; they were all after Christ.
R.L. In the epistle we are sometimes spoken of as in Christ Jesus.
J.T. I think that what you suggest is right; alas! man has broken down in the church, but there never is a breakdown in Christ.
R.L. Everyone else fails, but there is no failure in Christ.
J.T. Now we have been endeavouring to get to our relation to the testimony at the present time. And at this juncture we have to look for a moment at the testimony as presented in Ephesians, because it is the mind of God that it should be maintained in the saints.
R.L. Will you open out a little what the testimony is?
J.T. I think the testimony is comprised in the epistles to the Romans and to the Ephesians. That is, Romans deals with men on earth: Romans gives the relation between God and men on earth. Now, that, to my mind, is the first problem to be solved. Then Ephesians presents to us the counsels of God in regard to Christ and the assembly.
Ques. Should these two aspects be preached in the glad tidings?
J.T. I think so. Romans is the gospel of God to men; Ephesians, Christ and the assembly.
Ques. Where do you place Colossians?
J.T. Colossians is corrective. Romans and Ephesians are the setting forth of the truth.
H.D'A.C. Do you think the postscript at the end of Romans connects that epistle with the Ephesians?
J.T. It may. I think the epistle to the Romans is not to meet the need at Rome. It was really a letter intended for all the saints. He wrote it to the gentiles to unfold his gospel.
W.K. Between God and man it was a question of life and death.
H.M. It has been very often said that the epistle to the Ephesians was only written to the Ephesians.
J.T. I think the saints of Ephesus were in a state to receive such a letter, but the letter is the unfolding of God's testimony.
J.S.A. The Corinthians were not in a state to receive that letter.
J.T. No, nor were the Galatians. There is good reason to believe that it was of a circular character.
W.K. It has been said that it was a circular letter, and that 'the Ephesians' was added after.
J.S.A. Do you not think that as a principle it would be addressed to those that were in a condition to receive it?
J.T. There can be no doubt in reading it that it gives the unfolding of the counsel of God in regard to Christ, and that was not unfolded in the epistle to the Romans. All the truth that relates to the earth is dealt with and adjusted in the Romans. Every question of man is solved in the epistle to the Romans. God has solved the problems -- righteousness and life.
J.A.M. Would you say a little about the testimony in Romans?
J.T. What a wonderful thing it is to be able to look up into the face of God and be accounted righteous! God has brought that to pass, "I am not ashamed", Paul says, "of the glad tidings; for it is God's power to salvation ... for righteousness of God is revealed therein, on the principle of faith, to faith". God has brought that about; but then the next thing is you are made to live to God.
Ques. Is that all unfolded in 2 Timothy 2:8, "Remember Jesus Christ raised from among the dead"?
J.T. Yes, that involves the testimony of Romans; it is in connection with Jesus Christ of the seed of David.
Ques. Then would that expression, "That they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" belong to Ephesians?
J.T. I think that is very good. What do you say to that, Mr. C.?
H.D'A.C. Yes, there is the righteousness and power of God.
J.T. Love is behind the righteousness.
J.S.A. We need only to walk with God consciously in His presence and also with confidence in the love of God.
H.D'A.C. Yes, and you feel you love God.
J.T. Romans gives us the spirit of sonship, but in Ephesians it is the state of sonship. God has solved the question of righteousness and life. The earthly side of the truth is first stated, and then the heavenly, which is the special position of the church. Ephesians gives the position of Christ and the assembly, completing all God's counsels. You must have the earthly side first. There must be conciliation of the two trees. God set them there, and there they are as a testimony to the truth of the idea of good and evil. You must have the question of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil settled before you can touch the tree of life.
Ques. How is the first settled?
J.T. It is settled in the death of Christ. The question of responsibility devolves upon man. Man was placed in the garden in responsibility. That is the first commandment. That conveys the will of God. Man was placed there at the will of God, and God's commandments were subsequently involved in the expression of His will for the moment. Man had transgressed the commandments, and God's will is contravened, and so all was lost for man; and that brings into evidence what Christ was.
Ques. What is the promise of life?
J.T. The kind of life God had in His mind primarily was the life God intended to continue in Christ. Romans shows how that kind of life is brought in. The saints are not viewed as risen in Romans, but Christ is. The point is that eternal life is available in a Man. It is in another Man. It is brought to pass in one Man, and in Him is eternal life. It was testimony. It involved the kind of life God had before Him.
Ques. Would it prefigure the place Christ has entered into?
Rem. The One who settled the question of responsibility is now to us as the tree of life.
J.S.A. God sent His only-begotten Son that we should have everlasting life. There is now only the one tree.
J.T. Yes, and that brings in the thought that Christ is eternal life.
L.W. Is man not now responsible under the Lord Jesus Christ? You made a remark that the Lord Jesus had met his responsibility.
J.T. Romans regards us as here in the wilderness. Romans sets man up where he was before. It sets him up in relation with God. God has secured His place in that man, and that man is made to live. It is the sphere of God's will. Now you are called upon to prove whether you are in the kingdom or not. Walking in the will of God is the test.
J.S.A. Then, I take it, children have a responsibility, "As obedient children".
J.T. The point of view in Romans is that you are taken up where you are. Now what are you going to do? You are not taken to heaven. You are living here. Chapter 12 contemplates your walking up to that.
S.B. And we are set up in responsibility because we are in the new position, but there is power given to maintain it.
J.T. You have support. Enough to pay your debts, and to live on the rest. There is not a single obligation which has not been made good.
T.M.G. The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit.
L.W. Is it the responsibility involved in love to Christ? Love is the fulfilling of the law. You are able to fulfil every responsibility because you have got the Spirit.
J.T. Righteousness has been brought to light, and the ultimate end of lawlessness is made known.
R.L. If man as a creature does not submit to Christ as Head he is not free of responsibility. It is those who have submitted to Christ as Head that are free of responsibility.
H.M. What is the difference between life and eternal life?
J.T. The individual has to be made to live; but Christ is eternal life. Life is not intelligence, it is power. Life is required for the wilderness. Romans contemplates that man is taken up as he is here -- man is made to live in his affections as Christ lives. Eternal life is an objective thought, whilst life is a subjective thought. That is said of the Spirit. The Spirit is life. With God eternal life is in Christ.
J.S.A. I think Mr. T's remark goes to the root of the distinction -- life looked at as subjective. Eternal life is objective in a sphere of its own.
Ques. Is eternal life presented in contrast to death?
J.T. Yes. The gift of God is eternal life.
R.L. "This is the eternal life, that they should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
J.T. We live in relation to an unseen scene.
Romans 3:1 - 31
J.T. I suppose the epistle to the Romans is the testimony of the relations between God and man. I think it is a very great consideration that God was in a position to intervene and to re-establish the relationships between Himself and man, so that there is a complete adjustment of everything on the earth. The actual conditions that exist on earth are laid bare in the earlier part of the epistle, and then there is an adjustment of them in relation to God.
W.L. And would you say that that adjustment, whilst in the first place it takes up the simple one of man as man in relation to God, also includes the special position of Israel?
J.T. You must have the whole thing, but man as man is the great thesis. Unless God had justified Himself in reference to everything as well as man, things would not be quite clear. The Jew is alluded to in this chapter, "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God"; that is to say, all that was of God connected with Israel was fully accounted for and recognised; they had the oracles of God. I believe it is of great importance at the present time for the Lord's people to see that there must be a testimony in regard to our relationship with God, and to see how that adjustment has taken place, so that the position of man on earth and the relationship is fully established.
W.M. God has made that adjustment Himself.
Ques. Is that why we have the mercy-seat?
J.T. Yes, the mercy-seat is the great central thought in the passage. It is as if God has taken
His seat on the throne, and put Himself in touch with His creatures in consistency with His nature. The adjustment is brought about from God's side. The central thought is how God justifies Himself.
W.H.M. That He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
T.M.G. Just, according to His throne.
J.T. The position suggests the tabernacle, not Egypt; it is the wilderness because the mercy-seat did not exist in Egypt. I think the thought is that God is acting from His own position.
J.A.M. It is not a question of man's need, but of God's righteousness.
J.T. Yes, exactly, how God puts Himself in touch with all that is without in accordance with His own nature.
T.M.G. That is really the thought of the mercy-seat.
Rem. In order to show forth the completeness of the testimony, the absolute departure of man is shown.
J.T. I think so, and that every testimony previously rendered was ineffectual. The testimony of the creation had reference to man as a whole; the testimony of the law had reference to Israel, and so both were ineffective.
Rem. It is the gospel of God in Romans.
J.T. And it is concerning His Son; that is to say, He has found a vessel to carry out His will. You see the testimonies previously rendered were not concerning His Son; they were divine; that is to say, creation was God's handiwork, and has to be taken account of; the testimony was there, but it was ineffective; but although ineffective, it rendered man unsuitable.
J.G. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.
J.T. That was clearly the thought in the testimony in creation; there was the index in it to what was spiritual; it only waited for the spiritual system to be introduced for us to understand the index; Christ answers in heaven now to all that was in the heavens. Then there was the testimony of God's will in Israel, that is, God asserted His right to man's affections, but He never secured them.
T.M.G. That was the law really; He claimed what He had a right to.
W.L. Would you not say Paul's object in writing is not exactly to present the gospel to sinners, but it is written to saints that they might understand the manner in which God has manifested His righteousness? If we are not clear on that, we do not apprehend our place. If we are not clear as to the position as men on earth, what is the use of bringing in the heavenly position? There is rather an interesting expression in the gospel which would connect itself with this, the publican condemned himself and justified God, and he got the blessing.
T.M.G. That is what settles the soul.
J.T. I think it prepares for the divine system, because as you find in Luke 7, you have the woman in the pharisee's house. What came out about her was that she loved much because she was forgiven much; therefore the better you understand Romans the better you love Christ.
Rem. It is the over-abounding grace that comes out. The better you love Christ the better you are for Him; this applies not only to the disciples but to the women also, because they were with Him and ministered unto Him of their substance.
J.T. The one who is forgiven much loves much; the more we judge sin the more we appreciate what Christ has done for us; so that to my mind the effect of the epistle to the Romans on the soul is wonderful. No one can tell you anything; you understand
everything on earth; there is a perfect judgment of everything on earth in your soul, and you are in relationship with God; and then the effect of it all is that you love Christ.
S.C. What you have just said shows the importance of a soul's having the sense of what is presented in the epistle to the Romans.
J.T. You are not likely to be carried away by anything material if you are grounded in Romans. If you were the best astronomer in the world all you would know in regard to the heavens would be a testimony to God's wisdom. If we are clear as to the teaching of Romans, we are not likely to be carried away by an earthly religion, because that also is discovered. Everything here is exposed in its true light. You would not be carried away by anything material, because the material system is only a testimony to the spiritual; and you would not be carried away by man's wisdom, as the second chapter exposes it; and we shall not be carried away by an earthly religion.
Rem. So that really you see that the influences to which the Galatians exposed themselves are really met in Romans.
J.T. If we were established in what Romans presents, we would not be carried away through philosophy or religion.
W.L. A thorough establishing in what is brought out in Romans prepares the soul for the introduction of heavenly truth; and until then, no matter how much we might speak about it, it has not come to be a reality in our souls, because you have not come to know God in heavenly relationship.
J.T. The point is to distinguish God. However plausible men may be, if what they say is opposed to what God has said, you judge God must be true, even if you do not understand what they say. So
that as Mr. L, says, the knowledge of God in the soul is an immense fortification against evil.
W.L. I think the two things that are said to be impossible for God to do are very remarkable: He cannot lie, and He cannot deny Himself.
Ques. Does the thought of the covenant come out in Romans?
J.T. I do not know that it would be exactly the point, because the covenant has the house of Israel and the house of Judah in view, whereas in Romans it is God and man.
Ques. Is not the teaching of Romans for the individual?
J.T. The point is to re-establish the relation between God and man, and what is to be gathered from it is that the relationship is in another Man. The first man is removed judicially in the cross, because the sin-offering was burnt without the camp.
J.M. It is not that that man is set up again; he is removed.
J.T. The sin-offering is burnt without the camp, showing the uncleanness of it; but then in the burnt-offering that man is gone in death; therefore you have a mercy-seat which is clearly seen in Christ risen. It is a question of what was brought inside, sprinkled on the mercy-seat and before it; it is the blood of the sin-offering.
T.M.G. And then the glad tidings are concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. He was the One who not only superseded the first man, but He set him aside.
J.T. As we were seeing, every claim of God was met in Christ, so that the order of man that was to exist is set forth in Christ, whilst the lawless man is removed by His death. It is very much like what Genesis 6 sets forth; you have first the man that is righteous, and he appears in the midst of corruption; Noah appears in the midst of corruption, and he
walked with God, and he preached in the midst of it, and he had the testimony that he was righteous, and then he goes through death. I do not know whether that thought is clear, but I think it is very important to see that the head of a new system was first there before the old was removed.
T.M.G. That is a very important thing.
Ques. You mean it is illustrated in Noah?
Rem. It is only such a one who could meet the situation.
J.T. I think it is wonderful to think of God looking down on Christ, and what He was under God's eye.
W.H.M. Is it not in that way that the epistle to the Romans is such a beautiful answer to the Book of Job?
J.T. How can a man be just before God, is that your idea?
W.H.M. Yes; and then he longed for a daysman to lay his hand on both.
J.T. I think there is a hidden allusion to Israel in Job. The principle of the book is the same principle that applies to Israel in its re-establishment on earth.
Rem. You said the lawless man is removed to introduce the just man.
J.T. Well, I think that meets the present idea that Christ added anything to man here; it is a totally false idea, because He was the order of man that was to be established and that was to continue. Now, what is very precious to my mind is that, whilst we are removed vicariously, we are retained personally.
J.M. It is a question of the order of man that is to continue.
J.T. Yes. Now in the death of Christ the order of man was set aside vicariously, but still man was
retained before God, but it is man in Christ that is retained.
T.M.G. That is another order of man; but then that order was testified to here.
Ques. Would you say our personalities were retained?
J.T. Yes, you see that historically in the disciples. There was a race of men retained by the Lord so that He comes up out of death with a new humanity -- that is, with the disciples -- retained.
Rem. That was a greater triumph for God than sweeping the scene in judgment and bringing in a new creation altogether.
J.T. God could have obliterated them completely, and He might have brought in another generation in Moses; but that would only have been an act of power. His righteousness and mercy would not have been evidenced.
Ques. What do you mean by saying that the personality is retained?
J.T. Man is retained; you and I have been sinners, and that order of man is removed from before God in Christ, but you and I are brought back, and we are men.
W.L. I would quote a verse which gives the idea, the apostle says. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me".
J.A.M. Would you not say the way God has effected all this is what forms us?
J.T. I think so; the individuality remains, but then the apostle says, "By the grace of God I am what I am". That is, characteristically he is what he is by the grace of God.
Rem. If God was merciful it was on a righteous basis.
J.T. How could He be merciful aside from what was His nature? You cannot compromise any
attribute of God, because He is merciful in the mercy-seat.
Rem. I suppose it all proves how the gospel is entirely from God.
J.T. And there must be the vindication of every divine attribute.
T.M.G. God must act in accordance with all that He is. So when Stephen saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ it meant that all God's attributes were fully set forth.
J.T. After Exodus 33, you have the tables of the covenant and the ark again alluded to, because it was on them that everything depended; because they referred to Christ, and the lid of the ark was the mercy-seat. So that the rights of mercy are taken up in the mercy-seat.
Ques. What is the force of "through faith in his blood"?
J.T. The point is that no one can get it apart from that, but God has set it forth -- a mercy-seat.
J.T. Faith in us gives us part in it; it is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. The death of Christ has vindicated every attribute of God, and therefore wherever faith is, it regards the blood; and chapter 3 is the death of Christ, it is the blood, and wherever there is faith in that, there is righteousness for you.
T.M.G. But chapter 3 is God's side, it is not so much us.
J.T. I think it is a question of God in chapter 3.
Ques. Would you say that answers to Leviticus 2; God gets His portion first?
J.T. Quite so; the bullock really answers to us more in Leviticus 16. The side that applies to the present dispensation is really the bullock. There was only one bullock; there was no 'scape-bullock'; the blood of the bullock was carried inside and there
was no scape-bullock that the people could see going off with their sins. So that the present moment is a moment of faith. When the Lord returns Israel will see Him and will know their forgiveness; but we know Him now by the Spirit.
W.L. I think the second scape-goat refers to an earthly people walking in the light of revealed forgiveness.
J.T. Justification is on the principle of faith; that is, you do not see anything. Faith is brought in here; it is a minor thought in the passage; the point is that it is a showing forth of God's righteousness.
W.L. I think it is a great thing to see that it is in the death of Christ that the righteousness of God is manifested. Our righteousness comes in in the next chapter.
J.T. It is God taking up a universal position in regard to men to set forth His righteousness. I think faith is a necessary element in the setting forth of the righteousness of God. It is seen in those who have faith.
J.A.M. In that way it is from faith to faith.
J.T. The light would be wholly in an abstract way aside from its having an answer in man.
Ques. Presented to man for the obedience of faith; does God call for faith on the part of man?
J.T. I think the faith in man answers the setting forth of God's righteousness. God has brought about faith in your soul.
W.L. There is an expression later on which refers to the obedience of faith. Israel lost the blessing because they would not submit to the righteousness of God.
J.McF. Would you say that faith is a state in man?
J.T. Well, it is difficult to call it a state exactly, but it is a principle which God produces and which
answers to the light of the death of Christ. As far as I know it cannot be defined; it has to be owned to be understood. It is said to be the gift of God. I think the righteousness of God is in the death of Christ, but then its bearing must be seen, and for that you require faith in man.
J.A.M. The righteousness of God is set forth, but faith comes into the gain of it.
Ques. Do you speak of faith as a necessary principle for the setting forth of righteousness?
J.T. Well, faith was there in connection with the death of Christ. Faith always embraces God's testimony. You could not have any idea of God's testimony apart from faith.
Ques. Am I right in the thought that faith came in after the departure?
J.T. Oh surely, it contemplates darkness.
Rem. And so it says we walk by faith and not by sight.
Rem. Abel is the first that was seen to walk by faith. Adam was a figure of Him that was to come, but Abel was more than that; Abel had the substance.
J.T. You may have a type of Christ in an animal, or in a man, but when you have faith you have got substance. In connection with faith you have the light of God livingly expressed, not simply in a dead type; there was something vital in faith.
W.M. Would you not say faith is a capacity God gives to receive the death of Christ?
J.T. Surely; God has placed it in your heart, and it was there in connection with the death of Christ. There never has been a time since Abel when there was not faith in the world. Faith supposes a testimony rendered, I do not believe there ever was a testimony rendered when there was not faith to receive it.
W.L. The character of the blessing that faith presents to you is connected with the revelation God has made of Himself.
J.T. So that the faith that there is is really of Jesus; that is the kind of faith; it is not the faith of Abel, it is the faith of Jesus; that is the faith of our day.
Ques. And would you say it was another aspect of the display of the righteousness of God in the previous part of that verse -- the passing over of the sins that are past?
T.M.G. I think the point is that God always acted upon what was before Him, that is, the death of Christ; and Old Testament saints had faith in whatever light God had given them; and that God passed over sins on the ground of what was coming. Now, the believer's sins are forgiven on the ground of what has actually come. It is all the same death of Christ.
J.T. God gave them credit for what they would not have given themselves credit for. Moses is said to have esteemed "the reproach of Christ"; now, Moses would not perhaps have given expression to it.
Ques. What is the difference between faith in God and faith in Christ?
J.T. Faith in God is that you have confidence in God, but when you come to faith in Christ, there is an addition to it; it is that you believe in that order of man.
Hebrews 6:11 - 20
J.T. It is well to be reminded that the coming in outwardly of the christian economy is not, in itself, the great end God has for us here. The divine end is that we should enter into the spiritual side; not merely seeing everything which is proved not to be of Christ, but that we might enter into what is positive as set forth in the position Christ has taken up. There was escape in the cities of refuge from the avenger of blood, but we should not only think of escape, but of what is inside. The Forerunner enters "within the veil". It is true that we have fled for refuge, but there is a great deal more in christianity than that. That is why I suggested this scripture. It shows us what the Jewish remnant came into; they not only escaped the impending wrath, but came into a spiritual order of things. Many think in coming into fellowship (putting it in simple language) that they have reached what is final, but that only marks them off on earth. It is, of course, very important that every christian should come into fellowship, but what is within the veil is what we want to see. Christ has taken up a position there as Forerunner, and, not only so, but He attends on us as Minister of the Sanctuary, so that we might be helped to enter in also. I mention that to show what I am exercised about.
It is said in Acts 2:47 that the Lord added to the assembly daily those that were to be saved, but their side of the matter was to take up the spiritual, and to go in for that. The Lord had taken up the position of Minister of the Sanctuary so that they might be introduced to what is spiritual. In taking sides with Christ, they were relieved from judgment;
that is Acts. But Hebrews, which contemplates the same people, shows that they were entitled to enter "within the veil".
A.N. It is not merely what we are saved from, but what we are saved to.
J.T. Our position is a question of the death of the Lord. That marks off our position here. It is very essential that every one who loves the Lord should be in that position. If we pretend to love the Lord, and evade that, we are disloyal to Christ. If we take up that position, Christ will introduce us to the other. He has gone in there; His death determines our position here, but what He is up there determines our position there.
J.F. Does that involve practical fellowship?
J.T. Our being in fellowship marks us off in this world, but fellowship does not introduce us to what is spiritual. We require the Spirit for that, and the support of the Minister of the Sanctuary. Take the company in Acts 2; it was a very large company, and they were marked off by identification with Christ in the breaking of bread. It is what they were before men, a testimony to this world as to the rights of God. That is what fellowship is; but what were they before God? What are we before God? Christ's position now, as having gone in, describes ours. He has gone in as Forerunner. The remnant are brought into a heavenly position, and we want the light of that. The laying hold of that position gives colour to us as in fellowship. We get the heavenly colour by laying hold of the heavenly position.
Ques. What are we to understand by the hope?
J.T. It refers to our position in divine counsels. Israel's hope did not go so far. Our hope enters "within the veil", "the hope set before us, which we have as anchor of the soul, both secure and firm, and entering into that within the veil" (verse 19). Coming into fellowship is not salvation in the true
sense. Although the company is an immense influence, for where the Spirit is there is immense influence, salvation proper involves the position where Christ is now; that is, we must have another place. In Hebrews the holiest is looked at as heaven itself, but there are two lights in which we can regard the holiest. In the first place, the tabernacle represents God's universe, and that being so, the holiest represents heaven. Secondly, it represents the presence of God and Christ there. The christian position is not an earthly one, but a heavenly one, and Christ's present position describes God's thought for us. If a young believer comes into christian fellowship, he escapes the influence of the world and comes under another influence. In adding to the assembly such as were to be saved, God had that in view. A position has been opened up to us in God's system, and power is available for us to lay hold of it, both in the Spirit and in Christ, and it thus becomes a question as to what we are going to do.
G.N. Every influence here is against us, but we are brought into a sphere where every influence is for us.
J.T. The Lord's supper is to the end that we might enter in.
P.L. "He brought us out thence, that he might bring us in", Deuteronomy 6:23.
J.T. Yes, that is very good. We must not be satisfied with an outward position. Fellowship is all important as separating us here, but we must see that there is a spiritual side, and the hope set before us is connected with that which is "within the veil". Israel's hopes are connected with reinstatement here as a nation under their Messiah, but our hope enters within the veil. Unbelief is the great sin in Hebrews, and as the light is presented as to the position, the question is, Are we going to embrace it? It is an immense thought that Christ is the Forerunner, and
it is in that connection that our hope enters there. The whole aim of the Lord in His dealings with us is that we might take up a spiritual position.
G.N. The two on the way to Emmaus would be content with an earthly hope.
J.T. Yes. The Lord blesses His disciples in Luke, and is received up. In Acts l, which is linked with Luke, a cloud receives Him out of their sight, indicating that the old dispensation was still recognised; but when we come to Stephen, the cloud disappears; there is no longer a cloud. Stephen sees Jesus in heaven, and that sets forth christianity. That is to say, christianity is a cloudless system, not a cloud in it, nor a shadow in it; and we are introduced into the fulness of God's counsels. While God bore in patience with Israel there was a cloud, a partial concealment of God in His nature and counsels, but at the same time the cloud was a testimony to His patience. Not until the testimony of the Spirit was refused, did God bring His people into the full light of His counsels. The veil, in a way, was Israel, for the position of Israel as marked off from other nations beclouded God; but when God comes out in His holy nature, He must have all men before Him. It must be God and men. From Genesis 9 onwards there was a cloud, something that concealed God. It continued in Israel and while the Lord was here in flesh, and also after He went up to heaven and until the ministry of the twelve was definitely refused and that of the Spirit in that wonderful vessel Stephen. Now, Stephen looks up to heaven and says, "I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God". There is no cloud now. The cloud which was with Israel in the wilderness, in the tabernacle, and in the temple, is gone, and Jesus is there alone. That is christianity, but the way to it is through death. No one in Scripture is more interesting than Stephen, "Shew
me thy glory", Moses had said. He had also said, "Shew me now thy way". God's way is through death, and it is also said to be in the sanctuary and in the sea. Stephen was in "the way", and being in "the way", he saw the Lord -- "Thy way is in the sea" -- and he saw the glory. We must connect the two, the divine way and the divine glory. What Moses and Elias spoke of on the mount was not the glory, but the way -- the decease. It was as much as intimating that they could not be there but on the ground of the death of Christ; they could only hold converse with Jesus there on the ground of His death. Then He went down from that point to Calvary -- that was the way.
Rem. It would be the same power that supported Stephen that works now.
J.T. Quite so. Luke is the only evangelist that records the theme of conversation on the mount. Luke gives us the Lord's manhood. How wonderful that that Man was worthy of conversation! The point of their theme is the Man. We have to see that Jesus established a title in His Person to go back to God. He took man's place on earth, and glorified God in every possible way. He established a title as Man to live here on earth, and then He goes up, and there the theme is His death. What a theme it was! Only on the ground of His death could Moses and Elias be there, and only on that ground can we be there. Jesus went up Himself to the mount, but He would have had to remain there alone had He not gone down again, so the conversation refers not to the ascent to the mount, but to what came after -- His death.
G.N. Can we have the veil on our hearts?
J.T. Any earthly system recognised in the soul is a veil, also any religious system recognised on the earth. It beclouds the light of God in the soul, 2 Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 10 correspond. In the
former the apostle does not speak in Jewish language; he uses christian language, that is, language which simply describes christianity as it is. In Hebrews, he uses Jewish language, but when writing to the gentiles who were made acquainted with Jesus, he shows that the glory was in the face of Jesus.
Rem. Will you please say a word as to full assurance of hope (verse 11).
J.T. It is a great thing to have your feet in a sure place, and to know just where you are. In verse 18, you get "two immutable things". Christian ground is the only ground there is. Abraham had no misgivings as to his position. The Hebrew believers were weakening, the light was waning, and they were giving things up. This describes a great many believers. It is "Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which is now", Galatians 4:25. Christendom has drifted back to law. Hebrews is a very important epistle now, as it is the call to leave the camp. Coming into fellowship does not, in itself, introduce you into the presence of God; it marks your position in the world; but then you get the exhortation, "Let us draw near". They were already in fellowship, but they did not take up their privileges "within the veil".
Ques. What is meant by "within the veil"?
J.T. The place that Jesus has before God as Man describes it.
J.T. Well, consider Him. You are called on to do this (Hebrews 3:1). Consider Him personally, and then His position. You get the greatness of the Priest, and then "Such an high priest became us". You have to consider all that. He not only leads you into the new system, but into the most sacred enclosure of it. We have the heavenly part.
Ques. What are we to understand as regards the veil in 2 Corinthians 4:3?
J.T. Paul was not a minister of the dispensation which had a veil, "If also our gospel is veiled", he said, 'I am not doing it; my gospel has no veil'. He was so in the light of the glory, that there was not a speck in his ministry.
P.L. It shone out as clearly as it shone in.
J.T. "We do not preach ourselves", he said, "but Christ Jesus Lord, and ourselves your bondmen for Jesus' sake". Then he says, "Because it is the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine who has shone in our hearts". And what for? "For the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". His ministry was as clear as the sun, not a speck on it, not a speck to shade it -- that is the kind of ministry that has come into the gentile world. The old dispensation had its full day, but it has worn itself out, "That which grows old and aged is near disappearing", Hebrews 8:13. It disappeared under the brilliancy of the ministry of Paul, and so it does in those who receive Paul's ministry. It is a cloudless gospel now. Stephen's testimony was reflected in Paul's ministry.
J.T. Morally Stephen was within; that was his place. He had said the last word to Israel. If he had come back, like Paul did who was stoned and rose up again, what kind of ministry would he have pursued? He had seen something no one else had seen.
Ques. Is the truth of this set forth in the Supper?
J.T. Yes; christianity is there in essence. Israel showed itself reprobate, putting a man to death whose face shone as the face of an angel. Any system that can do that is out of court with God. Suppose Stephen had revived, what kind of ministry would he have given? He was the great minister of glory and he would not have gone back to judaism. He had clung to the nation, but now he would have
gone on with the new thing. In Acts 8, in spite of the onslaught of the wicked one, the evangelical spirit is active. It is active in the presence of the most wicked hostility of the devil. He entered, in the person of Saul, into houses to obliterate the gospel, but Philip is active in the gospel to show that God is not defeated. Then after God shows that the spirit of the evangelist survives the onslaught of the devil. He brings in the power of the kingdom to show how completely superior He is to all down here. There is a light from heaven, and a sheet from heaven, and, following on that, the gentiles are introduced and receive the Spirit; there you have the full gentile position.
It is a great thing now to enter within; it brings us to the full result of the gospel. The gospel announces the full position in Jesus in heaven, and, therefore, the gospel, fully answered to, leads us there. Directly we lay hold of the heavenly position, we come out in heavenly colour. In Numbers 15 the children of Israel were to have a "riband of blue", which signified that they were a heavenly people. Stephen was heavenly; he had the face of an angel -- an angel being synonymous with a heavenly being.
Ques. Will you say a little more as to the holiest.
J.T. As we were saying, there are two lights in which it may be regarded. God has put Himself in touch with man and hence His presence as known in Christ constitutes the holiest for the believer. Then the tabernacle is a figure of the universe, and the holiest, in that sense, would be heaven itself. In Hebrews 10 the holiest is the presence of God, hence it says, "Let us draw near".
Rem. Will you say a little as to Melchisedec?
J.T. He describes the order of the Lord's priesthood and being said to be without father, without mother, and so on. He suggests a divine Person.
Aaron was taken from among men and he suggests the function of priesthood, as it says: "That he may minister unto me", but Melchisedec describes what the Lord is personally. We come in more on the line of Aaron and his sons. There is no such thought with Melchisedec.
Song of Songs 2:8 - 14; Song of Songs 8:6 - 10
My thought in reading this scripture is to dwell on the love of Christ. This scripture forms an opportunity for presenting the love of Christ. This song is a love song -- Christ's love song.
There are many different songs in Scripture and there is great interest in them. A song is a celebration of God's intervention on their behalf; a psalm the means by which we express our experiences; every believer should have a song and a psalm. You are in the full light of the intervention of God in Christ, outside of yourself, and you celebrate this before God; then what follows on that is the wilderness, the divinely appointed place for experience, which is just as much a divinely appointed place for you as the land. It is a place appointed for us of God, so that we may prove what He is to us. That is where you learn your psalm -- you give voice to your experiences. The Psalms are the experience of the soul with God. The Scriptures abound with songs and psalms, and they should abound in the assembly; and we are exhorted to sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord "in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs".
This Song is a love song -- composed by Christ in Spirit. The Old Testament abounds with evidences of the workings of the Spirit of Christ; the Spirit of Christ appears wherever faith appears. Noah was formed in measure by Christ, and his preaching was by the Spirit of Christ (See 1 Peter 3:18 - 20). No other spirit is of any interest to the one who knows Christ. This is specially so in the Psalms. We are not wanting in that kind of poetry in the Scriptures and it was the Spirit of Christ in David that wrote the Psalms. A man is what his spirit is. We read of
the spirits of just men made perfect, made perfect through the Spirit of Christ, and we are called to drink in the Spirit of Christ, which is so different from the spirit of the world, which is characterised by selfishness. The Spirit of Christ lifts you to God's world, which is characterised by love, the love of Christ.
Now the Song of Solomon is Christ's love song; it is a composition of the Spirit of Christ. Solomon was a peculiar vessel in the Old Testament. Every Old Testament saint portrayed Christ in some peculiar way. David was a man of experience; he experienced life, and went through things, and hence he was the "sweet psalmist". Now Solomon is not a man of suffering; he was marked by affection, he was born into affection; his name (Jedidiah) signified, 'Beloved of Jehovah', a name divinely given. He says, "I was my father's son", as though David had not another, "I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother", Proverbs 4:3. Now you are entitled to take that place before God. He loves you as though there were not another beside! David mourned for the loss of the first child of Bathsheba, but David bowed to the judgment of God, and God gave him Solomon, and Solomon was beloved of his father, and he responded to his father's affection. Absalom was also beloved by his father, but he did not respond to his father's affection; he was like the apostate world.
"I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother". Now you are entitled to take that place. John speaks of Him as He was here, in the affections of the Father, the peculiar place He had with God while down here. "The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father", and "We have contemplated his glory ... an only-begotten with a father", John 1:18, 14. Divine love had that testimony.
Three things characterised Solomon, wisdom, sonship and affection. Solomon is a type of Christ in that way from the affection side, so that you have a suited vessel in Solomon for the Spirit of Christ to take up to sing about love, to make a love composition. The great end in view is that, if you learn the song, you learn what love is, and you learn also what jealousy is; there is no love without jealousy; if you know the love of Christ you must have jealousy, or else you do not know christianity. Jealousy is necessary for our safety, and the bride understands love and jealousy. "Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave ... Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it". As strong as death, there is nothing to be compared with it. "If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned". "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead", 2 Corinthians 5:14. There is no moral force in the world compared to the love of Christ, and under its influence you are able to judge things here, and to see that there is not one pulsation in this world for God! "Then were all dead". He died, and everything is under death, "that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again", 2 Corinthians 5:15. What a practical thing the love of Christ is! How it enables you to form a judgment of all things here! All is dead for God. He has done with the world, which is but a scene of death. But God can speak of things that are not as though they were, "That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again". There are people who are living, and the only people who are living are the people who are loving -- love is the evidence of life. "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we
love the brethren", 1 John 3:14, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth", 1 Timothy 5:6. You have passed out of a world of selfishness and are brought into a world of unselfishness, for love is unselfish and thinks of others. Christ has established a claim over our hearts by dying, "that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves". "If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned". There is nothing like it in the world.
Jealousy saves you. You know the love of Christ, and you know jealousy, and, if you apprehend the jealousy of Christ, it will save you from the idolatry around. "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?" 1 Corinthians 10:22. The outlook of the present christian world is terrible. "Jealousy is cruel as the grave". If He loves you, He will not allow your heart to be captured by another. Satan desires to entice your soul away from Him. Paul was jealous over the assembly with a jealousy that is of God. Satan diverts hearts from Christ, but Christ will not suffer it, and Paul says, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men", 2 Corinthians 5:11. He was in earnest lest the saints should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. What is Satan using to divert your heart from Christ? It is a wholesome thing to know the "terror of the Lord". Woe be to the influence that diverts from Christ! He will not allow it. At the end of the Song the bride appreciates love and jealousy. The Lord triumphs.
This Song is Solomon's masterpiece, because he celebrates the great triumph of the Lord. Solomon composed a thousand and five songs, but this is the "Song of Songs" -- the masterpiece. In chapter 2, the Lord is seen setting Himself to gain your heart. Every christian should know something of that.
Christ expresses what is in His heart; He begins by
telling her what goes on in her heart -- all her experiences, the bright and dark, the ups and downs. He gives the bright side first. The Lord knows your experiences. He knows what you go through, and He takes special interest in recording where He looms on the horizon of your soul, "The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains; skipping upon the hills". See how swift the Lord is! You see the way He meets a soul. It is the swiftness of love -- she appreciates his agility to draw near to her, "He standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice". The Lord has got walls to overcome to reach you. He has put no restriction on man, we put up the barriers. How many barriers do you put up between you and the Lord? Walls and lattices are fixed things; such was judaism -- that which is stationary. But the Lord is there. He would reach the soul, and He says, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock". The Lord would have movement, "Rise up". He says, 'you are in a dangerous position'. "Let me see thy countenance". A man's countenance is for God -- it is the best part of man. A beast looks down, but man was made to look up. Man was made in the image of God, to be the reflection and glory of God. The thought is, that God would look into the countenance of man. The woman who had been bowed down eighteen years, the Lord bade her look up. It is a matter of the attitude of your soul -- He wants to see your countenance and hear your voice, "Let me hear thy
voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely". "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm". All that is brought to pass by the knowledge of His love.
Then in chapter 8, "We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts, what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver, and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar". This is practical. Typically this refers to the ten tribes of Israel; historically the Jews are the most grasping and selfish nation in the world, but the Lord shall triumph over that people. Judah (the two tribes) will then be no longer selfish as they are now; they will be saved from the greed, avarice and selfishness that marks them now. The two tribes will then think of the ten tribes, Ephraim (the little sister) the very best of thoughts. No breasts is deformity; deformity in Scripture is want of affection, to be undeveloped in affection.
"I am a wall, and my breasts like towers", fully developed in affection, knowing His love and responding. "Then was I in his eyes as one that found favour". Judah does not vex Ephraim, but thinks of her with affection. All this indicates how completely the Lord will triumph in the day that is coming; Judah will then be wholly unselfish.
I hope you will see in this a little of what love is. We learn the love of Christ through His dealings with us. The Lord's love was measured by His death, "For love is strong as death". Jealousy saves you from the idolatrous world. Christ is jealous over you. May you be fully conscious of what you are to Him, then you will have power to help others.
Exodus 13:1, 2; Jeremiah 2:1 - 3; Song of Songs 8:6, 7; Revelation 22:16, 17
What one observes in all God's dealings is His thought that He should have something as a portion for Himself. God has affections, and His thought is that His affections should in every way be gratified. It will be found in all His dealings that He has in view something for Himself, and the end that will furnish that is not an inanimate thing or things. God has called the first creation into existence and variety marks it, for He delights in variety. That is the leading feature in the material creation, but notwithstanding all the beauty and variety of that order of things, it does not convey God's great end. The material thing passes away; it is not an end in itself, but is an index to the spiritual order. God is a spirit, and what He has in mind to secure for Himself is spirit. Hence the material order does not present to us what is in His mind to be perpetuated. What is in His mind to abide is a spiritual order of things, and if we examine that carefully we shall find it is to be formed after Himself; in fact, it springs from Him morally. The whole scheme emanates morally from God. When we come to apply that to the present moment what we discern is that christians are formed after God; the order of man which is to be before God eternally is formed after God in a spiritual way. The book of Exodus opens up the beginning of this, so in this chapter which immediately follows the celebration of the passover. God is asserting His claim, and He lays claim to the first-born. I wish you to take notice of that. If we rightly apprehend the passover we shall yield ourselves to God. I do not account any person to have truly appreciated
the passover who does not yield himself to God. Before you can become a spiritual formation you must yield yourself to God, and there is no spiritual formation until you have done that. Hence the kingdom necessarily precedes the building. That is the order in Scripture. The primary thought of the kingdom is seen in Moses -- he was king in Jeshurun. After the truth of the passover has been introduced, Moses has a kingdom; so we are told they were all baptised to Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2). That is to say, we have been handed over to Christ in our baptism, and in the faith of the passover we recognise the lordship of Christ. The One who is the Pascal Lamb is exalted to be Lord, and we are committed into His hands that our wills may be broken. I do not, of course, confine the kingdom to that, because the kingdom is also for the protection of the people of God. The kingdom necessarily existed before it was established, and the book of Judges is a testimony on God's part that the kingdom was a necessity, because every man was doing that which was right in his own eyes. It was a period of theocracy. God ruled; He was King. Moses had passed away, and the kingdom did not extend beyond Jordan; God had assumed the rule of His people, but not through a mediator. The kingdom is now in the hands of an anointed Man, and as baptised to the name of the Lord, we are brought under the sway of Jesus. If the kingdom is in the hands of the Lord, He will break your will and mine in order that you and I may be formed after Himself. There is no formative work going on in us if the will is unbroken. The Lord will do it. "Are we stronger than he?"; no, we are not. The strongest willed man Scripture presents was Saul of Tarsus. The Lord broke his will and produced His masterpiece. The Lord takes that man up as an individual. See what formative work there
was in the apostle Paul. He was so formed after Christ that he could exhort the saints to be his followers. What a mighty triumph he was in the hands of the Lord! He was formed according to God, created in truthful righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). That is the thought we should keep in mind -- God laid claim to him for His own end. The great point is to yield oneself up to God, and as yielded up to God we become a spiritual formation.
Jeremiah 2 gives us light on the early stages of Israel's history. The Lord says, "I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown". There was nothing then for the flesh -- they went after Jehovah into a land not sown, and God says, "I remember for thee". They had forgotten. Israel then was "the first-fruits of his increase". With what pleasure He reverted to it, the kindness of youth, the freshness of first love. They had at that time appreciated the passover, and acted in faith; they had light as to Jehovah; they had passed the sea in faith; they were moved collectively as one man in the energy of faith. Suppose light is thrown on our early days, what is disclosed and what are we at the present moment? What we find in Israel is that there has been a trial of jealousy -- there had been departure in heart from God. They had turned aside in their hearts' affections from Jehovah. He became jealous (Numbers 5). Do you know what jealousy is? There are two things we come to know, love and jealousy, I want to come to these things. Israel knew love on the banks of the Red Sea. Do we know love? We talk a great deal about it. Paul says, "The greater of these is love". Love is the nature of God; love is of God. It is not a product of man's nature, "Hereby we have known love, because he has laid down his life for us", 1 John 3:16. God has made known
His love in the death of Christ; it has to be learned there.
In the Song of Songs we get love treated of. It sets forth the love of Christ. "The song of songs, which is Solomon's", was Solomon's masterpiece, the masterpiece of the greatest poet. Solomon wrote by the Spirit of Christ. One attaches no value, no moral value, to any composition save what is by the Spirit of Christ. Solomon's song is the triumph of Christ over the affections of His people. It is His triumph over His people, not over His enemies. The Lord is dealing with each one of us in order to triumph over our affections and to gain them. He takes great and wonderful pains to accomplish this. The bride knows what love is, and what jealousy is. If you look into the law of jealousy, you will understand that anyone who goes through that ordeal is not likely to forget it. If you are unfaithful, the Lord will put you through that trial. Jealousy is founded on love and is a sure proof of it. There is a fountain of love in the heart of Christ for you, and, therefore, there is jealousy. The trial of jealousy is a terrible thing, both for christendom and for Israel. Israel has to go through it yet. The systems around us are called christian, and christendom is responsible as outwardly espoused to Christ. Can you take that into your mind? The professing system today is the ruin of what Paul espoused to Christ. What a fearful responsibility rests upon that system, but there is no change in the heart of Christ toward His assembly, and if there is love, there is also jealousy. If the Lord Jesus Christ takes you into relationship with Himself and makes you know His love, you will have to undergo the ordeal of jealousy if your heart is diverted from Him. You do not have to go through it if the Lord is not jealous of you. Suppose we take the church at large, has there been any cause historically for jealousy? There is abundant ground for
suspecting unfaithfulness. The church has become a public harlot. The book of Revelation proves that she who had the responsibility of being the spouse of Christ has been utterly unfaithful. There must, therefore, be the trial of jealousy, and those who have had to pass through it will never forget it. But we can thank God for it; it proves His affection; the fact that He has got love for us is proved. Are your affections being transferred to another, even perhaps in a very little way? The Lord is the first to feel it, and He becomes jealous. "Jealousy is cruel as Sheol: the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, flames of Jah". The bride knew that. Jealousy in Christ is love in another garb. He becomes jealous in order to recover: jealousy is cruel as Sheol, unrelenting. The One who becomes jealous is all powerful. What an awful climax stands ahead of Christendom! Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? You may say, 'How may we provoke Him?'. By turning our affections to another. That is idolatry, and if the Lord has to take issue with us, the victory will be His. If the Lord takes issue with christendom, He can do it only as a jealous husband, and what a fearful end there will be for that which had the responsibility outwardly of being the spouse of Christ. The bride knew love too, for after having spoken of love she says: "We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts"; that is, divine affections had not been formed. The bride knew the love of Christ and thinks of her sister. The true proof of genuine love to Christ is that you think of others. She had a profound sense of the love of Christ; "Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm, for love is strong as death". She would cling to Christ now, as having no confidence in herself, for there she would be secure. Cling to Him, and trust to His power to preserve you. But, as I was saying, the effect of knowing love is that the
bride thinks of her little sister; she wonders what is to be done for her. She had the very best thoughts of love. The little sister was in a very poor way, she was not developed in affection, but love in the bride as restored thinks of others. "If she be a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver; and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar". That is what love would do; it would build up and adorn its object, having in view development of love for Christ.
I read the passage in Revelation 22 to show how completely the Lord has regained the affections of the saints. As we have been seeing, God will have something for Himself, a race formed spiritually after Christ in affection. That is what is to continue before God. At present it takes the form of a people like ourselves. We are baptised to the Lord, and as committed to this the Spirit has a free hand to form us after Christ. The church outwardly is proved to be unfaithful and the curse is pronounced upon her; she bears the curse, "Her children will I kill with death", Revelation 2:23. But in a hidden way there have been those characterised by faithfulness to Christ, I hope, through the Lord's grace that as a result of our being together, there will be more decision for Christ. The Lord's appearing is undoubtedly drawing near. He looks for victory. In the end He secures for Himself the affections of His people, so I read those few verses in the end of Revelation to show the importance of being able to give a true answer as to who Christ is, "Whom say ye that I am?". The Lord Himself raised the question on two occasions, and I have noticed how from time to time the question of the Lord's Person is raised amongst us. The end in view is that He would constantly remind us of who He is. Outside of the enclosure of the Spirit there is no knowledge of Christ. No soul has knowledge of Christ outside the region of the Spirit.
David says in Psalm 110, "Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put thine enemies as footstool of thy feet". No one could understand that apart from the Spirit, and now at the close of Revelation the Lord says, "I am the root and offspring of David". Here He does not raise the question as to the truth of His Person; He answers Himself in all the dignity of who He is, "I am the root and offspring of David". There is no question now as to who He is, and all is settled too in the heart of the bride, settled in intelligence and in affection as to Christ. She knows Him, and directly He answers Himself, the Spirit and the bride say, "Come". This is distinct evidence of spiritual formation; the trial of jealousy is past, the bride is proved to be faithful. The outward thing may be unfaithful, but there are those who have intelligence as to Paul's word in 2 Corinthians 11:2, "I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ". That has been secured in the end. There is the evidence of faithfulness, and directly He presents Himself she knows Him. She can answer the question, "Whose son is he?". The assembly can answer it. We know the Lord is "The root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star", and we add to our knowledge that word of affection, "Come". That is the great aim of the Lord to secure. The great effort on the part of the evil one is to seduce us; every true servant knows something of this. The Lord is jealous over you young people lest you should be diverted by the things of the world. This in principle becomes idolatry, but the bride loves Him; she says to Him, "Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm".
John 14:15 - 23
My thought is to seek to point out the advantages of walking in divinely prescribed conditions, and I shall take the liberty of referring to these conditions as embodying God's covenant. Whenever God is pleased to make a covenant, that covenant involves the conditions in which those are set with whom, or in regard of whom, the covenant at any given time is constituted. Moreover the privileges consequent upon the covenant depend upon the observation of the conditions on the part of those who are set in them.
Now, whilst God has not made a covenant directly with us, the assembly, nevertheless the conditions under which the assembly was inaugurated were involved in the new covenant; in other words, the assembly was established in the world under the conditions involved or set forth in the new covenant. The apostle Paul took the ground of being a minister of the new covenant. He said that God had made him, with others, a competent minister of the new covenant, "Not", he says, "of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life", 2 Corinthians 3:6. "The Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty", 2 Corinthians 3:17. In other words, as I understand it, the apostle and his associates in their ministry established the conditions under which the assembly was inaugurated, as it has come to us in this world.
I refer to that at the outset to get an understanding of the conditions in which the early christians were set. As I said, the apostle took the ground of being a minister and that was in the spirit of the covenant. Then he goes on to explain that the Lord is that Spirit, and in order to understand the expression,
you must understand the gospels. The gospels present to us the Lord, so that when you read the gospels and understand them, you say that is the Lord. So the apostle says, "The Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty". In other words, the apostle brought in not only a system of doctrine, but the "Spirit of the Lord". He brought into this world, I might say, into the gentile world, the Spirit of the Lord, and what followed upon that was that the gentile believer and the Jewish believer were set in relationship with one another in a spirit of liberty. That is what the apostle James, as I understand it, calls the "Law of liberty", so that christianity was established in the world in the Spirit of Christ. It was established in the law; it was controlled by the law, but that law was the Spirit of the Lord which was liberty. I conceive that to be, in a brief way, the conditions under which the early christians were set. James, as I said, calls it the "Perfect law of liberty", James 1:25.
I wish to come back to that, but, first of all, I go to the Old Testament in order to show that the advantages of the covenant, or the advantages of the conditions in which God was pleased to set up man at a given time, were only enjoyed as the conditions were complied with.
Now, take Adam; you remember the remark of the prophet Hosea referring to Israel, "They like Adam have transgressed the covenant". From that we can gather that, in the mind of God, He established a covenant with Adam. He placed Adam here on earth under certain conditions. Adam was set up under certain conditions; they were briefly expressed. Adam was put under law, but the Spirit of God calls it the covenant, and we may dwell upon it with interest. There was a being deriving all that he was morally from God. All that he was morally he derived from God; and, as deriving from God, there
was that which answered to God, and so placed him in conditions, in circumstances, which in every way enhanced his relationship with God. The environment was calculated to enhance his relationship with God. Everything tended to promote interest in, and love to, his Creator. Consequent upon that, God came into the garden.
You may perhaps have difficulty as to divine Persons moving towards you, but I just call attention to it as the scripture presents it. God came into the garden. He was not there always, but He came in, not in order to discover the sinner, Adam, for the scripture does not present that. "The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day". He came into it at a moment which would be most advantageous to Adam, for I need not remind you that the elements had no effect upon God. If the cool of the day referred to anything, it referred to Adam. That happy relationship between God the Creator and the being whom He had created was in God's mind, so He came in and walked in the garden in the cool of the day and He called for Adam. There was the creature to whom God had imparted that which was intended to answer to Himself, and God looked for response. There would have been a full answer on God's part to man as under covenant conditions, and as abiding in the covenant Adam might count upon the divine presence, upon what I may speak of as divine visitation. One may easily infer that these would continue, as God would vouchsafe His presence to Adam in the garden. Instead of having response from His creature, He found Adam hiding.
But I pass on to another covenant; I pass over to Noah. Although there was a most remarkable covenant made with Noah and his sons and the beasts of the field, and with the earth, the Scriptures do not open up to us what Noah and his sons and
family might have enjoyed. They do not open that up to us, because, as in Adam's case, so in Noah's, directly he was set up here under the terms of the covenant, he completely failed, so that the full bearing of the consequence of the covenant, or what it involved, is not brought out.
When we come to Abraham, God is free to open up to us both by light and actual fact what His mind is for His people. Now, we have here the thought of sovereignty and power, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me", I want you to take that in. Here is God opening up to Abraham the light of His power. Abraham was to walk before God; that is a divine thought, to walk before God. Now God enters into covenant with Abraham at once, and that was the covenant of circumcision, I cannot enlarge on this covenant, the peculiar blessings consequent upon the observation of the terms, but Abraham answered to the terms, he was circumcised, his son Ishmael, all his males, and all his house. He brought the truth of circumcision into his house; he was equal to the terms of the covenant. Next, following upon that, he was in his tent door and God visited Abraham! A wonderful moment! I take it to be the supreme moment of his history; his house and all that he had were answering to the conditions, the acknowledgment of it being seen in circumcision, and he received a divine visitation.
Now, I want you to ponder these things, that God should vouchsafe to us His own presence, as we walk in the observation of the conditions. No one with spiritual instinct could fail to delight in the picture in Genesis 18. God made a covenant with Abraham, and with becoming activity on the part of Abraham, he was circumcised from the flesh, for the flesh never pleased God. His activities, and those of Sarah in the presence of God, were in every way in keeping with the occasion, and then we see how
God associates with Abraham. He lingered with him. The angels went to Sodom, but God lingered, and He said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? ... For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him".
I pass on to Israel. The next covenant that we have is what God proposed to Israel. Having taken them out of Egypt, He brought them to Himself upon eagles' wings. Think of that, eagles' wings! "I have borne you on eagles' wings". What interest there was with God at that moment! It was when Israel was young. "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son", Hosea 11:1. It is upon youthfulness that divine love found an outlet. "I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth", Jeremiah 2:2. What delight God had with Israel! "I have borne you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself". I now make a proposal to you, "If ye will ... keep my covenant, then shall ye be my own possession out of all the peoples" and then I can place you anywhere, "For all the earth is mine". But, He says, 'I want you to understand the terms of My covenant'. That is Exodus 19. Exodus 20 contains the terms of the covenant, and at the close of that chapter, we have the same principle established, as I have already pointed out. The Lord says there, "In all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee". God would come to His people. The fact is this, the very highest blessing is the presence of divine Persons. What could exceed it in the soul's enjoyment? What could exceed the consciousness of the presence of divine Persons? "In all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee". These were the terms offered to Israel in connection with the covenant, I am not dwelling on the dark side in all these cases, for the divine end was never reached. The fact is, we never
reach anything except on the principle of what is new. It is always on the principle of what is new, some new thing that God brings us into. As I have been saying, the apostle Paul takes the ground of being a minister of what is new, and I believe the best way to understand the covenant is to understand Paul's ministry.
Referring to the passages read, I would remind you that the Lord spoke these words at the Supper. These sayings of the Lord all took place on the occasion when the Supper was instituted and I want you to bear that in mind. Whilst John does not give us the covenant in any formal terms, what he does give is the spirit of it; that is the great thing. What I have especially before me is that we might get some impression of the spirit of it. The apostle says, "The Lord is that Spirit". Whilst Matthew and Luke refer formally to the covenant (the Lord said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood") John gives us the spirit of it; that is the important feature. I do desire that our souls would lay hold of the spirit of it. The apostle says, "The Lord is that Spirit", and if you want to get that and understand what it is, you have to read the gospels and study John 13. There you have the Lord; I say, 'That is the Lord'. You understand what I mean? A man does something beneficial, he does something that is advantageous to the people, and we say, 'That is the man'. Now John 13 is the Lord.
You will never become acquainted with Christ save in that way. You must get at the spirit of the thing; and where that is -- the Spirit of the Lord -- there is liberty. Did you ever see love bound up? Love always finds an outlet. The apostles show the activity of divine love here, and it was never shut up. It always found an outlet, and that is what the gospels bring to us. The more you know of the Lord, the more you love and understand the spirit of
the covenant. So the apostle James says, "So act, as those that are to be judged by the law of liberty". How do your actions stand in the light of that? Suppose you measure yourself in the light of the apostle's word. He says, 'Now you are to act as those who are to be judged by the perfect law of liberty'. Well, you have no need to wait for the judgment seat of Christ. The perfect law of liberty is the code of christianity. It is the present code of the people of God. The apostle says, 'The Lord is the Spirit of it'. The covenant of John 13 -- ponder it, that is the Lord, that is what He is, look at Him -- He lays aside His garments, He takes a towel, basin and water. That is the Lord. Whatever the thought is, that is the Spirit of God's way of presenting Christ to us. You see what I have done, "Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet". "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you". How do you love? How are you going to answer to the perfect law of liberty? There it was in Christ. "As I have loved you ... love one another". What happy terms, what blessed terms are those under which we are placed! The Lord Jesus presents to us the spirit of it. We are to be formed according to that. The apostle says, "We all", that is, each one of us, "looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face". What is that glory but the expression of what He is? He who carried out the divine will here, that is the Lord! "We all, looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face". What is His glory? His glory was the effectuation of the divine will. He was the spirit of the covenant. "We all ... are transformed according to the same image". We are in correspondence with one another. We are all made alike. It is His mind to bring us into correspondence; that
does away with all social distinctions. We are brought into correspondence with Christ and with one another. It is the perfect law of liberty which does the levelling. If we are glorying, we are all happy, we are glorying in that which God has done for us. We are brought to correspond with Christ and with one another. There is no discrepancy between you and me. The divine mind is to bring us into correspondence with Christ and with one another, so that there is no discrepancy. You have nothing to boast in more than I. We are brought into correspondence by the glory of the Lord.
John 13 intimates the terms of the covenant in the spirit. The Lord puts things on the true basis, according to the divine basis. "If ye love me, keep my commandments", and then He unfolds the same principle that I pointed out earlier. We may say, there is nothing said about the covenant in John, nothing said about the Supper, but there is something really greater than the outward form, there is the spirit of the thing. The outward form is of little account apart from the spirit of it. Elsewhere, the Supper is formally presented to us and also the covenant, but John gives the spirit of it. The Lord presents it, and we are put into correspondence with it now, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter". I do not dwell upon this. He then says, "I am coming to you". Now, that is what I want to dwell upon for a moment. He says, "I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you". Now, take that verse with the preceding one about the Father coming and the Son coming; you can clearly see that you have the same principle established that appeared in the garden of Eden, that appeared in connection with Abraham, and also with Israel. As you serve Him in the terms of the covenant, you have the divine Presence. No one can
undertake to exhaust a subject like this; I only want to suggest things to you, I would hesitate to define. All that ministry can do is to present impressions or thoughts for you to work out. You will find out first of all, without any conditions being stated, the truth of the word, "I will come to you"; secondly, that He comes to the individual and manifests Himself, and thirdly that He and the Father come to visit you. I want you to take notice of that active verb. We ought not to hesitate to allow divine Persons to use active verbs, that is -- to come.
In maintaining or observing the terms of the covenant, we can depend upon blessing. Such is that which God vouchsafes to His people in this day. In other words, the present moment is a provisional moment, there is nothing final or permanent. It is a provisional moment in view of testimony. The time for eternal blessing is coming; we have it now in measure, and in the meantime we have all that is necessary to sustain us. For the Lord to come to us is one thing, for Him to come for us and receive us to Himself is another thing. To "come to" or "coming to" us is the provisional side of things.
Hebrews 3:1 - 6
G.M. I suggested this scripture because it states formally that the saints are God's house. The question is often raised, What is the house? So it is better to have a formal statement from Scripture, "Whose house are we".
H.B. Why is the condition brought in "if indeed we hold fast"?
J.T. Because the house of God is a real formation; it refers to those indwelt by the Spirit. It is not fair to connect it with an unreal state of things; it is not scriptural. It is connected with a real state of things, persons indwelt by the Spirit. It is well to have clearly before us what it is at present. We are the house of God in a provisional way; we are not always to be that. Moses is said to have been a faithful minister in God's house. There are three men in the Old Testament, who stand in a special way connected with the house -- Jacob, Moses and David. In Genesis 28 you get the first mention of the house in Scripture; then in the Psalms it is stated positively that David would not give sleep to his eyes, till he found a place for Jehovah; but Moses was a servant in the house, whereas when we come to the antitype of Moses, Christ is Son over it, and Son over it as the One who has built it.
Ques. Would you say His death is the foundation of the house?
J.T. Yes. David had light as to the foundation; it was laid where the sword of Jehovah was sheathed. It will be remembered that when David numbered the people, he incurred the displeasure of Jehovah, and the sword of Jehovah was set to destroy the city. David accepted the full responsibility of the guilt, and he has guidance as to approaching God on
mount Moriah. He was afraid to go to Gibeon, where the tabernacle was, where that which represented the first covenant stood, but he did approach on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite; and he discerned that God accepted his sacrifice there. The sword of Jehovah was sheathed there, and that actually took place in the death of Christ; so the foundation of the house is clearly laid in connection with the complete execution of justice on the man in the flesh, and, at the same time, man is accepted there. That light has to enter our souls as to the foundation of the house. David prepares immediately for the house, following on that.
J.S. Why is the first thought of the house in connection with heaven in Jacob? "This is the gate of heaven".
J.T. I think that he felt God was there; that is another point in regard to the house; it must be so. Jacob was not equal to the presence of God! God was there, and the house is in close proximity to heaven, though it may be instituted on earth. Was it in your mind that some take account of it like this, not as a very happy place, Mr. M.?
G.M. Well, I do not know; it often seems to young people as if it were not a very congenial place.
G.N. That is the view from the outside. Jacob said, "How dreadful is this place!"
Ques. Was Jacob an object of interest to heaven?
J.T. Yes; a lonely wanderer, and a man who had established a very bad reputation; but with all that, an object to heaven.
Rem. The ladder is the link with heaven.
J.T. Yes; the angels of God are ascending and descending on it. As to the significance of that, it refers to Christ; He only could be an object to heaven. It is alluded to in John 1, "Henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man".
Ques. What are the greater things the Lord alludes to in John 1?
J.T. The things of christianity; man as such -- the Son of Man -- should be an object to heaven, not Israel.
G.N. Why do you give David precedence over Solomon?
J.T. David had the light of the house; Solomon simply carried out things according to the light David had. David had light as to it, and got it, as I said, by seeing that the foundation was to be laid where the sword was sheathed. It is a great point to get hold of; man is accepted on the ground of sacrifice and on that spot (mount Moriah, in the type) where the flesh is condemned. He discerned that that was the spot where the house should be, and that is for us to see. The flesh is refused there, and man is accepted -- the house is for man. 1 Chronicles is really greater than what follows; not only do you get the foundation of the house, but the service of the singers and others all provided by David. So Solomon only puts into effect what is suggested by David. David tells us formally that he had the pattern of all these things by the Spirit, and what hindered him building was simply that he had been a man of war.
Moses had to do with the house as a more provisional thing, not as a permanent fixed abode. Moses had to do with the house in a contrary scene, in the wilderness. It is important to see where the ministry of Moses stands in the ways of God; the order of the house comes in in connection with his ministry. He got his commission at Horeb, and he was to take the people out of Egypt to serve God there at Horeb. There the covenant was given, and the order of the house. In regard to the ministry of Moses, you will find continually repeated in his message to Pharaoh that the people were to be let go to serve God. In all
his messages to Pharaoh this is apparent; the people were not merely to be liberated, but to serve God, and the primary thought was to serve God in mount Horeb. So it is clear that if we are to be in the house where God's service is to be carried on and maintained, we must be apart from Egypt.
G.G. In what way is the house presented in Hebrews?
J.T. In connection with the greatness of Christ. We are called upon to consider Him, and He is the greater than Moses. We are said to be the house -- the saints -- and Christ is over it, not as Moses, simply an appointed servant, but Christ is over it as Son, and this lends a very great element to the house, which did not exist in Old Testament times.
Ques. What brings us practically to the truth of the house?
J.T. If God obtains His place in your soul, you are very glad to hear about His house. You have the desire that David had, to dwell in the house of the Lord. What do you say?
Rem. I was thinking of the fear we were speaking of connected with the house of God. Why is it?
J.T. They do not know God. Had Jacob known God, he would not have had fear. He came back after to that spot, and the fear was gone; he did not call it a dreadful place any more. God had met him and wrestled with him. Young believers do not always appreciate the house as they do not know God.
Rem. You get the house in Exodus 15.
J.T. Yes, I will prepare Him a habitation.
Ques. How do we get free of Egypt?
J.T. What helps as to Egypt is that after we get light as to the resurrection of Christ we are met immediately by Marah, and this refers to the discipline of God. The judgment of God is really upon us, as men in the flesh just as much as on the Egyptian;
we have to drink the judgment in that sense; but its character is altered when we see Christ has been under it. We see He has been under what seems so adverse to us.
H.B. We have to drink what overwhelmed the Egyptians.
Ques. What is the character of the epistle to the Hebrews?
J.T. Hebrews is a book of contrasts. The house is under the supervision of the Son, and if so you have a wonderful atmosphere in the house. That lends it a wonderful attractiveness. Instead of its being a dreadful place, as it was to Jacob, it becomes a very desirable place. Then we have not to go far to seek it. As this passage formally states, it is the saints: "Whose house are we".
Ques. Why is it put in that conditional way -- "If indeed we hold fast"?
J.T. Lest it might be connected with an unreal state; lest it might be connected with a state of profession.
Ques. Is not continuance a feature of the house?
J.T. Yes; what marks the house is confidence in God, and rejoicing in hope; those who compose the house have confidence in God and rejoice in hope.
Ques. Please say something as to the provisional character of the house.
J.T. We are not to be the house permanently. The house of God stood connected with the Jew, and was taken up in a provisional way among christians, pending the re-establishment of Israel, "Your house is left unto you desolate", the Lord says in Luke 13, and in chapter 14 you get "My house may be filled". The idea of the house is thus continued in a provisional way, pending the reestablishment of Israel when again it will be connected with Israel. It was important that the Hebrews should understand this.
H.B. Is that why we are taken back to the tabernacle?
J.T. Yes; here it refers to the wilderness.
G.N. Israel should have been the reflection to the nations of what God was.
J.T. God dwelling in the midst of the people should have given character to the people. That is the divine thought, and when you come to christianity, that is what marks the house; those who compose it are in sympathy with God.
Ques. Is the Spirit's voice limited to the house?
J.T. Yes, I think so; the Spirit speaks there.
A.N. Do you think the house of God is connected with the sphere of purpose, or how God is known in the way of testimony, or both?
J.T. Both, I think. The house in natural things is that in which the man himself is reflected; so with God's house. That gives the house a very great place. Then too, the house of God is universal; and that is the most important thing we can accept; it is not a local idea. The house of God is universal; those who compose it are not of any particular nation.
Rem. The law of the house is holy.
J.T. Yes, for God is holy: "Be ye holy, for I am holy". As we were saying, the house is a universal idea; and those who compose the house are exercised about universal things, not about national things.
Ques. When does the provisional aspect terminate?
J.T. When we are transferred to heaven; the idea then is taken up in Israel.
J.T. Yes; He is a divine Person, and is necessarily greater than any servant could be. The universe is not God's house now, for the reason that it is not clean. It has to be cleansed. It will be so in the millennial state; there will be no part of the creation in which God is not known. We take the position
now, in a provisional way; but in the future the position will be taken in regard to the whole universe.
Ques. Does God dwell in the house?
J.T. God dwells there, and His character is reflected. The first epistle to Timothy indicates the character of the house.
Ques. How do you distinguish between the Father's house and God's house?
J.T. The former is John's line; the latter is Luke's line, and stands connected with the gospel. The Father's house is the family sphere, and refers to what is eternal.
D.G. Will the house of God cease with the millennial order of things?
J.T. Well, you will have the tabernacle of God. I am not prepared to say that the tabernacle is exactly the idea of the house; still, God is with men eternally. It is what wisdom had before her. It is the great end of God's ways, and He secures that -- a dwelling with men; but the idea of the house, as we have been thinking of it here, is where it is introduced into a contrary scene, and God's order is to be maintained in the presence of what is contrary.
Rem. "He who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house"; the allusion is to Christ.
Ques. When did He build the house?
J.T. At Pentecost. Christ embraces the two figures, David and Solomon. David prepared the material and Solomon put it together. Christ answers to both, so that we have now a habitation of God by the Spirit.
Ques. What about Matthew 16?
J.T. The point there is "living". In scriptures that have reference to Jews and Jewish christians, the idea of living is employed. Peter says, "Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God". So in 1 Timothy where our behaviour is spoken of in connection with the house it goes on "which is the assembly of the living God". Matthew 16 is the assembly viewed as such, and that never ceases, but the house character is a provisional thing.
Rem. It has a peculiar force on that account.
J.T. Yes; and I will tell you another thing; the house in the future will never equal what it is now, as it has now taken form in the greatest and most dignified family in the mind of God. If you take what is most august in the counsels of God and place it down here, in the sphere allotted to Israel, it will bear that testimony in a much more dignified way than Israel. So, too, with eternal life; the testimony to it will be borne in a more dignified way by the assembly than by any other family. When it is taken up and applied to a heavenly family, you can see what a dignified character it will have. Just as in ordinary life all have to eat and drink and sleep, but means and education and refinement tend to add a peculiar lustre to life, so it is in divine things; the dignity that attaches to the assembly tends to render the testimony to eternal life more dignified than it would be in connection with any other family.
Ques. Does the house present a different thought in Timothy to what it does in Hebrews?
J.T. Timothy enlarges upon it, and treats it as a subject; it is only introduced here in Hebrews in connection with the Apostle and the High Priest. Christ was great in contrast to Moses, who was only a servant. Timothy treats of it as a subject and the condition becoming to it.
Ques. What are the functions of the house?
J.T. The house, taken as a whole, is a provisional idea. It is that in which God dwells, and His character is known. It is evangelistic. We have a place of nearness to God, and can intercede for all outside.
We pray for all men; it is a universal idea. We ought to be enlarged in that regard. We belong to an order of things that is universal, not national.
D.D. There is the idea of room connected with the house.
J.T. Oh yes; Luke 14 shows it is a very wide sphere, but God intended it to be filled. It is a great help to see its universal character. We pray for kings, not the king.
Ques. Is that the idea of Acts 10?
J.T. The point in the four-cornered sheet was that it was universal.
Luke 10:38 - 42; John 12:3 - 9
I connect these scriptures, because they present to us in an individual, a woman, the leading characteristics of christianity; and I desire to speak about christianity. I desire to speak of it, as presenting that in which God realises His ideal. It has come in, in a certain sense, as an interruption -- not an interruption of God's eternal counsels, but as an interruption of His ways on earth. But whilst I venture so to speak of it, it is an interruption that is exceedingly pleasing to God, because it realises that which we have spoken of as God's ideal. God realises His ideal in the presence of a world that is antagonistic to Himself. He has a peculiar pleasure in that, because He has in christianity a vessel ennobled as the complement of Christ in heavenly glory, which lends a lustre to every vessel connected with it. God had given expression to many thoughts in connection with His earthly people, but all these thoughts are now set forth in christianity. They have taken a peculiar lustre from the fact that the vessel is a heavenly vessel. Take, for instance, eternal life, which was a thought that God has given expression to to Israel. He had preached the gospel to Abraham, and had promised eternal life in principle to all the families of the earth in Abraham. It was God's mind in regard to Israel, and, on the ground of this, every Jew expected it, and the Lord coming into manhood brought it into form to Israel. The divine idea was realised in a Man among them. The Lord said, "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life". Man's will shut him out from the blessing. Hence the Lord turns to His sheep. The Father's commandment was that, life eternal. In giving it to His sheep, He gives it to them as separated from the nation. That company had a place in connection
with Christ in heaven. The testimony of eternal life is set in the assembly, in a vessel which from its heavenly calling and dignity necessarily lends a lustre to eternal life, which it could never have had in Israel. God takes particular delight in christianity, that in it here on earth He realises His ideal. He sees secured in practical form every expression of His in regard to Israel -- the worship of God and the service of God, all set forth in the assembly.
I have been saying that it is a sort of interruption, but it is an interruption that affords peculiar pleasure to God. In the book of Genesis the generation of Esau is given in chapter 36, and there is no interruption. The generations of Esau are pursued by the Spirit of God until the line of Esau is seen on the throne of the world. God allows it to go on. Now in the next chapter of the book we have the generation of Jacob and, directly we have that, there is an interruption -- we have Joseph. No other generation is mentioned; God, as it were, has turned aside to Joseph. The generations of Jacob are overlooked until we find Joseph enthroned in Egypt. Look what there was in Joseph for the pleasure of God. It was Christ, as rejected of His brethren, under the eye of God, until He is received in glory by the gentile world. Then the interruption is ended, and we see Israel in connection with Christ.
In Exodus we have a similar line of thought. In chapter 6, after Moses and Aaron were charged with a message to Pharaoh, the Spirit of God gives a list of the heads of the fathers of Israel. There is an interruption. I wish to dwell upon that. We have three families, the heads of three families. When it comes to Levi, it stops. The Spirit of God gives us the full line; in other words God is taking up Israel in responsibility. He reaches the Apostle and High Priest, i.e. Christ the antitype, the One by whom the new system is to be established; then He stops.
That is christianity. God reaches Christ, as it were, in connection with Israel in responsibility; we have the Apostle and the High Priest of our profession.
In the book of Hebrews it is not a question of Israel in responsibility but the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. That is a very wonderful foundation of what the apostle had in his mind; now we are to consider Him. We have the Apostle and the High Priest of our profession. It is not now a question of the reinstatement of Israel on the ground of profession, but God has established a completely new system, a system which embraces the heaven and the earth, and we are to have part in it. As I have been saying, the names of the heads of the families are interrupted; the Spirit reaches the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. Now we need to consider Christ. What a position the antitype had in regard to the world system! But there was the position; God reached the Apostle and High Priest. We have Him by whom the new system is inaugurated and by whom the service of God is carried on.
I read these two scriptures because they present to us what one understands to be the features in christianity that are peculiarly pleasing to God. I wonder if our hearts are exercised as to that to which it has pleased God to call us. Exodus 18 describes the kingdom. The people were in the wilderness, and they are in the recognition of divinely-appointed authority in a man. Every need arising amongst them was taken to Moses. Would that we were able in all simplicity to take everything to Christ! Nothing happened amongst the Israelites but what was taken to Moses. In the next chapter God says, "I have borne you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself". He says, as it were, I want to open up what is in My heart in regard to you. "Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all
people, for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation". I allude to chapter 19, because it presents to us what is in the mind and heart of God. If we are to be with Him, we are to be formed according to Him. God, having now the people with Himself, would open up His heart to them. I connect that with Luke 10. The chapter shows us man in need here. In the book of Hosea, the remnant, as having the spirit of faith, say, "Come, and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight", Hosea 6:1, 2. I understand that the Lord was here on the part of God, in testimony, and the remnant recognised the testimony. Now the spirit of faith was in Israel when the Lord was here, and the Lord was here in answer to the spirit of faith. He entered into the house of Bethany, and there the Lord was more than a healer; He was there in the reviving of the hopes of Israel. Was He not in the soul of Mary a reviver of her hopes? What conclusion would the spirit of faith have come to? Do you understand what it is to be raised up the third day? In the resurrection of Christ, we have the raising up of every hope, and we are to live in that. We shall live by the spirit of faith in His sight. I understand that to be brought about by the quickening power of the teaching of the covenant. We are raised up by the working of God who raised Christ from the dead. It is a question of God's power. Faith always takes account of the power of God. I refer for a moment to the faith of Joseph. The faith of Joseph is the counterpart of the faith of Abraham. The faith of Abraham is that God raised Christ from the dead. The faith of Joseph is that God raises the saints. He gave commandment concerning his bones.
The epistle to the Colossians enables us to take
this ground that, if God raised Christ, we are raised by faith. We are in the light of God's power in raising Christ. There is more than that; we are also quickened with Christ. That is what I understand to be the counterpart of being raised. "We shall live in his sight". We are quickened in affection God-ward, and we live in His sight. We are secured for God eternally.
Mary was sitting at the feet of Christ, and listening. I want to dwell on that, and connect it with Exodus 19. The presence of Christ meant that God was here; there was in that Person, for her soul, the presence of God. How is God to be known in your soul and mine? We have to sit and listen. It is a wonderful thing to be brought to God in the wilderness. He says, You have seen My power, what I can do for you, but I want you to know My heart, and hence the covenant is introduced. The new covenant is that in which God opens up His heart to you. Christ is said to be a covenant for the people. Mary understood that; instinctively she understood that in that Person the heart of God was opened up to her; hence she sat at His feet and listened.
I hope there is not one here who is not making progress. See to it that you go on. Mary was, in the two days in chapter 11. There was the adequate testimony that God was there. In John's gospel she arrives at the third day, a resurrection scene. "In the third day", says the spirit of faith, "he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight". God has come in. Bethany is the sphere of the remnant. Death had come in, was on their spirits. He raised up Lazarus, the subject of their hope. In chapter 12 we see the same family in resurrection conditions. Lazarus is there; there is affection for Christ. All is over in regard to the world. In the early part of chapter 11 the two sisters were engaged with a dead man. In chapter 12 they were engaged with Christ.
They were living in the sight of God. Our affections move towards divine Persons; we are quickened God-ward. Christ died for all that they who live should not live unto themselves but unto Him who died for them and rose again. The scene at Bethany is a resurrection scene. Christianity is that in which the divine ideal is realised. We may say that God had secured His end with Mary anointing the feet of Jesus. She takes the very costly ointment and pours it on the Lord. God never secured that in Sinai. The first covenant could not produce that. It is the new covenant, the complete outgoing of affection for Christ. I think in this woman is presented what christianity really is. The Lord defends that which is fragrant to Him. The woman in Luke 7 is a lover of Christ, and she is defended by the Lord. In Luke 10 Mary is a learner and she is defended by Him. In John 12 she is a worshipper, and she is defended as a worshipper. It is thus that John shows us how the divine thought is realised. They that worship God are to worship Him in spirit and in truth. I think that John shows us in this woman how the divine ideal is produced. It is produced by learning God in Christ. The Father seeketh such as His worshippers. That is what christianity is. It is that in which every divine thought is realised. I believe that the highest thought of God is that He should be worshipped; and that we should be free to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Acts 7:59, 60; Acts 8:1 - 6; Acts 9:1 - 6; 2 Timothy 4:16 - 18
What I desire to show you, beloved friends, is the character of that which receives divine support and protection in this world. That there is such a thing as divine support and protection is, I suppose, admitted by all, even in the christian world around. Nations and men assume that God acts in protection and support; but I desire to show what it is that God is supporting. It is easy to show what He is not supporting; that would not be a very difficult task. There is one thing perfectly evident that He is not supporting -- the public body of christians: I think there is very good evidence that He is opposed to it. I think that God has given very distinct evidence of His disapproval of what is going on around us. God has His own way of indicating His pleasure and displeasure; and those who have eyes can see what God supports, and what He opposes, so that it would not be a difficult task to show that the public body called christians at the present time is not receiving any support from God.
Now, I assume, as christians here each one would desire to be conscious of the support of God, and of the protection of God. I would call attention to the way God honoured and supported Christ; to show how God signalises Christ, and that in honouring, defending and supporting Him, God will not honour anything other than that which is of Christ.
Now the Lord, beloved friends, was here in the world on the part of God. It is a very great thing to read the gospels in this light, that He came into this world on the part of God. He came knowing full well what was in it; He was well acquainted with the history of the world, and He came into it with the full knowledge of all, and in perfect sympathy with every thought that was in the heart of God.
He came into it as shown in the words; "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God", Hebrews 10:9. Now, that was a much weightier undertaking than we think; but the Lord had weighed everything, and He came into the world fully gauging every requirement of God, and fully estimating what He had to contend with in carrying it out. He came into this world as the vessel of divine glory. No greater subject of meditation could present itself to you than the presence of Christ as Son of God in Manhood. His heart was with God, and He thought with God, and took everything into account as it affected God. That was Christ here.
"The heavens declare the glory of God", Psalm 19:1; the earth was a dark spot in the universe, and what made it dark was that it was contrary to His will. What the Lord undertook was to establish the glory of God down here where everything was opposed to it. There was an Object on earth in which heavenly intelligences could see divine glory. Christ brought in, morally, all that was delightful in heaven; the glory of God shone down here. Take that in and you will have an idea of the ark of the covenant. Political, religious and social activity was brought in in opposition to that: "Take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed", Psalm 2:2. Every element of the world was set against the anointed one of God. The anointed Man was the Man here for God; God anointed the vessel of His glory. "I delight to do thy will, O my God". Every element was set in movement against that. Look at Him as He comes up out of the waters of baptism! His baptism was to fulfil all righteousness. God anointed the praying, dependent Man.
The Lord goes down before the world, but I want to show you what God vindicates and supports and protects. He "was transfigured before them ... and his raiment was white as the light", Matthew 17:2.
You cannot explain that; He was transfigured with the glory He was entitled to, but instead of remaining in the glory, He goes down deliberately to die. Moses and Elias were talking about Him, about His death; they "spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem", Luke 9:31. He goes down deliberately to die; there was deliberate intent. One could dwell on the journey, on the scene in Gethsemane, but I only allude to them that you might have Christ before you as the ark of the covenant as He went down; apparently the powers of the world overcame Him, but the issue was between God and the world. It remained for God to show where right was.
Now the resurrection of Christ was not public, nor were the events connected with it. There were certain public events, but the world knew nothing, nor did it see Christ after resurrection. The world saw Him on the cross; He was there for God's will. He was there for God; and I have often thought of the pleasure God found in Christ in the way He removed the man that grieved God's heart. He was terminating the course of a man who had been an occasion of grievance to the heart of God. He was crucified in weakness; He went down before all the eyes of the world publicly.
To Israel He was as One having no beauty, but beauty was there. There were those who saw the beauty, to whom the light of the Lord shone, and who appreciated Him. The Lord had attracted a company to Himself; He had touched hearts and they saw His beauty.
I want to show that God vindicates Christ publicly by giving the Spirit to His disciples. I do verily believe that the gift of the Spirit was God's way of vindicating Christ. The issue was between Christ and the world, and God would decide the matter.
The Jews, in putting Christ to death, believed they were acting for God. But was God with them? Peter said, "God was with him" (Acts 10:38), but the Jews denied it. The Spirit convinced "the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment", John 16:8. What did the Spirit establish here? He established that Jesus was vindicated! The resurrection was not public (although that vindicated Christ), but the Spirit was public. For fifty days it was undecided whom God supported, but He gave the Spirit to the followers of Jesus. What is the Spirit? The Spirit was the power by which Christ was raised, and the power by which the disciples were identified with the testimony. He was the power by which they were to be supported in their testimony. God could in that way show what He would support. He was supporting Israel in the days of David and Solomon, but that support was now withdrawn. Moses and Joshua had support but it is accorded now to those that attach themselves to Christ.
Stephen presents the case, as it were, for God in regard of Israel, filling the position in the Spirit of Christ. It was a critical moment; but his face reflected what was in heaven; "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge", Acts 7:60. So we see that God supported Stephen; He could have rescued him from the stones of his persecutors. Paul was stoned to death afterwards, and he rose up and went into the city; God could have raised up Stephen, but it was far more glorious for Stephen to go down. Stephen was in perfect accord with the ark of the covenant. In crossing the Jordan there were two thousand cubits between the ark and the camp. Stephen was allowed to follow the ark; he was equal to it by divine support. Think of the power he is able to express in the presence of the bitterest opposition, the Spirit of Christ when he went down into the waters of death. He was wholly conformed to
Christ; he did not seek deliverance. Stephen was in the way, and he saw the glory; the end of that way was death, but the end of that death was glory! The way is through death, that is God's way. He asks for no deliverance, but he died with feelings of affection for Israel. He loved Israel, and the hopes of Israel were buried with him for the moment, and though Stephen was not allowed to remain for the testimony, yet his testimony lives. God saw to it that the light of that man's testimony should find a vessel in Saul, a man who represented the power of the wicked one for the moment.
I want to touch on the power of the kingdom. The kingdom is for the support of the testimony. David represented the kingdom, and what marked David was unwavering interest in the ark. Now Saul is a representative of the power of the world. He not only attacked the assembly corporately, but privately; he acted with intelligence and determination to carry out his designs, he visited the homes where the saints lived. He held great power; he meant to obliterate the light. God had placed a greater power in the hands of Christ; that is the kingdom. Now God brought Saul down; the Lord spoke to him; it was the meeting of two great forces, nothing could be more interesting. Saul had the power; he had letters from the high priest, he was the representative of the power of the world, but God brought Saul down. The great meeting had taken place; Christ overcame. It was an eventful meeting, the greatest that had ever taken place. It brought Saul down: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
He wrought in Saul what corresponds to Himself, for Paul says "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?". That is the Spirit of Christ; that is the attitude of the Lord with regard to God; that is the ground to be on. In that man you have a vessel for Stephen's
testimony; his testimony was not buried. Paul's testimony was precious; he says that his testimony was not bound. The testimony was to take the form of love to man in a vessel to be formed after Christ; now that was Paul. You know Paul's history; Paul should always be studied after Christ, I have scripture for that: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ", 1 Corinthians 11:1. What a man he was! how the Spirit of Christ came out in him. To the Corinthians he sent Timothy, "my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ", 1 Corinthians 4:17. See how the Spirit of Christ came out in Paul, he said: 'I can only bring judgment; instead of coming myself, I send my son to you, my dearly beloved son, he will put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ'. That was the Spirit of Christ. Everywhere he went he was supported and protected. Few in our days know what it is to be forsaken of the saints, and to have to say at a moment when you need support more than at any other time, "No man stood with me", 2 Timothy 4:16. At one time he represented the power of the world against Christ; now he represents the power of Christ against the world. He stood before the emperor -- the Lord stood with him; the Lord was not ashamed of His servant Paul. He breathes out the spirit of Christ; when all forsook him he says, "I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge".
So I understand in 2 Timothy the apostle calls attention to the standard. He had carried the testimony of God into a certain position and set up the standard; we are not to recede from that. We are called upon to support the testimony, Paul's testimony. How is it to be? In accordance with the ark of the covenant; that is to be the character of the vessel. We have light; the Lord supports that in a vessel suited to it.
So He will stand by each one of us; "When I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10), no self-consciousness there; "Behold, he prayeth", the Lord said of him to Ananias. "Behold, he prayeth" is a most wonderful commendation.
2 Corinthians 1:20 - 24
J.T. The scripture we have read refers to establishing, anointing, sealing, and the earnest of the Spirit. You get one element in the knowledge of God in the opening of the epistle and that is the faithfulness of God. The faithfulness of God is seen in the fulfilment of His engagements. The promises refer to the Old Testament, to Abraham. Jehovah made promises to Abraham, and they were all fulfilled in Isaac. Abraham was the root of promise; in Isaac all were fulfilled. Whatever promises there were, they are all yea and amen in Christ.
Rem. It is very important that the soul should be in the light of God's faithfulness.
J.T. Yes; this is where establishment comes in: "He is faithful who has promised", Hebrews 10:23.
Ques. Do you connect His faithfulness with the promise?
J.T. With the fulfilment of the promise. God makes Himself known as Almighty; He proves Himself such. The promises were made to Abraham; but when Jacob left Canaan, to go into Egypt, God speaks of Himself as "the God of ... thy father". It was a question of the security of the promises. They are all secured in Christ risen. All the promises were deposited in Christ on earth, but resurrection confirmed them. God's faithfulness was involved in His name. In Psalm 40 you get, "I have declared thy faithfulness", and in the knowledge of God as faithful, confidence is established. Promises could only come to any on the ground of resurrection. What God had in view in the promises, He had to make good. It is of great importance to know that God is faithful, for the soul is established in the faithfulness of God. Departure cannot alter God. Jacob was crooked,
but God says, as it were, 'Do not be afraid, I am the God of thy father'. Jacob was established in another Man, in resurrection; Jacob's soul was set in the light of Isaac. God assumes a new name, that of Jehovah, and this involves His faithfulness. It goes further than Almighty. Isaac is a very important figure of Christ risen.
In chapter 1 of the first epistle we get "God is faithful", and again in chapter 10, "God is faithful"; that is not a promise, it is a verity. God takes a man out of this world and makes promises to him. The character of God is involved -- His faithfulness -- so He reveals Himself to Abraham as the Almighty God. He has proved Himself to be such in the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ means the promises fulfilled to Abraham; but it means a great deal more. The promises of God involve the overthrow of death, for you cannot connect blessing with a dying world, with dying. The promise to Abraham was confirmed in Isaac in Genesis 22, where you have Isaac out of death. The great principle before us is power, and the attestation of the power of God is resurrection. No believer can doubt when he sees the resurrection of Christ; it removes every fear; there is no fear! God has brought one Man out of death -- Christ -- and He can bring others out. All is secured in Him, and all is good to faith now, and in spite of all the break-down, there is nothing to fear. God's faithfulness is involved, and His power. Notice the striking character of Abraham's faith (Romans 4:16, 21). Abraham had faith in God that He was able to do what He had promised. Abraham had nothing according to flesh; all was secured in another order of Man, Christ risen. Abraham embraced the light; that is the idea of faith. The Philippian jailor believed all the light and acted upon it. Faith lays hold of the light. The way in which God has made Himself known involves the testimony;
one cannot suppose faith apart from the testimony. Faith is the reception of the testimony.
God who "establishes us with you in Christ" is the God who is faithful. All is worked out in the assembly now. The great point to apprehend is the faithfulness of God, it is a great standby for the soul. "For glory to God by us", refers to the faithfulness of God; our position depends upon it. Paul was a monument of the faithfulness of God, he was of the seed of Abraham. The promises are in abeyance in a public way, but they are not in abeyance to the remnant. God is faithful; He has not given up His promises. You learn God's faithfulness in Christ risen; Christ went into death. God raised Him.
J.T. The anointing was to distinguish; Israel was to be distinguished. Moses says, "So shall we be distinguished", Exodus 33:16. As I understand it, anointing is for the head, a person's head is anointed. It is one thing to have the Spirit in you, and another thing to have the Spirit on you; you are distinguished when the Spirit is on you. You are marked off by the Spirit of God and others can take account of it. The boldness of a man's face is changed (Ecclesiastes 8:1), altered by the spirit; what a great thing it is to be distinguished in that way! There is true nobility in a man walking in the Spirit. It may be true in you, and not on you. In this scripture, you have the anointing, the sealing and the earnest of the Spirit. These are three different ideas. The Spirit distinguished Stephen; he was christianity personified. He was full of Christ; there was nothing else there.
Ques. Would the anointing have the blessing of others in view?
J.T. I think so; it is for testimony here. You see that in Christ, that God anointed a Man for His testimony (Psalm 2). You have the same thought in
David. God commits Himself to Christ. He has taken up that Man.
Ques. Does this involve spiritual capacity?
J.T. In John the anointing teaches you. The point here is what God has done. The effect of the Spirit is that the boldness of a man's face is changed. You come out in the character of Christ. We are established in the anointed One. In Isaiah 42:1 we read, "Behold my servant ... in whom my soul delighteth! I will put my Spirit upon him". God would set forth Himself in Christ to gain the affections of His people. In Luke you have Christ saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me". It is the Spirit of God. Christ is the anointed One, and He is to be continued; we are anointed. The epistle to the Romans shows how we are brought into accord with the ark of the covenant.
Rem. It is the effect of the gospel in the soul.
J.T. The shittim wood refers to the blessed humanity of Christ. God could set His seal on that. The gold was upon the shittim wood. "Thy law is within my heart". The boards of the tabernacle were of the same wood.
The point is, it is God which establishes you; God does it. The point is what God can do. The outward effects of the Spirit can disappear, but the Spirit is given to you for ever. The anointing is for testimony, the sealing is for God, and the earnest is for us.
We intelligently answer to God's Amen. It is the answer in the soul to the evidence of the faithfulness of God. It is future for the nations, but all is good to my soul now.
All promises look on to the world to come. The presence of the Spirit is a testimony to the faithfulness of God. "The promise is unto you, and to your children", Acts 2:39. "That the blessing of Abraham might come to the nations", Galatians 3:14. The assembly
comes into all the promises made to Abraham, but a great deal more too. We have all by the Spirit in Christ risen. We have there all that will be displayed in the world to come.
Where failure has come in the water is required; afterwards the towel to set you at ease in the presence of God. The first epistle answers to the water, the second to the towel. The Spirit removes everything that would cause uneasiness in the presence of God. There is no fear when the soul is in the light of all that God does.
Promises refer to the earth; they involve the question of what God can do in an evil world. The purpose of God is beyond the promises. The promises serve to bring out what God can do, He is bringing in a world according to His own nature, and putting out a lawless world. It is an immense thing to have a sense in one's own soul that God is able to perform that which He has promised. The power is resurrection -- Christ risen from among the dead. The great point is to show all that God has done. He has done these things. The Amen is simply confirmation, or affirmation, the end or confirmation of everything.
2 Timothy 1:13, 14; Revelation 1:9, 10 (First Clause); Exodus 6:23, 25, 26; Judges 18:30, 31; Judges 20:27, 28
I have before me to call attention to the divine way of continuing the testimony of God until the end, until the coming of the Lord; as the Lord said, "If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee?", John 21:22. Everyone who loves God will be interested in this inquiry. Indeed, no one who loves God and who loves Christ will be indifferent in regard of the continuance of what He cherishes such solicitude for, that is a right perpetuation of what the Lord introduced here, beginning with Himself. We all know how, after having washed His disciples' feet and communicated to them the thoughts of His heart, warning them as to what they would have to contend with, He lifted up His eyes to heaven. One of the most, if not the most, attractive pictures that Scripture affords is that the Lord, having said these things, lifted up His eyes to heaven. What uninterrupted communion existed from the outset between the Father and Himself! How in all His unwearying service the Father's eye rested with delight on Him, for He found One who would do all His will; and so the Lord lifted up His eyes to heaven. What a spectacle for heaven, if not appreciated on earth! How the Father's eyes, so to speak, would meet His! And then He poured out His heart in regard of those whom He had been ministering to and forming, with a view to the continuance in them of what cost Him, or was about to cost Him, so much. And similarly the beloved apostle, Paul, having in like manner set up the assembly in the most wonderful service next to that
of the Lord's, set up that company at Ephesus, having declared unto them the whole counsel of God. Then he commended them to God; with what solicitude he thought of them, as they, the elders of the assembly, wept upon his neck. And so in a later day, when even Ephesus itself had failed him, he enjoins his beloved child Timothy in regard of what is so precious, the good deposit, and as we take account of these things, dear brethren, we cannot but be concerned, not only as to the preservation of the things of God in our own lifetime, but in all the time that may follow according to the will of God. It behoves each of us indeed to think of what is said of one, that he served his own generation by the will of God; but then there is, it may be, that which is to follow, and what comes to me is this, dear brethren, the importance of example. Not only am I to hand on to others, if it be the will of God, but what I may hand on to others is not only in the way of light and truth but in the way of example; as the apostle again says, "Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life". That is, you see, not only the truth, the doctrine, but the manner of life. The committal on the part of God of any deposit must be contingent on the manner of life; so it is said, "If the Spirit of him that has raised up Jesus from among the dead dwell in you, he that has raised up Christ from among the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies also on account of his Spirit which dwells in you". That is to say, the anointing must depend on the manner of life. What a manner of life is that of Jesus! "The Spirit of him that has raised up Jesus" -- God takes account of the manner of life, because our manner of life is the test as to how much we are formed after Jesus. How much of the life of Jesus is there? For God will have no other. He has seen the green here in Jesus, and He looks for that, He looks for the life of Jesus
in the saints, and the life of Jesus is that which supports the anointing, hence Jesus first, the Christ next.
Well now, I wanted to show by connecting these two scriptures with what I read in the Old Testament how what I have remarked involves what, in official language, is called priesthood. We are called upon to consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; consider Him. In the first scripture I read in Exodus, the Spirit of God gives us the genealogy of the tribes until we arrive at Levi, and then He stops; because for the moment He is not concerned about the tribes taking possession. He is concerned to bring before us the great vessels of the exodus. And what you will observe is that Moses' children are not mentioned -- he had sons -- whereas we have Aaron and his wife and his sons, and then Eleazar and his wife and his son Phinehas. After history will interpret the meaning of this. After history shows that whilst Moses' posterity, or one of them, is found in the way of idolatry, this son of Aaron, the son of Eleazar, is found standing before the ark of God. What I wish to point out is, dear brethren, that whilst apostleship has its own wonderful and unique place in the ways of God, it has to do with revelation, with inauguration, and is not charged with the maintenance of what is set up. If, therefore, we limit ourselves to apostleship, if we limit ourselves to light and ignore the Spirit, we shall find ourselves in the way of Jonathan. I wish the dear brethren would notice this particularly, because we have all round about us the results of adherence to the light by profession, and the total disregard of the Spirit, and all the blessed Spirit as here in this world involves, namely, the house of God. You will observe that Jonathan, the son of Gershom, served as priest in the tribe of Dan before an image made by an idolatrous man. He and his posterity carried
on an idolatrous priesthood during all the time the house of God was in Shiloh. We are today confronted exactly with these conditions, a priesthood maintained that is not of God, not of the order of Aaron, having indeed a worthy ancestry, for what can be more honourable than the ancestry of the apostles? But to assume to occupy their place is a serious matter. Here we have an order of things which is idolatrous, supported by one who had such an ancestor as Moses, all the time the house of God is at Shiloh; a rival to the house of God, having the honour of such an ancestor. There are those who claim antiquity, and all the glamour that goes with it, only to fortify themselves against the truth of the house of God. Thank God, the house of God is still existent, and will remain while the Spirit is here; but there is that rival institution, and believers will do well to take note of its character; it continued until the time of the captivity. Yes, it did; but then there is the house of God in Shiloh; and believers today, thank God, are becoming awakened to the great fact of the house of God being still existent, and what the Lord would do for us, as we come into the light of it, is to continue it, to maintain it, and I believe that this involves the knowledge of God in every one of our souls. One sees young people being affected by the truth, and one rejoices in it, but we have to be careful to see that we are cultivating the knowledge of God and acquiring a personal acquaintance with God. Besides this, although we may partake outwardly of the symbols of fellowship we shall not reach in our souls the house of God. The house of God is contingent on the knowledge of God, for "he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him". And, further, it says, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God". Young believers need to take note of these things,
and especially the confession of the Son of God. It is the character in which the Lord presents Himself to Thyatira. In that assembly, idolatry was forming itself, and it continues. We have around us an idolatrous state of things which has no relation whatever to Aaron, and so the Son of God has to say to that. His eyes as a flame of fire, "But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come". He would have them, and if one could reach the ears of the people of God in that system, one would say, "Come out of her my people". The Lord would say that to them, and is saying it, for as Son of God He has got rights over His people; and the knowledge of the Son of God, and the confession of it, qualifies one for the dwelling place of God. "God dwelleth in him".
There are two things which are essential for every believer in regard of the house, and these are dwelling in love and the confession of the Son of God. These two things qualify one as the dwelling place of God. God is pleased to dwell in those who dwell in love and who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and so you come into the house. I do urge on every one here to see to it that you are in the house, not only in an outward way, but by way of the knowledge of God, by way of love, by way of confession of Jesus as Son of God.
So that the house of God, it says, is at Shiloh; that was its place. Shiloh refers to Christ. There are wonderful places in this world, as we speak, reared up in the name of the Lord, but Shiloh has no pretensions. Shiloh is the gathering centre, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto
him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10) or, more correctly, 'the obedience of the peoples'. You see the kingdom subserves in that way the assembly. The sceptre and lawgiver are essential, meaning spiritually Romans and Corinthians, the Lord being the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. These are essential so that there might be the gathering of the people, the obedience of the people in the gathering place; and hence the house of God is an assured thing where Shiloh is recognised, and where there is the obedience of the people to Christ, as Paul says, "Ye ... have obeyed from the heart the form of teaching into which ye were instructed". There is no realisation of the house of God, viewed from the side of gathering, apart from the saints being subject to Christ, and subject to one another. So that the rival institution stands up alongside of the house of God, but then which is to prevail? The Lord says to Philadelphia, "I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee". We can bear the reproach in the knowledge of His love, and in course of time all shall have to own who the loved ones are. Can anything, in a way, be more precious than the knowledge of being a loved one? So He says, "I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee". What an incentive there is to continuance till that glorious day when we shall be seen in triumph, as it says, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ". "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith".
Well, you see the position, the house of God at Shiloh, and the rival institution in Daniel How was the order of the house of God to be continued?
Chapter 20 shows the man who continues, that is to say, the priest after the order, not of Melchisedec nor of Aaron, but of Phinehas. Phinehas is a priest of his own kind, he has signalised his priesthood with a javelin; he is a man who can come forth at a crisis, disregarding the consequences, and stand for God. He comes forward with his javelin at a time when everything was hanging on a thread; for Balaam's wicked device had only too well succeeded, and the camp of Israel was about to fall in the plain. One man saves the day. One man came forward and signalised his priesthood by his adherence to the holiness of God when it was about to be submerged in the abyss of corruption. The continuance till the Lord comes in the precious things He has died to secure for us is made to depend in a way, not on the advanced, for it should especially appeal to the young believer. The old ones, we trust, have long known it, and we may well pay a tribute to those who have preceded us, and handed on to us the precious heritage we have; but how are we going to hand it on to others, and to maintain it, if it be not the Lord's will to come in our lifetime?
John presents to us in his own person a priest of the Phinehas order. The Lord said of him, "If ... he tarry till I come". That was a spiritual thought. Some said that the Lord said, "That disciple should not die", but the Lord did not say that. That suggests how an error becomes prevalent among the people of God, adding to what is said. "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar". He did not say that, but "if I will that he tarry till I come", the Lord left it for the spiritual, and one would seek to get the spiritual thought, for it is in spirit, that is, by being formed in spiritual thoughts, that we are available for the preservation of things. John says, "I was in Spirit on the Lord's day". There is the priest. First he
says, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ". What a priest he was! Have I ever been in an island for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus? An island is an isolated place, and the word of God, if you are true to it, and the testimony of Jesus, will isolate you at times. Thank God, no one of us shall ever be called upon to walk alone; I do not believe the Lord requires it now, but if it be necessary, am I equal to it? Are you equal to it? It is a test to be cut off, to be isolated. I know of one who said he would walk alone if necessary. I cannot say I could undertake that, but I believe the Lord would bring every one of us to that. If this treasure we have in the earthen vessel, as Paul speaks of it, is worth anything, if it is worth what Scripture says it is worth, it is worth my life, because it cost Jesus His life; He gave up His life for it. And so John says, "I ... was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus". But how was he there? Was he living out the real life of a prisoner, grinding in prison life? No, beloved, it was very different from that; martyrs are not like that. He says, "I was in Spirit on the Lord's day". What a happy time he was having! Although cut off, as I said, he had access to God. The Spirit's power opens the heavenly door, if one is rightly shut off. The doors even of the saints may be shut on you, but the door of heaven will open. Wonderful triumph for a martyr! "I was in Spirit", not as if it was anything extraordinary; it is referred to as something he well knew; so that we need not fear the consequences. If we lay hold of the value of the treasure, of the deposit come down to us, and are resolved to stand by it, we shall be victorious. In all the addresses to
the assemblies overcomers are assumed. It is not, if he overcomes, but "He that overcometh", to ensure that there should be overcomers. So we have all the sympathy of Christ in the opened heavens.
He says, "I was in Spirit on the Lord's day". What was Nero doing? What were they doing at Rome? Nothing like that. All the facilities of the world combined could not afford the joy John had in Spirit on the Lord's day. Wonderful thought! heaven itself was open:-
And so we see one maintaining things rightly in the true spirit of Phinehas; he is a priest, one who has the covenant of life and peace. I can maintain things rightly as in possession of life and peace. John had these in abundance on that Lord's day. And so, dear brethren, in John, as I said, you see the continuance of the real thing; that is to say, the priest as in Phinehas, one standing before the ark of God in those days. Who stood before the ark of God in the days of the apocalypse? John did; he stood before the ark of God, and he had a wonderful time. We shall not fail of these wonderful times if we stand firmly by the precious treasure that has come to us, involving the truth of the house of God. The ark of God was at Shiloh then, and Phinehas stood before it. There were dark days without, but there was one man standing before the ark of God at that time, and that was Phinehas.
I just wanted to add from 2 Timothy the thought of the maintenance of things doctrinally. We must have the faith, the unity of the faith, as it says, "Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith". We must not let one item of it go. "The faith" is not the thirty-nine articles. Faith is what is in a person, a living thing, not in a book. So the outline is held in the faith of the saints, hence we want the outline.
So Paul says to Timothy, "Have an outline of sound words, which words thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus". That is how we are to have them. One does not despise books; the Holy Spirit is pleased to use them to instruct us, but the outline is not to be in books, the outline is to be in us. I believe the Lord would remind us of that in regard of ministry, otherwise we shall take licence in the use of our minds. The outline of sound words is most essential for ministry, "Keep ... the good deposit entrusted", how? "By the Holy Spirit which dwells in us". That is how it is to be kept. You see God will have a living state of things down here. One sees it extending; one sees what the Lord is doing, but we need to be reminded of the outline of sound words, and the good deposit which is to be kept, not intellectually, but by the Holy Spirit. I believe that is again the priesthood of Phinehas. Priesthood depends on the Spirit. In other words, to be a priest is to be a spiritual person. In the mind of God all believers are priests, but to take up function for God, to be here for God, is by the Spirit. Keep by the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, the good deposit entrusted. I do not know of anything in a way that tests one more than that, how to use the blessed Spirit of God. He has come in here in wonderful grace and lowliness to maintain things for Christ, and He is at the disposal of all those who love Christ. So you may use the blessed Spirit in that way. By Him we cry "Abba, Father"; by Him we put to death the deeds of the body; by Him we live; by Him we walk; by Him we wait for the hope of righteousness, which is by faith, and by Him we keep the good deposit. It is a test to us as to the use we make of and the manner in which we may employ the blessed Spirit. He has placed Himself at our disposal, so that we may be found priests unto Christ's God and Father. That is service.
Well, dear brethren, that was all I had to present, and I do urge the recognition of the Spirit in everything, but particularly in the maintenance of the good deposit, of that which involves the continuance of the precious things Jesus died to secure for us.
Romans 5:1 - 21; Romans 8:28, 33 - 39; Numbers 24:1 - 9
The scriptures read are familiar to us, and I would seek to show from them the manner in which the love of God becomes known by us, and the effect of it. I would direct your thoughts to that side of the believer's position known in Scripture as the wilderness. I need not say the love of God goes beyond that! it goes into the land. When we come to what the land typifies, we have what we may call the excess of love which would take us to Ephesians: "God ... because of his great love wherewith he loved us". There we have reference to the love of God as seen in the place He has designed for us. That is the excess of love. I do not dwell upon that tonight, but upon the wilderness position, and the epistle to the Romans is engaged with that point of view. It treats of the manner in which the love of God has been revealed in meeting our need here, and then the manner in which it becomes known subjectively by the Spirit. It is when it becomes known subjectively that the work begins. It was said of Israel, "I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown", Jeremiah 2:2. There had been an objective setting forth typically of what God was to Israel in the passover and the Red Sea. Israel thus had an appreciation of Jehovah and what He does with His right hand. God's right hand is the symbol of His power. God had intervened for them, and had done wonderful things with His right hand. I would say, speaking reverently, that God's heart moves His right hand, His hand of power. You remember a proverb that says, "A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's at his left", Ecclesiastes 10:2. God's heart
moves His right hand; it is for faith to see this. I need hardly say that the right hand of God was seen at the resurrection of Christ. The acts of His right hand are in love, and our deliverance is the result. Well, Israel was moved. The first movement of heart in you may be forgotten by you; you may have turned into bypaths; but God remembers the first beat of your heart for Him. "I remember for thee", He says.
He goes on to say, "Israel was holiness unto Jehovah". Divine love in the heart is holy love. Then Israel was the first-fruits of God's increase, I want you to note that. The love of God, that love which is so perfectly set forth at the cross, is shed abroad by the Spirit in the hearts of the saints, the Spirit of God, as it were, touching each individual heart, and there is movement, there is increase. Israel was the first-fruits of His increase, the increase of God's love. You will find continually in Scripture there is increase. Adam and Eve were to multiply; God said of Abraham, "I ... increased him". That increase really commenced at the Red Sea. The increase of God is in His love becoming effective in the hearts of His people. The effect of the cross is to widen out, until all the saints become moved to what Christ is to God. Psalm 150 tells me that everything that has breath praises God. Well, Israel was "the first-fruits of his increase". Let us take care of the principles, and God will take care of the numbers. God will not be behind in numbers. The book of the Revelation helps as to this. It is written for our encouragement, and there is a premium on the understanding of it. You find numbers in the book of the Revelation, "ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands", that is to say, numbers that are incalculable, divine numbers; God brings them in. When the ark moved Moses said, "Rise up, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered;
and let them that hate thee flee before thy face". When the ark rested, "Return, Jehovah, unto the myriads of the thousands of Israel". It is illimitable. I will make thee, He says to Abraham, "a father of a multitude", of what? "of nations".
Abraham was called alone. Abraham stood by principles, Enoch also, and he speaks of the Lord coming with His holy myriads; he could not say how many. God called Abraham alone, and blessed him and increased him. He stood by the principles, and God dealt with numbers. God will bring in the results. In Revelation 7 the elect of God come to light and they are taken account of by God, a hundred and forty-four thousand, and after these a great crowd which no one could number. In the next chapter they must have room; the sphere belonging to them in the counsels of God is occupied by others. In regard to the hundred and forty-four thousand in chapter 7, their prayers and the prayers of the "great crowd" are answered by the trumpets, and the trumpets clear the scene; room is made for them. In chapter 14 we have those with the Lamb redeemed from among men. There you have the idea of those whom God regards as His increase. They love the Lamb. Do you love the Lamb, the Holy Sufferer? It is in those who love the Lamb that we see the increase of God.
Psalm 133 says, "How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" I refer to that to suggest what the increase of God is. There are multitudes and numbers incalculable all actuated by the love of God. The whole scene in result will be actuated by the love of God. Israel was the first-fruits of His increase in the wilderness, and He loved them. That is how God reckons increase. He reckons it by love, love shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit.
Well, Romans 5 corresponds with Exodus 15,
and the end of Romans 8 with Numbers 24. We have thus what is at the beginning of the wilderness, and then what is at the end. I would like to show how the affections develop. At the end of Exodus 15 there are trees and water, seventy palm-trees and twelve wells of water. In other words, God would nurture any little affection that is in us. Is that how we take account of the ministry of those who care for us? It is the provision of God's love. When you take your place amongst the saints, you come to twelve wells and seventy palm-trees, which would refer to the apostolic ministry. God thus nurtures the affection that has begun to move in your heart. Do not allow it to be weakened. God remembers it. He has it in His mind. You need not be discouraged because the wilderness journey is before you. Exodus 15 indicates that God brought them out, and He means to bring them in, bring them to the sanctuary. That is His thought. But the wilderness is there; and we see from Numbers 24 that there are trees and water at the end of the wilderness as well as at the beginning. What a triumph! Balaam saw things under the influence of the Spirit! His face was "toward the wilderness", and he saw the people in their tents in the order of their tribes. It is a type. The order of the tribes is not seen at the banks of the Red Sea. The order of the tribes comes into view in connection with the tabernacle. The saints are put into order by the tabernacle in the wilderness. There are several views of the wilderness in Scripture; one is that it refers to the progress of the believer's soul. Another is that it is a sphere in which God puts His people into order. Confusion marks the saints of God today because the tabernacle is despised and disregarded. The tabernacle is the great guide in the wilderness up to Numbers 21. After that, the Spirit is the guide; the tabernacle is no more prominent. The early part of Numbers
tells us how the people are put into order. The tabernacle is reared up, and each man pitched by the standard of his father's house. He was to pitch in relation to his father, and every family was to pitch according to his tribe, and every tribe had its position in relation to the tabernacle. That is what Balaam saw. The position today is marked by disorder, and the secret of disorder is disregard for the divinely appointed system of which the tabernacle is a type. The Spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he takes account of the people as of God. That is to say, they have passed the brazen serpent on Numbers 21 which typifies the setting aside of the natural man who never recognises divine order, the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God; so those that are in the flesh cannot please God. But of those who have the Spirit it says, "Ye are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed God's Spirit dwell in you". We are in Spirit; that is there is now a state in us -- "in Spirit" -- answering to the outward position of the tabernacle. You enter into the position, in your soul, by the Spirit. What we see now is, that at the end of the wilderness period the people are trees. First there is the order of the people; God loves order in the assembly. God's thought is for our time, that there should be local companies, and that in these local companies there should be order. God is the God of order and peace, and that in the assemblies. All the local companies on earth are to be governed by the same principles. Hence the prophet sees the people in the wilderness, that is where they are seen in perfect order according to the tribes. God loves the idea of tribes. You will find that the Scriptures enlarge on the thought of the tribes. God will never give Israel up until He brings them back to their tribes. It is lovely to see the tribes, to see the order of the tents in the wilderness, so the people are seen in the vision as "cedars
beside the waters". Planted by the hand of God, rooted and grounded in love. Waters are divinely-appointed means of producing growth, "How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Israel! Like valleys are they spread forth, like gardens by the river side, like aloe-trees which Jehovah hath planted, like cedars beside the waters". At the beginning the people were sheltered by palms and were refreshed by the wells. Now, they are themselves trees beside the waters. That is by the work of God in them, divine cultivation, divine nourishing. What a triumph in the wilderness! How one cherishes the thought of belonging to such a company as that. That is the great result of the work of God by the Spirit. Numbers 24 is a continual strain of exaltation. "His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted". God has brought them out of Egypt and the whole of Balaam's vision indicates the great result of the work of God in His people in the wilderness. Such is the great triumph of God in us here. After this, we are ready for Canaan. The book of Deuteronomy treats the people as God's elect, and Canaan their dwelling place. That book is to educate them for Canaan. God opens up His heart to your heart in Romans 5, He makes it known to you subjectively by the Spirit. Thus the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit. Romans 8 is the result of that. The Spirit shows us the place we have in God's heart. The result is that God acquires a place in our hearts, "All things work together for good to those who love God". It is a wonderful thing to have the love of God in you. Nothing else is of any account to God but that. Hence He sheds it abroad -- I love that thought -- in our hearts by the Spirit. It is shed abroad effectually, and the result is the Spirit keeps working in the soul where there is a place in the soul for God. Do you love God? "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart ... and thy neighbour as thyself". Now Romans 8 shows us the result. The saints love God, and they come to see the full strength of His love. Hence nothing in the whole universe can sever them from it. The love of God is in Christ in its totality. Nothing, he says, can "separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord". We see its fulness there. The love of God, whether in regard to us, or Israel, or any other family coming into blessing, is all seen in Christ Jesus. We are free to view it in all its entirety in Christ, and nothing can touch it. That mighty love will fill the whole universe. Nothing can separate us from it. One might go on to suggest Ephesians; it is just a step out of Romans to Ephesians. In Romans, those whom God calls He justifies, and whom He justifies He glorifies. Ephesians opens up the glorifying; but in Romans at the end we have a doxology in regard to God's purpose. Paul speaks of the mystery; he could not open it up to the Romans, but to the Ephesians he is free to open up this great divine thought. Our places are heavenly places. The assembly is nothing less than the body of Christ, the fulness of Him, who is given to be Head over all things, the fulness that shall fill all in all. That is what was in the apostle's heart. The right appreciation of the epistle to the Romans prepares us for the epistle to the Ephesians; and in the Ephesians we have the excess of love. It is His great love wherewith He loved us. May the Lord bless the word to His people.
Genesis 3:8 - 10; 2 Corinthians 6:16 - 18; Song of Songs 4:12
What is on my mind to speak of, as you may have perceived from the scriptures read, is the thought of a garden. The thought appears early in Scripture, and God never gives up any thought of His. If He fails to realise His intention in it in one way He secures it in another. God is very persistent; were it not so, many of us would have been left out. If God takes us up it is for a definite end, and He never gives up His thought in regard to any one of us. He may allow our feet to wander into bypaths, but He never withdraws His eye from us; and the moment there is a touch of restoration we are reminded of the primary thought. Abram had to go back to the place of the altar, and Jacob to Bethel where he had been twenty years before; so God never gives up His thoughts, nor His ways with us.
Now, among God's thoughts, you get this idea of a garden. A garden is that which is special, and for a man's own peculiar pleasure; we know what labour and attention are bestowed upon a garden, and the end is that it is for the pleasure of the owner. We may have thought the garden of Eden was for Adam. It was for him, no doubt, but it does not say it was formed for him. God planted it and man was placed there, but he was not to be the sole owner; the garden was the garden of God (see Ezekiel 28:13). Satan was said to be in the garden of God. So Adam was not going to reap all the pleasure of it. It was divinely arranged; the design was perfect, and it was laid out by God, and the planning could not be surpassed. Adam had a place in it, but it was for God, and in proof of that we find God walked in the garden in the cool of the day. The garden was designed for God, for the
pleasure of God but in relation to man; He was to have His pleasure in it for He was to be with man. In Genesis 2 we get the garden planted and man placed in it; in Genesis 3 God walked in it and talked in it; His voice was heard; "They heard the voice of Jehovah Elohim, walking in the garden in the cool of the day". That was the situation; and this fact brings to our hearts what God is and what His thought is. He purposed to have a sphere, and in that sphere He seeks to have the affections of man.
Well, all that has failed as regards Adam, for he was driven out and the garden was lost, but God has not given up His thought; the divine thought remains. God has found the man, and He has found the sphere; He has formed the garden. It is this I want to make clear so that we may understand what is in God's mind for us. You will remember how Israel was alluded to. Israel was spoken of as a garden. Now, sin having come in, if God is to have a garden there must be separation. There was no thought of separation in Eden; the garden was planted eastward in Eden, and a river went out of Eden to water the garden; there was to be influence so that it might be maintained; that is, God was prepared to perpetuate freshness and fruitfulness in the garden. There was no thought of separation, but sin having come into the world all has become corrupted, and there can be no garden. Now, perhaps you think the world appears sometimes so fair and attractive, even to the believer. You will remember Lot lifted up his eyes toward Sodom, and it looked to him "as the garden of Jehovah". Abram had been called out of the world, and Lot had not, but he came with Abram, and he did right. I would say to the young people here, if you see people moving and responding to the call of God, go with them; you will do right to follow them. If you are the
children of christian parents and their faces are heavenward, go with them; you do right. Now a moment came when there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. Lot set his face to well-watered plains; Lot lifted his eyes and beheld all the plain of the Jordan. It was thoroughly watered before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, "as the garden of Jehovah", so deceptive was the vision; it was a delusion, for Sodom was the city of abominations; it was equivalent to concentrated wickedness. The scripture says, "And the people of Sodom were wicked, and great sinners before Jehovah". The world may seem fair, and it may allure you, but it leads to judgment, for that is its end, but the grace of the Lord delivers out of it. Nothing is more encouraging than the grace of the Lord which works to deliver us from it. John's estimate of the world was the estimate of intelligence governed by the affections. His estimate of Christ was that if all the things He did "were written one by one", he supposed "that not even the world itself would contain the books written". There is one continuous flow of grace upon grace, wave upon wave, and "He gives more grace". Think of the grace of the Lord; nothing is more encouraging. Lot's righteous soul was vexed with the "abandoned conversation of the godless ... through seeing and hearing, dwelling among them". He stayed there and judged the thing; that will not do, so you must get out. Now the Lord's grace works to help us out of it. There is no limitation about His grace. Do you want to get out of it? The Lord will help you to get out of it. Think of Him sending the angels to get Lot out of Sodom. There was no hope for Lot to escape apart from the help of the Lord. How many have been delivered that way, and there is no way of escape apart from the support of the Lord. If we climb up
for worldly glory, or reputation, or to the pinnacle of the temple to get a place amongst the saints, the devil will say, "Cast thyself down", but the Lord will help you down; we have to come down. You can always count on the grace of the Lord. May you not be diverted by that which looks like the garden of the Lord, but is not. If sin has come into the world, the idea of a garden cannot be realised without separation.
It was in this connection I read the passage in the second epistle to the Corinthians. When there are a first and second book in the Bible, the second gives you what is complete. 1 Corinthians is the water to cleanse, for there was sin there; the second epistle is the towel. There had been the allowance of what was defiling in the assembly, but Paul had learnt from Christ. He had learnt John 13; that was his own commendation. He was a competent minister "of the new covenant", and had been made so by God, "not of letter, but of spirit". Now, the first epistle, as I have said, was the water, and the second is the towel. It is a great service to convict a soul if he has got away. "My brethren, if any one among you err from the truth, and one bring him back, let him know that he that brings back a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins", James 5:19, 20. We cannot say we are not our brother's keeper. If you approach God He will raise the question as to your brother. The Lord Jesus had the saints in His heart; He carried them to heaven with Him. Cain's answer was, "Am I my brother's keeper?". The Lord Jesus kept people; "Those thou hast given me I have guarded, and not one of them has perished". Did it ever occur to you as to your brother? If you come to the altar with your gift, and "there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee, leave there thy gift before
the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift", Matthew 5:23, 24. You cannot pass by your brother. The idea of reconciliation is collective. God takes pleasure in a man walking aright, but He has pleasure in the affection you have toward your brother. Paul could give an account of the saints; he would not allow sin on the saints; he brought in the water; he brought in the means of cleansing and he brought to pass self-judgment. Then the towel is to remove the unpleasant effect of the water, so that the saints are set down in ease in the presence of God.
When you come to this chapter you see that God sought a place among the Corinthians. They belonged to God; they were God's assembly, God's temple. God had title to them, but He did not have the income. He wanted a place among them. If God had a garden, He wanted to walk in it, and to speak in it as in Eden. God never gives up a thought, and He has wrought to bring it to pass among the saints. How could God come in and walk among the saints when a licentious man was allowed? The apostle removed the defilement, and then he says to them, "Ye are the living God's temple". If you take account of christendom you would never think God lived there; there is no regard for God; you would think He had no feelings or sensibilities. But God lives and says, "Ye are the living God's temple; according as God has said, I will dwell among them, and walk among them", and that leads me to think of Eden. Walking in a garden is for pleasure; it is not walking to go somewhere; and His voice was heard, and it was not that of rebuke. That came later. Think of God coming in to dwell, and of God coming in to walk; how touching! And then, look, He says, "I will receive you; and I will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty". Now all that
is contingent upon separation. There must be withdrawal from a world of sin if God's thought is to be realised; so it says, "Wherefore come out from the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and touch not what is unclean, and I will receive you". Is that not worth while coming out for? Will you lose by doing so? God offers an inducement: "I will be to you for a Father". I have often thought of the Fatherhood of God. Here it is not the heavenly side of the relationship, but the earthly. We have often thought that God enters into our sorrows, but He also enters into our joys, and He withholds no legitimate affection and relationship. I appeal to the young specially. God would take you under His wing; He will not deny you any joy; He withholds no good, and, what is greater still, He would lead you on to what is entirely spiritual, and in that connection He dwells among us and walks among us.
I turn now to the Song of Songs. The Song of Songs is not a matter of the relationship which exists between God and His people, but rather that of the relation between Christ and the earthly bride, Israel. It is a love song in which He triumphs over the affections of His people, a people who had been marked off by the grossest selfishness and greed, and now they love Christ and one another. In the last chapter what the Lord speaks of is His love to her, and she speaks of her love to Him, and then we get that she loves others. She speaks of her little sister, "We have a little sister ... What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? -- If she be a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver; and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar". It is the great triumph of affection. It is in this connection you get the thought of a garden: "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits; henna
with spikenard plants; ... with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices, a fountain in the gardens, a well of living waters, which stream from Lebanon". There you have the primary thoughts connected with the garden; fruit, trees, spices and waters. The divine thought is now realised among the saints in this dispensation and in Israel in the future. All the elements of the garden are in the Spirit. It is by the Spirit that the fruits are produced. Then God brings in discipline upon us, so we read, "Awake, north wind, and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow forth"; the spices are all there, but God calls out the fragrance of His grace by His discipline. We need not dread discipline; it is God's way of bringing out what is placed in you. If God's love is shed abroad in your heart what a seed is there; and the wind of discipline, the wind of affliction comes and the spices flow forth. The south wind is the wind of affliction in a modified form. What a benefit discipline is to us! It is doubtful how we should get on without it. The cold comes first, and then the south, with warmth in it; so the Lord tempers the wind, and by it He receives what He seeks. The north wind awakes, and the south wind came, and then there is something for Him. Souls are often pressed down with discipline, but afterwards we all feel we would not have been without it, and instead of saying, like Jacob, that all these things are against me, we can say, "Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat its precious fruits". We should cultivate something for the Lord. In that sense we should all be composers, like the psalmist: "My heart is welling forth with a good matter ... my tongue is the pen of a ready writer". After discipline we should be able to compose something for the Lord. Then He answers, "I am come into my garden". He ever responds; He moves. He is invited
into His garden, and He comes. He says, "I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey". He eats the fruit of His own culture, and then He invites others to do the same. "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, beloved ones!"
Well, that is just what was before me. God never surrenders a thought. In the future we shall have the paradise of God, and the Lord says, "I will give him to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God". It is a privilege, meanwhile, for this thought to be realised in those who have the Spirit.
May the Lord help us that there might be fruit in His garden.
Romans 12:1 - 8
J.T. My thought was that we might see that we are to be here at the disposal of God. It is one thing to see our place in the counsels of God from eternity, another to apprehend our place now as to testimony here. In other words, the wilderness is not simply a place that we get through as quickly as possible, but a sphere in which we are to be for God in connection with His testimony. Instead of being brought to heaven immediately, we are left here in our bodies as we are. The point is, how are we to be at God's disposal? Romans meets the soul and adjusts it in every relationship; Corinthians shows how God disposes of us. The thought before us is that we are set up here in relation to His testimony. We are brought to God in Romans -- the believer is adjusted in his soul and instructed how to be for God. God says to Israel, "Ye have seen ... how I have borne you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself". Then He would say: 'Are you going to be at My disposal -- for Me?' I doubt if we all own that we are at God's disposal. God is pleased to leave us here that we might be.
Rem. We are here for the will of God.
J.T. That is what comes out, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice ... that ye may prove what is the ... perfect will of God".
Ques. How is the body regarded as a living sacrifice?
J.T. In contrast to dead sacrifices. Israel was accustomed to dead sacrifices. One holds one's body for God, the Spirit becomes life instead of the will of the flesh. The inwards of the animal, opened up, represented the offerer; of course it is Christ who is represented, because the hidden springs of man are
corrupt. The woman in John 4 was exposed, her history was brought into view by the light; then what the Lord introduced set the springs in motion another way by the Spirit, they are set in movement God-ward. Instead of the flesh actuating the body, one's inner being is actuated by the Spirit; it is moved God-ward.
Rem. I suppose chapter 3 gives us the will of the flesh.
J.T. Very good; you have there the mouth, the tongue, and so forth actuated by the flesh. How different when the inner being is moved by the Spirit! The Lord proposes to give living water to the woman in John 4, that which would become in her a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Ques. Is the sacrifice voluntary here?
J.T. I think so. One always has a sacrifice, God is pleased to leave us our bodies. "The body is dead on account of sin, but the Spirit life on account of righteousness"; we are able to regard our bodies as living. We have a sacrifice which is most valuable, the body is more valuable than our means.
Ques. Does not sacrifice involve self-denial?
J.T. Our bodies look for satisfaction, but we deny them; we hold them for God. So, in Corinthians, our bodies are members of Christ. We always have a means of sacrifice while alive in the body. Pharaoh would retain the cattle, that is our possessions, but they are essential for the offerings.
Ques. Do you think the cattle are included in "Let my people go" with a view to their serving Him?
J.T. I think so. Service begins at Horeb, the body is essential to service; it is our "intelligent service".
Ques. This would follow upon chapter 8, the love of God controlling and the Spirit giving power?
J.T. Yes. The epistle makes much of the love of God; it is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That is one thought; the next thought is the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There, the love of God is viewed in its totality, in chapter 5 it is not so viewed, but as shed abroad in our hearts. In chapter 8 it is in its entirety. At the end of chapter 8 the love of God sustains the Christian in all that he goes through in the body.
Ques. In what way is the body redeemed?
J.T. I think the redemption of the body in chapter 8 refers rather to our being taken out of death. The idea of redemption through death is "Ye have been bought with a price, glorify now then God in your body"; but in Romans 8 we await the adoption, the redemption of our body. It is a great thing for the believer to see that his body is his means of sacrifice; he may have no other possessions but he has a body. If a man has a business he has a means of sacrifice; Moses claimed the cattle for sacrifice, therefore the cattle had to go through the sea. It is well if a man's business is so used. It was not so with the two and a half tribes; their cattle hindered them from going over Jordan. Our body is always at God's disposal; God is pleased to accept it as a sacrifice. In the types, the Kohathites had no wagons; they bore their burdens upon their shoulders; they could only use their bodies. They are a type of believers who support the testimony, bearing it in their hearts. There is that which requires wagons. We need temporal means, we must travel or we cannot get to see the saints. "Doing good and communicating" is on that line. The poorest saint has a body; this is the most valuable sacrifice, he can make use of his body in the assembly. It is very important how we use our bodies.
Ques. Do you mean that believers render both Kohathite and Merarite service?
J.T. I do. The Kohathite had the most sacred things to attend to.
Rem. J.N.D. used to say that the only value of position was the privilege of giving it up for Christ.
J.T. If we sacrificed more, we should have more power. You cannot say you have no means; you have the most valuable means. It is to be a living sacrifice -- living -- as it goes on to say, "your intelligent service". The inner springs are set in motion by a new power, the Spirit.
Ques. Do you bring in the thought of affection and intelligence?
J.T. Yes. So you have an organism in the wilderness which is living, men put together in affection. If you give to God, He will place you in relation to the saints. After the people were brought into the wilderness they celebrated what God was. His right hand was glorious in power; His heart is at His right hand, therefore it was a test for the people's affections. He leads them and bears with them; if they murmur He makes no complaint until they come to Sinai; and then He says, "Ye have seen ... how I have borne you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself"; as though He said, 'It was My power, not yours; now what are you going to do for Me?' If they would be for Him, there were wonderful privileges for them; they would be His peculiar treasure. Then He calls Moses up into the mount and opens His mind to him. What was in His mind was that the people should provide material for the tabernacle. The material, in Christianity, is in persons who have the Spirit. It took nine months to rear the tabernacle. We should pass over, for the moment, the failure of the people. They gave willingly; the tabernacle is set up, and the Lord is pleased to dwell there. How wonderful! All this is in the wilderness. Then in Leviticus, God speaks out of the tabernacle to Moses and thus to
the people, as if to say, 'I dwell here and I want you to approach'. It is only a figure, but the thoughts are there. In Numbers, He speaks "in the wilderness ... in the tent of meeting".
Ques. What does that signify now?
J.T. The wilderness position of testimony. The people are to be numbered from twenty years and upwards. Each person is to have a place in relation to the tabernacle; he is to pitch by the standard of his father's house, to stand for God where God has reached him. If these things are to come to pass here, the believer must be devoted to God in his body. The body is of great interest in that way.
Ques. What do you understand by "mortal flesh" in 2 Corinthians?
J.T. There it is more the fragile character of the body. "earthen vessels", that is the other side of the truth. God has been pleased to cause the light to shine in our hearts that it might shine forth; but if it is to shine forth, the body must be broken: "Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body". I think of the dying of Jesus in this way. He went down from the mount to die -- it was His mind to die -- they spoke of it on the mount, and He went down to effect it. Is it our mind to go into death? The other side is God's discipline: "We who live are always delivered unto death on account of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh".
Ques. Would you say that, if that path was His, we should have the same mind?
J.T. You are delivered unto death. The Lord says to Peter, "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself"; that is, he carried out his own mind and will, "But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands" -- that is the dying of Jesus --
"another shall gird thee" -- there is perfect resignation. That is the principle of the dying of Jesus.
Rem. It would really mean subjection to His will.
J.T. Jesus went from the brightest spot to Calvary. We do not look for anything else. He did not try to ward it off; that was the state of His mind.
Ques. Sacrifice, as we get it in Romans and Hebrews, is not the same thought as worship. Would you say worship is more connected with the spirit than the body?
J.T. I think so. Sacrifice is always in the court, not inside the tabernacle.
Ques. Would not sacrifice be more individual?
J.T. Yes; but do not forget your brother when you go to offer: you bring your gift to the altar, but then it says, "and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee".
Ques. Would that imply we cannot go on unless we are right with each other?
J.T. God will not accept your offering unless you are right with your brother. Sacrifice is in the court of the tabernacle, and there might be ostentation, but God says, 'What about your brother?'
Ques. Then the gift is an individual offering?
J.T. What we were saying is most important, while you offer as an individual, you recognise the saints; God will raise the question as to what place the brethren have in your heart. He says to Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?". Cain replies, "Am I my brother's keeper?". But God knows about Abel. It is most important that our brethren be on our hearts when we draw near to God. If we draw near, God looks at the breastplate. When the high priest drew near he had the names of the people on the breastplate; this is reflected in believers. If we draw near, we really say, 'I love You', to God. God
says, 'Do you love the brethren?' If love is there you have the means. God institutes that in which the testimony is to be displayed -- our bodies. The Spirit and the love of God qualify for God's system of things. Leviticus shows the means by which the people were gathered; the door of the tabernacle was the gathering point. Then, if gathered out of love to God and to one another, Numbers shows our disposition in reference to the tabernacle. The opening paragraph gives the idea of the book -- every family in Israel is disposed of. Moses and the priesthood got their place immediately opposite the door. We should seek our place. God speaks in the tabernacle in the wilderness -- the people are to be numbered. There is a representative of each tribe at the numbering; this signifies local responsibility. Each individual is to pitch by the standard of his father's house; that is, you are to stand for God where God's light has reached you. The tabernacle gives the thought; how happy for us if we accept it! God supports us in these connections.
Rem. That is very encouraging. Some of us have wished to get out of our circumstances.
J.T. Light has come to you in connection with your father's house. Stand there!
Ques. Why in connection with the father's house?
J.T. The father's house was given a place in each tribe; the tribe was divided into families. The daughters of Zelophehad were not to marry out of the tribe of Manasseh -- it would impoverish their own tribe. A young man twenty years of age might prefer another place, but he had no choice; he is to pitch by the standard of his father's house. He must not assume that any circumstances are too adverse for the power of God. He is able to support us. The circumstances of the woman of Samaria had been most objectionable; had she consulted her own feelings she would have left the city, but she
goes straight back to the men. That is the principle, while the Lord sends you to the assembly, the first place in which to get right is your own house.
Ques. With regard to love to the brethren, we cannot express the love to those who walk crookedly?
J.T. No. Like Joseph, you might have to speak roughly to them. As gathered on the ground of righteousness, we can have no fellowship with what is not right. If a man is not doing right, you cannot have fellowship with him. You could make it clear that you are acting in love, yet testimonially it is a question of marking that man and having no company with him. If he deliberately goes on, he will come in for the discipline of the assembly. The principles of gathering began with Moses; there was separation from evil. Moses came down from the mount with all the light of God, but he could not connect it with the camp; the believer has all the light of God; what does he connect it with? It is not in the spirit of "I am holier than thou". Moses pitched the tent far from the camp and called it "the tent of meeting", signifying that he knew others would meet God there. All that sought the Lord, came out. If you think more of the people than you do of the light, the light becomes dim; but if you take care of the light, God will take care of the people.
Ques. What about being transformed by the renewing of your mind?
J.T. It is an allusion to the light of another world. That light alters you completely, so that you are not only apart from this world, but you are different from it in the texture of your being; you are not governed by the principles of this world, you are governed by new principles: "transformed by the renewing of your mind". God gives us the principles of His world; they apply to business and every other relationship.
I would commend the study of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, if you desire to understand the wilderness. It is not a place that we are to get through as quickly as possible; the wilderness is the divinely-ordered sphere where God displays His testimony. His testimony is displayed in our bodies as set in relation to one another. You have here "We, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one members one of the other". Everyone is included. As to what we shall be, we shall appear in heavenly bodies; but, for the moment the testimony is displayed in these bodies.
Ques. "That ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God". Is that actual experience?
J.T. Yes, and you do not suffer by it; you gain. In Colossians and Ephesians, it is what we are in God's purpose; here it is the Spirit's work in us.
1 Corinthians 11:23 - 28; John 20:19 - 26
J.T. One thought in connection with the Lord's supper is that we have to come together in order to partake of it. The chapter we have read from 1 Corinthians shows us that it was partaken of in the assembly, "When ye come together in assembly". The word 'together' is very important.
R. So that it is not contemplated that a person takes the Lord's supper for himself as an individual merely.
J.T. Nor can he take it at home. His own meal is to be taken at home, according to this passage.
J. Why was it necessary that there should be this special revelation from the Lord in glory as to the Supper? I presume it was continued after Pentecost. In Acts 20 they came together to break bread. Why was there this special revelation as to it? There must have been some special reason.
J.T. What occurred in Acts 20 was probably after this. The formation of the Corinthian assembly is in Acts 18. What appears is that the gentile believers were without any direct warrant for eating the Supper unless Paul had received it from the Lord. It was primarily connected with the passover.
J. It comes in connected with the assembly.
J.T. Exactly. In Acts 2 they broke bread at home. Acts 20 shows that they had already conceived the idea of coming together to do it.
M-s. Is this a confirmation of a previous communication?
J.T. It is confirmation to the gentile believers that what the Lord had delivered to the Jewish believers, to the Jewish remnant, could now be taken up by them. The Supper was primarily given to those who had the Jewish passover, and the early chapters
of the Acts do not make it appear that they had as yet ceased to have the passover, so you will find in Matthew and Mark that the Supper is connected with the passover. It is not as yet dissociated from the passover, from the Jewish ritual, but, when you come to Paul, his ministry, properly speaking, supposes that all that is over, that there is no longer any connection with what was at Jerusalem, and that coming together is the setting aside of the whole Jewish ritual. That which had prestige on earth is superseded by a company of believers in Christ coming together. They require no longer that which is set up at Jerusalem. All that is set aside.
M-s. The passover was taken at home, I suppose.
J.T. When they got into the land, it was connected with the place in which God's name was named. Each family had it at home, but it was connected with the temple where God had placed His name.
M-s. In Acts 2, where they continued in breaking of bread and prayers, was not that the Lord's supper?
J.T. Yes, but connected with the Jewish remnant. God had not abandoned the system at Jerusalem, and, while that went on, the Supper was not clearly set forth, but you have it in this epistle, and, in Acts 20 they came together. That supersedes the temple, and supersedes the whole.
R. It was proper then that it was the subject of a fresh revelation to the apostle, as the one to whom the mystery of the assembly was committed.
J.T. So that it was connected with the assembly in this epistle and in this chapter.
Ques. What is the force of coming together?
J.T. It supposes that we love one another! The Supper is the celebration by those who love one another, and, as loving one another, we show that we love Christ. If we do not love one another, if
we do not love the saints, we have no moral title to break bread at all. Your love to the saints is the proof that you love Christ. What do you say to that?
R. It is a question if we do take the Lord's supper if we do not love one another. It would be a denial of the truth of it. We could not partake in what is the Lord's thought of it.
J.T. You could partake of the elements.
M-s. It would not be consistent with the Lord going into death if we did not love one another. It would draw forth love to one another.
J.T. It is a collective act, a collective thought, and it is celebrated by those who love the Lord, and the proof that you love the Lord is that you love one another. The proof of our discipleship is that we love one another. The disciples came together to break bread, for the Lord had said, "By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves". Why do we come together?
H. Someone has said, because we cannot help it.
J.T. We want to meet one another if we love one another.
R. It has been said, 'I go to meet the Lord'. Would you not say that that is not really the right way to come together? That is not the exact purpose, that we should come together as units, apart from one another in spirit.
J.T. There is no virtue in the room in which you meet, and, if you are the only one there you gain nothing by coming. That is not the right way. It is misleading (one has to speak guardedly) but it is really misleading to say you come to meet the Lord. You come together. If no brethren are there you cannot have the Supper and you gain nothing.
W. If you meet the Lord you will gain something.
J.T. The room does not attract the Lord. You could then have it at home. The room is not sanctified, there is no virtue in the room.THE WITNESS OF PAUL AND THE CONTINUANCE OF THE TESTIMONY
RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
ENTERING INTO WHAT IS SPIRITUAL IN CHRISTIANITY
LOVE AND JEALOUSY
GOD'S OPERATIONS IN VIEW OF HIS OWN GRATIFICATION
WALKING IN DIVINELY PRESCRIBED CONDITIONS
THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THE VALUE OF LIVING IN IT
GOD'S IDEAL
DIVINE SUPPORT AND PROTECTION
THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD IN THE FULFILMENT OF HIS PROMISES
THE DIVINE WAY OF CONTINUING THE TESTIMONY
'And see! the Spirit's power
Has ope'd the heav'nly door'. (Hymn 74)THE LOVE OF GOD KNOWN IN THE WILDERNESS
THE GARDEN
OUR POSITION IN THE WILDERNESS
THE LIGHT GOVERNING THE LORD'S SUPPER