Ministry of the Word 1997

F. B. Frost

Acts 1:6 - 9; Acts 22:9 - 16, 19 - 21; Revelation 3:14 - 22

I desire, dear brethren, to speak of the Lord's personal interest in His witnesses. It is a very affecting word that He says to the apostles, "ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea ..." Think of the Lord's interest in each one of them. It is a great thing to have a sense of that in our hearts and a desire to be more of a witness for Him in the present time amid increasing darkness and departure from the truths of Christianity publicly. What a privilege and an honour it is to be found faithful to the truth, and with the assurance in our hearts of the Lord's personal interest.

"My witnesses" -- the Lord uses these beautiful words in speaking to His own here on earth ere He was taken up in glory. There was a personal link between Himself and each witness. May each of us have a sense of the Lord's personal interest in us and in our spiritual desires. We may feel our weakness, but the Lord is personally interested, and He would give us a sense of it, an assurance of it, at the present time.

Now, of what were they to be witnesses? It says, "And having said these things he was taken up, they beholding him, and a cloud received him out of their sight": they saw the risen Man ascending on high. Think of Christ being received "out of their sight". What a wondrous welcome He must have had on high! Think of every intelligent being in the heavens

witnessing the ascension of Christ, the One who has "become higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). How great is the glory of the ascension of Christ! The apostles had seen Him as a blessed Man in resurrection, and now they witnessed Him being "taken up". Now these witnesses would be persons who would convict you, and this they did in the Acts testifying to the resurrection of Christ. The Lord said to the disciples in resurrection, "behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see" (Luke 24:39) -- it was no myth; it was no spirit; but a glorious living Man who had been into death, and had been raised by the glory of the Father. That was to help them to witness to the great triumph of Christ over the power of death, for they had seen Him, a living Man the other side of death. Christianity is based on witnessed facts: the One who was crucified has been raised again and has ascended. The time of faith had begun, the time of sight had ended, and they were witnesses of that fact.

The ascension of Christ is a very important matter. It says that He "was carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:51), and also "whom heaven indeed must receive" (Acts 3:21), and there He is in glory at this present moment. None can dislodge Him; He is there "crowned with glory and honour" (Hebrews 2:9).

The apostles have died, but, like the believers in Acts 2:42, we need to persevere in the apostles' doctrine at the present time. Their testimony has come down to us through faithful men, and we are to be witnesses of that blessed Man where He is. Now,

further, we see that Christ's witnesses had a special place in His affections. He was about to leave them. What was going to be left on earth? Was all witness ended for God? No, for the Spirit was about to come, and they were to be imbued with power from on high. So they waited for ten days after the Lord's ascension until the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. As they waited, they "gave themselves ... to continual prayer" (Acts 1:14). How much they must have learned during those ten days. What a dependent company they were. They were to be witnesses, but they needed power to be witnesses, to speak on Christ's behalf. Where would be the power in the speaking? The Spirit gave them power to speak in testimony, as we see in the Acts.

Now in Acts 22 we see the Lord's interest in Paul personally. He was to be a witness. It is very interesting that Ananias should say to Paul that God "has chosen thee beforehand to ... be a witness for him to all men" (verses 14, 15). What a wonderful thing it is to hear the voice of Christ speaking to you personally. This is what goes to make a convicted witness, one who is sure about things, who has heard the voice of the Son of God personally. Paul was to be one of the Lord's witnesses, yet he was one of the most unlikely persons. He gives a list of the things that he had been doing, imprisoning and persecuting the lovers of Christ. Yet the Lord said to Paul, Go, you are to serve and be a witness. Think of the way God took with the beloved apostle, and what a witness he was for Christ. "Be my imitators, even as

I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Think of what was manifested in the apostle Paul. He, it seems, never saw Jesus on earth, but he heard His voice from heaven, and the light of that Man in glory blinded him: "I could not see, through the glory of that light". What did he need to be blinded about? -- the Jewish system that he had been connected with and which he was so devotedly serving, and which was being eclipsed by the glory of that light. What went on in Paul's mind in those days when he was blind, I do not know, but I am quite certain of this, it brought to an end in his heart all that he was in his supposed superior religiousness. And what was left was the glory of the One who had spoken to him from on high. How personal these links were for one who was a chosen witness.

Ananias comes along in a most brotherly way and tells Paul, "the God of our fathers has chosen thee beforehand to know his will, and to see the just one, and to hear a voice out of his mouth; for thou shalt be a witness for him to all men of what thou hast seen and heard". It was the Lord that had spoken to him, and Paul asks, "What shall I do, Lord?" He was brought immediately under the control of the Lord. We cannot be witnesses for Him unless we recognise His lordship. He must have the supreme place. Our will needs to be subjected to Him. Paul was not only "to see the just one, and to hear a voice out of his mouth", but to "know his will". How quickly Paul came under the subduing influence of divine grace. He might have been smitten down in

judgment on account of what he had been doing to the lovers of Christ, but grace met him in all its magnificence. Paul speaks of "the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7) -- that is what met the beloved apostle. "Mercy was shewn me", he said, "because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13). There was a personal link between himself and the Lord.

God's sovereignty is a remarkable thing. We are not just to drift through life with a little knowledge of Christianity, but rather as conscious that we have been sovereignly chosen by God for a purpose. Peter writes to those dispersed throughout Asia Minor, and he speaks of them as "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father" (1 Peter 1:2). God knew that they would be dispersed, and those that were dispersed were going through much suffering, but Peter refers to them as "elect". Heaven was interested in such a company, for it was known before time that they would be such. Is the Lord taken by surprise by the present situation in which we are? Not at all. He knows the whole history of the assembly from beginning to end. The Holy Spirit has come to maintain a witness right through to the coming of the Lord. I must take care lest I should die out of the testimony. That is the exercise that I would like to raise so that we might be encouraged to maintain what is due to the Lord in faithfulness right through to the end, with the assurance in our hearts of the Lord's personal interest in problems and difficulties that may confront us. Let us not lose heart. The Lord is very interested in every one who

seeks to be a true witness for Him in His absence, and He has furnished us with power in the gift of the Spirit; and the Lord Himself said, as He commissioned His disciples, "All power has been given to me in heaven and upon earth" (Matthew 28:18). Think of the power in the hand of Christ, and of the power that there is in the blessed Spirit down here to help us in the very circumstances in which we are. Oh! dear brethren, the greatness of these things calls for more faithfulness on our part. We may know these things, but when a problem arises we need to exercise faith. We may not receive an immediate answer; we may have to wait patiently for the answer, but God will answer us. He will take account of the faith that is there, and He will honour it in His own time and according to His own will. What a witness Paul was, not only in exemplifying the truth that he taught, but in his personal interest and care for the saints, as we see in his epistles.

I read the passage in Revelation 3 because it shows the Lord's personal interest in the overcomer. In each of the assemblies the overcomer is a believer who appreciates the way Christ is presented to that assembly. The Lord is presented to Laodicea as "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God". A Laodicean is like a believer who has Philadelphian light, but no Philadelphian power because of lack of affection for Christ; there is a lukewarm condition. Lukewarmness is very subtle, because there may be nothing to upset the conscience. There may be an understanding of, and

agreement with, the truth; everything appears right according to order, but the vital factor is missing -- fervency of affection for Christ. Is there fervency in my soul toward Christ and for His interests? Am I alive spiritually? -- life flows from the heart; life depends on the heart. Where are our affections in relation to Christ? An overcomer would appreciate Christ as "the Amen", the climax of all that God has purposed in Christ, the Alpha and the Omega. God is going to head up all things in the Christ. Therefore the objective for the overcomer should be that Christ might become everything to him. If only the Laodiceans had paid attention to the letter that Paul wrote to the Colossians, which was to "be read also in the assembly of Laodiceans" (Colossians 4:16), they might not have drifted into this lukewarm condition. Paul had written to the Colossian saints that Christ might be "everything, and in all" (Colossians 3:11). The philosophy of man was to be excluded that Christ might have the supreme place as Head in all His wondrous glory and wisdom.

Christ was everything to Philadelphia; but Christ was outside to Laodicea. How is it with you? How is it with me? Is Christ outside; is He just an appendage to my life? What is required is fervent affection for Christ and a readiness to accept responsibility. There are, it may be, things to be attended to in our localities, and individually, at the present time, but we can only take them up as a result of a deep sense of the love of Christ filling our hearts. Oh! that we might be delivered from being lukewarm, for, once

we become lukewarm, the next thing is that we will let go of divine principles, features of the truth become non-essential, and so the downward slide goes on, but the antidote is an appreciation of Christ as presented to Laodicea, "the Amen, the faithful and true witness".

What perfection we have to contemplate in that blessed One in every situation in which He was here; how He presented God in perfection. Think of all that was witnessed in Christ maintaining what was due to God at every point: "Pay therefore what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God" (Luke 20:25). What a divine answer He gave. We marvel at the witness of Christ against all the opposition that He had to contend with -- the faithful and true Witness "who witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession" (1 Timothy 6:13). None could turn Him aside in that pathway of love. Many waters could not quench such love. He set His face steadfastly and He moved on until He had "completed the work which thou gavest me that I should do it" (John 17:4). Let us have a deeper appreciation of those holy sufferings of the faithful and the true Witness. We may have to suffer a little, but it is an honour to do so: "If ye are reproached in the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14), as we seek to be faithful and true to the Lord.

When the Lord manifests Himself on the occasion of the Supper, do you see the Lord? I do not say He comes corporeally, but the Lord said, "I

will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you" (John 14:18). How do we come up to the Supper? Is it with the faith of that scripture in our souls, in expectancy of heart? If you were to ask someone at the end of the morning meeting, Did you see the Lord this morning? -- it might be a test to them. We have heard these things many, many times, dear brethren, but let us be careful that we do not get into a lukewarm condition, and, because we know the teaching, assume that the Lord comes 'automatically'. The Lord comes where love is; there is no question about it. Think of what Bethany meant to Him. With Laodicea, alas, the Lord is outside. "Behold, I stand at the door and am knocking" -- knocking is not the same as a voice. The Lord knocks, and He has a way of knocking in our lives. I expect most of us have experienced His knocking. The Lord wants entrance; He wants more room in our hearts; He does not want us to remain lukewarm; He wants fervency of affection for Himself, and fervency of interest in His things at the present time. So let us be ready for Him who has promised to come and manifest Himself to His own.

The Lord says, "if any one hear my voice and open the door". You know a person by his voice, is that not so? It is as though the moment the voice of Christ is heard there is a realisation that it is the person Himself who is seeking entry: "... and open the door, I will come in unto him" -- He will come into your circumstances of difficulty and trial and anxiety and weakness physically. The Lord's interest

in the witness for Himself, the overcomer, is very, very precious, and then greater still, "I will come in unto him and sup with him, and he with me". Think of what it must be to "sup" with Christ, and to have part with Him. Think of the communications that the Father gave Him. He says to His Father, "the words which thou hast given me I have given them" (John 17:8). I would like to know what those words were, the communications of Christ to His own. What a wonderful portion, to sit down under His banner with great delight, to rest in His love as He opens up fresh glories of that scene of which He is the Centre.

Then further, to the overcomer the Lord says that he will "sit with me in my throne; as I also have overcome". I think this expression is the only reference to the Lord's pathway in the addresses to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3. He says in John 16:33, "I have overcome the world". And we may overcome the world by not living in it. The Lord says, "as I also have overcome, and have sat down with my Father in his throne". He had been faithful in all that the throne required; He stood faithfully for the rights of God. The Man of John 8 is an example: He stood there as a warrior for the truth as they sought to kill Him. Let us contemplate Him.

We read in John's gospel of the true Light (chapter 1: 9), the true Vine (chapter 15: 1), and the true worshippers (chapter 4: 23). John wants what is real and what is substantial. It is the only thing that will do in the day in which we live where there is much giving up of the vital truths of Christianity publicly. The

Spirit of God is here, and He is operating in many earnest souls at the present time. Let us see that we are convicted as to the truth, and may we, in measure, be able to help others into it.

May we be helped on these lines and have a deeper sense of the love of Christ, and the interest of the blessed Spirit, as we seek to be here as true witnesses, for His Name's sake.

Blairgowrie, 22 June 1996.

THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD

J. Taylor

Genesis 13:9 - 13; Genesis 19:15 - 22; Hebrews 11:8 - 10, 16

You can readily perceive what I have in mind; it is to speak about the heavenly city: the city of the living God. In speaking of such a subject I hope you will understand that I do not mean to speak of it as apart from Christ, for I never would think of speaking of any subject except as related to Him. Christ brings the city into existence, and it takes all its character from Him. If there is one thing more than another that speaks of the greatness and ability of Christ, it is the construction of this marvellous city that is to become the centre of light and blessing for the universe of God.

The heavenly city is a wonderful product of the quickening power of Christ, hence in speaking of it I only wish that our minds and hearts should be occupied all the more with Him, for, as I said, it is the evidence of His greatness. You will recall how

Nebuchadnezzar exulted in the magnificence of his city. "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30). Nebuchadnezzar was an absolute monarch, and he speaks of the city which he had built as the evidence of his power. He is figurative of Christ, to whom universal dominion belongs; the city He constructs will be in accord with Himself in every way, and with His kingdom; and it will also be the great witness to His quickening power, so that in referring to the city what I have in my soul is the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. If He has formed that marvellous city, said to come down from God out of the heaven in all heavenly splendour "having the glory of God" (Revelation 21:10), what a person He must be!

"Whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10, Authorised Version). Christ is the Builder and Maker; He who builds all things is God, but it is Christ, as Hebrews 3 clearly states, and this is true of the church at the present moment. The church, as formed at the beginning by His own hand to be in this world in such wise as to be absolutely free from its influence and power, and thus to be capable of illuminating man and bringing blessing to him, was an irrefutable witness to the power of the Son of God. We want to get into our souls a clear understanding of the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ; and His ability is at the command of His love, hence He has brought in that which involves blessing for man. It is from that

point of view I wish to dwell upon the city that the Lord Jesus Christ has formed -- a city for us. God has prepared things for them that love Him, and it seems to me that the city is pre-eminently what is prepared; "he has prepared for them a city".

It is a great thing to understand that we have a city. It may be you do not attach importance to that, but every man of faith had a city before him. Abraham is the great model of faith in Scripture, and he looked for a city, and I think that what you get in him was what marked them all. Why did he look for a city? I believe that everybody in the world is dependent upon a city, and I think if you took away the cities you would find that most men had lost that which they require as their centre. It does not necessarily follow that you must live in a city to have one. Men as they are in the flesh are not self-supporting. In Genesis 4 you get the first mention of a city, and my belief is that the builder of that city felt that he was not. I refer to Cain. I think he felt, as banished from God, that he could not be self-supporting. He built a city, and called it after the name of his son. I think Cain's city may be taken to represent the cities of this world. It was built by a murderer, and would of necessity bear the marks of its founder. The world-city of Revelation 11 bears Cain's character; our Lord was crucified there. It is spiritually called "Sodom and Egypt" (verse 8). Violence and corruption mark the cities of the world, and of course none of them is free. Do you think a murderer could build a free city? No murderer could be a free

man. He is only free while he can elude the punishment of the law; hence Cain could not build a free city. He did not call his city by his own name, and I can understand that; I think he felt he did not have a very good name: he was a murderer. It is very intelligible that he should call his city after the name of his son, but his son was no more free than himself. His son could not liberate Cain's city, and I will tell you why -- he was under death. The fact is that Cain, his son, and their city were under the sentence of death, and freedom cannot be had in such a state.

I was saying that the cities of the world bear the stamp of Cain, and this is true. I think if you were to go into Cain's city you would find a very peculiar state of things morally. I should not consider myself very safe in a city built by a murderer. If true to the testimony of God, I should not expect very much better treatment from that city than Abel received from Cain. I think that Rome may be taken as representative of man's city, it is so viewed in Scripture. Its perpetual history has been one of murder and lawlessness. "I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus" (Revelation 17:6).

Now what I want to come to is what marks the city of the living God. It is free. You could not have a free city except on the principle of resurrection. Those who compose the city are quickened together with Christ, and are seated in the heavenly places in Him. It is living, and in the heavenlies. Revelation 21 depicts its varied characteristics. It will be the

sphere of highest privilege in the future. "Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14). The tree of life is there; it is in the midst of the paradise of God. The Lord God almighty and the Lamb are in the city. We shall be at home there, and there will be perfect security. In contrast to Cain's city, which, as we have seen, was built by a murderer, this city is built by the righteous One -- the One who hated lawlessness.

I wish to turn to Lot for a moment to explain my point that everybody is dependent upon a city. The gospel is that which produces the desire to take the path of faith. If the light of the gospel comes into your soul, it leads you to refuse and turn away from the present world, and if it has not done that for you, you have not rightly received it. The gospel is the light of another and completely new system, with a new centre entirely (Christ), a new city, and directly the light of that enters your soul, your course is altered. Now Lot had taken up that position. He was really one of the Lord's people. We are not told that he was called to forsake his country, and kindred, and his father's house, but he did it, and he did what was perfectly right. He took the path of faith; he went into the land of Canaan; he took up the heavenly position in company with Abraham. He did what was perfectly right, as I said, and it is what every man ought to do. He took up the ground of faith. Now faith is simply this: the gospel brings to

you the light of another system, of which Christ is the Head; another city, and another country; and the effect of this when received is that you make a move; you give up every single thing morally that you are connected with down here as in the flesh, whether the social, commercial, or religious phases of the world-system, and you plant your foot on the path of faith, shape your course toward the city of the living God. I hope everybody here has taken up that position: I would advise you to take it up. Do not tell me you were converted on a certain day, and so on; if you have not taken up the path of faith, the gospel has not had its proper effect upon you. The effect of the gospel is to turn you entirely from this present evil course of things. I want to see the man who has forsaken his country, his kindred, and his father's house. Something has taken place with the man who has done that. The gospel has been received into his soul.

But, alas, the light thus received often grows dim to us: something comes in between your heart and Christ. It may be you have accumulated a little bit of wealth, or it may be that something else has intervened between the vision of your soul and the divine system. What is the next thing that follows upon that? You will gravitate toward some worldly system or city. The world becomes very pleasing and attractive. Look at the light in which Lot viewed the plain of Sodom. It says: "Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was thoroughly watered". It was "as the garden of Jehovah, like the

land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar". Nothing to my mind more aptly evidences the demoralising influence of this world upon the soul of man than this. The paradise of God, which is the true garden of the Lord, is confused with the land of Egypt! It is an optical delusion. Alas! how dreadful to think of a Christian allowing the things of this world to dim his vision. Oh! Christian, do you ever take account of the world as the garden of the Lord? Do not do it, whatever you do. If you want to go in for the things of the world, do not degrade the garden of the Lord, which is in the paradise of God, and where the tree of life is, by likening it to a wicked place.

It says that Sodom was very wicked. Lot went into the plain of Jordan. It does not say that he got into Sodom all at once. I suppose he went into some of the smaller cities, and became a private citizen, simply a resident, but he "pitched tents as far as Sodom". That was his objective. But Abraham had a different objective, he looked for a city. The spirit of God records that that wonderful man sojourned as a stranger in the land of promise, and that he looked for a city "of which God is the artificer and constructor". That was his objective. He died without receiving the promise, but he looked for it. Lot says, as it were, 'I must have a city now'. How many a Christian is like that! They give up the path of faith. If you do that and thus lose sight of the heavenly city, you cannot get on without a city of this world -- something visible, which becomes your centre. Lot lifted up his natural eyes, and Sodom

came within the range of his vision; but Abraham saw with the eyes of his heart, and with these he did not see Sodom, but the city of the living God.

But Sodom is to be destroyed, and it is when the time of the execution of the divine sentence against the city arrives we see demonstrated how intensely possessed Lot was with the idea of a city, and how much he depended on one. The angel says, "escape to the mountain". Lot replies: "Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither -- is it not small? -- and my soul shall live". He depended upon a city, no matter how small, so he fled to Zoar. He says, "my soul shall live"; but Abraham's soul had lived without a present city! He did not have a visible city great or small, neither did he possess a house, nor any outward support, and yet he was perfectly secure; he did not suffer any discomfort at all when the cities of the plain were destroyed.

I do not know that I can say much about Abraham, but he stands out in wonderful contrast to Lot, who is a figure of the worldly Christian. See Abraham in Genesis 18. That chapter presents him in the full position which the light that had come to him involved: he is outside of the whole course of the world, and is in the circumstances of a pilgrim -- sitting in the tent-door. Such a man is fit morally to receive a divine visitation, and he does receive it. If you are connected with any kind of a city, even though it be only a small one, you will have no divine visitation; but if you live in a tent, if you take

up the path of a man of faith, I can assure you that you will get one. As apart from the world in the position of a pilgrim, it is your privilege to receive a gratuitous heavenly visitation. Do you not desire it? Abraham and Sarah were there alone in their tent and Jehovah came without being invited. Look at the marvellous moral beauty of Jehovah coming down to a tent! No stylish abode, only the tent of a herdman, and Jehovah comes and partakes of a repast. Abraham and his wife were in the path of faith. They "waited for a city which has foundations, of which God is the artificer and constructor". I think they had what I should call an understanding of what is morally right. They say, as it were, if we cannot have that city we will not have any; but a visit from Jehovah, although in a tent, is infinitely more to be desired than the society of the world, and a fine mansion in the city of Sodom.

The Lord, in John 14:23, speaks of the Father and Himself coming, and making their abode with the one who loved Jesus, and so kept His word. Wonderful privilege! The believer can well afford to stand alone, if necessary, for the truth -- the Father and the Son will visit him. But there is not only this blessed divine visitation: God also prepares for us a city. We are not exactly in the position of Abraham. The city has already been brought in, in a sense, so that in a certain way we can enter into the city now. Blessedness in the future will lie in the privilege, as having washed our robes, to have right to the tree of life, and to go in by the gates into the city. We await

by faith the actuality, but already in the power of the spirit we may realise something of the blessedness of the city. Viewed as "our mother", "Jerusalem above" (Galatians 4:26) can only be understood in the Son of God. It is sonship that is in view in Galatians: but in Hebrews it is a city built and made. This is not an abstract thought, but a veritable city, having foundations, a wall, gates, a street, and, above all, a temple, which is the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb.

May the Lord engage our hearts with Himself as the One who forms this wondrous city, and as the One who will be known there, and who will give character to it.

Ministry by J. Taylor, New York, N.S. Volume 1, pages 364 - 371. 1906.

SEPARATION: ITS POWER AND EXTENT (2)

E. Dennett

Now it is by the combination of these two aspects that we reach the measure of our separation: morally, it must be according to our place before God; positionally, it must be according to our identification with a rejected and suffering Christ on the earth -- "without the camp". Let us look a little at these two things.

First -- Morally, then, our separation should be according to the place in which we are set before God; and, since we are brought into that place through the death and resurrection of Christ, it is a place of perfect separation from all evil. The

difficulty, however, lies in the application of the principle; but there are three things clearly noted in Scripture in connection with this subject.

We are said to have "died to sin" (Romans 6:2); to have been made "dead to the law" (Romans 7:4); and "the world is crucified to me" (Galatians 6:14) -- of course through and in the death of Christ; and it must ever be remembered that there is no separation before God, excepting through death. For our present purpose we may omit 'death to law'; so that 'death to sin', and 'death to the world' will embrace and define the moral character of the Christian's separation.

Romans 6 gives us the first of these -- the obligation being founded upon the profession of death with Christ. "We who have died to sin, how shall we still live in it? Are you ignorant that we, as many as have been baptised unto Christ Jesus, have been baptised unto his death?" And then, after stating what this involved, the apostle says: "So also ye, reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:2 - 11). Such is the obligation resting upon all believers; an obligation which, whatever may be the sense of failure, will be acknowledged by all, for no real Christian will contend for liberty to sin.

The second -- 'death to the world' -- is involved in every passage which speaks of our being dead with Christ, e.g. Colossians 2:20; Colossians 3:3; Romans 6; Galatians 2:20, etc., because by His death He has passed (and we in that death) out of this scene into a new sphere,

altogether and completely outside of the world. Hence our obligation to be practically dead to (and this is entire separation from) the world -- an obligation which was realised by one who could say, "But far be it from me to boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).

Stated then in its hardest form, our separation from the world should be as complete as the separation of a dead man from it. For the Christian has passed, in the death of Christ, clean out of all that constitutes the world, as completely as Israel had passed out of Egypt -- morally, the world -- when they had crossed the Red Sea. Hence the retention of a single trace of Egypt is not only a dishonour to Christ, but is also a practical denial of the place into which we have been brought before God.

If it should be inquired what constitutes the world, the answer is found in 1 John 2:15 - 17. There we have the positive and absolute exclusion of the world, and the things that are in the world, from the affections of the believer, and we are taught that the things of the world consist of all that the flesh can desire, all that can attract and please the eyes, and all that I can take pride in as a natural man.

Let us, then, ask ourselves whether there is anything in our houses, dress, habits, or manners, that ministers to the flesh, the eyes, or the pride of life; whether we have applied the cross to these several gateways to our hearts; whether, indeed, like the apostle, we have applied the cross to the world,

and also to ourselves, and thus effected a complete separation by death.

It is sometimes the case that while we are personally faithful, personally separate, we are not so faithful in the application of the cross in dealing with our children and our households. Thus there may be sometimes seen in the houses of saints, who are personally separate from the world, splendid pictures, worldly books, and music, together with sumptuous furniture; and these things, if not excused, are often said to be retained because of relatives, or for the sake of the children; and in this way, the believer's responsibility for his household is forgotten or overlooked. No; there can be no exception in anything that pertains to me or my responsibility from the application of the cross; for the obligation equals my place before God, and hence the separation must be absolute and complete.

Second -- Our positional separation is expressed by the term, "without the camp". Judaism was the camp in apostolic times, but Christianity succeeded Judaism in responsibility on the earth (see Romans 11) and has failed in that responsibility as completely as its predecessor. The camp therefore includes the whole of organised Christianity, all that Christianity has become in the hands of man; all the religious systems and denominations which men have made. Hence, again, now, as in former days, we have to go forth unto Christ without the camp, bearing His reproach (Hebrews 13:13), and the position we occupy, as gathered out to the name of Christ, is

the assertion of this necessity, as well as of the obligation of complete separation from all that composes the camp.

But the question that needs to be put today is: are we really occupying our place of separation? We are bound to have a heart for every child of God (1 John 5:1 - 3), and we must be the more careful to insist upon this, because of the need of separating from their evil ways, systems and doctrines. But it must never be forgotten, that, if we are in the place of separation according to the mind of the Lord, we are bound to maintain in our individual walk the same character of separation as is professedly maintained by the assembly; in other words, the individual path should be in harmony with the path of the assembly.

Hence, if without the camp, is it according to God that I should link myself individually with those religious institutions or associations that form part of the camp? If, with those gathered to the name of the Lord, we refuse fellowship with those who hold, or are associated with, evil doctrines, is it pleasing to the Lord that I should connect myself individually with such, or allow the members of my household to be associated with such? If I am on God's ground, is it according to His will that I should seek fellowship with, or use, those who are not, for the publication or dissemination of truth? These questions have only to be put to be answered; and yet who does not perceive the dangers that are gathering in these several directions?

In Sardis, while there is corporate association with evil, there are individuals as already seen, who have not defiled their garments. In Philadelphia the danger is in the opposite direction; and indeed it is often seen that there are individual members of the assembly, who, while on the ground of separation, are yet associated with many of the evils, out of which we have been professedly brought. The reason is not far to seek. In the course of time there are many who have been attracted from different causes who have never passed through any exercises of soul, and who consequently have never understood the need for, or the power, or the measure of that separation which such a place demands.

It cannot, therefore, be too earnestly insisted upon, that, if we are "without the camp", the position thus indicated must govern the individual believer as well as the assembly, or that the separation in the one case must be as complete as in the other; for if we have gone out to Christ we cannot remain with Him, be in fellowship with Him, or have Him before our souls, unless we constantly and faithfully occupy the outside place.

There is another thing to be remembered, namely, that our separation must cover the whole area of our individual responsibility. This has already been touched upon, though not formally stated. Whatever, then, the circle of my responsibility before God, the whole of it must be brought under the principle of separation.

Thus take once more the case of households. Abraham is commended because, Jehovah said, "he will command his children and his household after him", etc. (Genesis 18:19); Eli, on the other hand, is judged, "For", said Jehovah, "I have declared to him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he hath known: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (1 Samuel 3:13).

The difficulties in the way of fidelity in this direction are often extreme, especially where different members of the family are connected and interconnected with the systems around; and it needs great grace to render, on the one hand, what is really due to natural relationships, and to be, on the other hand, faithful to the Lord. But we have to do with One who is all-sufficient for us in every emergency, and who, if He permit the storm to arise, can calm it with a word; and hence there must be no compromise, no excusing of worldliness, or laxity of associations on the ground of family relationships. These, it is true, must be maintained inviolate, as long as they can be maintained together with fidelity to Christ. But, if by fidelity to Him these relationships have even in appearance to be slighted, the result must be received as a part of the reproach of Christ. It were sad, indeed, if family claims, obligatory as they are within their own sphere, should be allowed to nullify the testimony to which we are called, to be put in fact before the claims of

Christ; or if, when the two are opposed, they should be adjusted for the sake of peace.

In the increasing darkness and confusion of this evil day the Lord looks for increasing separation and devotedness; and if by His grace we do not respond to His call, we may fear lest He adjudge us as unworthy of the place of testimony in which by His wondrous favour He has set and hitherto maintained us. "Yet the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, The Lord knows those that are his; and, Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the master, prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:19 - 21).

Food for the Flock, 1875, Volume 3, pages 167 - 174 [2 of 2].

TYPES OF THE CHURCH -- ABIGAIL

M. W. Biggs

1 Samuel 25

It is my desire in this and a few subsequent articles, if the Lord will, to consider from a practical point of view the way in which we take up our place as forming part of the assembly as the bride of Christ, and indeed as the one who is the antitype of Eve, the assembly as the complement of Christ. In doing so I shall necessarily have to dwell upon the features that

are proper to the assembly in these respects, but I shall endeavour to keep to a practical line, and not merely consider the truth itself, for what is the use of truth if it remains merely as a lovely picture? Its real gain is when it becomes formative and issues in practical result.

It has often been said that there are seven types or illustrations of the assembly in Scripture, namely, Eve, Rebecca, Leah, Asnath, Zipporah, Abigail, and Solomon's wife, Pharaoh's daughter. The way I purpose considering the subject will make it desirable to take up these types in another order, however. The fullest type of the assembly is undoubtedly Eve; the others emphasise one or another particular feature seen in the assembly. I shall not, however, consider Eve first, but last. There are many lessons to be learnt before we can consciously enjoy our portion as set forth in that striking type.

It is my purpose first to refer to Abigail. There are some very attractive features presented in Abigail; one which is common to every believer is that, typically, she appreciates Christ. In her case, of course, it was David, but David was Jehovah's anointed and a type of Christ. The apostle Peter speaks of this feature as common to the family of faith: "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious" (1 Peter 2:7, Authorised Version). There may be much we have to learn, much to unlearn; soul history, involving deep and real exercise may be before us, ugly features of the flesh may yet have to be dealt

with; liberty in a fuller way may have to be learnt; but although this is so, the heart of every true believer answers to the simple test, "What think ye of Christ?" (Matthew 22:42, Authorised Version), by the sweet reply, 'He is precious'. Our appreciation of His preciousness will undoubtedly grow, that is, if we make any progress at all; but little as it must necessarily be, all who believe have an appreciation of Christ.

Before I proceed further, may I ask the reader if he appreciates Christ? It is the one great mark of distinction between those who are the Lord's and those who are not. Hence the solemn words of the apostle, "If any one love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha" [footnote i, Meaning, 'Accursed -- the Lord cometh]' (1 Corinthians 16:22). Had we asked any of those who were gathered in that upper room referred to in Acts 1 if they appreciated Christ, how simple their reply would have been. Did Mary Magdalene appreciate Him? Would not blind Bartimaeus have given us a reply leaving us without any doubt, if he had been there? And all the others too, each probably differing in their measure, but all alike possessing the sweet feature, appreciation of Christ. And is it less so today, dear reader? Not a bit. "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious" is still true. There may be religiousness and much else, but this essential quality lacking. If this is so, obviously such a one is not Christ's -- he is not a believer. How solemn this

is. But "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious".

The appreciation Abigail had of David, however, was something more than that which would set forth our earliest thoughts of Christ. David was Jehovah's anointed, and yet he was a fugitive, hunted as a partridge on the mountains, and it needed no little perception to discern that this persecuted wanderer was the rightful king and would eventually have the kingdom. Then, too, she recognises that he fought Jehovah's battles and that evil was not found in him, hence his life was bound up in the bundle of life with Jehovah.

It is a great moment when our appreciation of Christ extends to what He is for God. We usually begin by recognising what He is for us, the One who died for us and who put our sins away, the One in whom we are accepted and who lives for us now and supports us in our pathway here. But this is what the Lord is as to ourselves. What is He for God? How enlarged our view of Christ when we see He fought Jehovah's battles, as it were; that when He went to the cross He wrought to remove the foul blot of sin from God's fair universe; that He is God's Centre and His appointed Head, under whom all His world is to be ranged, and that He is the Sun of righteousness -- not one element of evil is in Him.

How glorious He then becomes in our eyes; what is any other then? He may be Saul or the highest dignity in the world today, but if he be against Christ, how degraded he is in our eyes. So it was

with Abigail; she says of Saul: "if a man is risen up to pursue thee". David -- for us that is Christ -- is everything; we are glad to be identified with Him.

Another feature in Abigail is that she is self-judged. Being Nabal's wife, the stigma of his sin attached to her, and this she is ready to admit; but she judges the sin and confesses the true character of Nabal. It is a great thing to name what we are as in the flesh; in so doing God enables us morally to sever ourselves from our sinful state. If there is an appreciation of Christ in the heart, there is obviously some work of God there, an inward man, as Romans 7:22 puts it, that which delights in what is of God. This is quite the reverse of what is sinful. But we find that while we delight in what is of God and appreciate Christ, it is equally true that as in the flesh we are sinful.

This is the exercise developed in Romans 7, and it is illustrated in Abigail. When once we judge our sinfulness, we are entitled to regard what we judge as no longer ourselves, but sin. (See Romans 7:20). We could not be a fit companion for Christ if we were sinful, but as judging sin, we are no longer identified with it. In Abigail's case, we know God came in and Nabal died, and after he died David communed with Abigail and she became his wife. It is said that Abigail was of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance (verse 3), and in this way she resembled David, to whom she was to be united.

It is quite clear that we cannot consciously take up our place in the assembly unless these

experiences have in some measure been ours. We appreciate Christ and we judge ourselves.

A further feature is seen in that Abigail shows her appreciation of David in practically expressing it to his followers (see verse 21). This is a very important feature. This practical expression of love to Christ, shown in love to the brethren, exhibited itself very early in the history of the assembly. The unselfishness recorded in Acts 2, the surrender in Acts 4, the contribution for the poor saints in Jerusalem in Acts 11, all speak of this. How happily Gaius set it forth (3 John 5) and Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3, 4). These were the expressions of love, and this is a true feature of the assembly.

How very beautiful is Abigail's expression as she comes to David; she is ready to take the most menial place; for anything is honourable if it is service to David. What an honour to wash the feet of the saints! In how many ways we can serve our David, the Lord Jesus Christ, if only this spirit marks us. Even an apostle can pick up sticks to light a fire if it is to serve the saints. How many difficulties that exist among God's people would soon be solved if we more really possessed the features of Abigail, and only as we possess these features are we of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance morally, and only thus are we pleasing to Christ and are enabled to take up our place as His fit companion for days of suffering down here.

The Believer's Friend, 1925, pages 234 - 240.

RESPONSE TO GOD

B.W. Burton

Psalm 72:18 - 20; 1 Chronicles 29:10 - 14; Nehemiah 9:5 - 7; Ephesians 3:20, 21

We were speaking about the blessing of God. It is His desire to bless us, filling our hearts with joy and gladness. We might at times prove the testings and trials of the way, yet, in all that, God has in mind to bless us, for He is the Blesser.

I would like to speak a little about the return to God from those He has blessed. In filling our hearts with joy and gladness and the blessings that He has for us, I believe God has in mind that there should be a result in praise and glory and blessing to Himself. He is the source of all, and all is to return to Him. David says in the verse in 1 Chronicles, "that which is from thy hand have we given thee". I think we would all agree that we would like to have more liberty, and breadth of expression, and more affection in the praise of God.

It is a great privilege to have been taken up at the present time in relation to the praise of God. It says of the saints at Thessalonica that they "turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to await his Son from the heavens" (1 Thessalonians 1:9,10). It has often been said that those two things are enough to fill out the rest of our time here profitably and happily. To have in mind to serve the living and the true God, and to have something to say in His praise, to speak to Him of Christ, to express something that will fill His heart with joy, is a

wonderful privilege. Oh! that we might contemplate divine things more, and Christ above all, in the way in which God has drawn near to us in Him, that we might have something substantial to present to God in the service of praise, and, secondly, to await His Son from the heavens. I think those two things will sustain us.

I read the verses in Psalm 72, the final prayer of David. I would like to pray like this. How do you pray? We pray for our needs, of course, and God knows our needs before we pray for them. He delights to hear His children ask for what they need, but I think God is looking for more than that. He delights in persons who, in His presence, are able to speak to Him of Himself, and of the glory of all that He has done. This Psalm is remarkable: it is headed, "For Solomon", and David is looking on to the day of Solomon's reign in glory, to the universal dominion of Jesus. Oh! what it will be when He takes up His rights; but David concludes this Psalm with an outburst of praise, and that is what will occur in the millennial day, for the earth will be vibrant with the praise of the Lord. Well, those things are to be known and enjoyed now in the assembly. It is a wonderful privilege to have part amongst those who love the Lord Jesus at the present time and are free in the praise of God.

So David says, "Blessed be Jehovah Elohim, the God of Israel, who alone doeth wondrous things!" David must have spent time contemplating all that

God had done with him, and with Israel, and what God had done in earlier days. He learned God in many ways, and we can do that too. I commend that to the younger brethren: think about God. You may not have much time to spare, but you can find a few moments each day to think about God and His things, to read the Scriptures and find what God would say to you in them. Do not only read the words, but have a sense of being in the divine presence, and think a little about what God has done for you and in relation to you, and then perhaps in a wider way about what God is doing amongst His people.

How wonderful this verse is, "who alone doeth wondrous things!" Great men and women in the history of this world have done certain things, but what are they in relation to what God has done? The Scriptures tell us of the greatest of all -- what God did in Christ. Think of the wonder of the incarnation, and of Jesus being here, of the works that He did -- they were His Father's works. What Jesus did was a reflection of what God was doing. How wondrous those works were! I believe it is good to sit down quietly in the presence of God and think a little about what He has done, and, surely, out of that will flow an appreciation of who God is, some increased knowledge of Himself, so that we can speak to God as One that we know and love, as One that has loved us. Then we learn to love Him. If you love a person, you will want to present the best to them, will you not? So if we love God, what a privilege it is, beloved brethren, to be able to say something to Him

which will please His ear and fill His heart with joy. Think of Him looking for you, looking for His people to come with an offering. In Old Testament times they brought animals. We do not bring animals, but we bring some impression of Christ. You can contemplate in the gospels the glories of Jesus, the One who was here in lowly grace, but the One too, who is in glory. Let us contemplate Him where He is. Does He fill your heart? I think if you want to know more about these wondrous things you must look at Christ above all. God has done things in other ways too, but there is great wonder about what He has done in Jesus, and I think as you contemplate those things you will be able to say something to God that will delight His heart.

Then David says, "And blessed be his glorious name". That is something else to think about, the Name of God. Here it would have been Jehovah, but in our day God has been made known in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It says in Psalm 48:10, "According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise". God intends, by the way in which He has made Himself known, that there should be an answer in accord with it. If you quietly contemplate God's glory and the blessed-ness of this Name which He has taken in view of the securing of His thoughts, and the working out of the truth in this present dispensation, you will get some fresh impression of what that Name means. How precious is the way that God has made Himself known. He wants you to draw near to Him as One that you know, and He has taken a Name that He

might be addressed in affection and responsive praise and worship by those that He has taken up for His glory.

This psalm looks on to the day when His glory will be publicly secured in this earth. It is not like that publicly today, but we can rejoice with the saints of the assembly that are in the joy of it now. The blessings of the new covenant that will be known in the millennial earth are to be enjoyed in spirit by the saints of the assembly now. We have a sense that the glory of Christ covers the earth, "as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). It is going to happen in actuality, but we hold the ground for Him at the present moment, and I believe we can rejoice in this.

In 1 Chronicles 29 David is blessing Jehovah "in the sight of all the congregation". I think this is like a contribution in the service of God at the present time, and I think we should all like further expansion in that. Thank God for every contribution there is for God's pleasure and glory in His service, but I think we might all have to admit that we could be more substantially in the joy of the vast area of things that is for God's delight and pleasure. I believe David had accumulated some remarkable substance in his soul. No doubt he must have spent time in contemplation in his secret history during his trials at the hand of Saul and others, but he must also have gained in his soul through contemplation in the presence of God. That is where you grow -- in God's presence. So David draws upon his knowledge and

gives a wonderful lead in the sight of all the congregation.

"Blessed be thou, Jehovah, the God of our father Israel, for ever and ever. Thine, Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the splendour, and the majesty". What beautiful features, attributes of God, David puts together. He speaks of God as One that he knows well. He had seen these features, no doubt, worked out -- greatness, and power, and glory, and splendour, and majesty, in the way God had come in for him. God had led him, He had exercised His power, and David had seen His glory and His majesty. I think it is a lesson for us, beloved brethren, to see how God comes in, in the circumstances through which we pass, so that we may learn Him in His ways. These things are to enter into our souls, and as we are conscious of Him being towards us in blessing, it forms something in the heart and soul so that we are able to speak to God as One that we have come to know. I believe that results in fulness of worship and praise at the present moment. How God must rejoice in persons that can draw near and speak to Him as One that they have come to know and learned to love!

Then David says, "for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is thine: thine, Jehovah, is the kingdom, and thou art exalted as Head above all". David could take account of an ordered system of things, headed up in God Himself, and we too, in the assembly, can see that. We see a sphere of divine order, Christ is the Head, and rejoice in the headship

of God. God exercises His rights in headship over an ordered sphere that is marked by blessing and fulness. He the Source, but He too is the ultimate Object in the service of God.

"Thou are exalted as Head above all; and riches and glory are of thee, and thou rulest over everything; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make all great and strong". That is a beautiful view -- to see things as God sees them. God looks at Christ and sees everything ordered under His hand. He has been pleased to commit everything into the hands of the Son, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand" (John 3:35). How good it is to come into this ordered sphere, to see Christ there, to see every divine thought expressed in its fulness in Him, and all gathered up in Him too, so that God might be served according to His thoughts, according to the divine standard, and Christ is the Leader in it. We see His glory as the Minister of the sanctuary, and draw near in His worth as accepted in the Beloved.

"And now, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer willingly after this manner? for all is of thee, and of that which is from thy hand have we given thee". It is not a question of trying to work up to these things -- that will end in disaster, but it is a question of what God has done, for He has dispensed the fulness of blessing. He "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). We

can take those blessings and make them our own; enjoy them and explore them with the help of the Spirit at the present moment. Then we should be able to speak about them and have something to pre-sent to God. Only what is of God, and what has been expressed in Christ is acceptable to Him. We shall never exhaust it, it will fill eternity. Contemplation and meditation, I believe, provide very important contributions to our soul history. I do not mean that you have to spend hours on it, a few moments will be productive. Of course, the longer you can spend the better, but we know that time is limited. In a few moments spent quietly and sincerely contemplating in the divine presence we can learn much more than we might learn in a lifetime by human effort.

In Nehemiah we have a day of recovery; and we too are in a day of recovery. This remarkable recovery began in Ezra's day when God sovereignly charged king Cyrus to send the people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the altar and the house. Then Nehemiah rebuilds the wall according to the divine thought. That in itself was not the end, for the end was that the service of God should be re-established, and that is the point that I wanted briefly to refer to here. Having accomplished this work, these Levites then come forward, and there is this command, "Stand up, bless Jehovah your God from eternity to eternity. And let men bless the name of thy glory, which is exalted above all". I think what is said here is very similar to what David said in 1 Chronicles 29, showing that the recovery had in mind the re-

establishment of the service of God, and that is very like our own day, beloved brethren.

The recovery that began some 170 years ago, began with the re-assertion of divine principles, and if you follow the ministry that was given, and particularly the ministry in the first half of this century, you will see the result in the fulness and blessedness of the service of God. I think the Spirit has been helping us ever since to fill out the divine service under the headship of Christ. In one sense the truth is all out, but we do need to have fresh unfoldings of the variety and the blessedness of what is available to us in the assembly in the service of God. I believe it is very encouraging, in this revival in Ezra's and Nehemiah's day, to see that the great end was that the service to God should be re-established as it had been under that great servant David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, the one who had spent a lifetime in accumulating substance and wealth for the house of God, and for His service.

In Nehemiah 12, you get the service of song, the choirs going round the wall, and then in the house of God, and you get tremendous joy: "And the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off" (Nehemiah 12:43). I think that is what has happened in the history of the recovery, and we are almost at the end of it, and I think God would encourage us. It has all been in view of securing His own portion, that His service might be enriched, and that we might be enriched for it. We can profit by the example of those that have gone before; we may find much help in the books

that have been written, but not only that, we must have the truth substantially in our own hearts. Would we not all agree that we would like more expansion of thought and more wealth in our souls when we come to address God in the fulness of the service that flows out of the Supper? We should use our time here wisely and well for accumulating substance that will be for God's delight and pleasure and glory. The recovery under Nehemiah began in a small way: "I and some few men with me" (Nehemiah 2:12), but what a wonderful result it had. What an experience it is today to touch what is universal in the worship that flows to God Himself, and you lose sight of the confines of the local position.

Ephesians 3 really puts what we have been considering into assembly language, and shows us the glory of the present moment: "But to him that is able to do far exceedingly above all which we ask or think, according to the power which works in us". We may ask or think a lot of things, but there is One, God Himself, who is able to do far exceedingly above that. We will not attain to the things set out in Ephesians 3 by human determination. It is good, of course, to commit ourselves to increasing our knowledge of divine things, and may we prove the help of the blessed Spirit of God in it. May we be helped to understand better the present service of the Spirit of God, the One who is "the power which works in us". You feel the need of that power as you get on your feet in the praise of God. We may have a simple impression, and then it is a question of the

Spirit helping us to fill it out: "according to the power which works in us". I believe that things flow more easily when we are together if we have spent time communing in the divine presence beforehand, communing with the Holy Spirit.

The great objective here is, "to him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages". We are touching here what is going to be our eternal portion, but we can enjoy it now. We have experienced it many times, and may we experience it more, and enter into the breadth and fulness of it, that God, who has shone out in this way towards us in the fulness of blessing, may be before us in His distinctive glory and greatness. It is a wonderful privilege, dear brethren, to have some sense of being brought to God, to the One who has this wonderful Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to whom there is, even at the present moment, response for all that He has done, and for all that He is. It is "to him" -- God Himself is before us as the Object of worship. I am very thankful to have my part in the assembly at the present moment, and may we be assured that it is to be our eternal portion.

Well, may we be encouraged in these thoughts, and may we be prepared to give our affections and our time to these things, that we might acquire more substance, experience, wealth and breadth of expression in the praise of God now and eternally. May the Lord bless the word, for His Name's sake.

St. Ives, 16 November 1996

A FIRST AND LAST WORD OF CHRIST TO THE CHURCH

F. E. Raven

Revelation 2:1 - 7; Ephesians 3:14 - 21

It might be a matter of interest to us to pay a little attention to what one may call a first and last word of Christ to the church, that our attention might be taken up with the things that are.

The apostle John was charged to write the things which he had seen, which I take to refer to the vision of Christ in chapter 1. "The things that are", that is, the church as a witness here, and "the things that are about to be after these" (verse 19), after the church has ceased to occupy the place of witness here on earth. The proper place of the church down here is that of witness. In the ways of God the church is set to be a faithful witness, or light-bearer; that thought is conveyed to us under the symbol of the seven golden candlesticks. The thought of God has always been that there should be a witness of Himself; even among the idolatrous Gentiles God did not leave Himself without witness. Israel was established as a witness in the earth on the part of God. In Isaiah God continually refers to Israel as such -- a witness against idolatry. The time came when Israel ceased to be a witness for God; that moment had arrived long before Christ came; then Christ came, and He was the true witness.

Now at the present moment, until Christ comes again, the church is the witness; the church was established as a witness here to the Man in heaven, at

the right hand of God, in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. The Holy Spirit has come down as witness to the glory of that Man; but the Holy Spirit must have a vessel in which the wit-ness is maintained; that vessel is the church: hence you get here the symbol of the golden candlesticks.

It is very important to understand the place the church has as witness. In the end of chapter 3 you get Christ coming in as the faithful and true Witness when the church has not proved to be a faithful witness. Christendom is not a true witness of Christ, for the witness of Christ to be effectual must be a witness morally, not merely by word of mouth; and Christendom is not that. The church has not maintained that place, hence we get these epistles written to the seven churches; and now the time is near when Christ will appear as "the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14). Adam was not the beginning of the creation of God, he was historically the first man; Christ is the Beginning of the creation of God, and He is the faithful and true Witness when everything has failed. What will come to pass is that Israel will come again into the place of witness in connection with Christ; the golden candlestick in the holy place was symbolic of Israel in that way in the world to come; that is the issue of things here on earth.

Now what I want to touch upon is the first word of Christ to the church after its defection. If you pass on to the close of the next chapter you get the last word of Christ to the church; it is extremely

important to take these into account. If by the grace of God we have been led to return, in any measure, to first things, you may be pretty sure that history will repeat itself in us, and the defection will be much of the same character as at the outset. It is a fatal mistake now to set up to be anything here on earth. If we have returned to the first things in any measure, we are exposed to the same defection that overtook the church at the beginning. I am going to speak a little as to what that was, and at the same time to say a word as to the promise to the overcomer.

The overcomer is essentially individual, and the promise is not to the church, but to the overcomer: the very thought of an overcomer implies that the current is against you, and if you do not go against it, you will not be an overcomer. It is a proof of vital energy to go against the current; the Lord has pleasure in the overcomer. I have often thought of the promise to the overcomer in Laodicea when things had got to the worst. The Lord says, "He that overcomes, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne; as I also have overcome, and have sat down with my Father in his throne" (Revelation 3:21). The Lord will have the company of the overcomer with Him there; such a thought as that ought to engage the attention of every Christian. It is wonderful encouragement that the Lord will have the overcomer to be associated with Him, that He will have his company with Him in His throne.

The point of departure which marked the church was that it had left its first love; it is extremely important to see the principle and character of the defection. The Lord commends everything that it was possible to commend, but in leaving its first love it had given up its place of witness. There was no longer fidelity in the place of witness; nothing can be more important than to understand that the church was left here as a witness in the absence of Christ.

The Bridegroom is in heaven, and the bride on earth; the church should be mourning the absence of the Bridegroom, and yet have the Bridegroom dwelling in the heart by faith; that is the true position of the church. Not going in the current of the world, not overcome by the power of present things, but in a sense desolate in the absence of the Bridegroom, and yet not desolate because Christ is dwelling in the heart by faith. The practical effect would be the Bridegroom set forth in the bride, and at the same time the bride entirely taken up with the interests of the Bridegroom. That is what I understand by Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, and for that everything depends upon the appreciation of Christ. There was evidently a drawing back in the church, and the appreciation of Christ was obscured, and that was the point of departure. Worldly, chilling influences came in, and the effect was like with the children of Israel when turning back in heart to Egypt -- they forgot the pleasant land.

Now a word with regard to how we are led into the appreciation of Christ. Christ is presented to us in

the gospel in the first instance as a point of attraction; even in the Old Testament we have the figure of the Sun of righteousness; you cannot entertain the idea of the sun without the thought of a power of attraction. The Lord says, in John 12, "I, if I be lifted up out of the earth, will draw all to me" (verse 32). If Christ is to draw to Himself, it implies that there must be a power of attraction in Himself; and that power is that every thought of grace on the part of God towards man is presented to men in a Man, and that Man is Christ -- "God is one, and the mediator of God and men one, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5); that is what I should understand to be the principle of attraction which resides in the Sun of righteousness.

It is quite true that nobody is drawn to Christ unless God works, but that does not alter the power of attraction in Christ. The fact that men do not come to Christ proves the terrible deadness and insensibility on the part of man to all that is of God; as I said before, you cannot entertain any thought of grace on the part of God towards man save in a Man, and that Man has taken up every liability under which men were, in order that in Him the grace of God might be presented to man, so that he might be attracted to the Sun of righteousness; it is the first principle in the ways of God in regard to man. The next point is you become attached to Christ, and that attachment is brought about by the Spirit which Christ gives to the one who is responsive to the grace

presented in Him. There is a link formed between the believer and Christ, and that link is in the Spirit.

It is by attachment to Christ that we shall be kept from the evil of the world. The Lord says, in John 10, "I am the door: if any one enter in by me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and shall go out and shall find pasture" (verse 9). You do not want the shelter of a fold; you are kept, whatever the condition of things in the world, by the power of attachment to Christ; you are saved, are in liberty, and find pasture. The most gifted intellect in the world could not explain how a Christian is kept down here, preserved from evil and temptations and allurements, and at the same time finding pasture. He does not go to the world's fields to find pasture, he is independent of them. The secret of it all is attachment, which exists in the Spirit of Christ, the living water which Christ gives, and which springs up in the believer unto everlasting life. What follows is that you get the knowledge of Christ. "I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine" (verse 14). The apostle Paul says, "I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8). It is a great point to arrive at the appreciation of Christ; then it is we are prepared to part with ourselves, because we have found in Christ that which is supremely excellent; and in result we have Christ dwelling in the heart by faith.

Every true wife is attached to her husband; she does not appreciate him all at once, but the bond has

been formed, and the more she knows him the more she appreciates him. The wife proves the care, love, and attention, all the good qualities of her husband, and she appreciates him more and more. So it is with believers in Christ. We are "to be to another, who has been raised up from among the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God" (Romans 7:4). We appreciate the holiness, righteousness, grace, and gentleness of Christ; it is by this we bring forth fruit to God. In the absence of the Bridegroom, the bride has the Bridegroom dwelling in the heart by faith; the practical effect is that being rooted and grounded in love, you comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; you get a survey of the whole expanse that is centred in Christ; and you know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled into all the fulness of God (Ephesians 3:17 - 19); that prayer was, I suppose, fulfilled in measure in the Ephesians.

Then you come to the defection -- the Ephesians had got away from the first appreciation of Christ; they had left their first love; Christ was not dwelling in the heart by faith; they had lost that which separated them from the present course of things. I do not think any Christian can be maintained in separation from the world except in the appreciation of Christ. And when I speak of appreciation of Christ, I speak not only of what Christ is personally, but of all that of which He is the Centre; that vast system of which He is the Beginning and the End. He is the Head of all principality and power; Head of

every man; He is the Head of every family; of the church, Israel; hence we need to entertain the thought of Christ in that light. But at the same time we need to be led by the Spirit into the appreciation of what He is morally, because it is in that way we understand the character He gives to every family in the universe of bliss. "He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). The church takes her character from Christ at the present time, and is left here, that the excellencies of Christ might be displayed in her.

The point of departure was in getting away from the appreciation of Christ, and we have to be on the watch against this. We need to be continually vigil-ant; there are dangers around us on every side; the things that are passing around us tend to dim our appreciation of Christ. I wish that Christ might be so brought before our vision that we might be led by the blessed Spirit of God into the vast expanse of all the purpose of God in Him. We are not in the presence of a heathen world, but surrounded by Christendom, where the name of Christ is, in a sense, borne, but yet where all the principles of the world are found. We need the greatest possible vigilance as to influences here (Satan is transformed into an angel of light), that our appreciation of Christ be not dimmed. Christ ever appreciates affection, attachment to His Person. He also appreciates zeal; but, after all, it is not zeal that is paramount in the mind of Christ, but affection. He appreciated Peter's zeal; but still more the

affection of John, so in Martha and Mary; with Martha it was zeal, and the Lord appreciated her service; but He appreciated Mary still more, for she sat at His feet and listened to His word, and He says, "there is need of one, and Mary has chosen the good part, the which shall not be taken from her" (Luke 10:42). The Lord will appreciate zeal and service, but above all, affection; that may be the reason why so many women are introduced in the gospel narrative, for they are more marked by affection than men. The Lord looks down upon us and appreciates good marks which we cannot see, but you may depend upon it that our place with Him depends upon our attachment to Him.

Just one word with regard to the overcomer: "To him that overcomes, I will give to him to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God". This is a contrast to what took place in connection with Adam; he never ate of the tree of life. God drove the man and his wife out, that they should not eat of the tree of life; it was a proof of divine mercy and consideration for them, lest they should eat and live for ever alienated from God through sin. We do not get the tree of the knowledge of good and evil here; all that was connected with that tree was met and answered in the death of Christ. Paradise is a place of perfect delight. The Lord said to the thief, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Paul was caught up into paradise; it is the third heaven, the scene of supreme delight, where everything is governed by God Himself; everything

answers to God; the tree of life is in its midst. It is a great thought that we should come to know the power that will maintain satisfaction and delight in the universe of bliss. It is found in the paradise of God. Every circle in that universe will be dependent for satisfaction and delight on the tree of life. Young people are often marked by restlessness of mind; they are hunting about for food for their minds. Did you ever think of heaven? What books will you read in heaven? Christ never, I suppose, read books when on earth. Do you think God has not other ways of ministering food to man? It is wonderful to think of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations; that is an encouragement to us to be overcomers. The current is strong against us; we can only overcome by attachment to Christ. "We more than conquer through him that has loved us". It will be a great thing when Christ gets us into the paradise of God and gives us to eat of the tree of life there. May God give us to have Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith.

Ministry by F. E. Raven, Volume 20, pages 217 - 224.

THE PATH OF DISCIPLESHIP

A. J. Gardiner

Psalm 16; Psalm 22:7 - 10; Psalm 23; Psalm 24:1, 7 - 10

I want to say a word, dear brethren, as to what the Lord is prepared to be to us as in the path of discipleship here, for that is our position, or is intended to be that while we are here waiting for the

coming of the Lord, we are in a path of discipleship; that is, those who are publicly known as disciples of Jesus. Discipleship involves that we learn from our Teacher and are disciplined so that we might be formed in accordance with what we learn. Disciples stand in relation to their Teacher; bondmen stand in relation to their Lord. The Lord says, "The disciple is not above his teacher", but He goes on to say, "but every one that is perfected shall be as his teacher" (Luke 6:40). So that the teacher is intended to be not only a teacher, but one marked -- as of course is the case supremely with Christ -- one marked by moral power as being himself the exemplification of what he teaches. I need scarcely say that that was seen perfectly and supremely in Jesus Himself.

It is a good thing for us, as we take account of ourselves as disciples of Jesus, to understand that, if we are in the path of discipleship, we are not to expect anything better than was meted out to the Lord, "The disciple is not above his teacher". But we have the Teacher Himself before us as the pattern of what discipleship is intended to lead to. "Every one that is perfected shall be as his teacher".

Well now, the Psalms have particular interest because they are the expression of actual experiences of godly persons. Some of them, of course, breathed the Spirit of Christ. Some of them are the expression of Christ's own feelings. Most of them are the expression, in the power of the Spirit, by grace of feelings begotten in the people of God. Many of the Psalms are not exactly christian experiences, and

therefore, a good deal of care needs to be taken in reading the Psalms, because the Psalms were primarily written in view of God's earthly people who will again be brought into blessing, and many of them express the exercises which they will go through in a coming day, and many of them express and call for vengeance on their enemies. That will be right in that day, when the world has become apostate, and God's earthly people, in whom He works, will be standing in the world for the rights of God which are completely denied Him. It will be right then to speak of judgment and to pray for vengeance, but clearly it is not right for Christians to take up that strain, for God says, "Vengeance is mine" (Deuteronomy 32:35), but it will be right in a coming day. Therefore, as I say, we have to be careful in reading the Psalms, understanding we cannot apply all the expressions to believers of today.

On the other hand, the Psalms have this about them, which is of great value to us, and that is they represent the exercises of the godly in a world of un-godliness. I think it will be seen that that character is found in them. They represent the exercises of the godly in a world of ungodliness. Many of them suggest what can be taken up by the saints of today, and we find great comfort and support in them.

And so, as we know, the book of Psalms commences in the first psalm with a pronouncement of blessedness on the man that "walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, and standeth not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the seat of scorners" (verse l).

That is, the first experience that we come to in the psalm is the experience of one who has learned that it is important to be entirely apart from the way or fellowship of the ungodly. Then it goes on to say, "But his delight is in Jehovah's law, and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (verse 2). It goes on further to speak of the prosperity and fruitfulness of one who takes that line: "And he is as a tree planted by brooks of water, which giveth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf fadeth not; and all that he doeth prospereth" (verse 3). That is very attractive, dear brethren.

We have all to make our way through this world as in it for God's will, but there is a prescription which He provides that whatever we do will prosper if we take the lines of the first three verses of Psalm 1. It leads to a condition in which prosperity according to God is assured. It is not necessarily, of course, material prosperity, for God does not attach great importance to that. He tells us, "having sustenance and covering, we will be content with these" (1 Timothy 6:8). But this is spiritual prosperity, the consciousness of the blessing of God, the consciousness of possession of spiritual wealth. That is to be greatly desired, and the first three verses of the first psalm indicate lines on which true prosperity will be enjoyed.

But now I wanted to speak briefly on these psalms from which we have read. Psalm 16 is a most important and attractive psalm. It depicts the principle of piety by which the Lord Jesus lived as a

Man here. Piety is the thought of bringing God into everything. How important that is! We read in the fifth chapter of Hebrews that the Lord was heard on account of His piety. God would not deny, would not belie the confidence of one who puts his trust in Him. It says, "Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him who was able to save him out of death, with strong crying and tears" (verse 7). It speaks, no doubt, of the feelings and experiences of the Lord in Gethsemane. "To him who was able to save him out of death, with strong crying and tears". Not save Him 'from' it, but "out of" it. And it says He was heard on account of His piety. Now He has moved on those lines in order to commend those lines to us.

The psalm depicts various elements which enter into true piety, "Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee" -- dependence on God! How easy it is to say it, but how important it is to practise it, that we may be pre-served in it. God came in in the person of Jesus in order that He might not only express God on the one hand, but that He might perfectly express man in relation to God on the other. The mystery of piety was set out in its wonderfulness in Jesus here, and His language is, "Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee". You might say, But surely was He not God Himself? Could He not command all the forces of nature and all the resources of the world? Yes, that is so, but that would not be moving in piety and setting out what was open to all His people. Therefore, He would move in a character of life which could be

taken up by His saints, the character of true piety, bringing God into everything.

So He commences with this, "Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee". It is a remarkable thing that when the Lord, as it says, became flesh (not that John's gospel presents Him in His infancy, for John's gospel presents Him as immediately here in full manhood) but when He who in His person is God, took up human condition, He came in as a Babe. That is referred to in the verses in Psalm 22. You may well say the mystery of piety is great, that He who is God, should become a babe, to set out the feature of dependence perfectly. You could not get a greater expression of dependence than a babe. Jesus came in that way to set out from the very beginning true dependence on God.

It says in Psalm 22, as we read, "I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my God from my mother's belly", and in Psalm 16, "Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee". That is, He was expressing in the spirit of grace through the psalmist, the true principle of dependence on God, the first element that enters into piety. The next verse is, "Thou my soul hast said to Jehovah, Thou art the Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; -- To the saints that are on the earth, and to the excellent thou hast said, In them is all my delight". There you have another element, the element of lowliness, lowliness in spirit, and finding all one's delight in the saints. That is what God intends we should be marked by. How important it is! How manifest it becomes insofar as

we are marked by these things. In the world where just the opposite of lowliness is seen on every hand it befits us to be lowly. The Lord says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls" (Matthew 11:29). And the Lord was exemplifying it. The spirit of Christ in the psalmist would set it out.

"Thou my soul hast said to Jehovah, Thou art the Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; -- To the saints that are on the earth, and to the excellent thou hast said, In them is all my delight". Is our delight wholly in the saints? Do we regard them as the excellent of the earth, or have we any reserves about them? Have we any links with those outside who have no appreciation of Christ? Do we find any friendship with those in the world? He says, "to the excellent thou hast said, In them is all my delight". He was content with those whom God provided for Him for His companions. He did not have much in the way of companionship, but He did have something, however the disciples may have failed at times, at the same time the Lord says, "to the excellent thou hast said, in them is all my delight". "All my delight". That is an important word for us, dear brethren, to work out for our salvation. It will, if we take it up. If there are any here who have the tendency to have friendships in the world, I would say it is most damaging to the soul. "Friendship with the world is enmity with God" (James 4:4). We do not want to be amongst the enemies of God! But here the Lord says, "To the saints that are on the earth, and to

the excellent thou hast said, In them is all my delight". You cannot have anything more exclusive than that -- all my delight in the excellent of the earth.

Then it goes on to say, "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, and I will not take up their names into my lips". We do not want to have any other object than God before us. There are those in the world who have their objects, their pursuits, things they devote themselves to; it may be different things with different persons. I suppose if a person devotes his life to something, some object, it is a drink-offering of blood. It might be a particular person, or a hobby, or a career, that the people of the world devote lives to, and lay them out in drink-offerings of blood. "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, and I will not take up their names into my lips. Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot". How delightful it must have been to the heart of God to hear language like this from the lips of Jesus. We can thank God, dear brethren, in our day, the blessedness of the assembly is coming more and more before us ...

And so we want to touch this, "Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage". That is what God allotted to Jesus as a Man here. It is like

what we were touching this afternoon, "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service ... that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1, 2). And here the Lord says, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places". If someone in the world had looked at the allotment that God made to Jesus here, they would not have thought it had fallen to Him in pleasant places. The world has different ideas. Think of Him as being laid in a manger when born, and then brought up at Nazareth in the house of a carpenter -- most undesirable, they would say. These did not look like pleasant places. They were God's will for Him and He found the joy of answering to the will of God by uncomplaining obedience, finding His joy in God and God answered it by giving Him a sense of His portion.

Then He goes on to say, "I will bless Jehovah, who giveth me counsel; even in the nights my reins instruct me. I have set Jehovah continually before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved". Now you will no doubt have noticed that these last four verses, verses 8 - 11, are quoted in full by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost. They are the summing up of the moral perfection of Jesus as Man here in His life in relation to God, the complete dependence on God finding its expression all the way through. And he is exulting, rejoicing and exulting. What does it mean? He is looking forward to death, to perfecting the will of God by going into

death; yet He has such confidence in God, He is prepared to go right into death and right through death.

"Thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt make known to me the path of life". These are moral exercises, dear brethren, that are not set before us just as pleasant pictures; what God has actually had under His eye in this very world in which we are; and the present activities of the Holy Spirit have in mind, amongst other things, to bring the saints into correspondence with Jesus. There is no other standard before God, and the Spirit of God is here, and Christ is in glory, the One whose path and spirit are depicted in this psalm, now exalted to the right hand of God, and the Spirit has come down, to bring about correspondence to Him in His saints down here. As I said, on the day of Pentecost Peter quotes these last four verses in full, as though to say this is the kind of man to give character to Christianity, and the Spirit is here to produce it in the saints.

So we are to take it up in that light. I say that as feeling the need of it for oneself, and for the saints, because we tend so readily to have other standards than God's, to fall in with man's ideas and standards, when we should have divine standards before our hearts, and the intention of the Spirit of God is that they should be kept before our hearts so that they should become formative. "Thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt make known to me the

path of life". Peter alters it when he quotes it, he says, "Thou hast made known" (Acts 2:28), because the Lord had already gone through death and was then at the right hand of God. He just altered it that much to give it a present application, a touch of triumph -- the One who had moved on these lines was exalted at the right hand of God.

"Thou wilt make known to me the path of life: thy countenance is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore". That was the culmination of the path of Jesus and that will be what we shall come to very shortly, the presence of God with Christ. "Thy countenance", he says, speaking to Jehovah, "is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore".

Gosport, 17 February 1960 [1 of 2].

"A PATH ... AND THE VULTURE'S EYE HATH NOT SEEN IT"

J. N. Darby

The apostle desired for them [Colossians 1] that they should be walking here as risen men, filled with knowledge, that there might be the doing of His will. There is a path which the vulture's eye has not seen (Job 28:7), but which is unfolded in Christ, which He has tracked for us, and "He that says he abides in him ought, even as he walked, himself also so to walk" (1 John 2:6). If you look at Christ, you never see one single thing done for Himself: perfect grace, a testimony to the will of God, which is known only

spiritually, not legal righteousness. Is it such righteousness to be smitten on one cheek, and turn the other? That is the only thing we have now to look for, which will not be found even in heaven -- a perfect path in the midst of evil.

It is a trying path often: people will now and then trample upon you; but is my object to keep Christ, or my character? You will soon find in that way what the motive that governs you is. If the eye is single, you will get knowledge from God as the vulture, the most clear-seeing thing there is. The eye of Christ in us sees the thing that pleases Christ, and, of course, the world cannot understand that at all. They may admire it, for they see the unselfishness of it. The more we go on, and the more evil grows up, infidelity, corruption, and superstition, the more that faithfulness will tell. The world may not understand why a person gives up all he has, but it sees that he does so -- that there are motives which govern the heart soberly and quietly. Bring the word of God to them: they do not think it is a good sword, but it is; for it reaches the conscience, and no man is an infidel in his conscience. In the midst of this poor selfish world, if there is a person who is living entirely for another, they cannot understand it. The fact that they cannot understand it makes them understand it in one sense: they see there is something they cannot understand.

Extract -- The Collected Writings of J. N. Darby, Volume 31, page 205.

"WHOM SAY YE THAT I AM?"

J. Taylor

Luke 9:18 - 36; John 3:27 - 29; Revelation 21:9 - 11

What has impressed me whilst we have been together is that the Lord would, on occasions like the present, appeal to the affections of His people. He would endeavour to have the affections of His people aroused, and this is brought to pass by the presentation of Himself to us by the ministry of the Spirit. I think that was exactly what He had in view in raising this question with the disciples as to Himself, as to who He was.

In Matthew, you may recall, Peter's confession was that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God (chapter 16: 16); Mark, on the other hand, records that Peter's reply to Christ was that He was the Christ -- "Thou art the Christ", he says (chapter 8: 29). But in Luke we have recorded that Peter's reply was, "The Christ of God". Now it is just because of that that I have felt encouraged to bring Luke's account of this incident to your attention. It may appear that Peter's confession in Matthew involves more the truth of Christ's Person, but my impression is, that the truth of Christ's Person is not exactly the point in Matthew.

Matthew's account has in view the establishment of that which would be invulnerable down here in relation to the testimony, and what is stated as to the Lord's Person is in this connection. The testimony had been connected with Israel, and the presence of Christ in the midst of Israel brought to light their

utter inability to maintain the testimony of God. Christ was the embodiment of the testimony, and He found no place whatever amongst them; and there could not be more convincing evidence that Israel was utterly incapable of being the vessel of the testimony of God. Therefore, I apprehend that the object in view in the account given to us in Matthew, of Peter's confession, is to bring to light One who had ability to establish that upon earth against which the gates of hades could not prevail; and this should supersede Israel in the maintenance of what is of God, and the administration of divine things. According to Matthew, Peter says, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". The Lord answers, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens. And I also, I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and hades' gates shall not prevail against it". He is capable of building that which would stand against the attacks of the enemy. He is capable of such a thing, and none could be but He who is the Son of the living God.

Now in Mark the record of the incident has another object in view. There Peter says, "Thou art the Christ". That, I think, is in perfect keeping with Mark's line. Mark's gospel has the testimony in view, Christ is the Vessel of the testimony. It was a great thing that He should be recognised by the disciples in this light. The Christ would be the Resource of God when all else should fail. So that, in

Mark, when the Lord probes the disciples as to what their estimate of Him is, they say that He is the Christ. It was a very great conclusion to come to at that time.

When we come to Luke, what is in view is the intervention of God for the deliverance and blessing of humanity. That is what Luke is engaged with by the Spirit. He relates to us certain features of the Lord's life and ministry which set forth the fact that God had intervened for the deliverance and blessing of man. So that, in chapter 4, He stands forth as the anointed Vessel; not there exactly as the Vessel of the testimony, but as the Vessel of divine grace to man, so that, they marvel at the words of grace that proceed out of His mouth, when He begins to preach. As the narrative goes on, everything is connected with God; God had come in on man's behalf. Up to the beginning of chapter 8, the Lord is engaged in this blessed service alone, the result being that many become attached to Him, amongst them certain women who ministered unto Him of their substance. The twelve were with Him; not as serving in conjunction with Him; but they were with Him, and having them with Him, He begins a certain course of instruction, so as to fit them to become vessels of the same service of grace; and in chapter 9, He sends them forth to preach the kingdom. That is to say, He had instructed them what to do, and then He sends them forth to work and preach the kingdom. Then they return to record what they had done, and He takes them aside to a desert place and

the multitude throng Him. And then we get the feeding of the multitude. That is to say, He instructs the apostles not only to deliver man from what is adverse, but He says, "Give ye them to eat". So the multitude is fed. Man's need is completely met; he is delivered from the authority of evil, and fed. Then the Lord asks the disciples, "whom say ye that I am?" (Authorised Version). Ah! that is where the heart is tested. The Lord would say to you as it were, 'What do you think of Me?' 'Who am I?' I think that is exactly the question which the Lord would address to each one in this company. He first inquires as to who the people said He was. The answer is, John the baptist, Elias, and so on. Perhaps you could hardly put a more puzzling question to the great mass of Christians at the present moment than to ask them about Christ. You remember how the Lord puzzled the leaders of Israel with that question; they could not answer Him.

Now note; it is not a question of what the Scripture says; the Lord did not ask what the Scripture said. The Scriptures make no mistakes; they have their own voice in regard to Christ. "They are they which testify of me" (John 5:39, Authorised Version). They do not err. No doubt most believers today would point to the statements of Scripture; and this, of course, is right as to doctrine, but the question is, What conclusion have you come to? Were the Lord to speak to you, He would ask you, "whom say ye that I am?" The Scriptures are very clear. Any unconverted person who reads the Scriptures can tell

you what they say on that point. He is "over all, God blessed for ever" (Romans 9:5), the Scriptures say; but that is an entirely different matter from your saying it. What do you say about Christ? I think the Spirit of God would raise that question with every believer.

Now the Lord will not belittle any reply that you give. If you only know Christ as Redeemer, tell Him so. The Lord delights to hear you tell Him what you think about Him. If you know Him as the Life-giver, tell Him so. He is the last Adam, "a quickening Spirit" (1 Corinthians 15:45). Whatever the phase of the testimony presented to you, it has in view that your soul should become acquainted with Christ as presented in it. I think that is a point of the very greatest importance. The testimony is not only for your relief; when you come to this chapter, the Lord raises the question as to who He is. "Whom say ye that I am?" He is to be known in the light in which this gospel presents Him to our hearts. Here He is "The Christ of God". As I was saying, Luke presents Him as on the part of God here. According to Peter's testimony in Acts 10, God had anointed Him, and He went about doing good, for God was with Him (verse 38), and I think, beloved friends, that Peter's witness here is in entire accord with it; he says, He was the Christ of God. The Lord would bring God to your affections, and that is exactly what is presented in Luke. He brought to the attention of His people the blessed fact that God had visited them, so that in result the confession is, "Thou art The Christ of God".

Well now, directly this question is raised and the confession is accordingly made on the part of God's people, there is a point of departure -- a new path is to be taken up. The course is to be changed. He says the Son of man is going to suffer: "The Son of man must suffer many things", etc. (verses 22 - 26). These are solemn words, but they are in perfect keeping with their connection. In other words, it is a moral consequence that, if the Son of God has come into this world on the part of God to relieve your soul from the domination of evil and to feed your soul, you should become acquainted with Him, and, as becoming acquainted with Him, you should cast in your lot with Him. It is imperative: the Lord recognises nothing else. He has no appreciation whatever of lukewarmness or half-heartedness.

Look at these words: "whosoever shall have been ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his glory, and in that of the Father, and of the holy angels". These are strong words: He will be ashamed of us. Are you ashamed of Christ? Ashamed of such an One! He will be ashamed of you, and you deserve it. The Lord delights to hear us tell Him what we think of Him; but He holds you to your confession. He says in effect, 'I am going to suffer and die, what are you going to do? Are you going on with the world that is going to crucify Me? What will it profit you if you gain it all?' You will not gain it all, but even if you do, it will profit you nothing if

you lose your soul. And lose your soul you will, if you go into the world.

The Lord does not stop here. He says: "There are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they shall have seen the kingdom of God". It is not the kingdom of the Son of man; it is the kingdom of God. "And it came to pass after these words, about eight days, that taking Peter and John and James he went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed the fashion of his countenance became different and his raiment white and effulgent". That is what you get. That is what follows upon the path of suffering for Christ here. Confessing Christ in the scene of His rejection and death involves suffering, but there is the bright side, and this the Lord immediately proceeds to unfold. He says, as it were, 'This is not all: I am going up on high'. "There are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they shall have seen the kingdom of God". And from what follows we can see that the kingdom of God is very wonderful.

You remember what the Lord said of John: "Among them that are born of women a greater prophet is no one than John the baptist; but he who is a little one in the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Luke 7:28). Why are we greater than he? We are of another birth. Birth after the flesh gives you no footing in the kingdom of God. If the greatest has no footing there, and was less than the least in the kingdom of God, you can depend upon it that no other will have any footing there. Do we take

account of ourselves as belonging to the kingdom? It is a wonderful thing to belong to the kingdom. It involves another birth. "Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). It requires another birth, and as little ones in God's kingdom, we are far beyond those who are accounted to be great in man's account, as John was. The disciples here have to be regarded in this light, for some of them were about to see the kingdom of God; they were children of the kingdom. But the point is that we should know the Lord in that sphere; that we should know Him, not as here, in rejection and in suffering, but in the place that is in every way suitable.

And, moreover, it is related that His external appearance was changed. The Lord Jesus was here in flesh upon earth, He was here in the likeness of flesh of sin; His external appearance was not commensurate with His Person. He had to become Man to die, so as to effect the great work of redemption, but on the mount He was transfigured before them. This is not before the eyes of men. No; the veil is before the eyes of men. The veil was His flesh, but upon the mount of transfiguration He comes out according to what He is. It says, "as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance became different". In chapter 4 He had attracted the multitude, and yet here the fashion of His countenance was altered from what it was then, and His raiment became white and effulgent. That is a wonderful scene. I take it to be the holiest of all; the veil is gone. The Lord Jesus

Christ appears to these favoured ones according to what He is.

Well, that is the holy portion accorded to us; but, as I said before, it has a moral consequence of one's accepting His path of suffering and death here on earth. It seems to me to be wonderful that all this is opened up and accorded to the believer. And it begins, as I said, with this: "whom say ye that I am?" If you make a confession, the Lord will tell you faithfully what it involves upon earth, but He goes further than that; He will tell you what it will involve for you in heaven. It will involve this much, you will see Christ without a veil; "his countenance became different and his raiment white and effulgent". Have you any desire to see such a sight as that? The Lord would encourage us to it. It is the privilege of the assembly. We have title to the holiest of all. This is a foreshadowing of what Christ is in resurrection glory, where we see Him without a veil. "We all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Peter and James and John were not changed; they were not equal to the occasion, but those of us who have the Spirit are capable of change; the assembly is capable of change; we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. That is what we are called to; that is our privilege: to see Jesus; to see that face, perfectly identified as His, but, nevertheless, altered. Peter talked about making three tabernacles: one for

the Lord, one for Moses, and one for Elias. He was incapable of appreciating the moment. In truth, the way to the holiest was not yet made manifest. There was no man capable of appreciating the marvellous sight, but the Lord has form-ed us through grace, having given us the Spirit; as we see in Stephen who looked up steadfastly into heaven. He saw it and was moved by it; he did not talk about making three tabernacles. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. He said: "I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). Only Jesus occupied him. I think that is what marks the assembly -- it is engaged with Jesus; Jesus fills the vision, and in result the assembly be-comes transfigured. Her countenance is altered, her raiment is made to shine. You may recall the bride: "his wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure" (Revelation 19:7, 8). Her clothing becomes shining, and her face shines. How? By occupation with Christ. In that way she becomes a suitable companion for Him. She comes down from heaven as a bride adorned for her husband. The Spirit has so engaged her with Christ that she is a complete reflex of Himself!

Well now, there is not only in this marvellous scene the appearance of Christ as thus transfigured, but the Father's voice is heard. "But as he was saying these things, there came a cloud and over-shadowed them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud: and there was a voice out of the

cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him". So that there is a perfect picture of privilege presented to our hearts. The saints are seen as admitted to see Jesus in His glory, and as the Object of the Father's affections. That is what these men were introduced into, and that is the exceeding privilege that is accorded to us as members of the assembly.

The kingdom of God affords a view of the glorious personal appearance of Christ; but there is another glory that I would dwell upon for a moment, and this is, that He has the bride. This was the distinctive glory that John recognised: "He that has the bride is the bridegroom". It might seem like making light of the Lord to speak of her as enhancing His greatness, but it is so, and my understanding of the book of Revelation is that the assembly is introduced that we might understand the greatness of the Lamb: what a Person He must be if He has such a bride as this! "The bride, the Lamb's wife". It is the Lamb's wife; not the wife of the Son of God, but of the suffering One. John is not asked to come and see the Lamb; it is remarkable, but in result it is really to see the Lamb. That is to say, your thoughts of Christ, of His greatness, become intensified when you see that He has such a marvellous bride. That is, I think, what is introduced to us in the book of Revelation. So he speaks of her coming down, having the glory of God: and her light like unto a stone most precious, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. I take it to be brought in to bring out

the greatness of His Person, who was known as the suffering One here below.

Well, may the Lord encourage our hearts in the way of their becoming acquainted with Himself, so that He may take us into His own region, where we are in the holiest of all; and in the land of promise -- the sphere of the Father's love. May the Lord bless the word to each of us!

Ministry by J. Taylor, New York, Volume 1, pages 466 - 474. 1907.

CHILDREN OF GOD

K. E. de Casseres

John 1:10 - 13; 1 John 3:1 - 3, 9 - 24

With the Spirit's help, I would like to say a brief and simple word in relation to the features that are to mark us, as believers, as the children of God. Paul, as we know, often refers to believers as sons -- our position as relating to divine purpose -- though he speaks of "children of God" in Romans 8:16 and Philippians 2:15 (see also Ephesians 5:1, 2). But John speaks of believers largely as children of God, a very delightful title.

The verses read in John 1 remind us of the way in which we have been given the right to take the place of being children of God as receiving Christ: "as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God" -- the right to take that place -- "to those that believe on his name; who have been born, not of blood, nor of flesh's will, nor of man's will, but of God". So that places a wonderful dignity

upon us as being begotten of God, of being children of God. What characterises the children of God practically is that they are marked by righteousness and love. There are two lines that are concurrent, that go along side by side, that John speaks of in his epistle: the children of God, and the children of the devil.

Those two lines, what is of God and what is of the devil, came out in the very beginning of man's history in Cain and Abel. The first man that was born into this world was Cain. He would have been regarded as a child by his parents, Adam and Eve, but the first brother that was born was Abel (Genesis 4:1, 2). As soon as the thought of the brother was introduced, the thought of the family was developed, and Satan immediately attacked it, and he has been attacking it ever since. In Genesis 4, after the birth of Abel is recorded, you will find that there are six references to him as a brother, as though that thought was prominent in connection with the introduction of Abel. He was a brother, and the family thought was being developed.

There are four interesting features that mark Abel, one who was of God. He is, first of all, said to be a brother, as we were saying; he was also a shepherd, the first shepherd; and he was also a prophet. The Lord refers to him in that way: "the blood of all the prophets ... from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias" (Luke 11:50, 51). He was the first prophet, although we do not read of anything that Abel actually said, and yet, "having

died, he yet speaks". What a prophet! And he was also a priest: "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained testimony of being righteous" (Hebrews 11:4). The feature of a brother, and the feature of a shepherd, the feature of a priest and the feature of a prophet, these very important features are to mark us too at the present time.

The breakdown of the family unit is very manifest now in the world, with the increasing evidence of lawlessness and immorality and the darkness of apostasy becoming increasingly apparent. "Men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant ... profane ..." These are among the many features that the Spirit of God describes in 2 Timothy 3, and they are to be seen today. Over against that there is the family of God which is to be marked by righteousness and love, and the feature of the brother. Brotherly love is one of the important and very attractive features that mark the family of God as over against the appalling darkness which is becoming increasingly manifest in the world. It is a darkness that can be felt. But over against that there is light and joy, and liberty and unity, to be found among the children of God. That is the line that John would present to us: family affections and the feature of a brother, true brotherly love, and they are to be found among us at the present time.

Abel was also a shepherd, and the feature of shepherd care is something that is very much needed.

May we care for one another as we know something of the shepherd care of Christ, the Shepherd of our souls (1 Peter 2:25); the One who is the good Shepherd who laid down His life for us (John 10:11); the One who is the chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4), and the One who is the great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20). What a Shepherd Jesus is! Surely all of us here can attest to His shepherd care towards us over the years, and that feature of shepherding is very much needed, and to be preserved among the saints. The feature of what is priestly, and right priestly feelings and sensibilities and intelligence should mark us also. What is prophetic is another feature that should also be maintained.

What was seen in Abel at the very beginning of man's history is to be found amongst the saints, amongst the children of God in the last days, in which we are. We await the Lord's coming, and soon we shall be taken out of this scene altogether, but, beloved brethren, in the meantime we are to be marked by these practical features that are so pleasing to Him. So that John refers a great deal to the brother in his writings, and about brotherly love and the importance of it.

To refer to the verses in 1 John 3"See what love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God. For this reason the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we children of God, and what we shall be has not yet been manifested; we know that if it is manifested we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And

every one that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure". What a fine statement that is, that the Father has expressed His wonderful love towards us! It has been said that the expression "the children of God" is unique to the present dispensation and to the personnel of the assembly. That makes it very attractive. "Now are we children of God" -- that is what we are down here. We await that glorious moment, which is now so near, when Christ will be manifested and "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is". What a glorious hope that is in our hearts, the hope of soon seeing our Saviour who has died for us, of being with Him and being like Him; and, as having that hope, we purify ourselves even as He is pure. In the midst of this world of evil and corruption, where lawlessness and hatred abound, the features of righteousness and love are to mark the children of God, and brotherly love. So there is a circle of affection to be found down here where God is rightly represented in His children. The thought of moral likeness in children is important; and moral likeness to God is to come out in us as His children.

So that John refers to the matter of brotherly love, as we were saying, a great deal. He says, "Whoever does not practise righteousness is not of God, and he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another". The Lord spoke twice in John 15 of loving one another: "This is my commandment, that ye love one another,

as I have loved you" and "These things I command you, that ye love one another" (verses 12, 17). Real affection for one another is a very important feature to be found among the saints, practically, at the present time.

This is not love in a sentimental sense, but true love, dear brethren. This is love for one another in the truth, because if we love the Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption, the next thing is that we love the truth which is our bond, and then we love one another as the outcome of that. I believe that that is the order, and if we change that order we get into difficulty. There are a good many believers who would say that they love the Lord, and that they love one another, but if they are not regulated by the truth they may be moving on independent or 'open' lines. But love for the Lord, and love for the truth, and love for one another are to mark us at the present time.

These family features, and family affections, are to be found among us, and it is a challenge to our own hearts as to whether this is really working out, practically, at the level at which it should. Are we really free and happy with one another? Are we free to go into the houses of the saints? Are we free to have the saints into our house, into our localities? These are practical questions which each of us should answer honestly before the Lord. Where mutual, happy, family affections exist, what an answer is provided to what the enemy is seeking to do in breaking up the family unit in the world. But God desires that pure affections should be preserved

intact in their glory and dignity in His family, in the family of God.

John speaks, too, about the truth, that our bonds are in the truth, because that is very important in days when the truth is being given up publicly and we need to stand firm in relation to the truth, and that with genuine feeling and care for one another. Of one having the world's substance and seeing his brother having need and shutting up his bowels from him, John says, "how abides the love of God in him?" There is to be the feature of genuine care for one another and showing the shepherd spirit and the family spirit, family affections. It does not mean that because we speak of family affections and love that we cannot correct some one, but it is to be done in love. Nothing shows more clearly where we are in our spirits than how we accept correction or rebuke. "Let the righteous smite me", the psalmist said, "... it is an excellent oil which my head shall not refuse" (Psalm 141:5). But if we are not right in our spirits we may not like to be corrected or adjusted. Paul rebuked Peter to the face and it did not impair their brotherly relations in any way. Peter could later refer to Paul as "our beloved brother Paul" (2 Peter 3:15). That is how it should be when family affections are marking us.

And as we draw near to the end of the dispensation, dear brethren, I think that these features become increasingly important. John speaks of the side of things that is to be seen in a substantial way among the saints, and John really makes way for

Paul in that sense, so that we come into the gain of Paul's ministry through John and what he would insist on in days of public breakdown and departure. Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7 - 13) represents assembly recovery in the last days, and it is through John that we are brought back to that. I think it is significant, too, that the word Philadelphia means 'brotherly love', suggesting the importance of that feature, dear brethren.

This is a very simple line, but it is a very practical line, and very important, I believe. These things are to be found among the Lord's people at the present time: that there is genuine love one for another, and they are going on together happily in their relations with one another in the local company, and generally among the saints, in the enjoyment of the truth, and of links with our Lord Jesus Christ, and of links together in the truth. These are true Philadelphian features which John makes way for and recovers us to Paul, and this is to be seen at the end. And we are reminded of a very sobering word that if we merely have, or think we have, Philadelphian light without Philadelphian power, our state will degenerate into what is Laodicean. It is a sobering word to keep us humble and watchful at the present time. Until the coming of the Lord, which is now so near, may this practical feature of love amongst ourselves be more and more in evidence. "Children, let us not love with word, nor with tongue, but in deed and in truth". John speaks of it again as a commandment: "practise the things which

are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another, even as he has given us commandment ... And here-by we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given to us". God has given to us of his Spirit, and the Spirit in us does not desire enviously (James 4:5). Paul says, "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).

Oh! how practical these things are, dear brethren. The word that is laid upon me is very simple but very searching, and is a fresh reminder, and a fresh appeal, to us that, as the days become increasingly dark and difficult before the coming of the Lord, we should be drawn together and held together in these links of genuine love for one another which stem from, first of all, love for our Lord Jesus Christ, and love for the truth, so that we hold the truth in love. May the Lord help us to be preserved in these features in a genuine and substantial and happy way until He comes, for His Name's sake.

Taunton, 7 December 1996.

THE PATH OF DISCIPLESHIP

A. J. Gardiner

Psalm 16; Psalm 22:7 - 10; Psalm 23; Psalm 24:1, 7 - 10

When we come to Psalm 22, I did not read the first three verses, so well known to us; they stand alone. They are something which do not apply to us, I need not say, save as a subject of contemplation. When

the Lord was bearing the judgment of God, making atonement for sins, He was there alone. The Spirit of God records these touching words, which the Lord took up on the cross as we know, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou far from my salvation?" Think of the meaning of the word "far" -- as though He was feeling things in His own soul and measuring the distance from God that this involved, that He was abandoned of God. Though He asks the question, He does not complain. He asks for no mitigation. He says, "And thou art holy, thou that dwellest amid the praises of Israel".

But then before He came to that moment -- the first three verses of the psalm, of course, treat of the three hours from the sixth hour to the ninth hour -- but during the three preceding hours, the third to the sixth hour, He was subjected to testing from the hands of man. That was before the three hours of darkness. How prolonged it was -- indeed it was not only for three hours, it was longer because there was the time when He was before the high priest and He was spat upon; and then the time when He was before Pilate and Herod when He was mocked and beaten on the head and crowned; and then the time on the cross when people sneered at Him and taunted Him -- they were martyr sufferings, not the atoning sufferings, for the enemy was bringing all that he could to bear upon the spirit of the Lord Jesus to see whether if possible he could overcome His obedience and confidence in God. Thank God, he could not. The suffering only brought to light the

glory of the Offering. It was without blemish and without spot. They were martyr sufferings, sufferings in which the saints may in some degree participate. In the measure in which we are faithful, we may participate in the sufferings. The Lord says in verse 6, "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and the despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying: Commit it to Jehovah -- let him rescue him". Confidence in God was an outstanding feature in the life of Jesus, if one might reverently speak of one feature being outstanding. Perhaps it is not right to do so, because in Christ everything was perfectly blended. It was a feature that could not but command attention, His confidence in God. He was taunted with it, because He trusted in God, and to all outward appearance God did not answer Him. We know how we feel it if we incur the slightest little bit of reproach. Every one will acknowledge that, how we feel what it is to be reproached in the slightest degree, but the Lord has gone that way in order that His saints might be sustained in the degree in which they have come into it, as it says in the epistle of Peter, "If ye are reproached in the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14).

This is a dignified position, so the Lord says here, "All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying: Commit it to Jehovah -- let him rescue him: let him

deliver him, because he delighteth in him!" We know from the gospel that they took up that language, but He says, "thou art he that took me out of the womb; thou didst make me trust, upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my God from my mother's belly". That is, the Lord is going right through to the end on that principle of confidence in God, whatever man brought to bear upon Him.

You remember in the history of Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), where it was a question of Jehovah being vindicated and the test was to be that the God which answered with fire from heaven, He was the true God. And so the votaries of Baal presented their offering first, and put no fire under it and called upon Baal for hours, but no answer, as you may expect; and then Elijah tells them to draw near and builds an altar of twelve stones according to the names of the tribes of Israel, slays the bullock, and then tells them to cast water upon it, and they did so. He told them to do it the second time, and they did; and again the third time and they did it. What was the object of it? Naturally, of course, you will say, the water would spoil the offering so that the fire would not consume it. He did what he did by the word of Jehovah. And so the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering and the wood and stones and dust and licked up the water that was in the trench, as though the whole surrounding circumstances were delightful to God. I believe the casting of the water on the sacrifice

pointed to Jesus suffering at the hands of man; His sufferings as before the High priest the first time, and then before Pilate and Herod the second time, and then actually on the cross, His enemies taunting Him and mocking Him the third time. What had it in view? Only to bring out that the Offering was absolutely without spot and perfect, so that the whole surrounding circumstances were delightful to God. The fire that came down from heaven consumed the whole thing, showing that God found pleasure in the sacrifice. These things are brought before us in Jesus to concentrate our thoughts on the different characters of perfection that shine in Christ. There is perfection, in detail and completeness, and these things are recorded so that we too, through grace, may take them up.

When we come to Psalm 23, it depicts for us what the Lord is ready to be to us as Shepherd. There is something very tender and affecting about the thought of a shepherd. The shepherd bestows his personal attention on each sheep; he knows his sheep by name, and the sheep know the shepherd's voice. You see it in the country, the shepherd knows each sheep separately. We may think they all look alike, but he knows his sheep and they know his voice. The shepherd conveys all that, the thought of tender affection and service in regard to each sheep, each one. "Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters". This is one side of the matter, not the whole. We are not, of course, always

being led beside the still waters and being made to lie down in green pastures. We have to face the coldness of the world, but then there is the compensation, there is what the Shepherd says to His own in the company of the saints, "he leadeth me beside still waters" -- not stagnant waters, but gentle waters -- "He restoreth my soul". That is most touching. I think every one who has any little experience of failure will appreciate the grace of the Shepherd who "restoreth my soul". There is no reason why we should go on with things unsettled, with things that should not be marking us. If we have faith He will restore our souls. If we take the way of righteousness, if we judge things and confess them, and forsake them, we shall appreciate His restoring grace. He did it to Peter. Peter denied Him three times with oaths and curses. You could not imagine a case needing restoration more than Peter's, and the Lord, after His resurrection, took occasion to see him early. When the two came back to Jerusalem from Emmaus, they found the eleven saying that the Lord had appeared to Simon. He had sought out Simon in order that He might restore his soul.

"He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake". Every one knows how difficult business life is today. The Christian now-a-days has to thread his way, a step at a time, and a day at a time. What a comfort this is: "he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" -- for His own sake, not simply for my sake, that I might not be overcome as a Christian, but for

His sake. We can always count upon that, if we want to be led in paths of righteousness, we can always count on His readiness and willingness to lead us.

And then the psalmist goes on to say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me". And then he speaks of the provision that is made for us at the present time -- the fellowship. What a provision it is: "Thou preparest a table before me". That is the idea of fellowship. We want to understand the value of the fellowship and to be fully committed to it and to be loyal to it. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou hast anointed my head with oil". I suppose that is not only refreshment, but dignity. The saints as anointed are dignified persons, they are capacitated in the Spirit to serve God acceptably and to understand the things of God too. You can see how all these things are providing great sustainment for the saints in the path of discipleship, not only the personal service of Christ to us as leading us, but He sets us together in the fellowship.

So that all this begets confidence on the part of the psalmist. "Surely, goodness and loving-kindness shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of the days". Well, it says in another psalm, "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be constantly praising thee" (Psalm 84:4). It is a great thing to dwell in the house of God constantly, where God is known.

The idea is that God is known, at home, in His house, and therefore the psalmist speaks of dwelling in the house of Jehovah all the days of his life. See how Scripture speaks of days. We do not need to look ahead a long way and fear what is coming, we have only to live a day at a time. Scripture says we should number our days. And so He says, "I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of the days".

Well now, just one word more. I think the 24th Psalm really brings us to the Supper, the Lord's supper. You remember that in the 10th chapter of 1 Corinthians where the apostle is speaking of the fellowship, he quotes this verse that appears at the beginning of Psalm 24, "The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof". In one sense when we come together for the Supper, while it is not the primary thought (we have in mind to announce the death of the Lord until He comes), we come with a sense of that, that the whole earth belongs to the Lord and He is coming to assert His rights to it, coming in power, and we are going to announce His death until He comes. It is not perhaps the prime reason of our coming together, for the prime reason is to remember the Lord, but it comes in incidentally. "For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Well now, are we doing that in faith-fulness? The Supper as presented in Corinthians is not exactly presented as a matter of privilege, although we know it is a matter of privilege, but as a

test of our loyalty. I think you will find if you read the epistle to the Corinthians chapter 11, that is really the setting of it, that the Supper is a test of our loyalty, as to whether we are faithful to Christ. Well now, there is no reason why we should not be. He is supremely faithful to us. If we are prepared to be faithful to Him, He will support us in it. You do not get the Supper in the epistle to the Ephesians, or to Colossians, or Philippians, you get it in an epistle like Corinthians where it is a question of saints in their responsibility and testimony here. There was a good deal that called for adjustment in Corinth. I think you will find as you read the chapter it is a question as to whether we are loyal to Christ.

Well now, "The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof". As we take it up in faithfulness to Christ and, of course, take up the remembrance desiring that He should have a place in our affection, when we come to the end of the psalm it says, "Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye ever-lasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in". I know this is sometimes taken to refer to when the Lord ascended and went into heaven. I am not finding fault with the suggestion, but I doubt whether it is the real import. I think the real import is that He will come into this world to take up His rights, it is a call to the faithful in Israel. It is a question of coming into His rights, and I believe in the meantime, as the saints gather together to the Supper in faithful-ness to His Name, we can all lift up our hearts, the everlasting doors of our hearts, and the Lord will come

in. He will come into a company that is loyal to Him in His absence and as gathered together to remember Him.

And so it says, "the King of glory shall come in". Then the question is raised, Who is He? And the answer is, "Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle". There is in that verse an assertion of the greatness of His victory, the tremendous victory He has gained over death and every opposing element, "strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle". Then again there is a second appeal: "Lift up your heads, ye gates; yea lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is he, this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts". It is in His Person, not what He has done, not His victory, not His glory, but His person: "Who is he, this King of glory?" It is a fitting climax, dear brethren, to our experiencing what the Lord can be to us in the path of discipleship. The Supper, so to speak, is the culmination -- from one point of view I know it is the beginning of a new week -- but at the same time there is a certain culmination in the Supper (if there is ability to be faithful to the Lord in the path of discipleship), in the privileged position when the Lord comes in and makes His personal glory known to our hearts.

May the Lord encourage us in these things for His Name's sake.

Gosport, 17 February 1960. [2 of 2]

GLORY AND DEATH

J. B. Stoney

"There was no more spirit in her", is the description given of the queen of Sheba after she had seen all Solomon's wisdom and glory (1 Kings 10:5). It was not from any lack in her own circumstances, for she had come with a very great train -- her spices were a very great store, but the beauty and brilliancy of Solomon's glory so overpowered and captivated her heart, that she lost consciousness of all her own high and royal estate. She was like Paul in the third heaven, when he proved the superiority of divine things to the things of man (2 Corinthians 12). This is a great lesson. It is not that the rude force of evil has blighted the top-shoot of our hearts, so that any gleam of real light is eagerly sought by us; but because of association with our Solomon in His own things which are so infinitely superior to the beauties of nature, that the best are eclipsed in our eyes.

If you are the widow that has lost her only son (Luke 7), you have lost all interest in this world, because bereaved of what was dearest to your heart; you go through it with the feeling that nothing can repair the blank, and you rejoice to find outside it a gleam of light, and assurance of joy and rest with Christ; but if it be only this, the things that could have attracted you if bereavement had not withered your heart, are not really displaced, because not eclipsed by what is superior. The grapes are sour to you only because your heart refuses to reach to them. Now, if you are like the queen, you are introduced

into a circle of things above, which so captivates you that you are proof against what is most admirable here; however beautiful they are in themselves, you have seen things above which transcend them beyond measure, so much that you have no more spirit in you, no more interest or pleasure in the greatest things here.

The difference between the two practically is this: the one who has been widowed here by bereavement is relieved by gleams of brightness from above, and thus learns to bear up and thread her way through this dark and dreary scene right up to glory; while the one for whom the brightest things here have been eclipsed by the glory of Christ takes a true and divine estimate of everything. She has learned what suits Christ, and she refuses everything of man as unworthy of Him. She begins with refusing herself. She has no more spirit in her. A widow has suffered from death in this scene, and looks to Christ to cheer and sustain her onward and upward. The queen is deadened to this scene because of what she has found outside of it, and therefore is more truly a widow in it. If she had not seen all Solomon's wisdom, she could not have become insensible to all the brightness here. The inclination to enjoy things below has gone, because of the things above, casting everything into the shade. She is not looking for gleams of light and cheer, but the full circle of Solomon's glory so engages her heart that she is dead to the things here. The widow can comfort a widow as she has been comforted herself --

but the queen can give proof of the insignificance of earthly things because of her acquaintance with things above -- she can detect the incongruity of everything here with the mind and purpose of God. If I turn to the glory merely for relief and comfort, I can be mixed up with a great deal here, nay, with everything that does not touch my heart or my conscience; but if I have been deadened to earthly things by the superior circle of things above, nothing here suits me, and I find that many a thing which once I had allowed or tolerated with an unupbraiding conscience, I now see to be incongruous and uncongenial to me as formed and influenced by another order of things. The glory of Christ eclipses the most beautiful things here, and what once would have awakened sensations of delight has now no charm for me. God disciplines us to make us seek resource in Christ in glory; but when we are in company with Him there we are so enriched that there is no more spirit in us.

Take care of lending yourself to the beauties of nature; if you do, you will have no heart for Solomon and his things. It is only intimacy with Christ in the sphere and order of His glory, which so absorbs the heart, that all of man is really excluded as incongruous; you practically become dead to that which has lost its interest to you and thus, while you are a queen in that scene, you are a widow in this.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 12, pages 30 - 32.

THE VALUE OF LOCAL ASSEMBLIES

R. Gray

John 12:1 - 3, 7, 8; 1 Corinthians 1:1 - 9; 1 Samuel 22:1, 2, 20 - 23; Psalm 22:22 - 24

The thought in mind, beloved brethren, in reading these scriptures is to speak, with the help of the Holy Spirit, about the value of local assemblies. Some of the scriptures read refer to the assembly in its entirety, but no doubt what belongs to the assembly as a whole may be seen in measure in local companies. I believe that the Lord has peculiar pleasure in seeing what is of Himself coming into expression amongst the saints in a local setting.

What is to be found in a local assembly is suggested in Genesis 2 where it speaks of the garden which God planted in Eden. It says that He "made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food", and He set man in it "to till it and to guard it" (chapter 2: 9, 15). In the constitution of a local assembly, not only are the saints set together to the best possible advantage, but it is furnished with all that is needed to meet the demands of the testimony in that place. One might wonder as to why the thought of guarding comes in in Genesis when no evil had occurred, at least in the scene which is referred to, and I think that there is a suggestion that God knew that the enemy, who was no doubt taking account of what had taken place, would attack it. It brings out, I believe, one of the characteristics of God's ways, and that is, that whatever arises in the testimony in the way of opposition or difficulty, has

already been prepared for, otherwise God, if we may use the expression reverently, would be taken aback by what arises in the testimony, and that could never be.

Now it is evident that God has in mind that local assemblies should continue to the end, for the Lord says on the last page of Scripture, "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies" (Revelation 22:16). That is, there are still companies which express in measure God's thoughts of the assembly. There is no doubt that the enemy is set against this, and whilst we do not want to stress that side unduly, we should be aware of it because he would seek to destroy anything that would be pleasing to God at the present time. We should not underestimate the value of what God now receives from His saints in a collective way. The Lord values what He finds in local companies.

I read first in John's gospel because, whilst it is not exactly an assembly setting, yet I believe we see there one of the cardinal features of a local company, and that is, it is a place where Christ is loved. Now that is of paramount importance. We might say it is so evident that it need hardly be stated, but where there is true love for Christ, and His rights are acknowledged, then everything else falls into place. There may be difficulties and exercises, and there will be, but where Christ is truly loved and owned then the whole company takes character from the One who is loved. And so we have here the statement, "There therefore they made him a supper,

and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those at table with him". The Lord had His true place there. Every one here of responsible years, I believe, loves the Lord; that is something to give thanks for. It is in sovereign mercy indeed, and divine grace, that we have been brought to know Christ as Saviour and to love Him. But something is added in John 12persons are together in seeking to provide what is pleasing to the Lord.

In other instances a supper was made and the Lord was invited (Luke 14:12), but here it says, "There therefore they made him a supper". He was the Centre of their affections; He was the Centre of their arrangements; I believe that is something that is peculiarly precious to the heart of Christ. Again it is not to set aside what other believers may do, because we all own the same Saviour, but I believe that affection for Christ, truly followed up, would lead to assembly formation and assembly activity, that is, that we come to the point where His interests are paramount with us. Now to know that, and to understand it, involves being near to Him, and I believe these dear saints mentioned here were held by their love for Him. Martha is serving, as is recounted in other scriptures, but she is not distracted by her service. She did it well. Mary also was active in her place, and that is the effect, typically, of Christ having truly the place that is His in a local company -- everything is in its place. You can see from the earlier teaching in this gospel how that comes about, particularly in chapter 10. He is

the good Shepherd, and the sheep move in relation to Him, and He knows them. When we come together for the Supper, we are reminded of all the saints whom the Lord loves. It is good to think thus, but John 10 tells us that "he calls his own sheep by name" (verse 3), and the point of that, I believe, is that however many there may be (myriads, if we consider all the saints together), the fact is that every one is known and loved personally by Christ. Paul puts it very simply when he speaks about "the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Do you ever have a sense of that at the Supper? -- He loved me and gave Himself for me. What an impetus it gives in our souls, and surely He becomes the Centre of the company.

Well, Mary served too, and in a way that was entirely suitable. She anointed the feet of Jesus: "having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment". What an effect true love for Christ has! Mary loved Him. She was not drawing attention to herself. Her thoughts and her affections were focused on this Man, this Person, whom she knew and loved so well, but the effect of what she did filled the house. The Lord commended her for what she had done. He has His own way of showing approval. It is not that we are publicly rewarded, but in one of the addresses to the overcomer in the beginning of Revelation, it says, "I will give to him a white stone" (chapter 2: 17), that is, a token of His own

direct personal affection, and that is a wonderful matter. Well, a local assembly is a place where Christ is loved and where everything is to be set in relation to Him.

Now in 1 Corinthians 1 we have a different aspect (and we never cease to marvel at the wisdom of the Spirit of God in causing Scripture to be written as He did), because here we have what we might call an ideal picture, or outline, of what a local assembly is. Now plainly Corinth was not up to that in practice, and yet the apostle uses these choice expressions: "I thank my God always about you, in respect of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus; that in everything ye have been enriched in him, in all word of doctrine, and all knowledge, (according as the testimony of the Christ has been confirmed in you,) so that ye come short in no gift, awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you to the end, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ". What words these are! As we read the body of the epistle we discover the conditions that actually existed, and we might well have cause to wonder. We could understand Paul writing thus to the Ephesians perhaps, and yet, as remarked, we see the wisdom of the Spirit of God in it, because if Paul could write this to the Corinthians as they then were, then it would help us in relation to the view that we take of local companies. We would begin to see them as God sees them, and to value what is there as God values it. This is the view, in one sense, that Balaam was obliged to give

in regard of the children of Israel, when he spoke of God not beholding iniquity in Jacob, and so on, (Numbers 23:21). He spoke of the greatness and grandeur of what was in Israel from the divine viewpoint. That is what exists in each of our localities, and what is in mind simply in referring to this scripture is that we must respect our local assemblies; we must respect what is of God there, for God has put it there. It is not our choice, or our arrangement. So that, as we take account of the local assembly from this viewpoint, we begin to have the divine valuation of it, and that is a most important feature of the testimony at the present time -- discernment. In the world today, there is much that presses on the minds and hearts of the saints, and we must learn to "take forth the precious from the vile" (Jeremiah 15:19), and that is a constant exercise. We must learn to set aside what is worthless and pursue what is good, and what is good will become treasure to us.

We might go further on into this first chapter of 1 Corinthians and find there that God has chosen the weak and the ignoble things of the world (verse 27, 28). Who of us has a claim to be anything? We have been chosen by sovereign mercy, we have been maintained by divine grace, and God in His wisdom has chosen to set saints together in order that the finest thoughts that divine Persons have conceived may be worked out amongst them. Paul here speaks of himself as an apostle, and "Sosthenes the brother". It is interesting that he allies himself with a

brother, in fact he calls him "the brother", as if Sosthenes was a characteristic brother. When Cain was born to Eve, and then Abel, scripture says, "And she further bore his brother Abel" (Genesis 4:2). It does not say 'another son', as if the Spirit of God would introduce right away the idea of a brother and the brotherly link, and it is remarkable that that is what the enemy attacks. If the enemy can break in on the brotherly link, he is well on his way to destroying what constitutes a local assembly. We need to be on our guard. It is a very simple thing to stand and speak about these matters; a very much more testing thing to work them out; but the truth stands. The brotherly link which God instituted so early is vitally important in the maintenance of divine interests in local companies.

Paul says, "God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord". What can we say about the current state of things in the church publicly? We can certainly say this: "God is faithful". Paul said it in the light of conditions as they existed in Corinth. It must have come near to breaking his heart when he thought of the work he had done there, and then saw the ruin that had come in so soon after he left. Well, what does he say? -- "God is faithful". We too need to cling to that side of things: "God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord". That is a dignified fellowship. I know fellowship is spoken of in other ways, but there is only one, and this is the standard

of it, and the character of it, "the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord". It is a universal matter, but the expression of it, and the working out of it, is to be seen in local companies.

1 Samuel 22 brings out another side of the matter. Not now the thought of a company as furnished by God and provided with all that is needed, but more the testimonial side, suggested in persons gathering to David: "every one in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one of embittered spirit collected round him; and he became a captain over them". That is like the second part of the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. God has chosen the weak and ignoble things that he might put to shame the wise. "Since Jews indeed ask for signs, and Greeks seek wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews an offence, and to nations foolishness; but to those that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ God's power and God's wisdom. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (verses 22 - 25). What a scripture to cling to! Who of us would speak of the foolishness of God? -- but Scripture does. Where do we see the foolishness of God? Pre-eminently at the cross, Christ having been delivered up into the hands of wicked men and crucified. What has flowed out from that is the redemption of myriads of souls who will yet be set together in that great vessel of praise that will be for the pleasure and glory of God eternally. Paul spoke of "the foolishness of God" and also "the weakness of God"

-- a matter that should be considered also. God is working out His own thoughts, and He is doing it in wisdom, and He is doing it in power. Let us never forget the side of power connected with Christianity. It is part of the gospel. Paul says as to the Lord Jesus, "marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead" (Romans 1:4). If we think of the Lord on the cross, where was the power? The power lay in the love that held Him there; there is no power like it. Well, the power of God is operative today in view of maintaining the testimony, but in 1 Samuel 22 we have those who came round David, weak and ignoble persons, just like ourselves, and yet "he became a captain over them", and what I wanted to bring out as to this scripture was this, that the assembly is a sphere of salvation. It is a sphere of salvation because the Spirit of God is here, and what is maintained here is what is true.

Well, those persons were with David and he set them in order as we know, but at the end of the chapter we have one who fled after David, Abiathar, and David said to him, "Abide with me, fear not; for he that seeks my life seeks thy life; for with me thou art in safe keeping". Persons might have looked on from an outside viewpoint on that day and said, We see a few men living in a cave, hunted and harassed by the powers of the day, there is not much salvation connected with that; but salvation lay in the fact that David was there; for us, that Christ is amongst the saints: "where two or three are gathered together

unto my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). We need to think of these things, because we live in a very interesting world, full of attractive things, but the assembly is a sphere of salvation. The scripture also says, "whoso breaketh down a hedge, a serpent biteth him" (Ecclesiastes 10:8). If there is a hedge, it is there to preserve us; let us not break it down. There is a sphere where God has set us, in His sovereign mercy and wisdom, for our blessing and salvation.

Psalm 22 brings out another side of things connected with the assembly and I know that this is more a universal thought, but the expression of it is to be found in local companies. I am referring now to the service of God. We speak much about the service of God, and rightly so. The exercise would be to understand something of the value that God places on it, the fact that He is served from hearts that know Him because of the way in which He has been made known in Christ. What a God He is! 2 Corinthians 4:6 speaks of what is shining "in the face of Jesus Christ". Some day soon, we will see the Lord's face actually, we will see Him in His body of glory, but what God has in mind for us is radiant towards us in Christ even at the present time, and what God looks for is an answer in response to Himself.

In eternity all the families will be serving God, and what I like to think about as to eternity is the contrast with what goes up from the creation now. What a groan God must be hearing from creation -- men in difficulty, suffering from illness and disease;

and there is famine in some parts. What will eternity be? -- harmony, every family named of the Father each having its own contribution, expressed possibly by way of music, but harmonising and united. God will have a response that will delight and fill His heart. There will be nothing to put right, nothing to adjust, nothing more to correct. Every thought of His love will have been brought into expression and to finality in Christ. Well can we understand the place that the Lord, whom we know and love, has in the Father's heart! As the Father takes account of Him, He will see there in full expression all that He ever had in mind as to what a man should be. What a Man Christ is! What a God we know!

May we be encouraged to see the value of our local assemblies, and may we be exercised to protect them and care for them, so that what is due to God may be going up to Him in full measure. May it be so, for His Name's sake.

Belfast, 21 December 1996.

THE TEACHING AND FELLOWSHIP OF THE APOSTLES

C. A. Coates

Acts 2:22 - 47

In this chapter we see Christianity established here in the power of the Holy Spirit. Last week we were looking at some of the things which are characteristic of Christianity as seen in chapter 1, but the coming of the Holy Spirit was needed to make them good

intelligently and in power in the company of believers. It is of the greatest importance to see that the Holy Spirit has come. Many are occupied with the gift of the Spirit, and praying for a baptism of the Holy Spirit, but the fact is the Holy Spirit has come, and the great mark of His presence is the testimony He renders to Christ. The Lord Himself said, "he shall bear witness concerning me" (John 15:26), and the effect of His coming was that the apostles preached Christ in such a way that three thousand souls were converted in one day, and brought to continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and prayers. It is in these things that Christianity really consists. Those who repent and believe the gospel are brought into them.

The effect of Peter's preaching of Christ on those who heard it was that, first they repented. That is, they judged themselves; they saw their exceeding wickedness in having crucified and slain Jesus their Messiah. Second, they received the divine testimony to Christ as risen and exalted, and were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Third, they received the Holy Spirit. These things are very great realities.

I hope I may take it for granted that all here have repented. You have judged yourself in God's presence as guilty and lost. Receiving God's testimony to Christ produces repentance. You see that God's Anointed has been rejected and put to death by men, and that shows you what is in your own heart. They wanted to be without Christ; that is why they killed Him; and I have found the same

thing in my own heart. It is good when God really brings this home to us, and we are pricked in the heart with conviction of sin.

What has God for such as repent? Well, He has Christ for all such. It is not merely some change or blessing in ourselves that we get, but Christ. God has no remedy, no resource, no blessing for man but Christ. Repentance and the reception of Christ lead to the great gain of having the Spirit. The apostles' teaching was the setting forth of Christ. I should like to call your attention to seven things which are found here, and which may be said to constitute the apostles' teaching.

First, Jesus the Nazaraean was "a man borne witness to by God" (verse 22). Christ is the subject of every divine testimony. Look at John 5:32 - 39. Here we see a fourfold witness to Christ -- that of John the baptist, of His own works, of the Father and of the Scriptures. Every divine testimony really centres in Christ.

It is a great thing, beloved friends, to see that God's pleasure is to introduce that blessed Person to our hearts. God is set on filling us with blessing in Christ. We cannot find blessing anywhere but in Him, but we shall find everything to meet our consciences and satisfy our hearts if we receive God's witness to His beloved Son.

In Psalm 81:10 - 16 we see what God had in His mind for Israel, but they would have none of Him. They closed their hearts against His testimony. No doubt God will in a coming day bring them into

blessing, but meantime we are in His thoughts for blessing. God is saying to us, "open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it". He is waiting to feed us with the finest of the wheat and to satisfy us with honey out of the rock. How important that we should not miss this! How careful should we be not to miss the blessed testimony of the Holy Spirit to Christ now! God has no blessing for us outside Christ -- no delight or pleasure but in Him.

Second, "him, given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (verse 23). Why was He thus given up to death? Because if we were to be filled with blessing in Him, He must die to remove us and our sins. We have to see that that is the way that God has taken. God has, if I may so say, relieved Himself of all that in us which was obnoxious to Him. Sins were before Him -- Christ has become the propitiation for them. Man the sinner was there -- Christ has come in the likeness of sinful flesh and gone into death to bear his condemnation and to put him out of God's sight, not only in holy judgment but in holy love. God has been glorified about all we have done and all we are, and He can now speak to us of Christ. How near this brings the love of God to us when we see the way He has taken to set us aside so that He might fill us with the blessedness of Another, and that His own beloved Son! To know the love of God we must look at the cross. We can never measure its depths, but it is a delight to see that God, by the death of Jesus, has cleared the ground righteously so that we might be fully blessed in Him.

Third, "ye, by the hand of lawless men, have crucified and slain" (verse 23). This shows us the place Christ has in the estimation of the world. He is not allowed a place here; He is disallowed indeed of men. So much so that if you find a person really giving Christ a place you feel sure it is a work of God. People think that things have changed because of the progress of religion, etc., but there is no place for Christ in the unconverted heart today any more than there was then. The man who does not receive Christ is really in the same spirit as those who crucified Him. He says in his heart, 'I do not want Him, I have no room for Him'.

Is it not a wonderful thing, beloved friends, that the finger of God has touched us, and made room for Christ in our hearts? It is having Christ that puts the Christian outside the world, whether politically, socially or religiously. If he speaks of Christ to his political friends, or at the social party, all are made uncomfortable; a cloud comes over the scene and he is told, 'This is not the place for such subjects'. It is the same in the religious circle. You may talk of the minister, the choir, the bazaar for charitable purposes, etc., but speak of Christ -- of His love, His death, His resurrection, His glory -- and there is no response; you find you are not wanted. There is no more place for Christ in the religious world of today than in the land where He was crucified. If Christ really has a place in your heart it will put you outside things here; you will find that you cannot go along with the world.

Fourth, "Whom God has raised up" (verse 24). Here we come to God's side. If on man's side He was rejected and slain, on God's side resurrection power was displayed. Everything that is for God now stands on the basis of resurrection. Everything here comes to an end by death. The best and fairest things here wither under death's terrible blight. But here we find a blessed Man who cannot be held by death. He has been raised up and is alive for evermore where sin and death can never come. He was cut off and had nothing here, but the Holy Spirit through Peter calls attention to the joy He has entered into in resurrection. See verses 26 - 28. This is a quotation from Psalm 16, which speaks of the joy of the Messiah in resurrection. When here, He was a Man of sorrows in a lowly path of grief and pain which ended in death, but He has entered into His joy in resurrection. Christ is the one "fairer than the sons of men" (Psalm 45:2). The beatitudes of Matthew 5 find their only perfect fulfilment in Christ; He was the One poor in spirit, the One who mourned in presence of all the evil here, the meek One, the merciful One, the One pure in heart, the Peacemaker, and the One of all others who was persecuted and reviled for righteousness' sake.

And what did He get for it here? Was He rewarded by men, or indeed at all in the present order of things? No, beloved friends, His joys were in another scene. He said to His disciples, "Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens" (Matthew 5:12). He entered into His joy in resurrection (see

Psalm 21:3 - 6). Think of the exceeding joy of Christ in resurrection! You have doubtless often prayed for spiritual joy, but the way the Holy Spirit would bring you into it would be by leading you to see that Christ has entered into all that was in the purpose of God for man, and this in resurrection, that it might be secured for you in Him. He has entered as Man into all that is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10 as "Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man's heart, which God has prepared for them that love him, but God has revealed to us by his Spirit". Christ has entered in resurrection into all this; it is all established in Him, and the Spirit reveals it to us down here that we may have as heavenly light what soon shall be our part.

The disciples must have had the thought that when Christ got a place here they would share it with Him. But He gets a place there and shares that place with His own. He has companions in His joy; God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness above His companions. He has sanctified us by His death in order that we might share His joy. Is it not a wonderful thing to belong to such a Person, and to have such a portion with Him? But, remember, it is all on the resurrection side.

Fifth, "Having therefore been exalted by the right hand of God" (verse 33). Christ is rejected here, but exalted there. Men try to make it appear as if Christ had a place on earth -- a place of honour here -- but it is not so. The world that cast Him out and slew Him now builds costly and magnificent edifices

professedly in His Name. It is the old principle: the fathers killed the prophets, and the children built their sepulchres (Luke 11:47). But the Christian is not deceived by this. He knows Christ to be still despised and rejected by men, but he knows Him as the One whom God has highly exalted and set at His right hand. As we learn that He is not here our hearts turn to Him there, and our minds are set on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of God.

It is said of the German emperor that once on the occasion of a banquet he took his place by mistake at the wrong end of the table. When the attendants pointed out to him that the head of the table was the other end, he replied, 'Where I sit is the head of the table'. Where Christ sits is the 'head of the table' for us. If He were here this would be our place, and the home of our hearts. But He is not here; He is at the right hand of God. How sad that a Christian should be found taken up with the politics or religion of the world, or mixing socially with those who give Christ no place!

Sixth, "having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which ye behold and hear" (verse 33). How true it was of Christ that He loved righteousness and hated wickedness! He showed it by going to the cross to establish righteousness and to put away iniquity. And now He has been anointed with the oil of gladness that He may share that anointing with His companions. He has received the Holy Spirit as Man that He might shed Him forth on us. How wonderful to see that

there is a heavenly company on earth having part in the anointing of that blessed Man at the right hand of God!

Seventh, "God has made him, this Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (verse 36). All the rights and authority of God are set forth now in the Lord Jesus. He is Lord. There are poor dupes of Satan who will not give divine honours to the Lord Jesus. Such do not honour God at all. Then, on the other hand, Jesus is the Christ -- God's anointed One to bring to pass all the thoughts and purposes of God with regard to the blessing of man. God has had counsels and purposes of blessing for man from all eternity, and Jesus is the anointed Man by whom all will surely come to pass. He was Lord and Christ, but in the days of His flesh His glory was veiled. Now it is manifested by the place in which God has set Him at His own right hand. He is Lord and Christ.

These seven things are what the Spirit witnesses of Christ, and they constitute the apostles' teaching. It was in this that the three thousand souls "persevered". It was this teaching which formed the fellowship. The One who is Lord and Christ is the Bond of the fellowship. The apostles' teaching was the testimony of God, and those who received it came into the fellowship of Christianity. Christian fellowship is not merely with a local company; it is the fellowship of all those who persevere in the apostles' teaching. There is but one fellowship. Every saint on earth is called by God to the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. This

was the fellowship formed by the apostles' teaching; that is, by the reception of God's testimony to the crucified, risen and exalted Christ. It was a fellowship quite distinct from the religious world around, in which man in the flesh had a recognised place. It was a fellowship based on the entire setting aside of man in the flesh in the death of Christ, and it subsisted in the knowledge and confession of the exalted Man at the right hand of God. This is the fellowship to which we are called, the true and only fellowship of the assembly of God.

The apostles' teaching and the fellowship are intimately bound up together, and then in close connection with them we have "breaking of bread and prayers". The Lord's supper had a great place in their hearts and it became a new rallying-point for them. The temple was the rallying-point in Judaism, and while the Lord was with His own He was their Rallying-point. But now the temple was desolate and the Lord was gone. What remained? Well, for one thing, the christian company remained, persevering in the apostles' teaching and fellowship. And another thing remained: the Lord's supper. He had instituted it on the night of His betrayal, leaving it, so to speak, in place of Himself, as His own way of bringing His saints together in His absence.

If we have been brought in any small measure into the fellowship, I am sure we shall delight to recognise the peculiar place and importance of the Lord's supper. The voice of His love says, "this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24). We cannot be

in the fellowship without loving the Lord and loving His own who are in the world. If we do so we shall surely regard the Lord's supper as an institution of the highest importance, for it is that which puts us in a special way in presence of His love, and which brings us together as those who love one another. We do not break bread as an ordinance, or as a means of grace, but in response of heart to the voice of His love. He is pleased to bring us together in this blessed way that He may bring Himself before our hearts. We meet our brethren there in the presence of divine love. We are brought together in the holy unity of the love of Christ for the remembrance of Himself. And in doing this we become His memorial here. "For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

"And prayers". In such a position as we are called to, there is absolute need for dependence and confidence in God, of which prayer is the expression. We cannot stand in a divine position or walk in a divine path by our own power. The more we seek to keep Christ's word and not deny His name, the more we shall feel our utter weakness and dependence. 'As weaker than a bruised reed, we cannot do without Thee'. We must persevere in prayers.

May we have grace in this difficult day to persevere in the apostles' teaching and in the fellowship! The natural consequence of this will be that we shall seek to take up our privilege in the breaking of bread; and the confidence of our hearts in

God, with a sense of our own weakness, will find expression in prayers.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Bath, Volume 31, pages 282 - 289. 4 December 1902.

TYPES OF THE CHURCH -- LEAH

M. W. Biggs

Genesis 29:15 - 35

Leah as a type of the church is quite a contrast to Abigail. Abigail was of a beautiful countenance. Leah was not so. Hence in this respect she sets forth what the church is in her actual state here in the view of man, rather than as possessing those moral qualities so beautiful to the eye of Christ. The apostle could say to the Corinthians, "not many wise according to flesh, not many powerful, not many high-born. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world, that he may put to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27). Indeed, the apostle's first visit to Corinth (Acts 18) had been marked by the studied avoidance of all that in which man might naturally glory: "his presence in the body weak, and his speech naught" (2 Corinthians 10:10).

Rachel was beautiful, we are told; she is a type of Israel. In Israel there will be that which is glorious from an earthly standpoint, but the church is not marked by these features, but quite the reverse. The same fact is alluded to by the Lord in Matthew 11. Wise and prudent were left aside, babes were those to whom the Father revealed things (verse 25).

This is an important principle for us to recognise, if we are rightly to be marked by the true features of the assembly. What is humanly glorious and great, what is distinguished in the eyes of the natural man is not that which is becoming to the assembly in its outward marks on earth. Outwardly poor in appearance, God has a company here in true keeping with the reproach and stigma of the cross. This fact seems largely to be overlooked by many believers today. The buildings of elegance and architectural beauty connected with the profession of the Name of Christ; the studied human eloquence and rhetoric of professed christian ministers; the adoption of music in services, as well as the general attempt to make Christianity attractive and appealing to popular taste are all a denial of that which should outwardly mark the church. That the church should have beauty is unquestioned; but her true beauty is her moral resemblance to Christ.

A detail of great importance in Leah's history also sets forth the place the church has. Rachel had been the hoped-for bride, but Leah superseded her. We must not allow the side of human failure -- Laban's deceit and Jacob's indifferent affection for Leah -- to rob us of the historical type. The two are often found together in Scripture. Hence we may see in the type an illustration of this further thought: Christ came to the children of Israel and would have gathered them that all the blessings under their true Husband might have been theirs. Yet Israel, beautiful from the human side, was not gathered, and the

church comes in during the interval; the church being outwardly marked by what is ignoble and despised in the eyes of men.

Another side of the church is presented in Leah's children. What suggestions of deep spiritual meaning come before the heart in connection with the names of Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. We may notice in a subsequent paper that the names of the children of Asnath and Zipporah are also full of interest. Indeed, we might say that the moral features of the church are rather seen in the children of these individuals than in the women themselves. Rachel's children suggest what will be true in connection with Israel. Of Israel Christ came, the Heir of all, the fruitful Bough, the true Joseph; also the Son of His Father's right hand is of Israel, the true Benjamin. But Leah's children bring before us rather the features which are true of the church.

The name Reuben means 'a son'. The thought of sonship is very blessedly connected with the church. Not that the church is the only company that is to know this relationship, but in a very intimate way the church is privileged to do so. God has sent forth His Son that we might receive sonship, and already we have received the Spirit of God's Son, and know the sweetness of calling God our Father (Galatians 4:4 - 6).

Many believers have never realised this blessed relationship, and yet it is God's desire that we should all enjoy it. It is not a question of attainment; it is that which has come to us because it is God's pleasure to bless us in this way. We shall not answer

to what the church should be if in some sense we do not enjoy this blessed privilege. It is wonderful to think of a company on earth, which is outwardly so ignoble, possessing the spirit of such a wonderful blessing as sonship. They are anything but ignoble in that view; what greater dignity could be possessed than sonship? It is in the dignity of being sons that we are quite prepared to be outwardly of no account here.

Simeon means 'heard'. This suggests no small privilege. The little company in Acts 12 were of very small account in the thought of the world; but prison doors and keepers had to give way, because the prayer made in the assembly was heard by God (verse 5). No other company on earth today has the ear of God as the church has; and if we are to be true to what the assembly is, the calm and precious sense that God hears us must ever keep our hearts. Spiritual wisdom would order our request, and a suited moral state must mark us; but such being the case, "if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness towards God, and whatsoever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and practise the things which are pleasing in his sight" (1 John 3:21, 22).

The assembly is privileged to voice in sympathy the feelings of a groaning creation (Romans 8:26, 27). It can intercede and pray for all men (1 Timothy 2); it may pray in connection with the interests of Christ on earth (Matthew 18:19, 20); and intelligently ask in respect of the governmental ways of God (1 John 5:14, 15).

In each connection we are to be sensible that we are heard. Though outwardly no beauty may be possessed by the church, morally what a company it must be!

Levi means 'united'. In true loyalty to God, at a later day (Exodus 32:26 - 28), Levi very really cast in his lot with Jehovah. Devotedness produced those features which Jehovah could appreciate. This is the church's privilege today. The way we prove this is in practically taking up Christ's interests here.

We shall remember how David tested Amasai in 1 Chronicles 12:17 by asking him if he had come peaceably unto him or to betray him to his enemies. If he had come peaceably, David says, "my heart shall be knit unto you". What a wonderful privilege to have this feature of the assembly so that Christ's heart may be knit to us. In a day of lukewarmness like the present, how really this becomes a test and how simply the youngest believer may prove that he is one to whom Christ's heart will be knit by taking up in warm-hearted devotedness His interests here. Jehu asked Jehonadab in 2 Kings 10, "Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?" and the Lord would ask our hearts a like question. As this feature of devotedness is seen in us, Christ is really known as our true Support, which is figuratively set forth in the idea of a husband -- His heart is knit to us.

The name Judah means 'praise'. The result of such exercises as those which we have considered would undoubtedly be a heart full of praise. What can the most skilfully played organ produce in

comparison with a human heart vibrating with feelings of adoration and praise to the Lord?

'O Lord! we know it matters not
How sweet the song may be,
No heart but of the Spirit taught
Makes melody to Thee'.

Praise! What a result of the ways of the Lord with us. What an end to which our exercises are leading. The wise and prudent have not the capacity for this; it is to babes the Father reveals things, and "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise" (Matthew 21:16). The idea of babes here is not a babe in the sense of 1 Corinthians 3 or even 1 John 2. The thought here is that what is great from the human point of view is left aside as of no account, and that which is outwardly of little importance God takes up to perfect His praise. The temple in the time when this was said, though all the instruments of music ordained by king David had been used, could not have produced one note of value in comparison to the voice of the little children crying, "Hosanna".

The Lord give our hearts to be exercised, so that we may seek to bear the true features of the assembly during the absence of Christ. Outwardly of poor account, the saints are to move in the moral dignity of sons; they are to be conscious that they are heard of God, that Christ's interests are theirs, and that their hearts and ways issue forth in sacrifices of praise to God.

The Believer's Friend (1925), pages 300 - 306.

SERVING GOD (2b)

J. B. Crosland

Revelation 22:3, 4

And now having arrived in our thought at this the highest of the three broad categories of service mentioned (page 372, MOW 1996), let us notice that activities which we might think of in the first instance as falling within the first or second categories (pages 372 - 376, MOW 1996) ought to be viewed, and undertaken, in this priestly way -- with our souls very near to God -- if they are to be carried out in a manner acceptable to God (and this, let us remind ourselves in passing, is the test of true 'success').

Thus, referring to the first category -- the sense in which our whole lives are to be lived in the service of God -- the apostle Paul, in writing to the Romans, in chapter 6 speaks simply and generally of yielding ourselves to God for the service of righteousness; but in chapter 12: 1 - 3, after the outburst of worship with which chapter 11 closes, he brings forward this practical exhortation in a developed and deepened form, with a more intimate appeal and an added refinement of thought: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service". The word for "service" here is the same priestly word, just as the word "present" brings before the mind the act of placing our bodies on the altar once for all for the service of God; a sacrifice, but a living one. This

done, we shall be ready for the levitical and other services which the rest of chapter 12 brings before us.

An interesting practical example of this priestly mind in connection with more ordinary services will be found in the narrative of Paul's voyage in Acts 27. Brought into contact with soldiers and sailors, among whom he was a prisoner, he is able to take a practical interest in their welfare in circumstances of much distress; yet however considerate and helpful his action towards his fellow-travellers, he is, first and always, serving God in his spirit, so that he can speak naturally to them, and in a way that must have carried conviction, of the God "whose I am and whom I serve" (verse 23). And when he encourages them to take food for their bodily needs it is deemed worthy of record that having "taken a loaf, he gave thanks to God before all" (verse 35) -- again a priestly action, not by any means to be omitted.

These are illustrations of the priestly character which should not be absent from services of a simple kind. Equally those services which we should naturally regard as in the second category (pages 372 - 376, MOW 1996), which has been called levitical, should be carried out with the same spiritual mind which serves God continually in prayer and thanks-giving. Among all services which seem naturally to fall into this category -- that is, what we usually think of as service -- the preaching of the gospel is the most obvious, yet it is in just this connection that the apostle introduces the thought of priesthood and

sacrifice: "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the glad tidings of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always beseeching at my prayers" (Romans 1:9). And in chapter 15 he speaks of carrying on his work among the Gentiles as a sacrificial service, "the message of glad tidings of God, in order that the offering up of the nations might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit" (verse 16). If the service of the gospel is taken up with this mind it will not lack that character of spiritual refinement, as of the fine flour of the meat-offering, which properly belongs to it.

Thus these three categories of service run into one another; we may distinguish them to help our thought, but our distinctions must not be too rigid, or they will hinder our further understanding. To classify the truth of God is like trying to classify the stars of heaven; it may not be impossible, but at least there is more in it than meets the eye, and our first attempts will be subject to revision. Thus our endeavour to understand the meaning of the service of God by viewing it broadly under three categories has brought us to see that all service should properly be governed by what we are in the highest category, that is, as priests, worshipping God and offering to God. This is no arbitrary conclusion, no accident; the principle may be seen in type in Israel, where in the service of God both Levites and people were directed by the priests. Only in Christianity all are properly priests, besides being also Levites and common people.

It comes to this then, that if we are to "serve God acceptably with reverence and fear" (Hebrews 12:28) we must learn what it is to be priests to God. And we find our place in spirit in that priesthood, if, having "tasted that the Lord is good" -- which is the first great step in blessing -- we come to Him as the One disallowed of men, but chosen of God; this is the second great step. "To whom coming, a living stone, cast away indeed as worthless by men, but with God chosen, precious, yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ". If we have found our place in that holy priesthood toward God we are then to be, in relation to men, "a kingly priesthood ... that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:3 - 5, 9).

We find the same order of thought as to sacrifice and service in Hebrews 13. First, and generally, "We have an altar", that is, we Christians; actually the contrast there is with the Jews who still served the tabernacle; "We have an altar of which they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle". In other words, there are established in Christianity the true basis and conditions of worship and fellowship. Secondly, these conditions are dependent on our coming to the One who is disallowed of men: "let us go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach". Hence, thirdly, the exercise of our holy priesthood: "By him therefore let us offer the

sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of the lips confessing his name". And fourthly, such worship of God is to be accompanied by beneficent activity towards men, in the exercise of a royal priesthood: "But of doing good and communicating of your substance be not forgetful, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Hebrews 13:10 - 16).

If these are the things that mark us we shall be enabled to anticipate the holy city, when "his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face; and his name is on their foreheads" -- His Name, the expression of what He is, His character, impressed upon them and shining out from them (Revelation 22:3, 4).

Serving God, pages 18 - 23 [3 of 4].

FOUR NAMES OF RELATIONSHIP

J. N. Darby

There are four names of relationship which God has take with men: Almighty (Genesis 17) with the patriarchs; Jehovah with Israel (Exodus 6); Father with Christians (John 17); and Most High, in the millennium (Genesis 14) and here in Daniel (chapter 7). Compare Psalm 90. The name of Father makes a difference in the whole position, associating us with Christ, the Son in whom He is revealed. John's gospel specially brings out this.

Synopsis of the Books of the Bible by J. N. Darby, Volume 2, footnote on page 326.

HEAVENLY AND ETERNAL

W. R. Mason

Deuteronomy 28:1, 2, 12; 1 Peter 1:3 - 5; Philippians 3:20, 21; 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18; 2 Corinthians 5:1

I suppose the older we get the more we become impressed with the nearness of the Lord's return, and our hearts are quickened as we think of that wondrous event so soon to take place. What a change it will make, for we will have been transported into heaven, and "conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).

So we should be increasingly occupied with what is heavenly and eternal. This great servant, "Moses the man of God" (Deuteronomy 33:1), was keen to see the people, whom he loved and served so faithfully for over forty years, getting into the blessing that God had purposed for them. On the responsible side, all enjoyment of blessing depends on our hearkening "diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed to do all his commandments". John says, "his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3), and the Lord Jesus says, "his commandment is life eternal" (John 12:50). What God has in mind, in presenting the truth to us, is that we should get delivered from all that is carnal, earthly, merely of man, and get into that which abides, which death itself cannot rob us of, life eternal. I suppose that is God's purpose for men now: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have

life eternal" (John 3:16). It may take you some time to get into it, but the basis and the title to it is the death of Christ; God's only-beloved Son given for us that we might not perish but have life eternal. So Paul said to Timothy, "Lay hold of eternal life, to which thou hast been called" (1 Timothy 6:12). We have to reach out for these great things that God proposes in the glad tidings for us.

Now Moses said that, if the people diligently hearkened to God's voice, they would be "supreme above all nations of the earth"; and that is to be morally true of believers as to the unregenerate people around them. However brilliant persons might be as to the things of men, whether scientific, economic or otherwise, the saints as taught of God are instructed above them.

Hearkening to the voice of God is most import-ant. We come together to hear the word of God meeting after meeting, but we may get casual about it. But if we understood that it is the living and abiding word of God which divides between things, "penetrating to the division of soul and spirit" (Hebrews 4:12), then we should hearken unto it. Moses says, "all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee", and "Jehovah will open to thee his good treasure, the heavens". I think this is a unique expression, God's "good treasure, the heavens", the source of such blessing. Moses knew where the manna came from -- it came from heaven, fresh every day. Nobody sowed manna, it came down every day; it was God's provision, not man's, "the corn of

heaven", as the psalmist says, "angels' food" (Psalm 78:24, 25 Authorised Version). God's opening of "his good treasure, the heavens", is what comes to us in the ministry of the Spirit at the present time. So Moses says, "Jehovah will open to thee his good treasure, the heavens, to give rain unto thy land in its season".

We were speaking about the faithful bondman who would give to the Lord's household food in season (Matthew 24:45), and here He helps them through rain from heaven, "to bless all the work of thy hand"; and to be a creditor nation, for "thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow". The rulers of this world come to nought. If they had known, when the Lord was here, it says, "they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). At the moment, we are blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). God has not forgotten one heavenly blessing, and He "has quickened us with the Christ ... and has raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, that he might display in the coming ages the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus" (chapter 2: 5 - 7). What great things are in the heavens!

We are said to have come to "the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem" (Hebrews 12:22) at the present time. The saints comprise the heavenly Jerusalem, and there are no second-class citizens in that city: "the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (verse 23). Oh! what a wonderful company we belong to. Dear young people, honour

and cherish the company of the Lord's people; never despise your brethren; remember that they are God's inheritance. Think of the richness of God's in-heritance in the saints!

Where we read in 1 Peter 1 about this wonderful heavenly system, the apostle bursts out in a doxology, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". Maybe Peter learnt that expression from listening to Paul in the assembly. I think Peter is showing us that he is in the current of the heavenly ministry of the apostle Paul, and he refers to God's great mercy having begotten us again to a living hope. The Jews generally were looking for an earthly hope, that the Lord would set up His kingdom down here. The Lord was asked, "When is the kingdom of God coming?" (Luke 17:20), and "when then shall these things be?" (chapter 21: 7). But now, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a new world of glory has been opened up. We have now a living hope because we rely upon a living Man, hidden from the sight of men at the moment, but seen by the eyes of faith, and that puts a living hope in our hearts. Oh! let us be more conscious of it, dear brethren, and let us pray that this living hope will be stirring up our hearts more and more in living response to the blessed Saviour to whom we owe all.

The resurrection was the great event that opened up this living hope to the hearts of God's people in these last days. And the living hope was "to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance, reserved in the heavens for you"; it is there eternally.

I do not think we shall ever leave heaven in any permanent sense. While John saw "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God" (Revelation 21:2), it is not said to arrive anywhere, it comes down characteristically; it is spoken of twice as "coming down", once at the beginning of the millennium (verse 10), and once at the beginning of eternity (verse 2); and we know that our inheritance is "reserved in the heavens for you". I think it shows that the base of the assembly is there, the place prepared by the Lord in the Father's house (John 14:2, 3) remains permanently; that will be our home, our abode. Heaven is our home; let us contemplate it more and more, dear brethren, that we are a heavenly people. Therefore we should be very different from earthly people around us.

It says that the first man was "out of the earth, made of dust; the second man, out of heaven" -- that was Jesus. "Such as he made of dust, such also those made of dust" -- that is like ourselves, in these bodies of dust, but then "and such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones" (1 Corinthians 15:47, 48). I think that is marvellous, yet how little I have come to the apprehension of that in vitality, that what is in me of God, the new man, the divine nature, came out of heaven, so that what we are as persons in God's mind and purpose is heavenly, "And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly one" (verse 49). Will not heaven be wonderful? It will be wonderful for God to see millions of people like His beloved

Son, all bearing the image of Christ, the heavenly One. When our salvation is come, as it says, "for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11), we will be like Christ, con-formed to His glorious image. Well, that is what God will have for His pleasure eternally. What it will mean to the Lord, what a reward, to have those myriads of brethren like Himself gathered round Him, and He in the midst conducting God's praises eternally!

So this is what we await, and it is "reserved in the heavens" for us, and in the meantime we are being "kept guarded by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time". Already we have the salvation of our souls, there is no question about that, and then there is the idea of future salvation "ready to be revealed in the last time". Oh! what a wonderful shock of blessing will meet this earth when the Lord comes out with all those heavenly saints, made like Himself, in the last time. He will be revealed then, and the sons of God, a mystery now, will be revealed in that quickly-coming day (Romans 8:19).

Philippians 3:20 refers to our heavenly calling. The Hebrews were in danger of slipping away (Hebrews 2:1), but the apostle says, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling" (chapter 3: 1). That is what we are -- partakers of the heavenly calling. God has not just called us to be saved now and walk here on our way to a future heaven, but the calling is a heavenly one now, for we have a heavenly nature imparted to us by divine

workmanship, and we have a heavenly hope in our hearts. So it speaks in Colossians of "the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens" (Colossians 1:5). That is what Peter has been speaking about, this great inheritance reserved in the heavens for us; what a hope! But where we read in Philippians chapter 3, Paul brings before us the contrast to those who mind earthly things. Our fellow men in general mind earthly things, even though they may try to probe into the mysteries of the universe, the stratosphere and beyond, but Scripture says, "The heavens are the heavens of Jehovah, but the earth hath he given to the children of men" (Psalm 115:16). The heavens belong to God, and our part and place is in the heavens with Christ. It says of God in Psalm 113, "Who humbleth himself to look on the heavens and on the earth" (verse 6). How great God is! "Canst thou by searching find out God?" (Job 11:7). God has revealed Himself, and He has done that in the Person of His blessed Son, and God in His greatness and majesty humbles Himself to look upon His creation, the heavens and the earth. Let us be content to be where God has put us, those who are here in testimony as to a heavenly order of things.

"Our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens". Paul speaks to the Gentile saints in Ephesians 2:12, as those who once were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise". But now, in contrast, we have our commonwealth, which is not the land of Canaan. It has its existence in the heavens, a

wonderful order of life and fellowship, of inter-change and intercourse. What a scene of holy activity heaven will be, and yet it will be a scene of rest without toil. Oh! blessed, glorious future, beloved brethren, that is before us, and it is from there that "we await the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour". And as we wait, "the Spirit and the bride say, Come" (Revelation 22:17). It is important to notice that "say" is in the present tense, and John wrote that nearly two thousand years ago. The Spirit and the bride were saying "Come" then, in his day, and ever since. It may not be expressed very much by the mass of believers, but still in the hearts of all is this expectation of being with the Lord in heavenly glory for ever, and we are awaiting His coming, and the Spirit now, as at the beginning of the dispensation, with the bride, is saying, "Come". We want to see Him coming into His rights, into all that the Father has given Him, what He has by divine purpose, and what He has through the work of redemption.

Soon the Lord will "transform our body of humiliation into conformity to his body of glory". What an instantaneous matter -- it could happen to us before the day is out. Oh! beloved brethren, are we ready for it? Would you like the Lord to come and find you in a condition that is not proper to a believer? We should all be greatly exercised in all things "to be agreeable to him". "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men", and we ourselves are to be "manifested before the judgment-seat of the Christ", to get the Lord's review of our

whole lives (2 Corinthians 5:9 - 11).

It says, the Lord "shall transform our body of humiliation into conformity to his body of glory". We will soon see Him in His body of glory and we will be conformed to Him, as John says, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he his" (1 John 3:2). And it is "according to the working of the power which he has even to subdue all things to himself". What glorious prospects we have, beloved brethren; how we should feel greatly humbled at our meagre response to these things, and yet that glorious hope should stir our affections, and lift us above the trials of the way, the afflictions of our bodies, etc., and keep us moving on in brightness, in happiness and satisfaction and power until we see His blessed face.

Where we read in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul had been speaking of his own sufferings, yet he says, "we faint not; but if indeed our outward man is consumed, yet the inward is renewed day by day" (verse 16). It is very fine to have a sense of renewal day by day. That involves that we must have contact with the Lord in glory. Paul says, "For our momentary and light affliction": that is how Paul looked on his severe sufferings -- his "outward man is consumed", yet there was the renewal in him day by day. Well, as you think of it compared to eternity, it is but momentary, for, "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). So "momentary" is contrasted with the "eternal", and "light" is contrasted with the "weight", the weight of glory. This is a good way for us to be

putting on weight, spiritually, and afflictions are to work for us "in surpassing measure an eternal weight of glory". That is not merely the equivalent of what we are going through now, but it surpasses that, "an eternal weight of glory". Surely such exercises would elevate our souls, and strengthen us greatly, and form us more deeply in heavenly affect-ions after the Man to whose image we are to be conformed.

"While we look not at the things that are seen". Many people like to view the scenery, and visit foreign places, but it is all going to be burnt up. The great cities of the nations will fall, and Christ alone will be exalted in that day. So Paul says, "we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen" -- those are the things to have our spiritual eyes engaged with, as it says, "being enlightened in the eyes of your heart" (Ephesians 1:18), so as to see and know many great things. And therefore it is with those spiritual eyes that we are looking at the things that are not seen, that are eternal. Oh! let us be more engaged, dear brethren, with heavenly and eternal things. It will form our character, mould our affections and ennoble our ways. We will be a real living testimony as we pass through this scene if we are truly heavenly-minded, and spiritually-minded, looking at the things that are not seen.

Paul goes on to speak of our "earthly tabernacle house", that is, something temporary. We are in a tabernacle which will soon be taken down, and the living soul, the work of God within, will be released

as the earthly tabernacle house will be destroyed. We will put on a house from heaven, an entirely new and permanent eternal character of things. "We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens". So you see that our place is there, and what a comfortable dwelling it will be. We will never know what fear means again, or nervousness, or weakness of any kind. We will be living in glory with the Son of God, conformed to His image, and we will be in these houses, eternal in the heavens.

Well, may these things stimulate our affections, and draw us more over to the divine side of things, to the great things of divine purpose, that we may be more heavenly in character, even now, while still in these tabernacle houses, but looking for the permanent one, through the grace of God. May His word be blessed to our souls.

Warrenpoint, 18 January 1997.

CHRIST AS SPEAKER

J. Taylor

Matthew 17:3 - 5; John 17:26

What I desire is to seek to engage your hearts with Christ as Speaker. It is evident that God intended to communicate His thoughts by means of speaking, and therefore He took up different vessels from time to time in order to communicate His mind through them. So you find in the ways of God there were many speakers, as we are told, "God having spoken

in many parts and in many ways formerly to the fathers in the prophets" (Hebrews 1:1). What I wish to make clear is, that now all speaking is by the Son. As we were saying this afternoon, God has recovered man in sonship, and all that He accomplishes now through man is through him as in sonship, so you will find in the New Testament that all that which God undertook to accomplish before is now taken up afresh and accomplished in permanency by the Son. There were many things that God undertook to do, such as speaking, writing, and building; but, because of the character of the instruments used, imperfection marked everything that had been done. So that you find in the New Testament that God undertakes to do all these things now by the Son. Whether it be speaking or writing or building or ruling, all is by the Son. And all that the Son does is done in permanency and perfection.

So I wish to engage you with the Son as the Speaker. He is now the One through whom all communications from God to us are made, and hence I brought the passage in Matthew 17 to your attention. The Father's voice is heard from the cloud. The cloud indicates the Father's house, and it comes into view for the specific purpose of calling attention to the Son as a Speaker. Moses and Elias (great speakers) were there, but they are withdrawn, and the Father's voice is heard from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight: hear him". So the Speaker is One in whom the Father's pleasure is. And it is He who is to be heard.

I wish, if I can, to show you that in the Old Testament in the typical part you get foreshadowings of Christ as Speaker; but what I wish especially to show is, that each man of faith in his closing word to men, set forth some feature of the testimony, and that feature of the testimony was the feature for which he in the ways of God stood personally. Therefore I shall refer to certain men of faith to show you that that which comes out now fully and perfectly in Christ had been set forth in individuals in the Old Testament. Now all is established permanently in Christ. When I choose to speak of the closing addresses of these men, I do so because I believe that the last words of any man embody substantially that which he represented in regard to the testimony of God.

I begin with Noah. In referring to him one must admit that the last words of Noah recorded were uttered long before his death. Nevertheless, his last speech, according to Scripture, is in Genesis 9, and it indicates what he stood for personally in the development of the testimony. That is to say, Noah stood for government. Noah is a type of Christ in other respects, but he is a type of Him in relation to government, and his pronouncement as to his sons conveys to us what he stood for; he stood for government, and his last recorded statement indicates what came to pass in the government of God in connection with his posterity. I do not dwell upon Noah, only to indicate that as a speaker he fore-shadowed Christ. He had something to say which

had reference to Christ. He blessed Shem and Japheth and he cursed the posterity of Ham. The speech is brief, but it indicates that which, in the government of God, befell Canaan.

Now I proceed to call attention to Isaac. One cannot but refer to Isaac with pleasure. His name signifies laughter. Isaac stands for Christ as the One in whom the blessing of God became effectuated. He succeeded his father Abraham. He was conscious that he was qualified to bless. I take his utterance in the blessing of Jacob (Genesis 28); he was, in type, the vessel of the blessing. This may be taken as his closing word, for it was spoken in view of his death, and it conveys to us that feature of the testimony which he represented personally. He was conscious of being the vessel of God's blessing, and he passed it on to Jacob. So that he was a speaker, and his words conveyed what he stood for. He stood for the blessing of God. Isaac is Christ, the heavenly man in resurrection.

Now I pass on to Jacob. Jacob is the Jew: he is typical of Christ in relation to God's earthly people, in all the trials and vicissitudes of their history. In all their sorrows and their joys Jacob represents them. When we come to Jacob as a type we descend to the level of God's people here on earth in their responsibility, Christ with them; the Lord took a place in relation to Israel. He descended to where they were. "In all their affliction he was afflicted" (Isaiah 63:9). Jacob represents the Israel of responsibility.

Now when you come to the closing words of Jacob that is exactly what you find. In Genesis 49 we have recorded from his lips an outline of the history of God's people. He calls his sons together and he says, "Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of the days" (verse 1). And he faithfully outlines, in a prophetic way, from beginning to end, the history of the people. There was much wickedness; that, for instance, of Reuben; and as to Simeon and Levi, instruments of cruelty were in their habitations, and in their anger they slew men. Then you get apostasy in Dan; and Issachar was a strong ass, couching down between two burdens. Now these things communicate to us what the people were as in responsibility, but there are the relieving features, especially seen in Judah and Joseph. Judah had the royal sceptre, and Joseph was a fruitful bough whose branches went over the wall; so that, whilst it is the people in responsibility, they are not without hope. Christ is contemplated. Shiloh should be the gathering centre, and in speaking of Joseph, Jacob says, "from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel" (verse 24). There are bright gleams of hope in the outline of responsibility, but nevertheless it is the responsible people.

We come to Moses next. With him it is not the responsible people. He did have to do with the people as in responsibility, of course, but the great end of his ministry was the deliverance and blessing of Israel. In this respect he represents Christ. He also typifies Christ as over the house of God. Here his

personal greatness shines. He was the man who had to do with the house of God. If there is anything that puts us to the test, it is the house of God. And what came to light in regard to Moses is this, that although he had to do with the perverseness of the flesh, he was the meekest man in all the earth. I think he may be said to be the greatest man in the Old Testament.

He rises to the full height of God's thought in Deuteronomy 33. I can only touch upon it. It is his closing utterance. The chapter records the dying words of Moses. I judge that a man's deathbed is the moment of his weakness, but you will find with men of faith that their dying words are most pregnant with victory. So it was with Isaac and Jacob. And so it is with Moses. The man of faith is never discouraged. The darker the day the brighter he shines. Moses began to speak of blessing when he was about to die. It is only in the light of Christ that he could thus speak. He is not now dealing with the people he had led through the wilderness. That people had departed in the brazen serpent. The brazen serpent had terminated that people for ever. A new generation had appeared as the effect of the Holy Spirit (the springing well), having come in typically, and that generation was blessed. So that you will find as Moses takes up each of the tribes he has nothing to say about any of them but what indicates blessing. He begins with Reuben: "Let Reuben live, and not die". He was worthy of death, but death had come in already. It must be remembered that Moses' last words were spoken in the land of Moab. They were

not spoken in Egypt, nor strictly in the wilderness, but in the confines of Canaan, after the brazen serpent and the springing well. Therefore this chapter has reference to a people who have the Spirit. God loves such a people -- "Yea, he loveth the peoples" (verse 3).

Next I come to David. His closing words are recorded for us in 2 Samuel 23"these are the last words of David". I take it that the few words recorded from David's lips here convey to us what he stood for in his testimony. Jacob had spoken of the people in responsibility. Moses has blessed them. David does not speak of the people at all, but of the King. David's closing words therefore embody what he stood for. What did he stand for? He stood for the kingdom. Things had gone to the bad in Israel. The ark of the covenant had been taken captive; David comes forth, the anointed of the God of Israel, and he recovers the ark and establishes it in Zion. So he speaks of the King: "And he shall be as the light of the morning, like the rising of the sun, A morning without clouds; When from the sunshine, after rain, The green grass springing from the earth" (verse 4). I desire that your hearts should be engaged with the King. God told David that the Man that ruled among men should be just and that He should rule in the fear of God. Who is that One? That is Christ. I think that every christian heart can testify to the justness of Christ. Every one that has come into contact with Christ as a Ruler, and we must come in contact with Him as a Ruler, can say, He is a just Ruler. He rules

in the fear of God. We may well commit ourselves into His hands. I have no hesitation in committing myself into the hands of Christ. He rules with perfect discrimination. That comes to light in His rule.

It is a serious question for each Christian as to whether you are directly under the rule of Christ; and to be under the rule of Christ is to be happy. He is as a "morning without clouds". I only speak of these things because David speaks of the King. Thank God, there is such a Ruler among men. Now what is He to you? Is He as a "morning without clouds"? If you want the sunshine to beam into your soul, bow to that Ruler. Did you ever bask in the sunshine of a morning without clouds? that is, in the presence of Christ. Submitting unqualifiedly to the authority of Christ, you discover a morning without clouds. It is genuine and abiding happiness to be under the rule of Christ. I do not enlarge on what David says, but it certainly bears examination. He proceeds to speak of what is the effect in our souls when subject to Christ: "When from the sunshine, after rain, The green grass springeth from the earth". I only speak of the King, and the importance of being subject to Christ as the Ruler among men.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Toronto, 1908. Volume 2, pages 118 - 123 [1 of 2].

SERVING GOD (3)

J. B. Crosland

1 Timothy 5:6 - 10

If we want to see still further how these principles work out in practice, we may notice how the three categories of service alluded to (pages 372 - 376, MOW 1996) are all comprehended in the reference to the widows in 1 Timothy 5. Some people might be disposed to think that widows were not a class whose opportunities of service would be the widest or most varied. However that may be, we may learn something from the illustration; and the reader will be able to find for himself in the Scriptures innumerable examples of services appropriate to men, or women, or both.

After the remark that "she who is a widow indeed ... continues in supplications and prayers night and day" (a truly priestly activity), the apostle commends those who "have brought up children ... have exercised hospitality ... have washed saints' feet ... have imparted relief to the distressed ... have diligently followed every good work" -- surely a liberal variety of service!

"Have brought up children": this is a work which falls to the lot of thousands in the ordinary course of nature; but what a service to God and men if done in the fear of God! What patient labour and unremitting care are demanded, what difficulties to be overcome and questions to be solved, major problems many, and minor troubles every day, calling for firmness and kindness, wisdom and grace; but offering too,

for those engaged in this great service, 'a road to bring us daily nearer God'.

"Have exercised hospitality": this may also be regarded as a duty of ordinary life, but in its context here the reference, as in other passages in the Epistles and the Acts, is primarily to the provision of hospitality for those brethren whose occupation, whether in the Lord's service or perhaps in their ordinary calling, led them to travel from place to place. For a sister or a brother to receive such 'strangers', in heathen cities where congenial accommodation might not be easy to find, was a service often of a 'levitical' character, and in any case of no mean order. (Compare Hebrews 13:2; 3 John 5 - 8).

"Have washed saints' feet": here we are back to a service of the highest class, peculiarly priestly, only possible to be done in close communion with God; for the reference is surely to no material act, but to that rare service of spiritual contact and help which can only proceed from one who is living near to God; that 'washing of the feet' which, with a humility which avoids any occasion of offence and a delicacy which hardly pretends to offer help, yet succeeds in bringing refreshment, purification, and comfort to the soul of another. The kindest act that any saint can do for any other is thus practically to bring the grace of Christ afresh to bear upon him. We are reminded of the Lord's words, "Unless I wash thee, thou hast not part with me ... He that

is washed all over needs not to wash save his feet, but is wholly clean" (John 13:1 - 17).

"Have imparted relief to the distressed": a service which, according to circumstances, might come into any or all of the three categories mentioned on pages 372 - 376, MOW 1996; and the need for it is always with us.

"Have diligently followed every good work". It is unfortunate that in the common speech of Christians the expression 'good works' should so often be used in a technical sense, narrowing it down to what are called, with a restriction of meaning not justified, 'christian works', 'works of charity', etc. The result is that we rather miss the meaning of such a scripture as "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16, Authorised Version). The meaning is not, of course, that men may take notice of any specific christian 'works of service' in us -- that would be likely to glorify us -- but that all our actions should be such as to represent truly before men the character of God, whose holy Name is called upon us. The idea of good works in the Scripture is comprehensive, as well as pure: "the God of peace ... perfect you in every good work to the doing of his will, doing in you that which is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for the ages of ages. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20, 21).

The careful reader of Scripture will not have fallen into the mistake of reading the passage before us (1 Timothy 5:6 - 10) as just a statement of services

specially appropriate to widows; it is speaking largely of the commendable things which they may have done, i.e., in the past, perhaps before they were widows.

Reflecting on the examples of service given in the passage, we may note certain general features. The deeds mentioned, invaluable as they are, are not generally such as to bring the servant himself (or herself) into any special prominence. Nor are they altogether those that would occur to an enthusiastic Christian who, starting out (like Peter, see Luke 22:33), ready to do something of note, looks either to himself or to the organisations of men for direction. Yet they seem to be natural enough to anyone who, not putting the idea of his own achievement or his own service in the middle of the picture, desires simply and wholeheartedly, in humility and sacrifice of self, to please his Lord and do that which is right and show love, especially in activities which lie near home (where charity begins), without any thought of the approval of the world -- even the religious world -- or of pursuing some interest of which men can take cognisance. Such services might not, any more than those of the household of Stephanas, readily lend themselves to a descriptive article in the newspapers.

Many other passages in both the Old and the New Testament, while throwing light on the ways in which the "bondman of God" may unaffectedly serve Him, indicate clearly that the idea of service as set before us in the Scriptures, starting as it does from a definite acknowledgment of the will of God --

"the will of God in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18) -- is by no means that which is current in the world. It is well, therefore, at the outset to be candid with ourselves as to the influences under which we are moving in anything we may desire to undertake in the service of God. Are we consciously with God in it? Is it God we are out to serve, or only men? "Or do I seek to please men? If I were yet pleasing men, I were not Christ's bondman" (Galatians 1:10). The answer will make all the difference to the mind with which we serve; for God wants fit vessels, "service-able to the Master"; only thus can we be "prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21). It will affect the whole character of our activity; and of course it will greatly affect the ends we have in view in it.

If we are to serve God we must, in our thoughts and aims, put Him first throughout. If we put man first (and nothing is easier) we shall move in our souls, insensibly but none the less surely, down-hill, away from God, even though what we do we may call by the name of service.

"If any one serve me, let him follow me" (John 12:26). Often the question is whether we are minded to go on our own way -- or it may be some-one else's way -- in what we may suppose to be doing good, or whether we really hold ourselves as the disciples of Christ, following Him, learning from Him. We need to have our minds progressively in-formed by the Scriptures, that we be not as those who missed their way, having "zeal for God, but not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2). The Lord has Himself

shown us the way; He "went through all quarters doing good", but as One "anointed ... with the Holy Spirit and with power" and "because God was with him" (Acts 10:38). He was the obedient and the dependent One; He pleased God; He served God. To serve thus as sent by Him is a very different thing from joining in what is called 'social and religious work'; such work in fact, as we can see plainly from what is around, commonly looks to the King (or Queen) as its head rather than to Christ; it seeks to be honoured by the patronage of the great among men. But the point is not whether we are doing something that men will recognise as service, but whether in faith we are obeying and pleasing the Lord. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. This is a motive beyond the world's ken, yet it is the point of paramount importance, and the point at which real sacrifice of self is tested. And while we may be able to help each other with suggestions and with opportunities for giving practical expression to our desire to serve, each of us must look to the Lord Himself for direction. "The Lord will give thee understanding in all things" (2 Timothy 2:7).

To serve God by His will is the only worthy purpose of a man's life, the only aim which can sanctify it and make it eternally fruitful, the only central and commanding interest which can leave behind it no regrets. And there is every encouragement to us to enlist while young in this unique, this supreme service, to let nothing stand in its way, and never to turn back. Whether we be

young or old we may well respond with decision of heart to the exhortation "no longer to live the rest of his time in the flesh to men's lusts" (a very comprehensive set of rival motives), "but to God's will. For the time past is sufficient for us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles" (1 Peter 4:2, 3). It may indeed; and now it is high time to awake out of sleep (Romans 13:11). If we "sleep" while we are young we shall lose much precious time, and sooner or later we shall lament the loss. May God help us to find true blessedness by serving Him with all our heart.

Serving God, pages 24 - 31 [4 of 4].

THE DESIRES OF CHRIST FOR HIS OWN

R. Dunn

John 17:10 - 26; Revelation 3:7 - 13; Zephaniah 2:3 - 8; Zephaniah 3:8 - 20

I wish, with the Lord's help, to speak a simple word of encouragement at such a time as this is, in view of the fact that we are near the close of the church's history here.

We have been speaking of that which is dear to the heart of Christ as that which is espoused by us, in His absence, and I have read part of John 17 because I should like to commend to you for your meditation what it is that is precious to the heart of Christ, so that we might be heartily identified with it. What one feels is so valuable and encouraging in this chapter is that we hear the Lord speaking about the saints according to His love and apart altogether from their

responsibility, and this should deeply affect our hearts. I think it would help us immensely if our souls got imbued with the love Christ has for the saints, apart, as I said, from their responsibility.

I think of John 17 as the Lord's prayer in connection with the peculiar ministry of John. He takes things up in detail, disclosing the pulsations of His heart for His own, and, in the sense that His pathway was drawing to a close, requesting the Father that the saints should come into the good of all His ministry. How it affects one's heart to hear the Lord speaking to His Father of His own, and saying, "they are thine". It takes hold of my heart, of all our hearts, to hear the Lord speak of us in this way. He is really voicing the desires of His love for all saints, for the whole church; and then He goes on, "and all that is mine is thine, and all that is thine mine". He presents the saints as His, and what comes to light is that the supreme object of the heart of Christ is to bring us into the presence of that which is for the Father's eternal pleasure. The Lord comes into the Father's presence and says, "I come to thee", and the burden of His prayer is that saints should come into the full good of His ministry, as we have it in the first sixteen chapters of this gospel.

What I wanted particularly to draw your attention to was the Lord's express desire for us, first that we should be kept -- preserved -- in the world (not taken out of it), and then that in the day of display it should be set forth that the Father loves us, as He loves Christ. I would commend this to your consideration,

the desires of the heart of Christ for us who are left here where we shall be hated because He was hated, where there is no home for us, because there was none for Him.

Then, in closing, He requests that those whom the Father has given Him may be with Him where He is, and may behold His glory. I would lay this chapter before you in a special way as expressing the desires of the heart of Christ for His own and would ask myself -- to begin with -- and all, whether we have sufficiently cherished those desires in our hearts.

Now I wanted to speak of Philadelphia in this way as that which at the present moment answers to the heart of Christ. It exercises one deeply to reflect that there is that which the Lord Jesus can take account of at the moment on earth which yields Him what His heart seeks. It is set forth in this company in Philadelphia, whom He addresses with the fullest confidence. He draws near to them without the slightest reserve, and approves all they are engaged with.

You ask me where this company is to be found today. Well, one can only say, it is for each one of us who desires to hear the Lord's voice and to cherish what is dear to Christ, to seek to be found answering to the features presented in it. The Lord takes account of what is there, and comes forth to speak to the hearts of His own, encouraging them to go on, and saying, "I come quickly: hold fast what thou hast". We have been speaking of brotherly love

today, and seeking to encourage one another on mutual lines, in connection with the sympathies and outgoings of love found in the brotherhood in the midst of this scene of opposition. It is in the atmosphere of brotherly love that everything precious to Christ is cherished, hence how important it is for us to be found together in bonds of brotherly affection if we are to comfort one another in relation to the things disclosed to us by Christ.

It is beautiful to note how the Lord pours out His heart to this company in Philadelphia. There is no blame, no remonstrance, but He speaks to them with perfect confidence, exhorting them to hold fast till He comes, and adding, "He that overcomes, him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God". If you love the interests of Christ, you will be prepared to stand for all that is set forth in the temple, and the result is, you will be a pillar.

Then it goes on, "and I will write upon him the name of my God". His Name covers all His interests today, and as we move together in brotherly love, those interests engage and control our hearts, so that together we espouse what is for the pleasure of God. The Lord would remind us we have not long to wait, "I come quickly", He says, "hold fast what thou hast, that no one take thy crown". Then, as we were saying, He addresses the overcomer. He would have us to be overcomers, He would have us carry in our hearts today a sense of triumph.

Well, I say I want to overcome, and we are here today to encourage one another on the line of

overcoming. It involves a path of surrender and suffering, but we are prepared for that if we desire to give ourselves to that which is dear to the heart of Christ, and to come out as victors.

I read the passages in Zephaniah because I felt that inasmuch as they describe the comfort vouchsafed to the remnant in a trying day just at the close of a dispensation, they are applicable to our hearts at a moment like this. So in chapter 2 the prophet addresses himself to those set for the Lord's interests. "Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger". It reminds one of what the Lord says to Philadelphia, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth". The remnant in the prophet's day were preserved -- hid -- under the hand of the Lord; we, on the other hand, are to be taken up out of the evil, those who are not earth-dwellers are to be taken away from the scene of judgment.

So, referring again to our scripture in Zephaniah, we have the Lord's promise of support to the "meek of the land", then it says, "Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant". I think it is important to see the Lord taking account in this way of the public thing which

professes His Name. He speaks to Canaan, the territory which belonged to Israel by rights, and calls their land "land of the Philistines". The Philistines had come up and spoilt everything, but we find from the following verses that a remnant is preserved in the midst of it all. "And the sea coast", it says, "shall be cave-dwellings for shepherds, and folds for flocks. And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereon ... for Jehovah their God shall visit them, and turn again their captivity". This is a very encouraging word for our hearts.

We have been saying that the Lord's people are here as a feeble folk occupying the outside place, just the coastline, as we may say, and yet they have a place for "cave-dwellings for shepherds, and folds for flocks".

How happy to contemplate this people little on earth but wise, pursuing together what is of value to Christ, looking after the food and cherishing all that is divine in character, and although unseen and of no account in the world, feeding and lying down together in their 'coastline', none daring to make them afraid! Is it not so, is this not our portion at the moment? If we think of what we are in this scene, we can be taken and crushed as the spider (Proverbs 30:28, Authorised Version), but under the hand of God we have been brought together in brotherly love, and we have our shepherds, all under the chief Shepherd, who cares for His burdened people and affords them pasture at

all times. One's desire would be to take full advantage of this provision.

Ealing, 2 August 1919 [1 of 2].

WHAT PREPARES ME FOR ACTION

J. B. Stoney

Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and our daily course is to be simply the expression of Him as He was here. It is not to be premeditation how we shall act on a given occasion, but seeking to have Him so dwelling at home in our hearts by faith, that we may act in our small circumstances as He has acted in opening out the path for us. When we premeditate how we shall act, it is our reputation which is before us; but when we are filled with His company, and the influence of it, we in His Spirit bear ourselves acceptably to Him towards those we have to do with, and there is consolation from the affections of Christ awakened by intercourse and communion; and when we meet with enmity and opposition, then there is a fuller sense of refuge in Him: He is "a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10).

There is something very grand in the daily history of a saint. He knows nothing of the peculiar tactics of the foe for the day; he cannot, as in modern warfare, survey in a balloon the disposition of the enemy's forces; but without knowing from what quarter the force attack may come, he is to be ready on every side, and he goes forth like the sun to run

his course, resisting all evil, and contributing good on every hand; and, if abiding in Christ, he is well qualified to do so. He is not watching the enemy to see what he must provide, but he is cultivating the company of Christ in his heart by faith, and then he is prepared for every assault. The company of the One most loved and valued is the only military exercise for him. It is when the heart is most fully at rest that the hand is most skilful to shelter a friend or to confound a foe, and so when I know the rest of Christ dwelling in my heart, His strength is ministered through me according as the demand is made.

Are you premeditating how you will act, going through drill and sword exercise in order to be up to the mark? or are you entertaining Christ as a guest in your heart, and therefore provided with His grace on every side? What a difference! In the one case, your heart is satisfied in its deepest enjoyments, because occupied with the Guest that commands the fullest circle of them; in the other, you are in a state of suspense, at best occupied with the demand which is made on you, rather than with the strength of Him who would enable you to meet all demands.

Ministry by J. B. Stoney, Volume 12, pages 44, 45.

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S VOICE

R. E. Fielder

2 Samuel 23:1 - 5; Acts 13:1 - 4; 1 Timothy 3:14 - 16; 1 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 22:16,17

The blessed Spirit of God delights to draw attention to the voice of Jesus. The Lord says, "I stand at the door and am knocking" (Revelation 3:20). He stations Himself at the door and He remains knocking, but He says, "if any one hear my voice and open the door". You can safely open the door to Him as you hear His voice in all its sweetness and attractiveness. The Spirit would say to any one of us, or to all of us, or maybe to one of the children or young people here today, Listen to the voice of Jesus; open the door and let Him in. You will never regret it. It will make way for peace in your soul, for peace with God, and prepare you to receive God's gift of the blessed Spirit, the enjoyment of sonship, and an under-standing of what it is to have part in the assembly, which means so much to His heart. The Spirit of God loves to draw attention to Jesus.

We have read of the last words of David. He lived in a previous dispensation to ours, but makes this remarkable reference to the service of the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, And his word was on my tongue". Have you ever thought about your tongue? Read the epistle of James and you will see what the tongue is. You will see what harm it can do, and concerning that James says, "It is not right, my brethren, that these things should be thus" (chapter 3: 10). We should make room for the

Spirit of God to speak by us, and for His word to be on our tongue. It says of one woman in Scripture that "upon her tongue is the law of kindness" (Proverbs 31:26). It is a small member of the body, and it can do great harm, but it can also do much good.

What was it that the Spirit of God was drawing David's attention to, and causing him to speak of? It was Christ, it was Jesus. He says, "The ruler among men shall be just". As you think of the Person of the Lord Jesus, you might say, Is He the Ruler among men? Yes, He has that right, and soon the universe will experience it. Is He the Ruler among His people now? The "king in Jeshurun" (Deuteronomy 33:5), typically, places Him among His upright people. Our safety and blessing lies in giving Him that place.

In Mark 12:36 the Lord says, "for David himself said speaking in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I put thine enemies as footstool of thy feet". He makes the point there that David was speaking in the Holy Spirit, confirming what David says, "The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, And his word was on my tongue". We know too that David wrote many of the psalms, and we read about one of the psalms, "even as says the Holy Spirit, Today if ye will hear his voice" (Hebrews 3:7). You might say therefore that Psalm 95 was written by the Holy Spirit, as was all holy Scripture, and David refers to the Spirit speaking by him and that "his word was on my tongue". And so the Spirit delights to draw attention to Jesus, the Man that has been raised up on high. How glorious Christ is! It

says, "for the Spirit was not yet, for Jesus had not yet been glorified" (John 7:39). How well the Spirit knows those glories. Paul says of God and the saints, "but whom he has justified, these also he has glorified" (Romans 8:30). You cannot really think of people being glorified by the gift of the Holy Spirit until Jesus Himself was glorified on high. But He is there at God's right hand, received up in glory, and the Spirit has come to draw attention to the Man that is there, and to attract our hearts to the place that He fills.

David speaks of these wonderful things in his last words. I would encourage those of us who are younger to pay careful attention to what our beloved aged brethren have to say about the Lord. David stresses that these are his last words; they are complete in that sense, and he speaks of the king. Jacob, at the end of his life, blessed the people in their responsibility, and Moses blessed the people too. David does not mention the people; he just speaks of the king. What a wonderful tribute this is, looking on to the incoming of Christ Himself. And the older brethren should have this to offer in what they say, and in how they pray too. Again, it is written, "The prayers of David ... are ended" (Psalm 72:20). One interesting point that David makes shows his interest in, and desire for the maintenance of, the service of God. In fact it is attributable to David that younger persons were to have part in the service of God. It says, in 1 Chronicles 23:27, "For by the last words of David was this done, -- the

numbering of the sons of Levi from twenty years old and upward". David brought forward younger persons into the praises that ascend to God, he made it available to them, and I believe that is a feature of the closing days of this dispensation that younger men and women are needed, fully committed to the Lord and for the service of God. It is helpful to listen to someone like David, and his last words, and to some of the aged saints here today, who have years of experience with God, who have been through much soul exercise, but have been sustained through it by the blessed Spirit Himself. We may benefit from hearing their testimony as to how divine Persons have guided them through their pathways.

With what freshness and loveliness David speaks: "The green grass springeth from the earth". We read in the Song of Songs of flowers appearing, the fragrance of the vine, and the mellowing of the winter figs (chapter 2: 12, 13). These are things that, unless you pause and meditate upon them, you might miss. But the Spirit of God would speak and alert us as to the blessedness and sweetness of all that God is doing in our day. What a wonderful Person the blessed Spirit of God is, and He uses persons through whom He can speak, and who can act. The Spirit came at Pentecost in order to fill persons who love the Lord, who are His sheep and who hear His voice and follow Him.

In Acts 13 we have that remarkable reference to the sovereign acting of the blessed Spirit. We are told that "the disciples were first called Christians in

Antioch" (Acts 11:26). Do you know what a Christian is? It is the word 'Christ' with 'ian' on the end of it. Somebody once said to me that that means Christ is everything, and the 'ian' stands for 'I am nothing'. That is, a Christian is one to whom Christ is everything, and this was surely true of the company at Antioch. It says, "there were in Antioch, in the assembly which was there". The Spirit loves to draw attention to that word "in the assembly". Do not let us be afraid of it in connection with our local gatherings, marked perhaps by outward weakness, and subjected to the mockery of the world, for there is something in them in which the Spirit can operate for blessing. It says, "as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them".

Saul had been on the way to Damascus and sovereignly the Lord had spoken to him from heaven, brought him right down with a light that he described increasingly bright the more he thought and spoke about it, a light above the shining of the noonday sun (Acts 26:13), and a voice, the voice of Jesus, "why persecutest thou me?" (verse 14). How often the Lord raises a challenge with us, Give me to drink; or, Why persecutest thou Me? It is in order that our hearts might be wholly secured for Himself, as Saul's was. He quickly responded, and although able to speak of himself as the chief of sinners -- "of whom I am the first" (1 Timothy 1:15) -- how committed he became as answering to the Lord's

call. He says, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). Do not be disobedient; harden not your heart, but commit yourself also. Saul then heard Ananias speaking to him, and received the Holy Spirit as a gift from God.

Now the time comes when the Spirit acts sovereignly in relation to the company. Saul answered the divine call when alone, but in Acts 13 the Spirit calls when Saul is in relation to a company, and two are chosen, Barnabas and Saul. It is not the church sending out missionaries, it is "the work to which I" (the Spirit) "have called them". And the company blessed what the Spirit was doing. I desire to encourage our hearts, having proved it locally, in relation to a matter raised in the care meeting. We were not united as to the Lord's mind in relation to it, so we left it and made it a matter of prayer. It was, per-haps, a simple matter, but when we came together again, we were of one mind. We had an impression that "the Holy Spirit said", and we bowed to it, as this local company did: "having fasted and prayed, and having laid their hands on them, they let them go"; and still, under the control of the Spirit, it says of them, "having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit".

What is it that Paul speaks of in this service to which the Spirit called them? It is interesting that he speaks of David, one who, previously, as we have seen, was moved by the Spirit of God to speak. He speaks of how God says, "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will. Of this man's seed according to promise has

God brought to Israel a Saviour" (verses 22, 23). And Paul also speaks of "David indeed, having in his own generation ministered to the will of God" (verse 36), or as footnote h says, Or, 'having served his own generation by the will of God'. But, as this chapter unfolds, persons raised up a persecution against Barnabas and Saul. Were they downcast? Were they disheartened? Did they let the fierce attack of the enemy divert them, or throw them off course? Not at all -- it says in the last verse, "the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit" (verse 52). May we make more room for the blessed Spirit. He makes our glad hearts rejoice, as we were singing.

In Timothy we have wonderful truth unfolded as to how "one ought to conduct oneself in God's house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth". And Paul then gives us that remarkable verse as to "the mystery of piety". In the sovereign ways of God, and in His mercy, wonderful truth has been made available to us. We need to give thanks for what we have received, and to value it more. And we need, I suggest, to acquaint ourselves more with the truth, to make it our own, and get it into our hearts. And this wonderful verse opens up the mystery of piety in the way God has been manifested, and in the Person of the Son who "has been received up in glory", and immediately it says, "But the Spirit speaks expressly". The Spirit loves to bring before us the Person of Christ and His glory; He loves to announce to us what is shortly to come. But He also "speaks expressly" in relation to

our need to be kept in a path that is right and pure. It says, "in latter times" -- we are in those times now.

In 2 Samuel 23, in his last words David speaks of men of Belial that "cannot be taken with hands" and of weapons that meet the attack: "iron and the shaft of a spear" (verses 6, 7). It is like Paul speaking of the armour and "the sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17). We read about the wonderful springtime into which the Lord invites us to come with Himself, but amongst those verses it says, "Take us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vineyards, For our vineyards are in bloom" (Song of Songs 2:15). Would we let anything spoil our vineyards? The vineyards are the Lord's, you might say; but He encourages us to take account of what we have in our local gathering as being ours -- His and ours -- and to work with Him in relation to it, and small matters can arise there and they may do much damage. Think of how the Lord had referred to the attractiveness of the fragrance of the bloom of the vineyards, and yet how easily that can be spoiled. And so "the Spirit speaks expressly". Let us be on our guard as to the things that could divert us, and could cause the spoiling of what is here for the Lord. The Spirit is speaking expressly, and in detail Paul speaks of things that could come in -- terrible things -- and what ruination the allowance of any of these would cause. But the Spirit loves to go on to what is good, and He says, "every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, being received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by

God's word and freely addressing him". That is the positive line that the Spirit loves to bring home to us.

In Revelation 22 we have the Spirit still speaking. Where is the bride at this point? Submerged in the world? Is everything testimonially totally broken up? No. There is a living voice, and it speaks in unison with the blessed Spirit Himself. The Spirit says, Come. And the bride says, Come. And I believe they say 'Come' together: "The Spirit and the bride say, Come". The sovereign right of the Spirit of God Himself to speak is maintained to the end of the dispensation. It has been said that perhaps there is no other scripture that places the saints so near to the Spirit. Oh! you say, What breakdown there is publicly. Yes, and is it not sad? Then it says, "And let him that hears say, Come". It is those that are fit to cry with the Spirit that will say, Come. And then you look around and you think, Here is a brother who is not really in the good of these things, and you encourage him to say, Come. And another is unhappy, and you say to him, "let him that is athirst come". And then, it is often said, We are not evangelical enough. But you can go out into the length and the breadth of this world at the present time, just before the Lord returns, and you can say, "he that will, let him take the water of life freely". There is much that is open to a true heart to be doing. I think this wondrous cry of the Spirit and the bride saying, Come, relates to the rapture, but has also in view the appearing of the Lord, whose rights here are denied publicly. What rights He has in

Burghead, and in every place, and as we make way for Him we surely should be among those who love His appearing. We are looking for the day when He takes up His rights: "The ruler among men shall be just, Ruling in the fear of God". David had in view the kingdom and its setting up with Christ as the Head and Centre. In speaking to Pilate, the Lord took account of the time, and He speaks the verse that was such a help to persons that had to face matters of conscience (as to taking up arms) in relation to two World Wars. He says, "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my servants had fought that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from hence" (John 18:36). Soon He is going to reign over this earth, King of kings and Lord of Lords. We are looking forward to the time when He will take up His rights. And in longing for that day, the Spirit and the bride can say, Come.

May our hearts be stirred in relation to what the Spirit is doing and saying, and may we in unison with the Spirit of God say, Come, to Jesus. Also, may we see that the Spirit would engage our hearts with the prospect of the Lord coming to us at the Supper on the morrow, if it be His will. May we make greater room for the Spirit to speak, and be available for Him to use in whatever way He wills. Let us be more dependent upon Him, and more restful in relation to what He is going to bring through to the eternal praise and glory of God. Well, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the

saints", is the closing verse of this precious book. May our hearts be encouraged, and may the Lord bless the word, for His Name's sake.

Burghead, 17 August 1996.

CHRIST AS SPEAKER

J. Taylor

Matthew 17:3 - 5; John 17:26

All these testimonies pointed to Him personally. Noah spoke, Isaac spoke, Jacob spoke, Moses spoke, and David spoke, but none of them spoke about the Father. You get testimony rendered to many things, but the appearance of the Son was needed so that men should hear about the Father.

I just wish to dwell upon that for a moment in closing. The Father was there in the cloud in Matthew 17, indicating that He had a place of abode. He calls attention to the Son: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight; hear him". Now all I would hope for is that your heart would be interested in the Son. One finds that believers are interested if you speak of government, or blessing, or responsibility, or the kingdom, but when you come to the ground of divine relationships, and the abode of divine Persons, one has to admit that the interest weakens. But these last mentioned should interest us most, for they involve the peculiar privileges of the assembly. What these men of faith had to say they had to say to a people that did not know the heavenly calling. Now it seems to me that the Spirit of God

would speak to our hearts as to the full height of the calling of the assembly. It remained for the appearing of the Son so that the full thought of God should be made known. The Father says, Hear Him. "This is my beloved Son ... hear him". Now Moses had said a great deal, and also Elias; they were both great men, but the Father indicated that there was a greater Speaker, and hence that there was more to say, and that is what I would endeavour to impress upon you.

The Holy Spirit would lead us to listen to Christ, and therefore I read the closing verse of John 17, because I take it as conveying to us the very highest part of what the Lord had to say. Beginning to speak publicly, the Lord said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" (Luke 4:18). He stood up in the synagogue to read, and having read the roll from the prophet Esaias He gave it the attendant, and the eyes of all that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him. There was the Man of God's pleasure. The Spirit of God was upon Him, and He was about to speak on the part of God. He proceeds: "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears". And what do you get next? It says, "They wondered at the words of grace which were coming out of his mouth" (verses 21,22). That gives you an idea of the kind of Speaker that Christ was. They marvelled. Not exactly at what He said, but at the way He said it. He was the Speaker. What is recorded in John 17 was spoken to His Father. In the chapters immediately preceding He had been breathing out His closing words to the

disciples, and now He turns to the Father about them, and in His closing sentence to Him He discloses substantially all that gave character to His life. In that closing sentence to His Father He gives expression substantially to what, in a sense, marked the whole of His ministry: "I have made known to them thy name". How much does that cover? It covers, we may say, that ministry of which the apostle John tells us. He says, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written" (chapter 21:25). The infinite magnitude of the ministry of Christ is traced by the beloved disciple in these words. He had listened to Christ and had seen His deeds, and his estimate is, that if all were written the world itself could not contain the books. Have you such an estimate of Christ? It is the estimate of one who loved Him and had witnessed His words and works. It was not a revelation, but John's own estimate of Christ and His ministry. There was one man that had a true estimate of Christ's ministry. That ministry could not be other than infinite, for in it the Father's name was declared. "I have made known to them thy name". The name of the Father! Is not that infinite? Yet it is declared so as to be apprehended and enjoyed by us.

In coming out to speak, the Lord took up every moral question, and nothing could be added to what He had to say on any point; but the declaration of the Father's name was in a special way to the disciples.

Here it is covered in one sentence. I spoke about others; their whole ministry and all that they stood for being contained in their last words. Here Christ's ministry is put into that short sentence, and yet it was infinite! Now who could do that but the Son? The Lord had brought the Father into the light. The Son had made the Father known. Moses and David spoke according to their apprehension. No one could go beyond that. But the Lord is a divine Person, and He speaks in all the infinite knowledge that He possesses of the Father.

Now what was it that characterised Christ here upon earth? He says, "He that has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). He had brought into evidence what God was. He had presented Him here before men in His words and works. He presented Him so perfectly that He could speak of Himself in that way -- "He that has seen me has seen the Father". The testimony was perfectly presented. But then He had instructed the disciples. The testimony of the Father was public. He was publicly the presentation of the Father to Israel, and the result was that He had to say, "Now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father" (John 15:24). That was their estimate of Him. But then there were the disciples, and I trust that we are all in that position. We are disciples of Christ, and it is to disciples He makes known the Father's name. Now I do not know whether you have dwelt on the Father's name, but it signifies what the Father cherishes, what His renown is. That which specially represents the Father's heart

is embodied in His name. All that was opened out and made known to the disciples. Christ opened it up in His ministry to the disciples. They listened to Him. I think Mary of Bethany may be taken to be representative of the disciples. Whatever else may have marked them, they were attentive to Christ. I would press on everybody here the importance of paying attention to Christ. We are living in days when the commandments of Christ are being transgressed. They are being transgressed by His people and therefore the importance of paying attention to what He has to say, and I take it that Mary of Bethany represents that element in the disciples. She sat at His feet and heard His word. What do you think He told her?

Suppose you open your ear to Christ, what will He speak to you about? He will speak about the very greatest things. If you require forgiveness He will tell you all about that. If you need the Spirit He will give you the Spirit, but when your responsibility is met and you are free, He will tell you about the Father. He will open up the Father's heart and the Father's things to you. He will tell you all about what is inside that bright cloud. That is what He did for the disciples. "I have made known to them thy name". What for? "That the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them". How little Peter understood that on the mount. To think that what was in God's mind was that that voice should actually have application in the principle of it to Peter. That Peter should be to the pleasure of God

as in identification with Christ. Still there was nothing less in God's mind. God had expressed His delight in His beloved Son; and Peter and the others were sons, and so they were to be for God's pleasure. The love wherewith the Father loved Him should be in them, and He in them. Did it ever occur to you that the Lord Jesus seeks to have a place in your heart? He does. It may be the world has got a place there -- some ideal, some object, but the Lord wants a place in your heart, and to that end He opens up to you the Father's name. The Father's name made known, the love of the Father is known in the heart, and the next thing is, that there will be a place in your heart for the Son. Then you will become a speaker -- you will speak of Christ.

I refer for a moment to Psalm 45. The psalmist says, "My heart is inditing a good matter" (verse 1, Authorised Version). I do not know whether you have considered the word that is here translated, "inditing". It is a remarkable word. It means to spring or bubble, as you will notice in the margin. The heart was spontaneously welling up a good matter. Now what was the good matter? "I speak of the things which I have made touching the king". And then he proceeds to enlarge on the beauty of the King. So I think as we apprehend Christ in that light, as the Speaker, we cannot fail to speak about Him. He is not here on earth now to speak, but I think we should bear in mind that the Holy Spirit came in the character of cloven tongues (Acts 2:3, Authorised Version). What I understand by that is that the Lord Jesus Christ intended to

speak. He intended to speak everywhere. I think we should bear in mind that if God has given to us a tongue He has given it to us for a purpose, and that purpose is to speak of Christ. The psalmist says, "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer". It was the ready member to convey that which the heart welled up by the Spirit. God grant that as the subject of divine speaking has been engaging us, we may not be slow to speak about divine Persons and divine things. As unconverted, you remember what your tongue was engaged in: "With their tongues they have used deceit" (Romans 3:13). But now as under the power of the Spirit, these members are converted into vehicles for making known Christ, and the things of Christ. May God use these thoughts in that direction!

Ministry by J. Taylor, Toronto, 1908. Volume 2, pages 123 - 128 [2 of 2].

THE DESIRES OF CHRIST FOR HIS OWN

R. Dunn

John 17:10 - 26; Revelation 3:7 - 13; Zephaniah 2:3 - 8; Zephaniah 3:8 - 20

Now, in Zephaniah 3 the prophet gives a word to support the people in the midst of trying conditions. "Wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to assemble the nations, that I may gather the kingdoms together, to pour upon them mine indignation, -- all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language". I should like to ask,

What is our language today, what do we converse about when together? The Lord says He will "turn to the peoples a pure language". It raises the question of what forms the subject of our conversation.

The communion of saints is very sweet, but first of all, let us see to it that our communion is with Christ. We want to get near to His heart, the heart of that blessed One who could express Himself in John 17 in such tender regard for His own. Let us get near to Him and learn what His desires are for His people, then we shall have something to talk about when together. We shall speak a pure language then, for all the graces and virtues of Christ and every precious thought brought to light in regard to Him will be the subject of our conversation. In the beginning of Luke it says, "in the whole hill-country of Judaea all these things were the subject of conversation" (chapter 1: 65). That is a pure language.

Then the word in Zephaniah proceeds, "that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent". One would desire that this "one consent" might be more evident among us, that, our hearts being taken up with Christ, we might move happily together. "Draw me, we will run after thee", the word says (Song of Songs 1:4). Brethren, let us serve Him with one consent.

"From beyond the rivers of Cush my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine oblation". God has not forgotten the exercises and prayers of saints; all the supplications of His people are to be remembered. Think how morally beautiful

are all these features as seen in the remnant, speaking in this pure language, serving with one consent; and going on in supplication and prayers in the interests of the Lord.

"I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of Jehovah". Are we content that this should be our lot at the moment? that we should be left here in the midst of Christendom where the Philistine seems to have secured everything, small and lightly esteemed and hated by the world, but pursuing what is dear to Christ with one consent? And what does the prophet go on to say? "The remnant of Israel shall not work unrighteousness, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid". This is our present portion if we go in for it.

It is a day when we are called upon to stand for the truth, and you get the setting forth of the truth in this "afflicted and poor people" who shall not do iniquity nor speak lies. These are the features we see in Philadelphia. "Thou ... hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name" (Revelation 3:8). What the Lord can recognise is that everything is cherished in Philadelphia. All that was brought to light when Christ came here, all that came out in the epistles, and every bit of light ministered to us at any time has been valued and maintained by the church viewed from this standpoint. And now what does the Lord say by the prophet? "They shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid". If only we were

set for it, we should get all the good of all the truth.

The Lord would have us enjoying this feeding and lying down together, and that is not all. If found pursuing with brotherly affection and increased appreciation what is treasured in the heart of Christ, we shall be marked in the last days by the shout of a King among us. "Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; rejoice and be glad with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem". What is to mark us at the present moment is a ring of joy. There is everything to encourage us in a day like this; saints are getting food, shepherds are caring for us, there is much that is ministered in the power of the Spirit, and now the prophet says, as it were, 'Put your heart into it'. "The King of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of thee", he says; it is the shout of a King. He is mighty and He will see us through.

He "will save: he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will exult over thee with singing". The Lord is in the midst of His people that He may preserve them here for the pleasure of His own heart. "I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assemblies ... the reproach of it was a bur-den unto them". That is a word of comfort for those who care for the Lord's interests today. I will not for-get those who bear the burden of things, the Lord would remind us. To the broken-hearted who feel things and consider for God, He says, I shall gather you, I shall not forget the suffering and surrender you have faced in connection with the difficulties of the position. The prophet here reassures the remnant, "I

will deal with all them that afflict thee". Are you within in sympathy with what is engaging the hearts of saints, or without as an afflicter? Nothing is so discouraging as the critical spirit which stands without and complains. The Lord takes account of the sufferings of those who bear the reproach of the testimony, but He does not forget the lack of sympathy of those who stand aloof.

Then He goes on, "I will save her that halted". It is good to halt. Jacob was a halter, and it was said when he became crippled, "Therefore the children of Israel do not eat of the sinew that is over the joint of the thigh, to this day; because he touched the joint of Jacob's thigh -- the sinew" (Genesis 32:32). It was to be remembered among the children of Israel that Jacob was lamed, and that God has to lame a man to make use of him. He would have us all lamed in that sense, so that we move, not in our own energy and will, but in the spirit of the brother.

It is beautiful to see in this scripture in Zephaniah how the Spirit of God draws attention to features that are pleasurable to the Lord in that day, and brings them out for our encouragement. "I will ... gather her that was driven out". We were saying the people of God viewed in their conditions of weakness here are like the spider spoken of in Proverbs 30 -- liable to be crushed and driven out, but the Lord is mindful of us in this connection and says, I will gather them and get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. I just desired to bring before you the way the Lord loves to commit

Himself to those found in remnant times caring for His interests, the way He opens His heart in encouragement. Let not thy hands be slack, He says, I am observing everything and forgetting no-thing, and see what I am doing for you. As the hymn says, "Thy tender mercies still pursued" (Hymn 361). We are still able to encourage one another, and lie down together and feed, as sheep of His pasture. But, beloved friends, the Lord will soon have His prayer in John 17 answered. The day is very near, I believe, when He will remove us from this scene to the scene to which our hearts have already travelled.

If only our hearts were more in heaven, they would be less here. All sorts of inviting avenues are being opened up in the present day to allure the people of God from the place of being little and lightly esteemed, where they have the Lord's protection and confidence to allure them to the things of earth. But He is coming and then, as I said, His prayer will be fully answered and we shall be near Him to behold His glory, with adoring hearts surrounding Himself, occupying our own special place with Him, our souls meanwhile drinking in the blessedness of the realisation that the One who knew us in grace, and saved us below, and gave us to suffer for Him is now supreme where He is. And then will that word be fulfilled, "that the world may know that thou ... . hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (John 17:23).

Have you ever thought of it? Down here we are in the place of reproach, hated because Christ is

hated, the world knowing us not because it knew Him not, but in that day which is about to dawn, it will be manifested to the universe that the Father loves us. And further, the Lord's own love to His own will be publicly made known, as He says to Philadelphia, "I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that I have loved thee" (Revelation 3:9).

May He encourage us to get near to Him, so that we get to know something of the precious desires of His heart for His saints, as viewed apart from their responsibilities; and thus thinking of them according to Christ's love for them, we may be a comfort to one another and be supported in our souls by the consciousness that all is to issue in final triumph and that even now we have the shout of a King among us.

Ealing, 2 August 1919 [2 of 2].

TYPES OF THE CHURCH -- ASNATH

M. W. Biggs

Genesis 41:45 - 52

Asnath is a type of the church as associated with Christ, who is in a place of great glory, the great antitype of Joseph, who was the revealer of secrets and the prince of the power of the life of the world. God gives us in Joseph a remarkable type of Christ as the one who has been rejected by his Jewish brethren and has become great among the Gentiles. Joseph was also the one whose God-given wisdom saved the world. Secrets were revealed and dreams

interpreted by him. His sufferings came first and then his glory. It was not, however, in the days of suffering that he had his bride, but in the days of his glory.

From the names given by Joseph to his children, we may see how greatly comforted he was by his wife in regard of his previous experiences of sorrow. His father's house is forgotten in the sense of his new relationship, and fruitfulness succeeds his time of affliction. It is wonderful that God should so long ago have given a history that affords such precious instructions as to Christ and the church.

In the history of Abigail we learn how we may cast in our lot with a rejected Christ in deep appreciation of His worthiness as the Anointed who fights Jehovah's battles. In Leah we see how, though outwardly of poor account, the exercises of our hearts through the Holy Spirit's teaching lead us to walk here in the dignity of sons, conscious that we are heard of God. We see, too, how Christ's heart is knit to us as in devotedness we take up His interests here, and the result of our experiences is praise to God. But in Asnath a further exercise is suggested, namely, how we can so be for Christ in the time of His rejection by Israel that His heart is comforted and His sorrow has answer in corresponding fruit. The doctrine relating to this feature of the assembly is more particularly developed in the epistle to the Colossians. The mystery in that epistle is not viewed as in Ephesians (Jew and Gentile in one body), but is said to be Christ among the Gentiles (chapter 1: 27).

Christ's Jewish brethren seem forgotten, as it were. Indeed, the only reference to the former order of things is to show how entirely all is set aside (chapter 2: 14 - 23).

How really Christ fills out in living reality, and substance the outline and shadows seen in Joseph's history, sustaining all things by the word of His power, and the Head in whom all fulness dwells. The way in which we practically take up our place in the assembly as the antitype of Asnath is by appreciating the traits I have alluded to as set forth in Christ Himself.

If His father's house according to the flesh is forgotten, He says to us as it were, "forget thine own people, and thy father's house" (Psalm 45:10, 11). How very little we appreciate what the cutting off of Christ meant: the city of the great king to be destroyed; His people to be scattered whom He would have gathered as a hen its brood; the glories of Messiah and the promises all for the time set aside, and praise to be silent in Israel! And how the Lord felt all this! "The things concerning me have an end" (Luke 22:37), He said. Hence He said to Mary Magdalene, "Touch me not" (John 20:17). The little remnant on their way to Galilee He allowed to touch Him (Matthew 28:9); for He will yet have these links with His earthly people in another day. But He would not let Mary touch Him. Those links with His father's house according to the flesh were to be broken.

If such is the Lord's position, can ours be

different? Can affection cling to earth if His life is taken from the earth? Does not the attitude of the Ethiopian in Acts 8 show us the spirit which should mark us? Returning from Jerusalem, the place of the scripture which he read was this, "his life is taken from the earth"; and he inquires of Philip, "What hinders my being baptised?" as much as to say, If Jesus' life was taken from the earth, why should not I go too? Baptism here suggests more than it does in Acts 2. In Acts 2 it meant salvation from the world that had crucified Christ, but in Acts 8 it involves the recognition that Christ's life is taken from the earth. In this respect it resembles the line of teaching given in the epistle to the Colossians.

'Then from this sad and sorrowful land,
From the land of tears He departed:
But the light of His eyes and the touch of His hand
Has left me broken-hearted.

And where He died would I also die,
Far dearer a grave beside Him,
Than a kingly place amongst living men,
The place which they denied Him'.

Our hearts are not left with a blank, however. If what we were linked with according to the flesh is to be forgotten, there is the circle of which Christ is the Centre where we may find our life. We learn that we have passed out of death into life "because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). It is wonderful to a

degree that while actually here we may in our mind and affection pass out of death into life. The world with its ambition, hopes and social circles is a region of death. The christian circle is in contrast to this. While found on earth it is morally and spiritually a region of resurrection. The death of Christ stands between the two regions. He has literally left the one circle -- this world into which He came -- and has through His death and resurrection formed another circle. And the believer may follow Him in his mind and affection.

The case of Lazarus in John 12 very beautifully illustrates this. As to the one circle we could say he was a dead man, as to the other he had been raised from the dead and was in the company of Christ and His own; he was one of those who sat at the table with Jesus. The sorrow of John 11 found its compensation in figure in the circle of John 12. This was some of the much fruit referred to later on in John 12. The corn of wheat was about to fall into the ground and die and to bring forth much fruit. In sample this is the first company of the "much fruit". The Lord's sorrow had its answering joy.

Is it possible then, dear reader, that we can afford this joy to the Lord? Can we in any measure spiritually be to the Lord what Asnath naturally was to Joseph? How great such a privilege! Yes, beloved reader, it is possible! As in affection we take up our place in this living circle, we gratify the heart of Christ. There are, alas! often hindrances on our side that prevent us doing this. We are not always

prepared to forget our father's house; qualities we may possess on that line are sometimes jealously clung to. The natural circle may not have been superseded for us; we may not have accepted the meaning of our baptism as involved in Colossians 2 -- the cutting off of Christ may not have been understood.

What a difference learning the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ made to the two going to Emmaus! Their hearts were filled with sorrow and disappointment as they thought of what might have been in connection with Messiah on earth, and they were returning to their natural circle in the country. The Lord skilfully touched their hearts, and the result was that they left their natural circle and journeyed back to Jerusalem to find the circle of those who loved the Lord. How gratified the Lord must have been to have seen them there. How amazed and glad they must have been to have seen Him! His touch had so recently unfolded to them the meaning of His death and resurrection, and His priestly grace had set their souls in movement. This was real fruit to the Lord; He was fruitful in the land of His affliction. The Spirit of God can speak of the saints in the epistle to the Colossians in language that was first used of Christ: "the elect of God, holy and beloved" (chapter 3:12). And the traits of Christ are secured in living energy in those who have been quickened together with Him. What grace that we should live with Him!

The Lord give us to accept the meaning of His

death and resurrection, and thus learn to take up our place in the assembly as the antitype of Asnath.

The Believer's Friend, 1926, pages 208 - 214.

HOW PETER AND PAUL CONTEMPLATED DEPARTURE

C. A. Coates

2 Peter 1:13 - 18; 2 Timothy 4:6, 7; 1 John 3:2, 3

These scriptures came before me as showing that the great servants of the Lord -- Peter and Paul -- contemplated departure by way of death from the scene of their service and testimony.

Peter speaks of putting off his tabernacle, and in doing so he is concerned that what had been carried in that tabernacle was so precious that it should be transmitted to others, that it might be carried on by them in this present tabernacle condition. Peter uses the word tabernacle in connection with his body being about to be put off in death, showing that his thoughts reverted to that moment in his history when on the holy mount in presence of the glorifying of the Son of God. He proposed at that time to make three tabernacles, and his thought was in measure right; he thought that the glory seen by them should be retained here; but he was wrong in thinking that Moses and Elias should be on a level with Jesus; but the three disciples on the mount were intended to be tabernacles themselves. For a number of years Peter's natural body had been the tabernacle in which what he had seen on the mount was enshrined. It was

held in that frail tabernacle as precious as the golden vessels in the tabernacle of old. Believers today, in weak tabernacle conditions, contain such living things, and wonderful things have been carried in the tabernacle that is before us today. His tabernacle has been put off and there is going to be a worthy shrine provided soon, "a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5:1). At the present moment the testimony of the glory of Christ, the Son of God, is to be carried; and one who has carried in his heart that testimony, when he puts off his tabernacle, lays an obligation on us to carry on in testimony.

Paul thinks too of departure, he speaks of being ready to be poured out, of having finished his course in the same spirit in which he began -- a sacrifice, a spiritual drink-offering -- poured out in devotion to the Son of God. Now, he says, my release has come. Beloved brethren, it is not a wrong thought to think of departure as release, it is a divine thought. As long as we are here, pressures continue which are connected with the groaning creation of which we form part, and there are deep exercises connected with the truth and testimony. It is a suffering time, and departure means release. Paul says, "the time of my release is come". We should entertain this aspect of departure -- the time of release. It is a word gathered from the thought of a ship loosed from its moorings. We are held by many things in present conditions; departure means release from every natural burden.

I should like to add a word as to John. John does not contemplate departure. Peter does and Paul does, but John gives the precious ministry that the children of God are in the present possession of eternal life and he does not speak of departure. The saints as in the possession of eternal life are not thinking of departure, but John tells us that we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is; that is John's attitude. May we know how to blend this threefold testimony in our souls in the power of the Spirit! It will not be unprofitable to us, and will lead to the glory and praise of the One who was seen on the holy mount.

May the Lord bless His word.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 33, pages 302 - 303.

DISCIPLINE AND EXERCISE

J. Revell

The presentation of a few thoughts on these two points may be to profit. Some suppose that chastening is punishment for faults, and with many, a brooding over sorrow, mingled it may be with a good deal of unbelief and distrust of God, is exercise. I think it can be shown that this is not the truth. I do not deny that there is punishment for faults. He on whom we call as Father judges according to every man's work without respect of persons, and therefore we are exhorted to fear (1 Peter 1:17). He is purposed that nothing shall pass unchallenged which is contrary to His calling of us, and of our calling upon Him. But even this is in love. It is divine love, boundless and eternal, which has

called us according to its purpose, and that even now gives to us the access in which we invoke Him. That love, therefore, is true to itself; though we, alas, may be untrue, and it rebukes whatever is inconsistent in us. But the thought which lies under the word chastisement is larger than this; it is the discipline which is continuous during our life here. From this there is no exception, for all are partakers of it. Though Christians may fail, and alas we do, yet the Scriptures do not count upon failure as though it were a natural thing.

Whereas, discipline is true of all, "if ye are without chastening ... then are ye bastards, and not sons" (Hebrews 12:8). The idea of discipline is found in the training of a child, to which the apostle alludes when he says, "we have had the fathers of our flesh as chasteners" (verse 9). A child is trained according to the position which it is to occupy in life, and is for the fitting it to fill that position suitably. Even so in our case, God in all His ways with His own has ever in view the end for which we are destined, and the discipline through which He passes us is with a view to our being morally fitted for the end.

Comfort, pages 72,73. 6 April 1900.

The above article was written by J. R. at the beginning of his last illness, on the date indicated, only four days before he departed to be with Christ. It is the last he wrote, and it is supposed that he intended to add more to it.

GOD'S PROVISION FOR LOCAL ASSEMBLIES

J. G. Frame

1 Corinthians 1:1 - 10; 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 26; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13, 24 - 27; 1 Corinthians 14:29 - 33; Revelation 22: 16, 17, 20, 21

I desire to speak, with the Lord's help, about local assemblies and how they are divinely furnished. God in His wisdom has seen fit to work out the truth of the assembly in localities, and He has given all that is needed in order that each locality might be able to work out the truth, ever having in mind the whole assembly. It is a great favour to have an appreciation in our souls of the greatness of the assembly to Christ and to God. This is the vessel in which God will tabernacle with men eternally, but which even now provides a place where God can dwell and where He can walk among His people.

It is good to begin with these exalted thoughts of the assembly. It is a heavenly vessel -- its origin and destiny are heavenly, and, beloved brethren, we, along with the myriads of saints who have received the Spirit, belong to that great vessel. It will be seen in a soon-coming day "coming down out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God" (Revelation 21:10).

In 1 Corinthians 1 we see that God intends to work out the great truth of the assembly in localities. We get many references in Scripture to local assemblies: "the assembly of God which is in Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2); "the assembly of Thessalonians in God the Father" (1 Thessalonians 1:1); "the

assembly in Ephesus" (Revelation 2:1), etc. And God has given in each local assembly what is needed for the working out of His thoughts. The assembly in Corinth was endowed with all that was necessary for the maintenance of divine principles in that locality, though not overlooking the general position: "with all that in every place".

The apostle begins with this exalted title, "the assembly of God which is in Corinth". When the Lord took up Paul and gave him the ministry of the assembly, the truth began to be worked out in local companies. Paul went to Corinth and found Priscilla and Aquila there, "and because they were of the same trade abode with them, and wrought. For they were tent-makers by trade" (Acts 18:3). It does not say he lodged with them because they were believers, but because they were tent-makers. Think of the lowly way God began to work in that great city of Corinth, a city noted for its fine architecture. Paul, as a wise architect, came in with God's plan.

Paul goes on to speak of "those sanctified in Christ Jesus". The apostle remained eighteen months in Corinth labouring among the saints. Paul later wrote this first epistle to them and he commences it by telling them how well equipped they were to work out what God had in mind in that place in regard of the truth of the assembly, as indeed in every locality.

We get instruction throughout this first epistle to the Corinthians as to what should characterise God's assembly, and we are told later that "God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the assemblies

of the saints" (chapter 14: 33). Doubtless, there was much with the saints in Corinth that needed to be adjusted, but Paul tells them that they were "called saints", saints by divine calling. What dignity belongs to the saints! We need to conduct ourselves "worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called" (Ephesians 4:1). The fellowship is one, and can be viewed in a local and in a general aspect.

"In everything", Paul says, "ye have been enriched in him". What need have we to go outside for anything else? We have everything in Christ, beloved. God has provided it there, and He would direct our attention to that glorious Man, and to all that is available here in the Spirit. God has wrought in order that His testimony should be confirmed in Corinth, where there were three classes of people: Jews, Greeks and the assembly of God. Paul labour-ed in order that in the assembly of God things would be maintained according to God, and that there might be in Corinth a testimony to His own work.

"Awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you to the end, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ". How complete were the thoughts of God regarding His people in Corinth, and such are His thoughts in regard of each of the localities in which God in His wisdom has set His people. He has set them there to work out this great truth. While we embrace one another in the bonds of holy love and affection, yet we are enabled, through God's grace, to work out what has been given to us in the Spirit. Paul later tells the Corinthian

saints to "recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord's commandment" (chapter 14: 37). We are not left to depend on human wisdom, or to work out things without resource, because later in this chapter we find the secret: "we preach Christ crucified, to Jews an offence, and to nations foolishness; but to those that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ God's power and God's wisdom" (verses 23, 24). There we see how God met the conditions in Corinth by bringing in Christ as His power and His wisdom.

"God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord". There is no fellowship like it, a dignified and holy fellowship. On our part it involves committal and fidelity to the fellowship wherever we are. What thoughts these are, beloved, to occupy our hearts with.

In 1 Corinthians 11 we see the Lord's supper set in the assembly. It is brought in in a corrective way in this epistle because the Corinthians were not going on rightly. Paul says, "When ye come therefore together into one place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper". They were eating their own supper; they were despising the assembly of God. Paul does not praise them here, but he says, "When ye come therefore together in assembly". The thought of assembling involves that we are set together intelligently and affectionately in relation to one another, and are able thus to lay hold of what God has in mind, and to profit from the instruction that is given.

Paul got the truth of the Supper from the Lord in

glory. He says, "I received from the Lord, that which I also delivered to you". We can understand that there would be no diminution in the way that Paul presented the truth. He had received it from the Lord and he had delivered it to the saints in a dignified and elevated way. The Lord had initiated the Supper against that dark background of the night in which He was delivered up. That should appeal to the affections of every lover of the Lord Jesus. We will gather together, if the Lord will, on the morrow to celebrate the Lord's supper and to remember Him. If there is one here that still is not remembering the Lord Jesus in the way that He has asked, then He would make a fresh appeal at this time to such, and to every heart that loves Him. If we love the Lord Jesus we will surely want to do what He has asked of us. The Lord Jesus was thinking of His own, and the effect His absence would have on them, in instituting the Supper, in order that they might be able to call Him to mind. It is a wonderful memorial and it is to be continued "until he come". May we have a fresh sense of the Lord's appeal at this time to every one of our hearts, that we might be found together united in regard to what He has asked us to do.

Paul reminds us of the simple and very profound manner in which the Lord "took bread, and having given thanks broke it, and said, This is my body, which is for you". Think of the Lord giving Himself up in this way; such sacrifice of love is intended to affect our hearts and cause them to be drawn after Himself so that He might have the supreme place in

our hearts. And, "In like manner also the cup ... This cup is the new covenant in my blood". It reminds us of how we have been purchased by precious blood, as Peter tells us, "not by ... silver or gold ... but by precious blood" (1 Peter 1:18, 19). The spirit of the new covenant is to be known in our souls as we drink into the cup.

I believe the Lord's supper is part of what has been provided for us in the time of the Lord's absence. Paul says, "For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come". May we be longing for that day when He will come into His rights, so long denied Him, and while waiting for Him, may we be carrying out this simple act of calling Him to mind. May all our hearts be affected by this appeal of love. Do not dismiss it. Do not set it aside. Let us, as true lovers of Him, seek to be acquainted with, and to do, all that He has commanded us. Each time we partake of the Supper, we "announce the death of the Lord". Persons may come into our rooms and witness the celebration of the Lord's supper. They may not understand what proceeds in the service of God in a spiritual way, but at least they can take account of persons who love the Lord and are here seeking to remember Him in the way that He has asked. Well, may we all be helped and encouraged in it.

In 1 Corinthians 12 it says, "the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ". Now I understand that "the Christ" is not Christ

personally, but the anointed vessel, the assembly. "The Christ" takes character from Himself. This epistle would help us to see how the assembly is convened, and how the Lord has considered for us even in regard to the Supper. We sometimes sing,

'Thy grace, O Lord, has furnished now
A blessed, calm retreat;
Thy saints assembled gladly bow,
And here Thyself would greet' (Hymn 326).

What a furnishing that is! Think of the dignity of the assembly as here to represent God in a scene where Christ has been cast out, and where He has been rejected.

Then Paul says, "in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bondmen or free". Those distinctions are to be set aside so that we can merge together, "baptised into one body" by the Spirit -- a perfect expression of what God has in mind. "And have all been given to drink of one Spirit". How unifying that would be! As drinking together into the greatness of what is conveyed in the one Spirit, there should be no diverse thoughts, no agreements to differ. As our wills are set aside, we will be satisfied. I think that is what brings about satisfaction in our souls. So that we need not look to the world for satisfaction, but be occupied with that which is to give pleasure to God. May we lay hold of the fact that we are to be here in this way as included in "the Christ", a vessel in which God may find His delight

and pleasure.

In the latter part of chapter 12, we have another provision: "God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to the part that lacked; that there might be no division in the body, but that the members might have the same concern one for another". God desires that the truth of the body be worked out in every local company of the saints, and it is seen in the exercise of care and concern for one another. There is much suffering among the saints, and this draws out affection for one another. There is one body; how precious that is! We form part of that one body, and therefore we cannot say that we can do without any member of the body -- all are necessary. That in itself gives us a stimulus to care for one another as belonging to this great vessel that is here to express Christ. Paul speaks of "the assembly, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:23).

Paul continues, "Now ye are Christ's body". He was addressing the Corinthian saints. It might have been said that there was much among them that was not in keeping with God's thoughts, but God is able to view things in an abstract way -- He would clothe them with His own thoughts. The next chapter shows how love would overcome every difficulty and enable us to be set together in the working out of the truth of the body.

"And if one member be glorified, all the members rejoice with it". There is to be no jealousy or spirit of rivalry, and we are to rejoice if a member is glorified.

These are part of the feelings that belong to the body in which Christ is to be expressed. These feelings permeate the whole epistle. There is no such thought as an independent assembly. We are linked together with one another and we are to have the same concern and care for one another. At the same time, we are able to work out exercises in our own localities with the wisdom and resource that God has afforded us.

Now in 1 Corinthians 14 we find another provision that God has made: prophetic speaking. "Whenever ye come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to edification" (1 Corinthians 14:26). That is what is to characterise God's assembly, and it says at the end of the chapter, "let all things be done comelily and with order" (verse 40). That is what is to characterise the assembly as here. And so Paul says, "let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge". Saints have been greatly helped in regard to meetings for prophetic ministry as making way for the word of God through prophets. "And spirits of prophets are subject to prophets" -- there is to be sensitiveness as we gather and wait upon God for His word, for it may come through one or another. Paul says, "ye can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all be encouraged". In the prophetic meeting, it is a question of bringing in edification and encouragement from God through His word. "For the word of God is living and operative" (Hebrews 4:12). Things are to be done for edification so that we can learn,

and be encouraged. It says, "let two or three prophets speak". We see how God in His wisdom has limited it to two or three. God has seen fit to limit it in this way to what is sufficient for each of us to take in as we come together on that occasion waiting upon the Lord, and upon the Spirit, that we might get God's mind in relation to any present need. How important that is that we should hear the prophetic word. It can come in on any occasion of gathering, of course, but I believe the meeting for prophetic ministry is part of the endowment which God has provided so that saints might learn and that they might be encouraged. How much we can learn of God's thoughts concerning the assembly as we hear His word.

In Revelation 22 the Lord Jesus says, "I Jesus have sent mine angel". There are myriads of angels "sent out for service on account of those who shall inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14). But this was a particular angel, it was the Lord's angel, "mine angel". It says in the opening of the book, "Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to shew to his bondmen what must shortly take place; and he signified it, sending by his angel, to his bondman John" (chapter 1: 1). "His angel" is the one by whom He would convey His mind to His people. John says, "I became in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea" (Revelation 1:10, 11). That

book was to be sent to each of the assemblies. Well, beloved, it is a challenge to us. Have we read that book? Have we attended to what is in it? Have we been affected by it? It is for every assembly. These seven assemblies are each mentioned individually as recipients of the book for their instruction and help.

The Lord Jesus makes this fresh appeal: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies". In the closing days of the dispensation, beloved, I think there will still be local assemblies because that is the way that God has taken in His wisdom to work out these great thoughts of His. And the Lord is testifying in the assemblies, "I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star". We often sing, 'The Star's in the sky' (Hymn 194), but I think the Star should be in our hearts, the Harbinger of the day, the One who brings in the day. It is the Lord Jesus Himself that we are looking for. Soon He will come to take all His own to be with Himself. And there is this characteristic answer even now, "the Spirit and the bride say, Come". I think that involves His appearing, when He will come into His rights, and will display to a wondering world all that God has effected in His saints. Again He says, "He that testifies these things says, Yea, I come quickly". The appeal here is that we might be with the Lord, and the Spirit, and saying, "come, Lord Jesus". May we be able indeed now to say, Come, to the Lord Jesus, for it would deliver us from things here, and keep our eyes ever looking towards that glorious day when He will appear and

we shall be with Him eternally. May God bless these thoughts to us, and give us to know and value the furnishings which God has given to His people in these last and closing days of the assembly's sojourn here.

Warrenpoint, 26 April 1997.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER OUT OF A PURE HEART FERVENTLY

J. Mason

1 Peter 1:22 - 25; 1 Peter 3:8 - 12; 1 Peter 4:7 - 11

I want to speak of what Peter says to us as brethren. I suppose we all have a kind of fondness for Peter, because a good deal of his history is recorded for us and provides much help, practical comfort and encouragement, and correction, too. He was a great lover of the brethren, just as John was, and Paul, and all the apostles. The Lord would not have commissioned an apostle after His resurrection if he was not a lover of the brethren, and coming down to our lesser service in these days, the Lord looks for it in all those who serve His people, that they are lovers of the brethren.

You remember how in John 21 when the Lord probed Peter three times about his attachment to Him, every time Peter answered, the Lord referred him to the brethren. First of all He said, "Feed my lambs" (verse 15); then He said, "Shepherd my sheep" (verse 16), and finally He said, "Feed my sheep" (verse 17). All those services, dear brethren, are the services of those

who love the brethren. So Peter is well qualified to speak to us about our love for one another. That is what I want to speak about particularly, the way Peter enjoined others, as he says here, to "love one another out of a pure heart fervently". There will not be much for Christ in these days if brethren are not found loving one another out of a pure heart fervently. We were talking about revival. When the revival comes in towards the end of church history in Revelation 3, it is in a place the name of which means 'brotherly love' -- Philadelphia. So that is what has happened in the last days. Saints have been attached to Christ by the Spirit, and as that attachment grows and becomes more fervent, they become more attached to one another and learn together to maintain what is for Christ and for God's pleasure.

So Peter is telling us to be on that line. He says here in chapter 1, "Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth to unfeigned brotherly love, love one another out of a pure heart fervently". We have, I trust, become obedient to the truth. That is how our souls are purified and it leads to unfeigned brotherly love. That is what we need; not just a pretext, nor something that is only displayed from time to time, but something that is continued and which goes through every kind of circumstance. Brethren find, in these days when the enemy has attacked and is attacking so much, that we get comfort in unfeigned brotherly love. Through it we become a support to one another in relation to what is for Christ and for God, and that flows out of what we

might call the new nature. That is what he says here: "being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the living and abiding word of God".

These affections then are the product of the divine work, not just that we have natural affinities, that I like so-and-so and am attached to him or her, but that we have spiritual affinities. They are the affections of persons who have been born again "by the living and abiding word of God". What a great thought it is, dear brethren, that God has operated like this by His word so that something now has come into view that is not of the first man at all, but the product of God's own action by His word; we are born of incorruptible seed "by the living and abiding word of God". What a wonderful thing to be connected with things that are incorruptible. A generation has come into view that is of incorruptible seed so that what is for God can be maintained according to God. The conditions in which we are in flesh and blood are corruptible and mortal. Thank God there is something incorruptible in the brethren. They have been born again "not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the living and abiding word of God".

There is the flesh and its glory; the world system is organised to make way for that. The world does not make way for what is spiritual. Certainly it promotes what is of the flesh and the glory of the flesh, but these enlightened persons, born again, know that "all flesh is as grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass. The grass has withered and its flower has

fallen; but the word of the Lord abides for eternity". We are not to be deceived by what is of the flesh or its glory. Peter views things in the light of the death of Christ. All that is after the flesh has been terminated there; it actually comes to pass in death and burial, the grass withers and the flower falls. Oh! to be connected with the word of God. One loves to think of that, that in God's operations one has a link with the word of the Lord. He has communicated His mind and has brought about something for His pleasure, and that is in all the people of God. All the genuine ones are born again by the living and abiding word of God. Well, if God has a link with His people, His people have a link with Him, and an intelligent link. We ought to grow in it, as Peter opens up in this epistle, but we are speaking especially about the love that is found amongst those who have been born again, persons who have purified their souls by obedience to the truth. A person who obeys the truth is bound to be a lover of the brethren. That follows on: "love one another out of a pure heart fervently". I like that word "fervently". It is one of Peter's words; he uses it more than once. Peter was not a half-hearted person. I think a conversation with him would have left the impression that he was fervent, fervent in his love, in his devotion to Christ, in his devotion to the people of God and his service for them.

Peter says these things to us, dear brethren, in order that we might be in a circle of affection where there is unfeigned brotherly love, where we love one

another out of a pure heart fervently. A pure heart is what is needed in the last days. In 2 Timothy 2 Paul speaks of calling upon the Lord out of a pure heart, but here it is loving the brethren, loving one another out of a pure heart. This is horizontal, so to speak; the other is vertical. We have great scope in the brethren around us to love them. What would you like to do for your brethren? Everything you do for them, if it has divine value, must spring from love, the divine nature.

This is to be an incorruptible line of things. The flesh and its glory come to nothing, but love will not come to nothing. No, love will abide and the work and service of love at the present time towards one another will produce results which will abide and go through into the world of glory that the Lord Jesus will shortly introduce. Let us be encouraged then to love one another fervently out of a pure heart so that we are bound together as those who belong to one another and belong to the Lord; for it is true that we belong to one another, and so we are in this family. John opens up the family side more than Peter does, but they both knew it. Peter opened up more the kingdom side of things, but he knew the family. All these things interlock in Christianity. You will not be in the good of the family if you do not know the kingdom, and you will not know much of the kingdom if you do not know the family. It is a great thing to know, dear brethren, that there is power to carry us through. The kingdom is the great thought of power; the family is the great thought of love. Do you

know any power greater than love? What does the kingdom resolve itself into finally? What but love? "The kingdom of the Son of his love" (Colossians 1:13). God's kingdom goes through into eternity and what will that be? -- love in supremacy. Let us work it out now in the circle where we find ourselves and so serve the saints that they may be help-ed in regard of the mind of God at the present time.

"This is the word which in the glad tidings is preached to you", the word that abides to eternity. This is not the popular gospel, but the disseminating of all that is involved in the glad tidings for men. The word of God abides for eternity. So we go on with the gospel preaching; it is our privilege to continue it, and if we say we only preach to ourselves, this is ourselves: "the word which in the glad tidings is preached to you", not to sinners exactly here. The preaching of the gospel goes on amongst the people of God because we are to get more and more into the depths of the gospel, the mystery and the glory of the glad tidings. "The word of the Lord abides for eternity", not merely for a temporary state of things; eternity is in view in what is being preached in the glad tidings. So we go on with it; but let it spring out from a company where love is active, and Peter is promoting that in this epistle.

Externally the people of God are suffering. Peter speaks much of that; suffering for the testimony, suffering for Christ's sake, but the answer to the external suffering is to be in the inside, in the affection of the circle of love. We would be strong in

the external testimony, dear brethren, if we knew the blessedness of love within. These things react on one another. At the beginning it was so: "And having been let go, they came to their own company" (Acts 4:23). What would they find there? They found the answer to all the persecution without. Brethren do not persecute one another; that is not in the mind of the Lord. You expect persecution from the world but you do not expect it from your brother. Why should we do that? We are to love one another. The circle within is to be the answer to the persecution without.

So Peter encourages the brethren; He says in chapter 3, "Finally, be all of one mind, sympathising, full of brotherly love, tender hearted, humble minded", precious features of the christian circle. "All of one mind" -- that is a test, is it not? Scripture never puts anything before us which is unattainable. We have to exercise ourselves to be marked by these features. "Sympathising" helps towards one mind. "Full of brotherly love, tender hearted, humble minded". These features, I have no doubt, marked Peter himself. How he loved the people of God! He carried out the commission the Lord gave him, this epistle being written to some of the scattered sheep of Christ. He is thinking of the Jews who were scattered around in the various places he mentions. He cannot be with them, but his letter is with them. And, dear brethren, if we have not the presence of the apostles now, we have the presence of one another. Let us make the best of one another. Why should we not? Why should the Lord place certain brethren in the

same city or the same town? He meant them to work out things together so that they would be for His pleasure, support the testimony and maintain what is for God in His service. But how blessed when there are conditions like this, "all of one mind, sympathising, full of brotherly love, tender hearted, humble minded". Of these five things the middle one is "full of brotherly love". Love is to be at the core of everything with us so that things are kept in the warmth of affection in these days.

The scriptures have doubtless very much in mind the day in which we live. The Lord said that in the last days, "because lawlessness shall prevail, the love of the most shall grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). I think that has happened and is happening, but He did not say the love of all would grow cold; "the love of the most". The word of Christ shows what the general trend would be, but if you are in the minority, be in it fervently for Christ and for His people. The Lord knew that there would be some who would maintain affection for Him and who would love one another in the last days. So let us not be influenced by the general current around. If there is one thing we have to watch and judge constantly, it is the Laodicean atmosphere and influence that is everywhere, selfishness and empty pride marking so many with lack of affection for Christ. Their love has grown cold. The Lord said, "thou art neither cold nor hot" (Revelation 3:15). What a state! Let us be fervent; that is Peter's word, and in this section, "full of brotherly love". The way to work these things out amongst ourselves, dear

brethren, is not in any haphazard, Laodicean manner, but in the fervency of love so that what is for Christ and for God is maintained and the best provided for one another in the spirit of Christ.

Melbourne [1 of 2].

THE CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD

C. A. Coates

Acts 16:13 - 15, 40

C.A.C. One was thinking that in the case of this dear sister, Lydia, she had a very definite thought of her house as well as herself being for the Lord. We are not told particularly what they said to her but that she "heard; whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul". The effect of it was that in taking the place of baptism she brought her house with her.

Rem. The apostle could then enter her house.

C.A.C. Evidently she thought of her house being a place for the Lord. There are three spheres of responsibility and privilege:

Firstly, our bodies. "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service" (Romans 12:1). This is personal and individual.

Secondly, the household. A place where faith-fulness to the Lord is manifested. In the mind of God the household of a believer is a sphere that comes under the authority of the Lord and partakes of blessing from Christ, a sphere preserved from the corruption and lawlessness dominating the whole

scene around. Mr. Stoney used to say that we could have the millennium in our households. I do not suppose he meant as to circumstances but as to moral conditions, subjection to the Lord and security from evil. The household is recognised by God. The household goes with its head. We are all privileged to put the death of Christ between us and the world. The blood on the lintel (Exodus 12) puts the death of Christ between us and the judgment of God. The Red Sea (Exodus 15) puts the death of Christ between us and the world. It is the measure of our separation from the world.

Thirdly, the assembly.

Rem. The flood was between Noah and "the world of the ungodly" (2 Peter 2:5).

C.A.C. That immense volume of water was the measure of the separation between the ark and the world. In taking the ground of baptism we put the death of Christ between us and the world. The Christian belongs to Christ, so do his children. In faith the children are put on that ground for blessing.

Ques. Why is the case of the woman given us first in Acts 16? And in regard to Moses (Exodus 2) it is the mother who acts.

C.A.C. The mother often takes the lead: it is very striking.

Ques. Is the subjective state set forth in her?

C.A.C. Yes, the mother is the great influence in the household after all. Children derive character from the mother. It is good to see that the woman can take up the exercise. There is the baptism of the

household after which the Lord's servants come in (verse 15). "He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me" (Matthew 10:40). Where the Lord's servants can go and find a suitable place, the Lord can go and the Father can go: there is a place for divine Persons. The assembly is made up of suitable households, suitable for the Lord to come into. If the Lord is to come in there must be nothing unsuitable in the household. Lydia became the support of the testimony in Philippi. They went back to Lydia (verse 40). Things were suitable there. It should be an exercise for christian parents not to take up baptism merely because it is customary, but with the desire that the Lord's claims and His grace be owned in the household and His sufficiency counted on.

Ques. The "name of the Lord" is connected with baptism in the Acts but not in Matthew 28. Is it because the household is the sphere where the Lord is recognised?

C.A.C. It is a refuge in the midst of evil. What a comfort to come ourselves under the control of the Lord and to bring our children there, to "bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4), that they may be preserved from all that would be injurious to them. A christian parent would not like to put his children in the fire as the nations in the land of Canaan did (Deuteronomy 12:31). If you bring up children for the world you are putting them in the fire. One would rather be on the line of "snatching them out of the fire" (Jude 23). A world of idolatry and

lawlessness is like fire. We are privileged to be safe under the Lord's control. If I allow Him to control me I shall be safe and thus able to nourish the child in the kind and blessed control of the Lord. They are not to be vexed (Colossians 3:21).

To do what is pleasing to the Lord is the only happy path. If He had not died we could not take up baptism, but we want the children for the Lord. The world is like Moloch, full of corrupting and destructive influences. We are safe and happy if the rule of the Lord is accepted. After I was converted it was my greatest grief to have been so long not under His control. There is no need for a child of christian parents to live any time in self-will. Christ's rights to him have been owned in baptism and he can own it and find real happiness in so doing and be preserved thereby. There is wonderful safety under the control of the Lord! The christian parent puts the children there in faith. They belong to the Lord. The christian household is a place where the Lord can come in and find everything there as He would have it be. One feels it is a very great privilege.

Rem. The apostle does not go into the jailor's house when coming out of prison.

C.A.C. Lydia had shown such faithfulness that the testimony could go out from Lydia's house and return there.

Rem. "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord". I suppose questions are settled for children by their parents and thus it is a question of obedience for them.

C.A.C. Yes. "Obey your parents" and "Honour thy father and thy mother" (Ephesians 6:1, 2). A christian parent desires the best good for his or her children. There is everything to be gained on the line of obedience.

Rem. The letter to the Philippians shows what the establishment of these first two christian households in Europe led to.

C.A.C. The assembly takes its character from the households. The households are, as it were, the base of operations for the Lord. If the Lord has not His place in the households, He will not have His place in the assembly.

Rem. The three spheres you have pointed out are most important. There are no claims like the claims of the Lord for He has died for us. One sphere is dependent on the other.

C.A.C. If I have come under His control it prepares me to bring my household under His control. The Christian has been encouraged himself first before he can encourage his children. We prove the nurture and admonition of the Lord ourselves first. His instruction and admonition is known first ourselves. Then, as knowing His patience and grace with us, we can patiently and graciously seek to deal with those who come under our influence.

All christian privileges carry responsibilities.

The first suggestion of faith on the part of parents with regard to their children in the Scriptures is in the names they gave them. For instance, Enoch calls his son Methushelah (Genesis 5:21) meaning, 'when he dies

it comes'. What comes? The flood. That was primary fulfilment of Enoch's prophecy, "Behold, the Lord has come amidst his holy myriads, to execute judgment against all" (Jude 14, 15). Methushelah died the year the flood came. After his death, the flood came. Lemech called the name of his son Noah (repose) saying, "This one shall comfort us concerning our work and concerning the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah has cursed" (Genesis 5:29). The earth after the flood typifies "newness of life" for us.

Ministry by C. A. Coates, Volume 31, pages 363 - 366.

TYPES OF THE CHURCH -- SOLOMON'S WIFE, PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER

M. W. Biggs

1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 7:8; 1 Kings 9:24

Solomon's wife, Pharaoh's daughter, is another type of the assembly. This type will find its full answer when the assembly appears with Christ and is associated with Him in His reign of glory.

There are three thoughts which stand out prominently in this type.

(1) Solomon's wife was a gentile bride. This circumstance as a type does not conflict with the view of the assembly as composed of those from both Jews and Gentiles, as brought before us in 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 3:4. It rather emphasises the fact that the dispensation, as such, has distinct reference to the Gentiles, and that the blessing of the

Jew or Israel is not the characteristic of the present period. The apostle Paul, to whom the mystery was revealed, was characteristically the apostle of the Gentiles. He speaks of himself thus in Romans 11:13 and Romans 15:16; and in Ephesians 3:1. He speaks of himself as a "prisoner ... for you Gentiles" (Authorised Version). The epistle to the Galatians also refers to his distinct labour among the Gentiles (chapter 2: 9).

It is this view of the assembly that is especially developed in the epistle to the Colossians, and as I have already remarked, the mystery is spoken of in that epistle as "Christ in you the hope of glory" (chapter 1: 27). The thought of Christ being in or among the Gentiles must have appeared a most remarkable fact to a Jew. It is the sovereign nature of the activity of grace that is thus magnified. That we who had no hope and were in all the darkness of heathendom, should be blessed in such a manner and called to such a place, is indeed grace. "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; from the dung-hill he lifteth up the needy, To set him among nobles; and he maketh them inherit a throne of glory" (1 Samuel 2:8).

(2) This suggests another feature that comes before us in connection with Solomon's gentile bride. The assembly is to appear with Christ in glory, and before the day of display comes we are entitled to know our part as associated with Christ in His place of exaltation. It is this that gives Christianity such a remarkable character -- not only is the future glory for the assembly, but even now we are to know that Christ's place is ours. What a wonderful fact this is!

Though outwardly of poor account in the eyes of man, as the type of Leah suggests, the assembly is destined to share with Christ His place of glory. Hence the apostle's appeal in Colossians 3 to set our minds on things "above where the Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God". Our life is hid at present; its display in glory is still future. Suffering and rejection are for the moment the actual portion of the assembly, yet enshrined in the heart of each one of that wonderful company can be found the deep and sustaining joy, that soon a wondering world shall see the One who was the rejected Nazarene crowned in glory, and universally owned as rightful King and Lord of all; and when Christ appears we also shall appear with Him in glory. The glory is only known to faith at present, and only by the power of the Holy Spirit is it possible to enjoy our privileged place of association with Christ; but it is none the less real.

Unless we know something of the lessons taught us in the types of Abigail and Asnath, we shall not be able spiritually to occupy the position suggested in the type of Pharaoh's daughter. It is in no sense on the ground of what we are as in the flesh that we are so placed. We must see that Nabal, so to speak, must die. (See 1 Samuel 25). Flesh is flesh and as in that state we could not possibly have a place with Christ in glory. But we are privileged through Jesus' death and resurrection to recognise the removal of what we are as in the flesh, and identify ourselves with what we are as the product of the work of God -- the "inward man", as it is called in Romans 7 -- our new "I". This,

as we saw, is typically brought before us in Abigail's beautiful countenance and good understanding. These features were like David and what is like Christ can share with Christ the place of glory, of which Christ alone is worthy. We may well forget our own people and our father's house.

(3) The other feature that comes before us in Solomon's wife is that she was associated with Solomon in his reign. The house which Solomon built for his bride was like the porch which he built for the throne of judgment; her dwelling partook of the character of Solomon's throne. The reigning time for us is not yet. The apostle chides the saints at Corinth with this, "ye have reigned without us" (1 Corinthians 4:8); as much as to say, Our reigning time is coming, and if you reign now, you reign alone -- we shall reign when Christ reigns. The way we affirm Christ's right to reign is by refusing to reign until He does so.

But although the day of the kingdom is still future, and the assembly is not yet called to judge the world, or angels, yet faith would anticipate the moral gain of that future day, and bring to bear on its present circumstances the import of the fact that presently it will be called to occupy such a place. "Do ye not know", the apostle inquires in 1 Corinthians 6:3, "that we shall judge angels?" Saints had been going to law one with another before unbelievers. Think of the degradation of such a thing, as if any human court of justice could settle a matter for the saints! We may well be thankful for the measure of righteousness

maintained in human courts of justice, but the basis of their judgment is different from that of the assembly. The perfect judgment of the cross is the basis of the assembly's judgment. A spiritual man judges things by this measure now; man's judgment would be very different; and if we know what our place will be in the future, it would certainly prevent our turning to the world for right judgment or vindication now.

The fact that we are to be associated with Christ in His judgment and reign would also make us desire to learn how to act for Him. The present is our time of education. The first thing is to learn to judge ourselves; many of us greatly fail here. There can be nothing of greater importance in its place than the habit of self-judgment. I do not mean self-occupation; the man who has judged a thing is not further occupied with it -- it is refused. Self-occupation is sometimes an indication that we have not really judged ourselves. We also have to learn morally to judge things which come before us -- to discern things. We are unable to do this unless we form the habit of self-judgment; but if we judge ourselves, we shall more easily discern matters that we have to deal with.

Purely spiritual matters are the most difficult to have to discern. The wiles of Satan are connected with these things, and one who appears as a minister of righteousness may, in fact, be the reverse; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Conflict in spiritual matters needs the corresponding spiritual state; we have to take the

whole armour of God (Ephesians 6). Things can, however, only be spiritually and morally judged now. We must wait for the time of public vindication and judgment. The cross was the judgment of the world; yet it looked as if the world had judged and got the victory over the Lord. It had in one sense, but the world's judgment of Christ became its own judgment. Every principle of the world was judged at the cross, yet all goes on, for it is the day of grace. There has been no execution of the judgment, but this is more surely coming; meanwhile we morally judge things. The Lord give us this grace.

The Believer's Friend, 1926, pages 276 - 280.

WALKING WORTHY

J. N. Darby

My attention has been drawn to the use of 'walking worthy'. In Ephesians we see its connection with the noticed force and character of the epistle. This treats of the Christian and then of the church's privileges, and the saint is to "walk worthy of the calling" here (chapter 4: 1), especially in church place, and the worthiness to be of that.

In Colossians, where the glory of the Person of Christ is brought out as they were slipping away from the Head -- I do not say His headship, but the glory of Him who is Head -- they are to "walk worthily of the Lord" (chapter 1: 10). It is in this part that God and Father, the Lord and the Spirit are brought out.

In the Thessalonians, who, from being heathens, had been brought to know the one true God, the

Father -- "the assembly of Thessalonians in God the Father" (1 Thessalonians 1:1) having not intermediate and indeed demon powers, but being in direct, immediate relationship with the one true God, they are called to "walk worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory" (chapter 2: 12) -- so they were "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (chapter 1: 9, 10).

Philippians, in which we have the experimental condition of the Christian, and the gospel is spoken of as in conflict in the world (Paul being in the bonds of it) they were to "conduct yourselves worthily of the glad tidings of the Christ" (chapter 1: 27). So Paul was "set for the defence and confirmation of the glad tidings" (chapter 1: 7) -- he speaks of the "beginning of the gospel" (chapter 4: 15) -- Timothy had served with him "in the glad tidings of the Christ" (1 Thessalonians 3:2) -- the women had "contended along with me in the glad tidings" (chapter 4: 3) -- Paul was set "for the defence of the glad tidings" (chapter 1: 17) -- they had fellowship "in the furtherance of the glad tidings" (chapter 1: 12). So it will be seen that when they are called to walk worthy of it, conflict is also spoken of, for which a right walk was needed, but they were not to be terrified by their adversaries. The true gospel was as a cause, as a person in conflict in the world -- they who stood by it as one they contended along with, were to walk worthy of it. They were "labouring together in the same conflict with the faith of the glad tidings" (chapter 1: 27), contending along with the faith of the gospel in the world -- not 'for' the faith, but

"with" it, as an associate with it in its conflicts.

There is thus in the three 'walkings worthy', I think, a practical difference though essentially the same. In Thessalonians it is the essential measure and its nature -- "worthy of God", imitators of God as dear children, "who calls you to his own kingdom and glory". Then the manifestation of what this is in a divinely perfect expression of it in Christ, "worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing". In Ephesians 4 we have more our own present place in it by the Holy Spirit -- "the calling wherewith ye have been called" -- all our privileges and place being known to us through the Holy Spirit sent down when Christ was glorified -- the place we are in in connection with Him glorified now.

Notes and Comments of J. N. Darby, Volume 2, pages 311, 312.

HOW LOCAL CONDITIONS ARE IMPROVED

J. Taylor

Luke 10:38 - 42; John 11:1, 5, 20 - 28, 39, 40; John 12:1, 2

What is in mind is to show how local conditions among the people of God may be improved, so that divine circumstances in any place may be bettered. David had in mind to make divine circumstances better in his day. He had greatly improved them already according to the early part of the second book of Samuel and the first book of Chronicles, but in 1 Chronicles 17 he proposes to make them still better. That is an example for us, for at best in the localities where we are set there is great room for improvement in every instance. God is pleased to go along with what there is, limiting, of course, His forbearance, for there are things He cannot allow, but He goes a long way with His people in their localities, in spite of conditions which are unsuitable to Him.

The addresses to the assemblies recorded in Revelation 2 and 3 show that the Lord takes account of what is favourable and what is not. These addresses were to the intent that there might be improvement. In the last address the Lord counsels persons, who are not at all in accord with His mind, to buy from Him. They were saying in Laodicea that they were rich, increased with goods, and had "need of nothing", but the Lord said they were "poor, and blind, and naked" (chapter 3: 17). He is ready to give, or even to sell, so that conditions should be better. If they would not accept gift, the Lord was prepared to

sell. There is no other remedy for these matters but to turn to the Lord. He is ready to give, but if you prefer to buy, He is ready to sell. He counsels that you should buy from Him. There is no gain in going elsewhere; you must come to Him. You may go to this brother or that brother, which is right up to a point, but if you would be fully furnished with what is necessary you must come to Jesus, and if you are not ready to receive, He will sell. He is ready to give anything that is needed; He is ready to provide white raiment, eye-salve, and gold.

Well, now I take Martha and her village as representative of what I would like to convey. I take Martha to convey the thought of local conditions; it is a village and it is to be improved in Martha. The Lord comes three times to the village, and in each of these Martha is seen. Martha received Him into her house the first time. On the first visit the Lord rebuked her, and of course this would be to improve her condition; on the second visit He instructs her, also to improve her condition; and on the third, He comes, and she shows the improvement. He sees the result of His dealings with her, indeed with all the family in Bethany. They were all right in relation to this visit -- Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. The point is really the improvement in the conditions in Bethany, and that largely lay in what the Lord effected in Martha.

Bethany was a locality in which God had something. In each locality God would have something which He can call His own, as in Corinth, "the

assembly of God which is in Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2). He had in that wicked, gentile city that which He could call the assembly of God. In speaking thus, it may be added that we are fitted for the testimony down here, as well as for our eternal portion, according to the counsels of God. If He has set us in a town or city, we are to represent Him there. The heavens represent Him. They declare His glory and the firmament showeth His handiwork. That is, they display God In that way; He made them for that purpose, and so He prepares us to represent Him in the place He has set us. So in our eternal portion everyone will be in his right place, and each fitted in relation to the others. We are all to be together, and we are to love one another. Ephesians shows that the saints in a locality have love, not only for the local saints, but for all the saints. God "has raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). A great thought is that we all go up together. Everything is with a purpose and there is not the slightest discrepancy in the result, but there should be something in the way of representation here, and also something that the Lord can come to, happily and freely. The Lord does come -- not corporeally, of course, but in a spiritual way.

Now I take up Martha for this purpose. It is hard to leave out Mary, for they are always seen together. What the Lord says to one He says to both, we may say. They have the same advantage as regards ministry. Martha heard the same things as Mary, but the results are not the same. Mary began to be

acceptable to the Lord earlier than Martha. She made a choice -- Mary had chosen the good part. There is no evidence that Martha chose, she had no time, she was taken up with many things. Some are so busy that they do not choose what is divine at all. God also chooses; His sovereignty means that He chooses. He had made up His mind about us beforehand, as we learn in Romans 8; He foreknew us and "whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren. But whom he has predestinated, these also he has called; and whom he has called, these also he has justified; and whom he justified, these also he has glorified" (verses 29, 30). In answer to that process the feature that He likes in us is definite action, and among the things He looks for is choice, making a choice. Perhaps some of you here have never thought of that. I do not say a general choice, but a choice in some detail, in some definite thing. Mary made a choice, and she was sitting down, enjoying and profiting by the thing she selected. It bore in the right direction, and the Lord likes that and commends it.

Well, Martha was "distracted with much serving". I may further say here that, in comparing the two sisters, Martha seems to have been the householder. We are not told the name of the village here: it is called "a certain village"; and Martha was the householder. She was, as it were, the leading brother in the meeting. She was the one that looked after things, and she would receive the Lord. She

received Him into her house. Of course the leading brother will receive the Lord; but we have to bear in mind that the Lord is not here personally, so we have to receive Him through the brethren. Every leading brother would professedly make way for the Lord, but Martha did not treat her sister properly, nor did she treat the Lord properly, although she received Him. Our attitude to the Lord may be seen in the way we treat the brethren. She says to Him, "Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Speak to her therefore that she may help me". She implied that the Lord was not right; she rebuked Him. "Dost thou not care?" She is implying that He was negligent. She thought He would say, Mary, get up and do something. So the leading brother may be disappointed that he is not justified when the Lord comes in. The Lord does not come to justify him. He may bring up something that shows he is not just right; in fact, if I am expecting to be justified in anything I am sure to be disappointed. I knew of a brother who expected to be justified when a ministering brother, as we say, would come round, but the Lord disappointed that. It would do one more good to be condemned.

The Lord said, "Martha, Martha". The Lord called her twice; this implies that she had acquired a certain place in the Lord's mind, she was in His mind for blessing, and something will come in for her good. Her name is down for blessing -- it may be through rebuffs, reproofs, knocks, but the list is there, and her name is on it for blessing. In Matthew

chapter 5 the disciples came to Jesus and He began with blessing for certain classes of people. God has blessing in His mind for certain classes of people, so Martha is marked out by being called twice by the Lord. She is coming into great things. The first thing to be noticed here in Luke is "a certain village; and a certain woman, Martha by name" -- it is the idea of a locality and one responsible in it. The Spirit of God begins with Martha and not Mary.

Well, I want to come on to John to show how the betterment came about. The village is never lost sight of. Take the city in which we are, since the time God began to work in it, it has never been lost sight of. God has in His mind every locality in which His people are, and He wants to improve what He has in it; not to improve the town, but to improve what is of Himself in it. That is always what is in God's mind. David is the great example of this -- he expressed to Nathan his desire to improve the divine circum-stances here.

Well, John 11 keeps the village in mind, and Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus. We do not get Lazarus in Luke; we do get a Lazarus (chapter 16), but not this one. He is added in John, because if the circumstances for God in a town are to be improved, a brother and two sisters in it are better than two sisters only. This is a comfort to us in our day. So that if local conditions are to be improved, there will be personal addition; an increase in quantity as well as an increase in quality. What is needed generally is increase in quality. Increase in quantity without

increase in quality is a doubtful advantage. We come to John and we find a certain man, Lazarus of Bethany, is sick. This sickness is not unto death, it is for the glory of God (verse 4). It is a severe illness, it means death, but it is not unto death, that is, death is not the final end, but resurrection; for resurrection is where the glory of God is seen.

The first thing we get here is, "Now there was a certain man sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister". The village is emphasised again. Doubtless what is stated indicates the judicial ways of God with His people. His judicial dealings are always in accord with His love. Discipline is the result of God's love, but, mark you, it was "for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it", that this man lay sick.

The next thing I call attention to is verse 5: "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus". Martha is mentioned first. At the beginning of the chapter Mary is clearly the principal one in the Lord's mind. She is specially drawn attention to. "It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick" (verse 2). She has the chief place among the three. In the three mighty ones mentioned in connection with David, there is one that is greater than the others (2 Samuel 23). Mary is the chief one here; you cannot alter that; but Mary is not my subject, it is Martha. The Lord has something in mind when He mentions Martha first. Mary is spiritual, she is never easily irritated. She is not

mentioned in verse 5 except under the heading of sister. It is sometimes a good thing that a sister who is perhaps thought to be spiritual -- and who indeed is spiritual -- is not brought to notice, but Mary will not mind that, for she has plenty of capital. She is not petty, nor irritable because another is more noticed than she.

Now it is said that Jesus loved Martha and when Jesus came (verse 21), Martha spoke to Him. I go on from that to point out what she needed in the way of instruction. She is, I may say, not very concerned about doctrine, and yet it is very necessary. Now, sisters -- you will pardon me for saying it -- are not generally interested in doctrine. They often ignore it, sad to say, and are not concerned about it. Lydia was very attentive to doctrine. The Lord opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul, and, dear sisters, we all need to attend to the things spoken by Paul. Well now, Martha needed the doctrine, and we cannot have good local conditions without good doctrine. When Jesus came, Martha said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died".

The Lord could have kept him from dying, but Lazarus being dead enabled Him to open up what she needed to know. He would teach them much from it all, and, dear brethren and sisters, we are very deficient in teaching. We need to pay heed to the teaching of the apostles, particularly Paul: all the apostles' writings of course, but especially Paul's; Lydia listened to Paul. One from whom we have profited much said, 'Do not forget John; but cleave

to Paul'. Paul had the heavenly side of the truth, and he gives us the assembly.

Martha said, "but even now I know, that whatsoever thou shalt ask of God, God will give thee". That is, she knew He was a godly Man -- perhaps, in her view, even more than Man; and she believed God could do for Him what He asked; but we shall never get on in our souls unless we have a clear grasp of the deity of our Lord. From this point of view Jesus needs not to ask, for He can do all Himself, and so He says to her, "Thy brother shall rise again". How much could be put into that! She says, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day". She was an orthodox Jewess, believing in a general resurrection, and some of us are like that, and thus practically on Jewish ground.

We may speak of what the brethren hold -- which just means that you have an orthodox creed of your own. Jesus says, "Thy brother shall rise again", and then He brings out that marvellous truth: "I am the resurrection and the life". I am. What a word that was! Are we ready for the truth about the Son of God -- ready for something fresh -- ready to take in things now in a new and living way, our souls open for the truth about Christ? so that if a neighbour asks what you are going on with, you can say something definite and living that you have learnt about Christ. The Lord has in mind a betterment of conditions in the locality, so He makes this marvellous statement. Are we ready to take in something great now? He says, "I am the resurrection and the life". Martha

may have heard great things, but evidently she had not heard this before. The Lord works in a wonderful way, He allowed her brother to enter into death in order to open up to her what she needed. Further it says, "he that believes on me, though he have died, shall live; and every one who lives and believes on me shall never die". Put into the language of the first epistle to the Thessalonians that word just means what we have in chapter 4: 16 -- "the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first". Then the further statement in John 11 that "every one who lives and believes on me shall never die", means what 1 Thessalonians 4:17 teaches us, "we the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be ever with the Lord". That is what happens when the Lord comes. Those that live shall be changed. As the apostle writes to the Roman believers, "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" (Romans 8:11). Now, is Martha ready for all this? Are we ready for it?

Fifty years ago God brought up the great subject of eternal life. Of course, it had been taught from the outset, for it is, and ever will be, an outstanding feature of the truth. It is through it we have the victory. Here the Lord says, "I am the resurrection and the life". The great truth is that He is the resurrection and the life. The opposers said that

eternal life was a person and thus beclouded the truth, but in emphasising this great truth of eternal life, we are to make clear that it does not affect the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is not to affect in our minds the truth as to His deity. Scripture says, "He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). He is it as Man. He is the eternal life; but He is more, He is the true God. So He says to Martha, "Believest thou this?" Just to make it a creed is to impair the truth. A living Person is it. How little we really believe! I often challenge myself before the Lord, as to whether I really believe the great facts of Christianity. Do I really believe? Let us challenge ourselves. Do I really believe these great realities? Therein is the victory! No local conditions (political, social, or otherwise) can overcome me if I believe these things. Martha says, "Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world". That is her faith, but why did she not wait for more? The Lord had not stopped. He will not break off as long as we are attentive. Still, she had taken in much of the great things the Lord had spoken to her. By going to Mary she shows clearly that her sister had a distinctive place with her.

So she calls Mary, and Mary went out and came where Jesus was. The Lord then commands the stone to be rolled away, and Martha said, "Lord, he stinks already, for he is four days there". Then the Lord said to her, "Did I not say to thee, that, if thou shouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" When the stone had been rolled back Jesus

"cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And the dead came forth" (verse 43). She saw the loved one come forth. Think of that, that she should really see the glory! He came out in answer to the power of the voice of Christ, saying, "Lazarus, come forth". Think of the glory involved! What a local brother he will be, and what a local sister Martha will be after such a sight!

That is all I have to say, except to point out that the Lord comes again to Bethany, and things in the family all fit. "Jesus therefore, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where was the dead man Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from among the dead. There therefore they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those at table with him. Mary therefore, having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment" (chapter 12: 1 - 3). There is now a great change -- a great improvement in the state of things. Indeed the scene is perfect from the divine point of view, except for Judas, who lifts up his voice against Mary. There is just the one jarring note, as Judas interrupts: "One of his disciples therefore, Judas son of Simon, Iscariote, who was about to deliver him up, says, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" And as Judas criticises Mary, we can understand how Martha would say, I am sorry I criticised Mary. How she would feel ashamed to think how she criticised Mary; she would own that

Mary had been right all along. Thus, when Jesus came six days before the Passover to Bethany, the conditions in the place were most pleasing to Him. Certainly, we may assume the Lord never enjoyed Bethany better before, and it can only be by improving conditions that there can be happy circumstances for God to come in. Chapter 12 shows that His object was reached; the glory shone, and they were all in the good of it, and they know what to do; Martha served; Lazarus was at table with Jesus; and Mary anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair.

Ministry by J. Taylor, Londonderry, Volume 45, pages 126 - 136. 23 April 1938.

VESSELS

O. Watson

Matthew 9:17; John 2:1 - 11; 2 Kings 2:19 - 22; Ezra 8:24 - 30

These scriptures that we have read refer to various kinds of vessels. God, I believe, has in mind that if He brings in a testimony, there should also be suitable vessels in which that testimony can be placed and maintained for His glory.

I began with the thought in Matthew 9 of "new skins". The Lord says that "men ... put new wine into new skins". It is very precious to think of what came in in Christ. There was that which was wholly new: "grace and truth subsists through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Thank God there were vessels to receive that wonderful testimony, vessels prepared

by God. So John could say, "of his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace" (verse 16). Oh! what a blessed flow of new wine was available in Christ, able to satisfy the heart of God and men. God works on the lines of what is new. It is so now in view of the eternal day: "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5). He has worked right down through the ages in men. How we should value the work of God! it will shine; it will abide and go through into the eternal day. God will bring in a new heaven and a new earth suitable to contain His blessed work. Peter says, "according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). In the coming kingdom, righteousness will reign; in the eternal day, righteousness will dwell. God will be at rest in the blessed enjoyment of the perfection of all that He has wrought.

The Lord says, "Nor do men put new wine into old skins, otherwise the skins burst and the wine is poured out". I think that is a warning for us, for God will never attach His testimony to what is of the old order, the first man. God has had to finish with it, and so He has begun anew in Christ. John, in his gospel, begins at that point: the Lord says to Nicodemus, "Except any one be born anew he can-not see the kingdom of God" (chapter 3: 3). So John begins immediately with what is new, with what is born of God, and into which the grace of Christ was to be poured. How sobering it is to see God's testimony connected with what is old in the religious

spheres of this world. The Lord gives a sober warning here: "the wine is poured out" -- the testimony, you might say, becomes valueless -- "and the skins will be destroyed". How sobering that is! Then the Lord adds, "but they put new wine into new skins, and both are preserved together". How blessed it is to be available to the Lord in view of the preservation of God's work and His testimony. That is what God has in mind, and it is incumbent upon us, too, I believe, to be marked by what is new. The apostle Paul, in writing to the Colossians, says, "having put off the old man ... and having put on the new" (chapter 3: 9, 10). Put off "the old", put on "the new". What a wonderful character belongs to the new, where "Christ is everything, and in all" (verse 11). That is the character of what is new. Every other kind of man is set aside, for God will only have Christ before Him, and He would have us to "put on" the Lord Jesus Christ. That blessed Man! We are to appear in testimony, as having put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I trust that the Lord would help us to express what has been so blessedly seen in Him, the new wine.

We read in John 2 where we have six stone water-vessels referred to. These vessels were available where they were needed, at the right time: "six stone water-vessels". They suggest, I believe, what is permanent in character -- they were of stone -- and they were for water of purification. And this, dear brethren, is another thing that is so necessary if the testimony is to be preserved: there must be moral

cleansing, for the testimony of God requires morally suitable vessels. So the Lord gives instruction as to them. These stone water-vessels come under the hand of Christ, they come under His control. The Lord tells the servants to "Fill the water-vessels with water", and, "they filled them up to the brim". John makes much of water in his gospel, and he tells us that "one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water" (chapter 19: 34).

We speak much of the blood, and rightly so, for it speaks of the power to cleanse. But then we need the water continually, day by day. We need cleansing, for we pass through a world of moral corruption and death. But God has provided the means whereby we can be preserved in purity in view of what is for the glory of Christ, for that is what shines through in this passage -- the glory of Christ. He made the water into wine and met the deficiency. Only the Lord could do that. There may be much that we find in our lives which is deficient -- how each one of us would have to own it -- but the Lord would bring in what is needed, and in the process manifest His glory. That is the great end in view, that the glory of Christ might be seen. It says, "and his disciples believed on Him". There was this wonderful manifestation of the glory of Christ. But it came through what He did in vessels. How blessed it is if Christ's work in us becomes the means of the showing forth of His glory. Well, these were vessels that were usable in the testimony, that the glory of

Christ should shine out.

In 2 Kings 2 we have a vessel for salt. Salt preserves things. Conditions in Jericho were not good. The men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold now, the situation of the city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is barren". We can thank God for a favourable situation. I do not mean only under God's governmental ways, but the present situation is dispensationally favourable. Elijah, the man of God, had gone "up by a whirlwind into the heavens" (verse 11), and Elisha had requested a double portion of his spirit. How favourable the present day is in the testimony. Let us never doubt God's faithfulness and the blessing that is available from Christ where He is, and in the presence now of the blessed Spirit. Elijah had said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing" (verse 10). I think that would remind us again of the sufferings of Christ. What it involved for Christ in order that we might receive the Spirit! How readily available the Spirit is! "A double portion of thy spirit", the Spirit, as it were, of the Man who has gone up, who now intercedes for us.

"The situation of the city is good ... but the water is bad, and the land is barren". What was necessary for life had become contaminated, and the result was death and barrenness. Well, all of us, no doubt, have proved that in soul history. But these men came to the right place, they came to Elisha, where there was help and direction. Elisha says, "Bring me a new cruse" -- here again we have the thought of what is new -- "and put salt in it". I think salt, among other

things, would refer to the fear of God. If things are to be preserved for the pleasure of God, we must have the fear of God in our hearts. It would preserve us, I believe, from a great deal. How little of it there is evident today in the world. "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10), and it preserves things for God's pleasure.

So Elisha "went forth to the source of the waters" -- we need to get to the source of things -- "and cast the salt in there". Well, there was a wonderful result from that, and the fear of God will bring in a wonderful result: "the waters were healed to this day". The waters were healed that there should be from thence no more death or barrenness. God has in mind that there should be living conditions, and "living water" (John 4:10) freely available. The Lord said to the woman in John 4, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink ..." (verse 10). Well, the Lord is the blessed Source of living water, and He would have us to receive it.

We have in Ezra a wonderful day of recovery. What is prominent there are the vessels for the house of Jehovah. It says of Solomon, "the silver and the gold and the vessels he put among the treasures of the house of Jehovah" (1 Kings 7:51). Would you not like to be counted among the treasures of the house of Jehovah? There is a wonderful recovery here of vessels. We have in the first chapter the initial going up to Jerusalem, and the vessels are counted and put into the hands of faithful persons.

Five thousand four hundred precious vessels were to be brought to Jerusalem. It is good to keep Jerusalem before us, God's centre. Barzillai said, "thy servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king" (2 Samuel 19:36), but he did not go the whole way to Jerusalem.

Well now, this is the second going up, and God's mind is that we should go the whole way. Ezra was a priest, a teaching priest. It says of him in the previous chapter that he "was a ready scribe in the law of Moses" (verse 6). Wonderful features mark him, and he beseeches God in this chapter: "I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance" (verse 21). What a spirit of dependence and humility marked him as he went up to Jerusalem. God takes account of a spirit of humility, and a desire to seek a right way, and He will answer. And so God blessed them and made a wonderful provision and a way through. They did not have to depend upon the king for anything. God made a way through.

Then Ezra separates "twelve of the chiefs of the priests ... and ten of their brethren with them, and I weighed to them the silver and the gold and the vessels". We were speaking of the first chapter and how the vessels are counted, but here the vessels are weighed. We might be found among God's people -- it is a precious thing to have part in the fellowship -- but there is more than that required, and Ezra, it

says, weighed the vessels. Well, we are tested, each one of us, as to what weight we may have spiritually. What result is there from the captivity, from the exercises we pass through? Have we got more weight?

The vessels that are spoken of here were provided in Babylon, and those in chapter 1 had come out of Jerusalem. They were taken by Nebuchadnezzar and put in the house of his god. They were recovered vessels. I would particularly like to refer to the "two vessels of shining copper", what comes out of the sphere of pressure, what is able to endure the fire. God has great delight in that. Not only are they shining vessels but they are "precious as gold". Oh! how precious God's work is in the saints. Let us appreciate what God has done in one another, for saints have had much pressure, but how precious it is when it results in a shining vessel: "shining copper, precious as gold". Well, these vessels are on the way to the house of Jehovah. The great end of God's ways with us is that we should be set free, and have what is needed with which to serve God in His house. What an adornment all these vessels would have been in the house of Jehovah. Let us keep it steadfastly before us that God is securing a wonderful answer to the way He has made Himself known. God will have an answer equal to the way in which He has revealed Himself.

May all of us be found livingly, vitally, and with spiritual weight, serving God, for His Name's sake.

Falkirk, 10 May 1997.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER OUT OF A PURE HEART FERVENTLY

J. Mason

1 Peter 1:22 - 25; 1 Peter 3:8 - 12; 1 Peter 4:7 - 11

These scriptures have doubtless very much in mind the day in which we live. The Lord said that in the last days, "because lawlessness shall prevail, the love of the most shall grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). I think that has happened and is happening, but He did not say the love of all would grow cold; "the love of the most". The word of Christ shows what the general trend would be, but if you are in the minority, be in it fervently for Christ and for His people. The Lord knew that there would be some who would maintain affection for Him and who would love one another in the last days. So let us not be influenced by the general current around. If there is one thing we have to watch and judge constantly, it is the Laodicean atmosphere and influence that is everywhere, selfishness and empty pride marking so many with lack of affection for Christ. Their love has grown cold. The Lord says, "thou art neither cold nor hot" (Revelation 3:15). What a state! Let us be fervent; that is Peter's word, and in this section, "full of brotherly love" (chapter 3: 8). The way to work these things out amongst ourselves, dear brethren, is not in any haphazard, Laodicean manner, but in the fervency of love so that what is for Christ and for God is maintained and the best provided for one another in the spirit of Christ.

How blessed it is that the Lord Jesus would

impart His own features to us, bringing us to be "of one mind, sympathising, full of brotherly love, tender hearted, humble minded". These are things we need at the present time. You find hearts are pretty hard today. Men go on strike in hospitals; they do not care if people die. This is Christendom we are talking about, not China or darkest Africa, but countries where the gospel has been and the word of God has been and, thank God, still is. But what of the masses? This is what we have to give the answer to in what we are and what we live for. I think that in the true and genuine saints of God there is to be the clear answer to what is abroad in Christendom. If lawlessness prevails amongst men generally, what is prevailing among the saints? Obedience, subjection; that is the way to answer it. You may not argue a trade unionist round to your way of thinking, but you can demonstrate to him what a Christian is, what one is who is under the influence of Christ. You are doing the will of Another and you do not serve two masters. That leads to conditions where you get the spirit of Christ amongst the saints and then in display in testimony, too.

Peter goes on here to speak of other things. He assays, "not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but on the contrary, blessing others". You say, 'That brother railed against me'. Well, do not rail back at him, but be in an attitude of blessing. That is Christianity. What an answer that is; nothing else can overcome like that! It is very beautiful to see that these things that God is working out with

His people now bring out Christ's characteristics. When they railed at the Lord on the cross, what did He do? He said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Blessed Saviour! Oh! that one could have more of His spirit. So we are not to render evil for evil or railing for railing "but on the contrary, blessing others, because ye have been called to this, that ye should inherit blessing". This is how Peter describes our calling: "that ye should inherit blessing". Then he quotes from the Psalms as to what is for God and how God's government answers everything.

While we know the grace of God at the present time in such profusion, never forget that His government goes alongside. We need to be in the fear of God all the time and to be marked by much humility. As bringing out the features of Christ we can only invoke divine blessing, but God is watching the evil and the good. "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears towards their supplications; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil". Let us be amongst those who are doing good. We are in a circle of love where, as loving the saints, we are to be marked by the features of Christ, and even though we may be railed at by men, we bless. Peter got that from the blessed Lord as with Him in His life here. He saw the way He walked amongst men and amongst His own. What a Model He has left us, as Peter says, that we should follow in His steps!

In chapter 4 Peter says, "the end of all things is

drawn nigh". That is true. It is nigher now than it was then. "Be sober therefore, and be watchful unto prayers". This is important, dear brethren, for us, this simple education. But then he says a remarkable thing: "but before all things having fervent love among yourselves". Why does he say, "before all things"? This underlies the importance of what we are speaking about. If saints are to be carried through in peace, and in fidelity to Christ until He comes, there must be the inward working of love in the company. Every local company must see to it that there is a working out of fervent love. It brings in that word "fervent" again. Children brought up in that atmosphere enjoy it; the oldest in the company enjoys it; we all enjoy fervent love among ourselves. Let it be so, dear brethren, that we are increasing in it so that what is for the Lord is maintained in suitability and the blessed Spirit has the scope to develop in us all that which is for the divine pleasure.

There is not much growth where there is strife or difficulty, but where fervent love is operating among the brethren, you find a fine atmosphere, promoting growth. Now it is for me to add my quota to that; I am not merely preaching to others in this, but bringing out the word of God, especially what Peter says on this subject, and it is for every one of us to take it up. You say, 'I do my best'. Keep at your best then. The Lord knows your heart, He knows what you are doing, He knows what you are setting yourself for, but have we done our best yet? I think we could improve; for as we keep the Model before

us -- Christ -- we feel how far short we come of Him. If we are on the line of love we are on a good line, and Paul says, "that your love may abound yet more and more" (Philippians 1:9). Peter says, "fervent love". It suggests love in activity exerting its influence wherever it is working. You feel the atmosphere when you are in it. You know when you come into an icy atmosphere; you know when you come into a warm atmosphere too; that is fervent love among yourselves.

The world is cold outside, the difficulties may be many; many saints are going through trials in their health or their circumstances, but God provides an answer among His people. Oh! to be in that circle where fervent love is among the brethren. Peter says, "love covers a multitude of sins". None of us is sinless. There are many things that happen and we have to serve one another in love about that, too. In Leviticus it says, "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"; that is in a very interesting setting. It says, "thou shalt earnestly rebuke thy neighbour, lest thou bear sin on account of him. Thou shalt not ... bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Leviticus 19:17, 18). In other words, you are not speaking to your brother about his wrong-doing merely to censure him; you are speaking to him to help him that he may be preserved for the company, preserved for the Lord.

Now love working like that is pleasing to God; God sees it if love is working in the company. You

may say, 'There are other things'. But God sees the love and that covers a multitude of sins. I do not think that God is specially looking for evil among His people, do you? I think He is looking for love there. Well, let us display it, not in any mere natural way but in the power of the Spirit of God, and as the result of His formative work within us. "Love covers a multitude of sins". God loves to see the product of His own work in His people and He goes on with it. Think of the grace and goodness of God, how He goes on with us in spite of what we are. That is what we have to say, but let there be love somewhere, love in someone, love in two or three. I expect there is love in every heart; do not bottle it up, let it work, bring love into activity. "Fervent love among yourselves" is active love. So you have an opportunity to serve your brethren and they have an opportunity to serve you. I think that is a good way to look at it. Do not think you are the only source of love in the meeting. You need help too, so you have to be a good recipient of love's service as well as a good benefactor. We all need one another, dear brethren; we need the service of one another. Fervent love among ourselves leaves us happily dependent on one another and seeking the good of one another and gladly receiving love's service to one another.

So he says, "hospitable one to another, without murmuring; each according as he has received a gift, ministering it to one another, as good stewards of the various grace of God". Peter envisages, as Paul does, that every brother and sister has got some gift from

Christ. It is not a question of whether it is anything outstanding or not; if you have received a gift, what is that for? It is to be used for the good of others. "Ministering it to one another, as good stewards of the various grace of God". We have something that has been imparted to us by the grace of God and now we are to use it, ministering it to one another. Think of the increase there would be if we were simple in this respect, faithful to the Lord as good stewards, and ministering in humility according to God so that every one is receiving from one another. So there is great scope in whatever measure we may take these things up. You say, 'This is a high standard'. Well, Christianity is a high standard. Did you ever think it was a low standard? When did true Christianity have low standards? All the standards of Christianity are high and God has imparted to us His Spirit that we may be maintained at those high standards according to Christ. We could never maintain them of ourselves, but the Spirit of God can, in us and by us, too. What grace is in that!

Peter says, "If any one speak -- as oracles of God". That keeps you dependent. You just do not open your mouth and say anything; you are concerned about what you say. It is a question of the oracles of God. God is imparting something to His people and He would use you, or me, as a vessel. What a favour to be used like this. But we need exercise about it: "If any one speak -- as oracles of God; if any one minister -- as of strength which God supplies". The ministry is bringing God into

prominence, not the vessel itself -- "as of strength that God supplies". How blessed it is to minister like that, God supplying the strength. And so he goes on to say, "that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ". This little section ends up in a doxology. I hope these meetings today will end up in a doxology from all our hearts. What are they for but that God should be praised? If we have ministered, if there is something for the people of God, it is that there might be an answer from the saints to God Himself. "That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the might for the ages of ages. Amen". God is glorified through Jesus Christ. There is glory to God, there is glory to Christ, there is something that is going on to the ages of ages. What a God we know! What a blessed Man we know! What a Head we have in our Lord Jesus Christ!

May the Lord help us, dear brethren, by these few feeble remarks I have made. It is a question of our being together rightly and in the affections which the Spirit of God is producing. Let us love one another out of a pure heart fervently that there may be more and more for the pleasure of God, more comfort for the saints and more increase amongst us. Where there are happy conditions for the pleasure of God amongst us there will be more scope for the Spirit of God to form us more and more in the likeness of the Man whom we soon shall see. May the Lord bless His word to us.

Melbourne, 7 April 1979. [2 of 2]

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

H. P. Wells

2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Peter 4:12 - 14; 1 Kings 19:19 - 21; 2 Kings 2:1 - 15

One of the pressing needs at the moment is that the Spirit of Christ might be found in us and upon us. It can only be brought about one way, as indeed fruit can only be produced one way. It is fruit for God; the reproduction of the Lord Jesus in a practical way, in the ways and lives of the saints, goes up to God as an odour of a sweet smell, and cheers the heart of God and man.

I use these scriptures by way of illustration. The first, in 2 Corinthians, shows how the Spirit of God would help us in a practical way. "We all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory even as by the Lord the Spirit". It is viewed as a progressive matter, in which the Spirit of God is presented as primarily active. The idea is that we should all have our hearts and minds focused on the glory of Christ, who is now in heaven. The Lord Jesus is up there undertaking all our matters for us and representing us before God according to the fulness of God's thought; and the Spirit of God is down here, fully conversant with all our needs and all the pressure of the way, and is helping us so that He may produce within our hearts the features of that blessed One who fills the heart of God. God is so delighted with His blessed Son that there is no other man before Him now. There was at one time, in His

ways in the past, but that is all finished, and there is one blessed Man who fills the heart of God and is the occupation of heaven itself, and God is going to fill the universe with the features that came out so gloriously in Him, and shine now in His face. It is a wonderful thing that our minds and hearts will be focused for ever on the Lord Jesus. When we are in heaven there will be no distractions, no such thing as infirmity of the flesh, no wandering mind. How wonderful to be able to focus the heart's affections, and to focus the mind at the same time, on this blessed Person who fills the heart of God!

Now the Holy Spirit is with us and in us that He might produce a foretaste of that now. Just as Stephen saw the heavens opened (Acts 7:56), so the Spirit of God would, as it were, open up the heavens for us in order that we may see the glory that centres in the ascended Man, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not so much light and understanding and truth that we need, it is a vision of Christ that will so rivet the heart and hold us in spite of all that may attract us elsewhere -- hold us so that we leave all, rise up, and follow Him. That is what I covet for myself and for the brethren. There is nobody like Him. If He, as the glorious Man and glorified Man, fills the heart of God, can it not be readily understood that He can fill our hearts, all our hearts? That is what the apostle is labouring for; he says, "we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face". No doubt it is an allusion to Moses' time. But God shines out in Christ in all the blessedness that is His, and there is no veil,

there is uninterrupted gaze. He has not hidden anything, the features are there to be noted. The full attraction of this blessed Person is to lay hold of our hearts, so that we leave all, rise up, and follow Him. Dear brethren, we are going to do that very shortly.

When the assembling shout comes (1 Thessalonians 4:16), every heart and every mind and every eye will be riveted on Him. Why not now? Why not let us be ready for that marvellous moment, so soon to come, when this blessed Person will rise up and with an assembling shout He will gather together all the saints and have them for Himself? I believe the Spirit of God is bent on bringing us to the reality of that now, and is prepared to go to great lengths with the saints. I remember a brother saying that every Lord's day morning, when we come to remember the Lord, should turn out to be a kind of rehearsal of the rapture. I think that is a beautiful thought, and I am sure it is true. The Spirit of God would so play upon the hearts of the saints as to make every Lord's day morning a rehearsal of the rapture, so that we may be raptured in spirit, and may know something of it as a spiritual reality, before we are raptured in body. It is to be as real to us now as it will be when the Lord Jesus comes with the assembling shout.

"We all, looking on the glory of the Lord ... are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory". The nearer we are to the Lord, the more we shall see the outshining of the glory, and as we look and gaze we are transformed. It is transformation by contemplation.

Now that is one side of the truth. There is the other side, and that is the discipline of God, the ways of God. That is why I referred to Peter. "If ye are reproached in the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you". The Father may bring us, in His ways of infinite love and skill, through discipline, through purging, but it is all in order that we might take on these features of glory which He would disclose. I would desire to be like the apostle, glorying in tribulations. Why? Because he liked them? Certainly not, but because of what they produced. It is one of those chains of Scripture -- tribulation working endurance, endurance experience, experience hope, and hope makes not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us (Romans 5:3 - 5). God has infinite skill in His ways with us, and if we only accept the ordering of God with us -- and I say this as much to myself as to the dear brethren -- we shall find that God's end is always blessed, supremely blessed, and we shall find it so by experience.

Edinburgh, 8 December 1945 [1 of 2].

INCREASE OF WHAT IS FOR GOD

W. J. House

John 3:23 - 34; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Colossians 2:16 - 19

I thought to say a little as to the matter of increase, not of natural life, not of the physical creation around us, wonderful as that is, but the increase of what is of God and for Him in our souls, an increase that will continue; the increase of something that is for eternity must be a very great matter. The increase of flocks and herds, of fishes, of plants is only for a time and all are gone never to return, but when there is increase of what is spiritual in God's people there is something added that is for all eternity, and for the divine pleasure. What a great matter that is, dear brethren.

I would refer to these three passages in that way, John the baptist saying of the Lord, "He must increase", for this increase is to go on and on, until He fills everything. He has gone up, it says, "above all the heavens, that he might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). Think of such increase of what comes from Christ, what is descriptive of Him, until in the heavens and the earth there is nothing but what speaks of Christ. That is what filling all things means. Every other characteristic is eliminated and Christ fills heaven and earth. That lies behind John's remark, "He must increase". Secondly -- "the increase of his government and of peace". There is no end to that. There has been an end of every other form of government; in our day we have seen many a government disappear, and more are about to go, but

of the increase of His government, the prophet says, and of peace, there is no end. And, thirdly, the in-crease of the body of Christ, how that works, that the body increases with the increase of God. That is a marvellous statement! There is a vessel being formed at the present time called the body of Christ, and it is supplied from its glorious Head through joints and bands, but it is in view of increase that is of God.

In the first scripture John says of Christ, "He must increase". People were leaving John; they had been attracted by what John testified, but they were leaving him. Some came to John telling him "all come to him", to Jesus. That did not awaken any resentment in John; he says, "He must increase". "Must" is imperative and it is very interesting in John's gospel to take account of what is imperative. We may ask John, 'Why must it be?' Let us listen to what he has to say. I have been ashamed to think of how little I know Christ compared with John the baptist. The Lord said, "he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11). But how few know now as much as John knew! What does he tell us of Christ? He says, "He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me" (John 1:15). He says of this blessed Person, "He must increase"; "he was before me". The Lord Jesus was born after John, but John knows more than that; he said, "he was before me". 'Before I had any existence Jesus was; I know that; therefore He must increase'.

What else does John know? "He sees Jesus

coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". As come into manhood you cannot restrict such a Person as this. He must increase because of who He is. He also says He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John the apostle tells us more about the Lamb than any other writer; as the Lamb of God He takes away the sin of the world, sacrificially at Calvary; millions and millions have been delivered from lawlessness because of the sacrificial work of Christ. Peter says, "Christ indeed has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18) and "redeemed ... by precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18, 19). John in Revelation tells us how the Lamb will take lawlessness out of the world by judgment. It is the Lamb who deals with the whole scene, whether it be by sacrifice or by opening the book of God's judgments on the earth -- "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". He must increase!

Then John knows more than that -- how he puts many Christians to shame! "Again ... looking at Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:35, 36). He is not now thinking of the sins of the world, but of God's pleasure in being ministered to by Christ, in keeping with what Abraham said: "My son, God will provide himself with the sheep for a burnt-offering" (Genesis 22:8). Here is One who is entirely committed to ministering to the pleasure of God. He must increase!

More still; John the baptist says, "he who sent me to baptise with water, he said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him" (John 1:33) -- he knew Christ thus. He saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven as a dove and abiding on Jesus. John saw one of the greatest sights the eyes of man have ever seen. The Holy Spirit is a divine Person equal with the Father and Christ; His form, as far as He operates upon and in men, is not a bodily one. We have to do with Him under the figure of wind -- there is no form in wind; we have to do with Him as fire -- there is no bodily form in fire; we have to do with Him as breath -- there is no bodily form in breath, but "bodily form" (Luke 3:22) means the Spirit in His entirety. The Spirit in His totality could not be compassed by a creature. John says, "I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove". There is one blessed Man who could receive the Holy Spirit in His entirety. He must increase. Could it be otherwise?

John adds more: he says, Jesus is the Son of God -- "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding ... this is the Son of God" (John 1:33, 34). He heard the Father's voice say this of Christ. How few today really know the Son of God. The Son of God is Christ's name in manhood expressing His personal relationship with God. He is the Son of God -- what a name! what a glory! "This is the Son of God", testifies John. He must increase!

John says more: "He ... baptises with the Holy Spirit" (John 1:34). "I baptise with water" (verse 26).

The most I can do for you, he would tell us, is to immerse you in water; I cannot form anything in you, but this Person can baptise men with the Holy Spirit, so that instead of the unholy features natural to us, He can form in those thus baptised that which is descriptive of Himself. He must increase.

He tells us still more. John is asked, "Thou, who art thou?" (John 1:19) -- he says, 'No. I am not the Christ; I am sent before Him'. Jesus is the Christ -- one of His wonderful titles, the more you ponder it the more wonderful it becomes; one blessed Man anointed by God to whom God commits Himself without reserve. In measure God committed Himself to Aaron as anointed; to David; in a small measure He committed Himself provisionally to Saul, but in full measure He commits Himself to Christ. John says, 'I am not Christ; I am sent before Him'. Can such a One fail to increase, the One to whom God commits Himself? God is going to head up every-thing in Christ; the things in heaven and on earth.

In the scripture read John says Jesus is the Bridegroom. John is the friend of the Bridegroom and rejoiced greatly to hear the Bridegroom's voice. What marks the Bridegroom is that He has the bride; He has the undivided affections of His own, whether the earthly bride, or the assembly; He has the bride; He has her unqualified, undivided love. The Bridegroom must increase.

Now all this and more was in John's mind undoubtedly when he said, "He must increase". Such a Person must expand before the gaze of the universe

of God, but he says, "I must decrease". The reason why Christ is not greater to us than He is, is that we are not prepared to decrease. The more Christ increases, the smaller we become; one is the corollary of the other. The more John apprehended the greatness of Christ, the smaller and smaller he became in his own eyes -- maybe in the eyes of others too, certainly in his own. That is how God works. That is how Christ increases now; every thought that the Holy Spirit writes upon our hearts that adds to the greatness of Christ must result in our becoming smaller in our own eyes. If we are not prepared for that, I do not think the former is true. He must increase, but I must decrease. One is as necessary as the other. That is how increase takes place in this town for God. If the dear brethren want more for God here, and I am sure they do, it will come thus, that Christ becomes greater to each one of us and we become smaller in our own eyes.

Then in the passage in Isaiah 9 it does not say, 'his names shall be called', but "his name". That is, these wonderful titles make one name. That passage touches what we have looked at together a little as to the Son of Man. "Unto us a child is born". He is the Son of God and "the Son of the Father, in truth and in love" (2 John 3) -- the true Isaac, but that is not the point of view in Isaiah 9. "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given". This is the blessed Son of Man, but who is He? "His name is called Wonderful". It is impossible for the human mind to penetrate the inscrutability of Christ. "Counsellor" --

One who can give counsel as no other could. How blessedly the Lord counsels mankind; what perfect counsel it is. "Mighty God" -- "Father of Eternity" -- the One who is going to be a Father to men in the coming age -- the 'Father of the age' is the literal meaning, I believe. The blessed Lord is going to rule over men as a Father. Think of Nebuchadnezzar; think of Nero; think of the coming world ruler; there is nothing of a father about them. The Lord will rule as a Father for the thousand years; the rule will have a paternal character.

"Prince of Peace". "Prince" means 'Leader'. His lead is always in the direction of peace. I know He is a Man of war too, but all in view of peace. The prophet says, "Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end". As we start 1944, dear brethren, are we prepared for a little more government by the Lord? There is no real peace without government. Abolish the government of this country, or any country, however imperfect it may be, and peace is over; you will have utter disruption and confusion. The government of Christ is going to increase and increase till there is no end to it. The blessed sway of Christ is now to increase until every thought of ours is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), and with the increase of His government there is increased peace. The two stand together. "Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end".

Just a word as to the increase of the body of Christ, a wonderful thought found in Ephesians as

well as Colossians. Ephesians makes clear both the temple and the body increase. The temple is a building and the body an organism, and the assembly is both: "all the building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:21). The body builds itself up, increases itself, Ephesians 4:16 says. Colossians says, "increases with the increase of God" -- one of the most remarkable statements in Scripture. The increase comes from God; it is descriptive of God. How does such increase come about? "Holding fast the head". Here this is referred to in the negative; some do not hold the Head. Christ is given to the assembly as its Head, the Fountain of wisdom, of influence, of direction. The lack of increase is through the lack of recognising the Head. All the poverty in the assembly locally or generally today arises from not regarding Christ, not holding the Head, from whom comes the supply through the joints and bands.

The body of Christ is for the expression of Christ; it is a general thought and belongs to the whole assembly in its fulness, but it also has an application to God's people here -- "ye are Christ's body" (1 Corinthians 12:27) and increase here depends on the recognition of Christ as Head. We have as Head One in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells. How little, I fear, we really believe these things, dear brethren. In turning to Christ, we may draw upon One as Head, in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily. You could not conceive anything greater than that. What is wanted is that the joints

and bands operate. They are channels, not the source -- God forbid the idea that any Christian is a source. He is a channel; he carries from the Head into the body what will increase it. Now, all are needed for that; all in Corinth for its local expression. We suffer greatly because of the ruin of the church, but if there are ten or twenty available and all function, the effectual working of each one part, as in touch with Christ, you will have increase.

How beautiful to see the body of a child increase. Food, atmosphere, light, rest, environment -- the body grows. Take away supply, bring in perpetual darkness, corrupt the atmosphere, and you will soon have a dwarf and you will soon have death, but keep in touch with pure food and a holy atmosphere and a holy environment and the body increases itself in love. These things are not unworkable, dear brethren, they are workable here; there can be increase of God here as each brother and sister has to do with Christ and makes himself available as a channel for what comes from Christ to flow livingly into the body. When a member of our body does not function, it makes way for disease, and often what follows is a surgical operation. If we are not in touch with Christ livingly, moral disease gets in and who knows where that may end!

First, let us regard the greatness of Christ so that He may wax greater and ourselves smaller. Half the difficulties arise through people being too big. Paul, to whom Christ was supremely great, says he was "less than the least of all saints" (Ephesians 3:8). Then let

us have an increase of His government and of peace. Let us be available to contribute supply from Christ for the increase of His body in its local expression. It is a great thing to see what is true; there is in this town what is 'body of Christ' and if I live here I want to function and contribute to that, for it leads to increase that is of God. All other kind of increase will disappear, but this will remain in the assembly forever. May the Lord help us in these ways.

Katoomba, N.S.W., Australia, 3 January 1944.

PREPARED VESSELS

F. B. Frost

Romans 9:17 - 24; Ezra 1:7 - 11; Ezra 8:24 - 30; Revelation 21:1 - 3

What is particularly on my mind for this occasion is in the passage read in Romans, "vessels of mercy, which he had before prepared for glory, us, whom he has also called". It is wonderful to consider what this matter involves for the believer. A believer is a vessel whom God has called -- He has exercised His mercy in blessing us through the glad tidings, that we should each be a vessel prepared for glory. Now that glory, I believe, is not only future, but it is also present: "whom he has justified, these also he has glorified" (Romans 8:30). That is, the believer is glorified as having received the Spirit. The great object in believers receiving the Spirit is that they might be vessels for God's pleasure, and for His will.

There are two features of a vessel: one is that it might contain what is precious; the other is that it might be a vessel for pouring out in praise to God. Now we, as believers, have been prepared for this purpose, that we might contain the most precious things of God. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). How wealthy the believer is -- God's love has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us. So that each one of us is to be a vessel of divine love. And the Spirit has made us conscious of the love of God in our hearts. So that we are to be "lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:4) rather than lovers of self and lovers of pleasure -- features which are evident in the world today. In the midst of it God has operated sovereignly in His mercy, and He has secured saints as vessels, as those who know Him and know His love, and that they might be intelligent as to His thoughts.

We, therefore, have been prepared for something that is very great, not only at the present time to have part in assembly praise and response to the heart of Christ, but to have part in the assembly, the bride of Christ, in which God will tabernacle with men in the eternal day. My desire is that we might realise the dignity and greatness of what divine mercy has chosen us to have part in. The Spirit is preparing the saints for glory now; and glory involves what is for God: "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me" (Psalm 50:23). That is one feature of glory; another is moral excellence in display. Was it not seen in Jesus? He

glorified God here upon earth, and all that God looked for in man, He found in perfect expression in His beloved Son. What glory shone in that holy Vessel of divine grace, the Lord holding His precious body for the will and pleasure of God in every step that He took. So we have a wonderful Ideal before us in Christ. But it is not only that He should be an ideal, but that He should be formed in our affections. The love of Christ is to mean more and more to us; we are to be constrained by the love of Christ, and to have a right judgment of things as, in measure, knowing what is according to His mind, and according to His pleasure.

God can do what He pleases, and if He has taken you up, it is that you might be a vessel to honour: "for them that honour me I will honour" (1 Samuel 2:30). How do you become a vessel to honour? You leave what is not of God for what is of God. "Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19). Iniquity is the will of man operating in the things of God. What is inconsistent with the truth is the thing that believers are to leave. But then we are to go on with what is of God, to "pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart" (verse 22). That is the ground on which we meet at the present time, and we need to be maintained in it. So that, in naming the name of the Lord, we are not prepared to go on with anything that is inconsistent with His name and of which He would not approve. We have been given the Spirit that we

might be sensitive continually as to what is according to His name, and what is not. But lying behind it all is the sovereign mercy of God, and the riches of His glory: "that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he had before prepared for glory". And I think glory involves, at the present time, that there are persons, vessels, who have received the Spirit, and whose hearts are kept in a state of responsiveness. "The water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life" (John 4:14). Instead of an unresponsive heart in answer to the greatness of the love of God manifested in Jesus, there is to be a continual state of responsiveness.

In Ezra we have vessels that are counted -- that means that you are included in the number of those in fellowship; there are vessels that are weighed -- there was substance with them. I believe in our comings together we need to remember that, so that we come as ready to pour out, to contribute to the occasion. Even in our spirit, and our thoughts, as we sit there, we can contribute. It is a day of small things, and every one is vitally needed. So that our assemblings together are to be rich occasions, rich for the heart of Christ, rich in response to God, and if God gets His portion, we shall get our portion. There is no question about it. There is the side, of course, in which we receive things that we never expected. Let us all be contributors at our meetings.

The prophet Isaiah spoke about king Cyrus some 200 years before Ezra tells us of "the vessels of the house of Jehovah" being brought back to Jerusalem from the captivity in Babylon (Isaiah 44:28). Belshazzar, at his great feast (Daniel 5) had used some of those same vessels when he "and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver". Now those vessels are not lost; they, no doubt, were of great variety, but they are counted very carefully and are brought back from Babylon to Jerusalem. That is, they are brought out of the captivity of the public profession, you might say, where Satan has been so successful, and are brought back to the divine centre, Jerusalem, which for us would speak of the assembly.

Now these vessels were first of all counted. Have you been counted? The Lord counts His sheep. Has He included you? Have you committed yourself to what is exceedingly precious to God? God has provided wonderfully for us; christian fellowship is a most precious thing. It says, "Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?" (Psalm 78:19). A table in Scripture often speaks of fellowship. The Lord has provided fellowship for us, and we should be very thankful for it. But the enjoyment of it, or the gain from it, is experienced by our giving place to the Spirit. The christian fellowship is a very wealthy company. Each member of the body of Christ has distinctive impressions of Christ, and each, therefore, is a valuable vessel worthy to be counted. Satan, of

course, in his subtlety and deception, may delude us and take our vessels into captivity.

God had been displaced in the affections of the people and they were taken captive to Babylon, but God in His recovering grace brings back these "vessels of the house of Jehovah" in order that the service of God might be restored. Nehemiah has in view the building of the wall, but in Ezra we have the service of God: he set up the altar. But persons are needed, like these vessels, for the service of God, and that is the position at the present time. If we have been brought out of the 'captivity' in Christendom, and are naming the name of the Lord, we can be counted as vessels for God's service and praise. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done, and every one is needed. I think it is good to realise that God counts each person. You do not come into fellowship because someone else did; you must have your own personal links with the Lord, and so you come out to Him. I am not in fellowship because my father and mother were. Fellowship is a very precious matter between myself and the Lord and the brethren. It involves individual exercises if we are to continue in fellowship, otherwise we may lose fellowship through natural influences which may divert us. We need to come out directly to the Lord and have firm links with Him. "God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). So our having part in christian fellowship involves

individual exercise. That is, I believe, what the counting involves.

Now in Ezra 8 there is something further in that each vessel had to be weighed. I think it gives the idea of the substance that is in persons, spiritual substance, resulting from a history with God. The work of formation that we have been speaking of, has gone on. There is something substantial in the soul. You think of Mary bringing that pound of nard of great value (John 12:3) -- what a place Christ had in her affections! I think the weighing involves what is going on in our hearts. "Jehovah is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed" (1 Samuel 2:3). You say, I love the Lord. Is there any evidence that you love the Lord? "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). It is one thing to say, I love the Lord -- thank God that you do -- but you need to show it. God is looking for that, and He weighs you up, and He weighs me up, too. God knows all about us, and He is for His own, and He is seeking to help us. He wants us to get the most out of our life, for "It is even a vapour, appearing for a little while, and then disappearing" (James 4:14). Life is very short, and those of us who are older value every day. You may not think much about these things when you are younger, but each day is very valuable. Do not waste time. If you put the things of God first, He will bless you. You say, Even my employment? Yes, He will look after you there. You say, I am in a very difficult situation at the moment. Well, God is behind it. Many of us have been in difficult

situations in our employment, and wondered why God had taken us that way. We can look back as we get older and we can see the reason for it: God has a reason for all His dealings with us. He would have us cast upon Himself, and that the Lord Jesus might become more and more precious to our hearts. We may have to surrender and sacrifice much, but we receive an increasing sense of the love of Christ: "the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

The greatest power in the universe, that I know of personally, is the love of Christ. There is nothing like it. In this city, as a boy, one impression I received was of the love of Christ, and the dear brethren, in the enjoyment of the love of Christ, showed it practically, too, in hospitality. These are things that affected many of us when we were younger, and very wayward, for whom the world had quite a pull. But there was a greater pull in the christian circle with those who were enjoying the love of Christ. They were in the joy of it. There was something that held you, in spite of your own self-will. But then many things happen in our lives, but "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8). The love of Christ never fails; it is an unfailing love; it remains. All this enters into the spiritual weight that is suggested in the "vessels of the house of our God". Now this substance that is in the soul of the believer is to yield in intelligent praise to God. The Lord could say to one, "we worship what we know ... the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father

in spirit and truth; for also the Father seeks such as his worshippers" (John 4:22, 23).

In John's gospel much is present: for example, "I am the good shepherd" (chapter 10: 11), "I am the light of the world" (chapter 8: 12), and the Father is seeking true worshippers now. God will have worship eternally, and also now from those that hear the voice of the Son of God: "an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that have heard shall live" (John 5:25). That is an important thing: life is found in the knowledge of Jesus as the Son of God. Paul knew what it was: "I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Think of the substance that was there in the apostle Paul's soul, what a weighty vessel he was, and what a vessel of suffering, too, but what a vessel for testimony and response Godward. So that we have our human bodies, with all their natural frailty and weakness, but there is a treasure within.

Paul exhorted Timothy to "Keep, by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, the good deposit entrusted" (2 Timothy 1:14). The truth that has been given we are to hold on to as treasure, not merely as light in our heads. No! Keep it a little lower, in the heart. How does it get down from the head to the heart? It is under the influence of the love of Christ, as considering how things affect His heart, and what is next His heart, the assembly. The more you think of that the more it helps your own soul. You are not making yourself the centre, you are making Christ

the centre. Jeremiah said, "Let Jerusalem come into your mind" (Jeremiah 51:50). We have many matters to consider, but how much do we think of the assembly, of the greatness and glory of this vessel? What substance is there! The assembly will come down in the millennial day "having the glory of God" (Revelation 21:10). Think of the character of the assembly that will have part with Christ in that wonderful administration for one thousand years. We are being fitted for our part in it at the present time.

When it says the assembly comes down out of heaven, having the glory of God, you will notice it refers to the Lamb's wife: "Come here, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife" (verse 9), that is, for the millennial day. But the opening verses of Revelation 21 refer to after the millennium, and "a new heaven and a new earth". The assembly is not then described as the Lamb's wife, but "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" -- bridal affections for the eternal day. The Lamb's wife, the one who has learned to be a sufferer as the Lamb was, will reign with Him publicly in the millennial day. But for eternity the assembly is spoken of as "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband". This refers to the work of God that is going on now. The vessel is being prepared as a bride, with bridal affections for Christ. The vital issue at the present time is life. It is not just knowledge, but it is a question of living affections for Christ. May we be maintained at the present time, increasing in bridal affection for Christ, and in our appreciation of the assembly as the bride.

Should we not be preparing beforehand for such glory? "Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" -- for what is peculiarly for the delight of the heart of Christ, and what is uppermost in His own heart. "Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it" (Ephesians 5:25). Who could fathom what entered into that delivering up, when His faithful love was manifested in devotion to His God and Father's will, in His love for the assembly, and for you and me who form part of that wonderful vessel? We are being prepared, not only to have intelligence as to what is going to take place, but we are being prepared in our affections. I think that freshness of affection is a most important thing at the present time; fervent affection for Christ, and fervent affection for one another. I am challenged by it. But I bring it forward because this is what is in mind. We have been "before prepared for glory", and that is not only for the future, but it is present too. There is what is for the heart of Christ and for the service of praise to God now. Well, may we realise it more and more, and answer to it, for His Name's sake.

Cardiff, 17 May 1997.

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

H. P. Wells

2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Peter 4:12 - 14; 1 Kings 19:19 - 21; 2 Kings 2:1 - 15

Now I am going to turn back to illustrate this in the history of Elisha. I take it that Elisha is a spiritually

impressionable person. Would to God we were all that! He was a humble-minded man -- would to God we were all that! It says that Elijah departed and "found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yokes before him, and he with the twelfth". I think that exemplifies his humble- mindedness. He does not say, I will show you how to plough, and lead the twelve. He comes at the end. He is prepared to see the other twelve ploughing in front of him; a humble-minded man -- a great matter for spiritual prosperity. May the Lord help us to be humble! I believe the Lord can do a very great deal with a humble brother or sister. It is one of the rarest traits of Christ that you will find amongst the saints. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls" (Matthew 11:29).

As Elijah passes, he cast his mantle on Elisha and Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah, as if Elijah had given him an impression and left him. But Elisha acts on it; he answers to the impression immediately. He says, "Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. And he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him". Not only was Elisha an impressionable soul, but he acted on the impression. When Elijah threw his mantle on him he responded

immediately. It is a great thing to respond to the Lord, to respond to the impressions the Spirit of God may bring home to us. I believe we lose much by not doing so. He virtually makes a vow. He had done with his oxen and his plough; he rose up and followed him. He had burned his boats behind him; he could not go back. The oxen were killed, and the plough had been used to offer up this offering. It was an impression he got from Jehovah, and in the strength of it he makes a vow.

Have you, dear brother, dear sister, ever got an impression from the Lord? If you have, it is a great thing to make a vow. Not in your own strength, but tell the Lord what you would like to do. He says, Let me just go and say good-bye at home. Elijah did not object to that, he knew what home links were. The Lord knows everything. But the vow was made, and Elisha carried it out, and he does it publicly. "He gave to the people, and they ate"; they were all witnesses of this. It is a great thing for a young soul to do everything publicly; there is nothing to hide. Do you not think Elijah appreciated this? I am sure he did -- and God appreciated it. Elisha rose up and went after Elijah and ministered to him. That is a devoted person. Dear young souls, I would appeal to you. You may be very inexperienced, but be like Elisha, humble, unpretentious, but devoted. May the Lord help us to be devoted! If we realised the calling to which we have been called, we would not hesitate, we would be heart and soul in it, and that is what the Lord is looking for.

Now we come to the scripture in 2 Kings. "And it came to pass when Jehovah would take up Elijah into the heavens by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal". Elisha takes the initiative. Elisha had followed Elijah -- I know Elijah called him originally; so has the Lord called you. But now what are you doing? Can you take the place humbly but truthfully of a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus? Elijah takes him through a number of places, no doubt suggestive of spiritual experiences which the Lord would lead us through. He starts at Gilgal, the abnegation of the flesh -- cutting off -- a fundamental exercise with every one of us. Gilgal is the place of circumcision, and if you have had a vision of the glory of the Lord Jesus, and He has taken you up for Himself, what are you going to do? It is a question of the Lord and you, the Lord and myself.

Elijah tests Elisha; he says, "Abide here, I pray thee; for Jehovah has sent me to Bethel". He has already taught you certain lessons about the flesh. We know very well the things that hinder us and the things that help. That is an elementary lesson; it needs grace and the help of the Holy Spirit to refuse and to choose. The Holy Spirit will help you; He is going to move on and to give you a vision of where God may be found, that is Bethel, the house of God. You have already had certain impressions of God -- would you like to know where He dwells? It is a wonderful suggestion. If you go to a person's house you have seen and learned much more of him than in casually meeting him. God's idea is that you should

draw near and know something about His house -- what He likes and dislikes, and the circle of love that abides there. Elisha answers to the test and he says, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee!" How it must have rejoiced Elijah! How it would rejoice the Lord if, when a test comes for you, you say, Lord, I cannot leave Thee! So they go on.

The next place they come to is Jericho. I believe the Spirit of God will give you a vision of the world which stands as an obstacle to the saints entering into the land, into the purpose of God. God has purposes for us, and there are certain formidable obstacles that the enemy puts in the way. The Spirit of God would disclose these things in their true light. I believe this is another exercise through which the Spirit of God will faithfully pilot us. It was a threefold test, but Elisha answers to it. He answers with the same blessed, simple, devoted answer each time, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee!" The sons of the prophets say, Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from over your head? He says, I know it, I am going on. Oh! that the Lord would help some one here tonight, so that, cost what it may, he will not leave Him. The Lord will not forget it. I believe that the vows of saints are never forgotten in heaven.

"Abide here, I pray thee; for Jehovah has sent me to the Jordan". Again he says, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And they two went on". Jordan is death being rolled in, but it

is the gateway to the land of promise. It is the gateway to the heavenly purposes of God, and they are to be known now by the Holy Spirit -- not heaven when we get there, but heaven before we get there. And I believe the Spirit of God would bring home in living power what God has for us to be enjoyed now, that there may be fruit to His Father and fruit to Himself and prosperity to us and comfort amongst the saints. It is the wine which cheers God and man. It is the foretaste now of what will be the divine pleasure for ever, and these things are worth going in for. "And they two went on". That is abiding in Christ -- may I put it that way? The Lord is going on and you are going with Him. There is nothing said as to what they conversed about. The secrets of heaven? Dear brethren, I do not believe the Lord would withhold anything from us. The Spirit of God is with us, and it says that He "searches all things, even the depths of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10). This is a limitless land and we are to know something of it now.

"Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither; and they two went over on dry ground". The Lord Jesus will take you on dry and firm ground alongside of Himself. I believe we know something of this as we face Gilgal, as we know a little of Bethel, as we have seen the end of Jericho, and now we come into that which stands at the gateway of the purpose of God. The Lord Jesus would walk with us and we are to commune with Him, and the Holy

Spirit would bring the delights of that land and make them substance in our souls now, that God might have a present portion, that the Lord Jesus may have a present response, and that our souls may live in prosperity. I often think of that scripture which says, "thy countenance is fulness of joy" (Psalm 16:11). The shining of the face of God consciously known in my soul is fulness of joy.

Elisha asks for a double portion of that spirit. And as he sees Elijah go up, he takes the mantle of Elijah that fell from him. Would to God that we knew something of the mantle of the ascending Man, the features that marked Him! He takes it up and puts it on, and it is seen by others when he comes back again. They say, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha". Dear brethren, it is a marvellous thing; as we gaze we are transformed. We are helped by the discipline of the way too, and it will be seen as we take up the mantle of the ascending Man. May the Lord grant that every one of us may be exercised -- first of all to get a vision of Christ in all His blessedness! I believe the Spirit of God will do that for us if our hearts and minds are set upon this, discarding what hinders us. Then the Lord will show what the other weights are. And as we are set to follow this blessed, ascended, and glorified Man, He will captivate our hearts and impel us to leave all, rise up and follow Him. "We all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). You

take on characteristically the glories of this Person who fills God's heart with delight, and soon will emerge to a worshipping universe. Dear brethren, we want to be prepared and ready for that. May the Lord help us, for His Name's sake!

Edinburgh, 8 December 1945 [2 of 2].

TYPES OF THE CHURCH -- ZIPPORAH

M. W. Biggs

Exodus 2:21, 22; Exodus 18:2 - 4

Zipporah was the wife of Moses, and his companion during the time of his exile in the backside of the desert. It is remarkable that the exercises of the assembly should have been typified so long in the details of biblical history. "As many things as have been written before have been written for our instruction" (Romans 15:4).

Before considering Zipporah as a type of the assembly, it will be helpful for us briefly to glance at Moses' position when his bride was given to him. God had raised up Moses to be a deliverer of His people Israel. Moses "thought that his brethren would have understood that God by his hand was giving them deliverance. But they understood not" (Acts 7:25). Far otherwise was indeed the case -- they refused him. Moses thus affords a type of the Lord as rejected by His Jewish brethren. Moses fled into the land of Midian, fearing that Pharaoh would slay him when his killing the Egyptian became known; and it was during his sojourn there that

Zipporah became his wife.

As in the case of Leah and Asnath, Zipporah's children give us the features of the assembly in this type. In Exodus 2:22 only one son is spoken of, and we are told that Moses gave him his name, Gershom, as expressing the fact of his being a stranger in a strange land. It is necessary to have this feature of strangership if we are rightly to bear the marks of the assembly. If Christ's path was that of a stranger here, how can anything else mark the assembly? A manger His resting-place at the beginning of His lonely pathway, the cross at the end, the Son of man had not where to lay His head in His path as a stranger here. Marvellous fact that the Son of God should be found on earth in such circumstances!

Yet what other circumstances could He have had, since man was away from God, and the world was under the rule of Satan? "He was in the world ... and the world knew him not" (John 1:10). He certainly could have no part in such a world! His path was truly that of a stranger here, and as far as the world is concerned the position is unchanged, save that they sealed the rejection of Christ by crucifying Him. The world seeth Him no more. It is this path of strangership that the assembly is called to tread today.

If we recognise Christ's place as to the world, it will leave no question in our minds as to ours. Many believers, however, do not see this side of the christian path and this exercise of faith; and failing to do so, their lives become a practical denial of the

place Christ has in respect of the world. If He had no place in it, there surely can be no place for us.

But it may be replied that Christ has a place in this world; that His name is recognised; that stately cathedrals and thousands of elegant churches and other religious buildings proclaim that He is owned; that the very lords spiritual, as they are called, have a place in the rule of the land. This seems to be the case from a casual glance at matters; but upon closer examination it will be found that what appears like the recognition of Christ is really nothing of the kind. The assembly at the beginning was a heavenly company, with heavenly hopes, and followed the path and shared the rejection of a Christ who had been crucified here; and Satan who had influenced man in Christ's rejection, vigorously sought to get rid of His followers. God's hand, however, was over all and preserved His own in faithfulness, even to death if necessary.

Persecution failing, the enemy sought to corrupt the assembly -- he would add the name and customs of Christianity to his world. Undoubtedly it immensely improved the outward features of a world that at every turn had been frequently expressing the depravity and evil of man. The open profession of idolatry was largely abandoned; nations became professedly Christian; and the light and teaching of Christianity influenced the manners and reformed the morals of the world. But it was still the same world with the same ruler, Satan; and what is worse, it had acquired a deceptive character; evil had assumed a

christian garb! It is not at all necessary to have a personal faith in Christ, or to be born again, or to be converted, to have part in this christian world. A respectable life and the profession of some kind of creed more or less orthodox, and the possessor can pose as a so-called Christian, and rise to a position of dignity in religious circles without personally ever having had to do with Christ at all.

Does this mean that Christ is accepted, honoured and recognised here? Is it anything more than in mere name that He is owned? That there are thousands of real believers in such a state of things is true, but as the Lord Jesus Himself said, "they are not of the world, as I am not of the world" (John 17:14). Would that they knew it! No, dear reader, Christ is still "cast away as worthless" by men, and the path of the Christian is one of a stranger and a pilgrim here (1 Peter 2).

As in faith we accept such a position and seek to tread such a path, we shall bear this precious feature of the assembly. "And he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land".

The name of Moses' second son is not given us until the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt had been accomplished. We may learn from this fact that this second feature of the assembly is not one that is apparent during the time of its sojourn here in the world. The name of the second son was Eliezer, meaning 'God is my help' (chapter 18: 4). There can be no question as to God being our help now.

Faith delights to note the constant care of a Father's hand and to recognise the overruling mercy of a God who is the preserver of all men, especially those who believe. If a sparrow does not fall to the ground without our Father, we may indeed be comforted by the fact that we are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29 - 31); but it is faith that sees this. There is no outward evidence that such is the case. Does it appear that Christians are less afflicted with illness than others? Are their circumstances more pleasant, and their businesses more prosperous? Does it not sometimes look quite the reverse? Presently, how-ever, there will be abundant proof that all along God has been our help. Faith will receive its full answer when it learns the many ways in which the help of God has been over His people.

We little know how wonderfully God is working things together for our good; things that look most adverse are all used in this wondrous working of God. We could not trust our judgment as to these details. "We do not know what we should pray for as is fitting" (Romans 8:26); but though this is so, we do know that "all things work together for good to those who love God" (verse 28). The help of God will be shown to have been on behalf of the church when God bruises Satan under our feet (Romans 16:20.) The sense of this would keep our hearts very restful; our path as strangers here would be kept from any element of anxiety; for faith would give us a sense that whatever circumstances look like, God is our help.

This will also give us to accept the governmental ways of God with us. We may be quite assured that God's government and God's love are working together. The purposes of His love will presently find their full answer, and in the interim God's government is for our good. Whatever man may attempt or the enemy seek to accomplish, God is over all. What sweet rest of heart this gives! A wicked king may behead James and purpose to treat Peter in the same way; God allows him to accomplish his desire in respect of James, but not with regard to Peter. Persecutions as in Acts 11, decrees of Caesar as in Acts 18, the blunders of men as in Acts 21:29, storms of the sea as in Acts 27, are all circumstances that might appear to have been against the assembly; but God was over all, and each served its purpose in accomplishing His great design.

How little we know the wonderful ministry of angels during our time here. (See Hebrews 1:14). The whole power of the enemy will soon be actually broken; and it will then be made manifest that all along the apparently difficult history of the church, 'God is my help' was abidingly true.

The Believer's Friend, 1927, pages 21 - 27.

BEING FILLED

W. R. Mason

Proverbs 8:17 - 21; Romans 15:13, 14; Psalm 92:12 - 15; 1 Peter 1:6 - 9

I want to say a word, dear brethren, about being filled. These scriptures refer to that condition. God said to the people, "open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:10). How good it is to have a mouth filled with what is spiritual so that we can communicate something edifying and encouraging to one another. I feel more and more, dear brethren, that, as the time is so short till our education will be over, we need to redeem the time and be set on positive lines to help one another. We may have to draw attention to defects at times, but we do it in love and in the hope that the defects can be judged and what is positive may be entered into and maintained.

Paul says, "Every scripture is divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete, fully fitted to every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). Instruction in righteousness is an important thing. I suppose ministry should contain these four features: teaching; conviction, that our consciences are touched; correction, where needed; and instruction in righteousness; it is a very full service.

It is a great matter to be interested in wisdom. Peter in his epistle speaks of wisdom in Paul's ministry: "according as our beloved brother Paul

also has written to you according to the wisdom given to him, as also in all his epistles" (2 Peter 3:15). Paul, "as a wise architect" (1 Corinthians 3:10), knew how to act in the spirit of that wisdom which comes down from above, for "the wisdom from above first is pure, then peaceful ... full of mercy and good fruits" (James 3:17). He had moved in wisdom in all the assemblies where he went, building them up in the knowledge of God and of Christ, and in the knowledge of God's purposes. Peter's ministry and John's ministry were more general, but Paul was set to have assemblies in every place where he laboured, so that there would be gatherings where the Lord could come, and where God's service could be carried on in wisdom and in spiritual power.

I suppose the revival that started one hundred and seventy years ago had a similar result at the end of the dispensation: the revival of the truth as to local assemblies and the testimony and service that is proper to them. And to enable that to continue, God puts the spirit of wisdom amongst His people. In regard to the building of the tabernacle, Moses said, "Jehovah has called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, and to devise artistic things ... and he has put in his heart to teach" (Exodus 35:30 - 34). Aholiab was associated with Bezaleel in this great work, so the tabernacle was completed by men filled with the spirit of wisdom, knowledge and under-standing,

able to devise things. They were not going by precedent, for there was no tabernacle built before; all was fresh and new according to the divine instructions imparted to Moses. And so we have to think of ourselves in that way; situations arise in our localities which call for wisdom to solve the problems, and the answers bring about beauty and stability. Bezaleel and Aholiab were able to "work in gold, and in silver, and in copper ... and in carving of wood" -- what men they were!

Paul was like that in the assemblies, ministering that there might be features formed in the saints that are precious and attractive to Christ, and setting out Jesus Christ himself. Some disciples were asking in Corinth as to a manifestation of Christ among them, and Paul said, "examine your own selves if ye be in the faith; prove your own selves: do ye not recognise yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobates?" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jesus Christ was in them. How did He get into them? He got into them as a result of Paul's ministry. He says, "I did not judge it well to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). That should be the binding power, dear brethren, in all our meetings, be they small or large, that Jesus Christ is the Centre, and He is the foundation on which everything is built, the "second man, out of heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:47), of a different order altogether from the man of the earth.

Wisdom is personified in Proverbs 8"I love those that love me". That is a kind of abstract

statement, but wisdom is seen and proved now in the Holy Spirit. "And they that seek me early shall find me": I would like to encourage the younger brethren to seek wisdom early in life, and earnestly, and they will find it. It was said of the Lord Jesus as a boy that "God's grace was upon him" and He "advanced in wisdom and stature" (Luke 2:40, 52). Then at twelve years of age He was found in the temple, "sitting in the midst of the teachers and hearing them and asking them questions" (verse 46). It has often been said that He probably had to answer His own questions, but the spirit of wisdom was there. It took His parents three days searching in Jerusalem to find Him. Would you not think they would have gone to the temple first of all? He loved the habitation of God's house, the place where His glory dwelleth (Psalm 26:8). He says, "did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49).

Oh! dear brethren, young and old alike, let us get into our Father's business and keep at it every day. It says, "that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasuries". Oh! let our hearts be treasuries for divine wisdom, the things of God. "Riches and honour are with me; durable wealth and righteousness"; millionaires have to die and leave all their wealth -- it is not durable; you will take nothing to heaven with you except your knowledge of God and of His things. As believers, to be developing in the knowledge of God, and having our treasuries filled, exceeds anything that this world can

offer. It says, "My fruit is better than fine gold, yea, than pure gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I walk in the path of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment". That is like 2 Timothy 2:22, where we are to "pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart". Let us love wisdom, dear brethren; let our treasuries be filled with this blessed quality that comes from on high, for "Christ Jesus ... has been made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). Let us open up our hearts to Him more and more. Let Jesus be a real personal Friend, and prove how He comes in to help in every detail of life.

Well, our path should be marked by piety daily. What a useful servant Timothy was. Paul said to him, "Laying these things before the brethren, thou wilt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which thou hast fully followed up" (1 Timothy 4:6). Let us get to the Scriptures every day to have our souls nourished with the words of the faith. What food it is to feed upon, to chew over, as Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them" (Jeremiah 15:16). That is how to go to the Scriptures, dear brethren, to feed upon them, that they may get into our constitution and form us, directing our outlook heavenward, and centring our affections on the glorious Man who fills heaven.

Paul addresses the Roman saints in chapter 15 wishing that "the God of hope fill you with all joy

and peace in believing". Around us are people who have no hope. We have the hope of the resurrection, and the hope of the Lord's coming, "the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Is that what marks us, or are we gloomy persons weighed down with the sorrows of the testimony and the burdens of the path? The believing soul rises in spirit above all these circumstances to the atmosphere of heaven where Christ is the blessed Head and Centre. Paul says, "so that ye should abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". A servant of the Lord used to say, 'If you keep looking back, you will be gloomy. Church history is not at all encouraging; there has been so much ruin and breakdown, but look ahead and you will be filled with hope'. "We boast in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2). I have often thought that refers to the holy city coming down, having the glory of God (Revelation 21:10). We ourselves will be part of it when the saints come out to be manifested with the Lord.

Paul says as to the company here, "I am persuaded, my brethren, I myself also, concerning you, that yourselves also are full of goodness". Oh! could that be said about each of our localities? "Full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another". Here is a company that is able to look after its own affairs, for divine resources are placed in each locality, and if the Lord is in the midst and the Holy Spirit is indwelling the members of the body of Christ, what more do we need? Paul

did not tell the Corinthians to send over to Cenchrea for help. No; he says, You can solve the problems yourselves: "ye and my spirit being gathered together, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 5:4) to effect administration, and they did it too. We must remember, and respect, that God has placed adequate resources in each local assembly. So Paul says, You "are full of goodness". Let that be the spirit in which we operate, dear brethren -- from goodness, not jealousy or criticism. "Speak not against one another, brethren", James said to the saints he wrote to (chapter 4: 11). We can complain about ourselves to the Lord and ask that our defects may be removed. Let us pray with affection for our brethren, commending them into the hands of perfect grace and righteousness. What miracles God can work! Oh! for more prayer. And they were "filled with all knowledge" -- that shows that they must have been following up Paul's ministry.

In Romans 12:1 Paul tells the saints to present their bodies "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service". Now that was said to a mature company, and is to be a daily experience for every one of us. As you waken up in the morning, commit your body to the Lord for the day, a "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God", and this mature company of Romans, who "are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another", each has to take this fundamental step. The future day will be filled with glory, as Jehovah said through Haggai, "I will fill this

house with glory ... The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former" (chapter 2: 7, 9).

In the beginning of Luke reference is made to persons being filled with the Holy Spirit. John the baptist was to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb (chapter 1: 15). That must have been something unique. When Elizabeth, John's mother, "heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (chapter 1: 41), and began to bless Mary. There was this holy woman in the hill country of Judea, filled with the Holy Spirit, and after her husband, Zacharias, called his son's name John, he "was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied" (verse 67). And it was said of Jesus that He was "full of the Holy Spirit" (chapter 4: 1). These are precious impressions put in the Scriptures for us.

On the day of Pentecost there "came suddenly a sound out of heaven ... and filled all the house where they were sitting ... And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak forth", and the people around them heard the glad tidings each in his own dialect (Acts 2:2 - 6). That was what marked the conversion of the apostle Paul too, as we read in Acts 9:17, when Ananias was sent to him and said, "Saul, brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus that appeared to thee in the way in which thou camest, that thou mightest see, and be filled with the Holy Spirit". That marked his whole pathway, so that he could call upon the saints at Ephesus to "be not drunk with wine ... but be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs ... giving thanks ... for all things to him who is God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:18 - 20). In the reading meetings and in other meetings when we gather for ministry, as the meeting begins and the Scriptures are read and saints begin to contribute, you find the Spirit welling up in you as your heart is occupied with Christ and with divine and heavenly things.

I read the passage in Psalm 92 as a word for older brethren. It is good to have a word for them as well as for the young. "The righteous shall shoot forth like a palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar on Lebanon" -- there is the evidence of life in persons. Barzillai was not like that, he was a man who preferred the comforts, and joys and consolations of nature (2 Samuel 19:31 - 37). David had offered to maintain Barzillai in Jerusalem, but he was not ready for it. But here we have, "Those that are planted in the house of Jehovah shall flourish in the courts of our God". Oh! for more of this to be evident amongst us, dear brethren: planted in the house of God, and flourishing there -- there is nothing like being in the meetings.

"They are still vigorous in old age". Some persons take early retirement or semi-retirement from their employment, but let us not do that spiritually. Paul and Peter went on to their last days serving the Lord with might and vigour. "Vigorous in old age, they are full of sap and green": such persons are marked by the presence and liberty of

the Holy Spirit. May we value the gatherings together of the saints more and more. We will dry up if we give them up, so may we "flourish in the courts of our God".

Paul was interested that the Colossians might go on to full growth, and he says, "from the day we heard of your faith and love, do not cease praying and asking for you, to the end that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9). One would like to hear more reference to this in our meetings for prayer. We pray for the gatherings of saints around the world, and for our sick brethren, and for other circumstantial matters, but what about these great spiritual realities: "that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so as to walk worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing by the true knowledge of God"? and then he adds, "strengthened with all power according to the might of his glory unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy" (verses 9 - 11).

You see that with men like Caleb and Joshua, what endurance and longsuffering marked them in the midst of an unbelieving generation. You see it with David, how he persevered to the end, and died in "a good old age, full of days" (1 Chronicles 29:28). Well, not everybody's is a good old age, but David's was, and so was Abraham's (Genesis 25:8), men who are spoken of as having died "in a good old age". Let the older brethren be concerned about this and be

strengthened unto all endurance and longsuffering, not with groaning, but with joy.

Where we read in 1 Peter 1, Peter was an old man, a very fatherly man, one who had laboured much for the Lord, and the Lord had told him, "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire" (John 21:18). That was crucifixion. Was Peter downcast, or disappointed? No. He says, in his second epistle, "I will use diligence, that after my departure ye should have also, at any time, in your power to call to mind these things" (chapter 1: 15); that they would be able to call to mind the great truths that he had set before them. What a fatherly spirit is exuded in those chapters.

Peter referred, where we read in 1 Peter 1, "to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance, reserved in the heavens for you" (verse 4) -- so we will never lose it. The Lord has gone "to prepare you a place" in the Father's house, and He said, "I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be" (John 14:2, 3). In the meantime we "are kept guarded by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye exult, for a little while at present, if needed, put to grief by various trials". Let us learn to look upon our trials in this way, beloved brethren, not as something irksome, a burden to be shunned, but something that is needed for the good

of our souls. "Put to grief" by them -- that makes us dependent upon God. Then there is "the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes, though it be proved by fire, be found to praise and glory and honour in the revelation of Jesus Christ". Are we not thankful that we can call upon the Lord to give us endurance and fortitude in view of a great result that will "be found to praise and glory and honour in the revelation of Jesus Christ: whom, having not seen, ye love". What a beautiful touch of Christianity: we have not seen Him, but we love Him! He is a real Person to us. This is faith's portion, faith's activity. We love One we have not seen. The natural man could not understand that, but we see Jesus with the eye of faith and we love Him, and He is to become more and more loveable to us, dear brethren, as the days go on.

So Peter says, "on whom though not now looking, but believing". The disciples looked upon Him on the holy mount and they saw His glory there, briefly; that was a provisional appearing for their education, but they went on believing on Him. And believing is to characterise our daily lives. "Ye exult with joy unspeakable and filled with the glory". Oh! one prays to know more about that. I am sure we get a touch of it at the Lord's supper, as He comes in and manifests Himself to us, and the Spirit is there quickening our affections. Paul says, "But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from

glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). And here, "ye exult with joy unspeakable" -- you just cannot describe it. When Paul "was caught up into paradise" he heard "unspeakable things said which it is not allowed to man to utter" (2 Corinthians 12:4) -- they belonged to another time. May we be exulting now, dear brethren, "with joy unspeakable and filled with the glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls". I hope we will be all encouraged by these thoughts, and may God bless His word.

Blairgowrie, 14 June 1997.

THE GOSPEL FOR THE HOUSEHOLD

J. Taylor

Isaiah 44:1 - 5

We have warrant in Scripture for addressing the gospel message to the saints, for, as you all know, doubtless, the epistle to the Romans was addressed to the saints at Rome, and it unfolds the gospel as no other epistle does. It is, indeed, said to be the gospel of God concerning His Son, and so I have in mind to address the saints, particularly parents, in connection with their households, and incidentally to speak to the young. God takes account of parents, for normally the households of believing parents should also believe. God encourages parents in the message to the jailor at Philippi, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house" (Acts 16:31). It is not that the parents can save them from

certain features of the world; but the result of the message to the jailor would be to turn the heart of the parent to God.

I have been encouraged to turn to this passage because it holds out great hope for parents, God saying that He will pour out His Spirit upon their seed. Wonderful promise! We may well be encouraged, those of us who have households, to pray in the light of this promise, as God says, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed". Those of us who have households know by experience what the flesh is in our children. I often read Jacob's blessing of the tribes in contrast with that of Moses. Wonderful man though Moses was, he was not the parent of the tribes. In Deuteronomy 33 he views them, in his blessing, not in their crookedness, or their wicked-ness according to the flesh, but, typically, as having the Holy Spirit. In no sense, in a way, are parents more encouraged than when their children get the Holy Spirit. We are then entitled to look at them in a new light, not only as our offspring, but as saints, as part of the house of God. The parent regards them then as a man of God would. A man of God, as such, thinks of God, of the house of God. Moses in blessing the tribes views them as a man of God. He has no complaint to make, no reproof; the tribes are viewed as possessed typically of the Spirit, whereas Jacob is the parent. "Listen", says he, "unto Israel your father" (Genesis 49:2).

The father knows the child best. So Jacob begins with Reuben, and then he speaks of Simeon, and

then of Levi, and there is not a good word. Let parents beware of hiding the crookedness of the flesh, of deceiving themselves as well as their children, and interfering with the operations of the Spirit of God, for, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6). You cannot alter it. Do not attempt to hide it, or to palliate it, or minister to it, for in so doing you but interfere with the work of the Spirit. Jacob made no attempt, in speaking to his sons, to hide their guilt. No one knew it better than he and he exposed it to them. Nevertheless, every one of the tribes was blessed. This should be an immense encouragement to us. Jacob had faith in God; and so parents have an example, in the man of faith, not to attempt to palliate or hide or encourage the flesh in their offspring. God is not doing it. Our children are no better than others; they are born after the flesh. Whatever you may think about them, however delightful they may appear to you, they need to be born again, as the Lord said to Nicodemus (John 3).

Those who in Nazareth marvelled at the gracious words which proceeded out of the Lord's mouth, did so only for the moment, and the next moment "led him up to the brow of the mountain upon which their city was built, so that they might throw him down the precipice" (Luke 4:29). Such is the flesh! Hence He did not commit Himself to them (John 2:24). But "there was a man from among the Pharisees, his name Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; he came to him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that

thou art come a teacher from God, for none can do these signs that thou doest unless God be with him" (John 3:1, 2). He had light in his soul, and the Lord says to him, "Ye must be born again" (verse 7, Authorised Version). What a word that was! "The teacher of Israel" (verse 10) is faced with this cardinal truth; a truth which is denied and rejected all around us. The Lord faces him with it at once; and so I would say to the best behaved, the best trained, the most obedient children in this company, "Ye must be born again". It is imperative. That nature you have which seems, perhaps, so affable, may, some day, unless you are born again, turn traitor to Christ. As soon as the restraint is removed, that heart of yours is capable of driving a nail into the hand of Christ.

Then the Lord further says, "The wind blows where it will, and thou hearest its voice, but knowest not whence it comes and where it goes: thus is every one that is born of the Spirit" (verse 8). Were that not true the Lord's announcement would be cold comfort, but the wonderful fact is that the wind was blowing, and it was blowing where it listed. God was acting sovereignly, and He is doing so now. He is working today. My word would be ineffective if God were not working by the Spirit; as the word says, "my Spirit, remain among you" (Haggai 2:5). When the wind blows and it strikes you, you are brought down. You discover that in you, that is in your flesh, no good dwells. Those of us who look on know something of that. We thank God you are different from what you were. You are not so haughty, so

proud, so self-satisfied; you are miserable. Thank God for that misery if it exists in any one of you. You realise you are unfit for God, that you need forgiveness. The gospel is for you; indeed, it is the blessed mind of God for you. It tells you about Christ; about His work on the cross; about forgiveness; about the gift of the Spirit. It tells you of Christ risen, and that God has made Him both Lord and Christ. Such light is what your soul needs, and what your soul embraces gladly if you are born again.

God says, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed". If God pours out His Spirit upon you, it is more than new birth. You do not get the Spirit in new birth; you get a certain work of the Spirit. The Spirit comes from heaven as a gift from God to those who believe in Christ and who obey Him. Think of the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit of God. God promises it; He says, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed". Parents can count on that. I need not say that this blessing is not limited to the seed of Christians. If there are those who have unconverted parents, the same offer is to you. God proposes to give His Spirit to you also, on the ground of faith in Christ. As Peter said, "Repent, and be baptised, each one of you ... for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). So that the proposal is for all; but I particularly refer to the young ones. God proposes to pour His Spirit upon you. Are you prepared for it?

And then, as you will observe, He says, "they

shall spring up among the grass". After forgiveness and receiving the Spirit of God you begin to grow. "They shall spring up". Now grass in Scripture represents the energy of life. We get other pictures of life, in the animals, for instance, but grass in the field represents life as it appears among the people of God, the fruit of the Spirit. In referring to it one desires that God would in these days bring in our households; and if they are to grow, according to this passage, there must be the grass, that is, the evidences of life among the people of God. God would afford in the grass what is, as it were, attractive for the young. They find something in the meeting and in their households. There is little grass in a household that has not the reading of the word of God and prayer daily. Grass is to appear around them as the evidence of spiritual life. They grow up among that; they spring up instead of seeking their satisfaction in the pleasures of the world. The enemy is devising attractions for them. We need the grass, dear brethren, as a counter-attraction to save the young. They shall spring up among it, it says, "as willows by the water-courses".

Water-courses refer to those occasions in which the Holy Spirit has a free hand. The water is running. You see, God would have it thus. If He pours His Spirit in His grace upon the offspring of His people, He also would have among His people the grass and the water-courses. Water-courses are for life. The young people come into touch with the ministry of the word in the energy of the Spirit in

those seasons in which the Holy Spirit is free. They grow up like willows, it says, "willows by the water-courses". It is for the young people to know how much this agrees with their experience. And now, as having received the Spirit, you attend the meetings; you enjoy the evidences of life among the people of God, and presently you speak in the language of the next verse: "One shall say, I am Jehovah's". I am the Lord's; not now your parent's only, you belong to the Lord.

Let me entreat you young people to make confession. Confess to whom you please: your mother, your father, your brother, or your sister, or anyone in whom you have confidence. Make a bold confession; take a stand in your soul, in the language of this verse, and say, I am the Lord's. You are His indeed; He has bought you; He has rights over your soul; He has given Himself for you.

Then further: "another shall call himself by the name of Jacob". You say, Jacob is not a name I like to be called by. You may prefer to be called Joseph. But if you acknowledge you are the Lord's the next thing is that you accept responsibility. One of the most important features of a Christian is to honestly accept obligation. Saul said: "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). I need not speak of the use he was to the Lord afterwards; his history is well known. It is an incentive to accept obligation, that the Lord may use you; He may give you work to do which the archangel Michael might desire to do. To Saul he gave work to do which angels might well

covet. And so, if you accept obligation, that is, call yourself by the name of Jacob, God will give you something to do. He will employ you in His service, and instead of criticising others, you will think of doing something yourself. Obligation steadies you and sobers you; it brings you into accord with the Lord Himself. He took all our obligation on Him. It is an immense thing for young Christians to accept obligation.

And, further, "another shall write with his hand: I am Jehovah's, and surname himself by the name of Israel". And well you may, for it is a name which spiritually is covered with glory. It really refers to the Christian as he is seen in the epistle to the Ephesians, even as Jacob designates him as seen in the epistle to the Romans. In Romans the believer accepts obligation; "that the righteous requirement of the law", for instance, "should be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to flesh but according to Spirit" (Romans 8:4). It is an immense thing, as I said, to accept obligation. It is not such as you fear, for you have the Spirit; you walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. When you write down your name you wish it to be recorded permanently. You are not going to discard the name you have written with your hand, which is Israel; figuratively the saints as seen in the epistle to the Ephesians. I refer to it because it shows us how the gospel leads us on step by step until we reach the divine standard. Israel is the spiritual man. By comparing Genesis 32 and other scriptures in which Jacob and Israel appear we shall

see that the former generally represents responsibility and the latter spiritual power and blessing.

The gospel proposes that we should be brought into the greatest family in the whole universe of God. Nothing less than that is the divine proposal. God gives us not only His Spirit, but He gives us His Spirit as the Spirit of adoption. As it says: "For ye have not received a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15). We are brought into the family of God. There are other families. The Father names all the families in heaven and on earth. Think of subscribing yourself as belonging to the greatest family in the universe. You do not wish that recalled. And now think of the standard of that family: it is the Son of God. We are to be conformed to the image of God's Son, that He may be the Firstborn among many brethren. Think of the dignity of it! The gospel proposes nothing less.

May God lead us to the full height of the gospel, the elevation and the power of it, so that we may come out here like Christ and like God. We are to come out in our dignity, and like the apostle Paul, less than the least of all, to minister unto all. That is the divine intent.

The believer's house has a much greater place in Scripture than is generally understood. The house or household is noted from the outset. Indeed, the book of Genesis alludes to it more, perhaps, than any other. The headship of the man is a marked feature

of the house. Adam named his wife twice, but Eve began to name the children as they were born (Genesis 4:1, 2, 25). This was Adam's prerogative, and in naming Seth in Genesis 5:1 - 3, he made a new beginning, and evidently re-established his headship.

The birth of Methushelah necessitated that Enoch should walk with God. "Enoch walked with God after he had begotten Methushelah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters" (Genesis 5:22). It is clear that the advent of a family made a walk with God imperative for this man of faith. What an example was set to Methushelah and his brothers and sisters by their father!

Noah, the next man of faith, "prepared an ark for the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7). In him there was a new beginning. He "was a just man, perfect amongst his generations: Noah walked with God". His sons are mentioned in chapter 5 in chronological order, but in chapter 6 they are again spoken of after it is stated that their father was a righteous man and walked with God. How privileged they were to have such a father! Noah prepared the ark in which God mercifully preserved him and his house through the deluge. He honoured God and God honoured him, but afterwards Noah failed. Alas! he did not control himself, and hence was disqualified as head of his house. Where Noah came short, however, Abraham shone brightly. His house was pleasing to God. The divine visit to the patriarch, recorded in Genesis 18, would show this. It is touching to note the mutuality that marked this visit. At Emmaus, as spoken of in