MATTHEW'S GOSPEL IN VIEW OF THE ASSEMBLY (2)
MATTHEW’S GOSPEL IN VIEW OF THE ASSEMBLY (2)
Matthew 5:1 - 26; Matthew 5:43 - 48
JT It is a feature of Matthew that mountains are brought forward in relation to the subjects of the book. There are seven of them. This in chapter 5 is the first one. They run on to the end of the book and the last one is where the Lord appears in Galilee to the disciples. In this chapter the Lord is said to have gone up into a mountain; it says, “But seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain”; the article ‘the’ is characteristic there. “And having sat down, his disciples came to him; and, having opened his mouth, he taught them”. What has been said will help us, I think, as to the objective in this chapter, namely the exhortation in the last verse, “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. It is as if there is available to us in the instruction the power of inwardness in which to develop in the truth and in what is acceptable to God and effective in the administration, because it is a question of administration in this chapter. It is said of David that he encouraged himself in the Lord his God, meaning that there was inward power to gather himself up in difficult times and adjust himself, adjust himself; not to wait for God to do it, but to do it himself. I thought therefore that what has been remarked should govern our consideration of this chapter. It is what we may call the mount of legislation. There is a mountain called the mount of transfiguration, but here it is the mount of legislation; not simply that we are transfigured but that there is power in us to adjust ourselves. In this mountain of legislation things are to be put right with authority. There is ability granted to us to put ourselves right. We are to be called the sons of [p. 21] God, and to be among those who see God; marvellous thought, the blessed ones who see God!
ANW By legislation do you mean that He is setting out the laws that govern the kingdom of which He is Head?
JT Just so, because everything has to go through; nothing has been written down in a haphazard or light way but in a true way; that is to say, the things have to happen. Nothing shall pass away; He says, “One tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled”. Everything must go through that is in the divine mind.
Rem It is remarkable that in the chapter you alluded to in Samuel it says that “David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). In that chapter he legislates, because it says there, “For as his share is that goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that abides by the baggage: they shall share alike. And it was so from that day forward; and he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day”, (verses 24,25). He legislated, did he not?
JT That is to say, he is the king. David is the king.
JVC If there is to be administration rightly, is it not necessary to come to where the Lord is on this mountain?
JT Exactly, that is just what you get here: “But seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain, and having sat down, his disciples came to him”. They came to Him, that is the principle of it. That is to say they are moved, they are governed by what He does. And of course that enters into assembly conduct on our part; because Matthew is the assembly book and as of the assembly we have to learn from it. This matter of coming to the Lord is on elevated ground; it is not, as we get in Luke, on the level where the Lord met His disciples, but here it is elevated ground for [p. 22] legislative purposes.
VCL This position seems to divide between those that are just of the crowds and those who are called disciples, because it says, “his disciples came to him”. Does that differentiate between them and the crowds?
JT That is the idea, they are discriminated rightly, the word ‘disciples’ is not the word ‘crowds’. The disciples came to Him, the crowds did not come to Him. ‘The crowds’ is a form of expression that indicates irregularity; they were not regulated properly, whereas the disciples are; they are governed by the Master, the One by whom they are taught. They learn from their Master.
Ques So in Deuteronomy where we get mount Gerizim and mount Ebal it says that Moses said to the people, “This day thou art become the people of Jehovah thy God”, Deuteronomy 27:9. Should we not realise in our relations here that we are the people of God and He has a right to legislate?
JT Yes, quite so; we are that if we are. I hope we are realising it here now, and I believe we are. There is such a thing as God legislating, but outside here in Washington the thing is not so.
ANW So it says in Acts that “they ... taught a large crowd”, (Acts 11:26); and following on that the idea of the assembly comes into view.
JT Just so. Really the assembly is seen in this whole book. The last mountain is the mountain at Galilee where the disciples went and met the Lord by His appointment; He appointed them to meet Him there and they were under control. That is the great feature of the assembly, that we are under the Lord’s control.
JHP It says here that “having opened his mouth, he taught them”. Would that be that the disciples would have regard for what came out of His mouth?
[p. 23] JT For what He was saying. It is said in fact in chapter 4 that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which goes out through God’s mouth”, a very precious thought; every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That is what the Lord said to Satan.
FJF Does the apostle Paul as the great minister of the assembly give us instruction as having come under the Legislator? He says, for instance, “For I received from the Lord ...” (1 Corinthians 11:23).
JT Go on further. What did he say he received of the Lord? “That which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread”. Is that what you have in mind?
FJF Yes, I have, and that we also as coming under Him continue that. We break bread, it is His mind.
JT Just so. We have to wait till chapter 26 of this gospel for that, of course, but we have it distinctly before us to come to that.
FNW Would this link on with the first chapter of Haggai? Verse 8 says, “Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah”.
JT Just so, but here it is the Lord leading in the thing, while in the passage you allude to the people were to go up to the mountain; they were enjoined to do it as an obligation. Here they move together as disciples, on the principle of discipleship.
RP It says, “having opened his mouth, he taught them”. Do we get what is authoritative here? And today would we make room for what is authoritative?
JT “Having opened his mouth”; God calls attention to man’s mouth. The word in Exodus 4:11 is, “Who hath made man’s mouth?” What mouth [p. 24] was there like that of the Lord Jesus! The thought descends to others, to Peter, for instance; it says in Acts 10 that Peter opened his mouth. He took the ground of speaking authoritatively, as being of the apostles; he had apostleship.
ANW Matthew’s remark at the close of this series of chapters ending with chapter 7 is, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as having authority, and not as their scribes”.
RWS The disciples do not say anything; it is not a two-way matter, is it? I was just looking through this section closing at the end of chapter 7, and I do not notice that the disciples say anything; they do not make any comments or ask any questions. Is there something in that? Our meetings today are more of a conversational character, but that does not mean that there is any less authority in the ministry because of it?
JT So in Acts 20, although the apostle himself discoursed in service before the breaking of bread, yet at the end of that section you have him speaking conversationally, and that of course greatly adds to what we are talking about. There is conversational ministry in which we are engaged now, as well as discoursing ministry, which our brother will take on this evening when he gives an address. But now we are engaged conversationally, which is very important; I do not know of any other ministry in the last days that is so effective as conversational ministry.
RWS While we are free and happy to speak, we must not be so active as to hinder the Spirit from bringing out what He has in mind.
ANW How we have proved, have we not, what gainers we are by accepting a lead in such a conversational meeting as [p. 25] this!
JT Another thing we have to consider in this matter of ministry is that we have to take account of gift. It is said of the Lord that “having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:8). Really the question of gifts has to come in; not that one would be occupied with any ability that any one of us may have, but there is such a thing as gift, and gift is a question of power, of gifts given unto men, the power descending from God to men. The wonderful fact is that the Lord Jesus is gone beyond all the heavens in order, that the gifts should come thence, which is one of the most remarkable statements that can be made, that He is beyond all the heavens, and the gifts are from there.
AR It says in Acts 20 that they continued till the break of day, so that the authority remains right on to the end. Would that be right?
JT Quite so. Will you read the passage where the boy is brought up alive, recovered, and they were not a little comforted?
AR “And having gone up, and having broken the bread, and eaten, and having long spoken until daybreak, so he went away”.
JT “Long spoken”, conversationally, a good deal of instructive conversational ministry, and then he went away. The matter is settled. In a case like this we have three days’ meetings but we must have a settlement and a result reached in the end. The question is, Do we reach an end? That is the thing to look out for.
Ques How do our sisters contribute to the conversational meetings that we have?
JT They are not supposed to, except in a prayerful attitude. They are to learn in silence; silence is real matter. It is a positive thing in sisters, it is not a negative thing, that they are to learn in silence.
[p. 26] I wonder whether the sisters do learn in silence? What have you to say about this?
Rem I think that is very good. It shows the power that there is amongst us that sisters can learn in silence.
JT It is not a negative silence; the sisters are not negative; they are positive in their inward parts, in their prayers, in the attitude of their minds and feelings. They are doing something, they are carrying on, they are really taking part with us in that sense.
Ques Does it not show the power of the Spirit amongst us to teach them in silence?
JT Quite so; and yet we have to make allowance for the word ‘silence’ which the apostle uses.
BW They should ask questions at home showing that they are alive.
JT That is good too.
FNW Would the positive side of that inward feature in the sisters be seen where Peter speaks about the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible ornament of a meek and quiet spirit?
JT Quite so, the hidden man of the heart.
Ques Do not the sisters contribute to our meetings in spirit?
JT They certainly do. Where should we be if they did not? That is what led up to the suggestion last year in Bristol that the sisters should attend our large meetings for ministry. They are here today, a goodly number of them.
VCL So that the teaching that goes on after the blessings is not a question of male or female exactly, is it? It is a question of disciples being taught.
JT Quite so, they are being instructed in a wonderful way, and instructed positively so that they are going to become certain things. How many [p. 27] features are to be seen in the disciples here? About nine, I think; and what do they all mean? See the different things that are mentioned, and what they are to become — these listeners on the mountain!
VCL As these ‘Blesseds’ were read today, I was just wondering as to whether any of these features were true of oneself — to what extent they were a characteristic feature of oneself. Because they should be in display in some way, should they not?
JT Quite so; there are nine Blesseds here, beginning with verse 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Blessed the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed they who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are ye when they may reproach and persecute you, and say every wicked thing against you, lying, for my sake. Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for thus have they persecuted the prophets who were before you” Notice that “they” may be either male or female; they are learners, they are becoming something as listening to Christ. We shall have to discern for ourselves, each one of us, who the persons are that are in mind, who the “ye” may be, whether it is both brothers and sisters. I think that is the idea of the “ye”.
ANW You used the term ‘abstract’, I think, in regard of these first eight. Would the Lord have in mind in turning to the “ye” in the ninth to place it concretely before them?
JT Just so. It brings it home very distinctly to them because of the question of persecution.
JHP This first one, “the poor in spirit”, would much suggest that our sisters were in that matter, would it not?
JT Exactly.
JHP Would it speak of the inwardness that you were mentioning earlier?
JT Just so; we brought forward David as an example of inwardness; he gathered himself together, so to say. So we have the idea of calling upon all that is within us; it is what is inside. Are we calling upon it?
JHT In all these instances it is, you might say, a spiritual state of mind which is blessed.
Ques In the reward in verse 12 where it says, “Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens”, is there an allusion to the Spirit in view of what Peter says in his epistle, that “the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14), that is, upon those that are in reproach?
JT Yes. So that there is much to suggest the possibility of the sisters coming into all these things.
AR So the words “ye are” would include all the saints, would it not? It says in verses 13 and 14, “Ye are the salt of the earth”, and, “Ye are the light of the world”. I suppose that is really what the saints are today.
JT Quite so.
LLP Would you say that the grace of Christ is disclosed in the way these proposals are set out, in order that the sisters might have their part in the blessing?
JT I would.
FJF Would the fat of the offering suggest the inwardness, the power that is there, that is pleasing to God? Is this like fat in the saints?
JT These nine things are clearly positive in their bearing, they are constitutional, I would say, that is, as building us up as believers. We are coming into [p. 29] things. These nine things refer to what we come into as learning from the Lord Jesus: “Learn from me”, He says elsewhere, “Learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
LW Why does the Lord use the expression, ‘the kingdom of the heavens’ so often in this chapter, rather than ‘the kingdom of God’? Later on He uses the latter but not here.
JT The kingdom of God is in a sense what we call moral, just moral. The kingdom of the heavens is referring to elevation, to moral elevation. The significance of the term, the kingdom of God, is that it is the moral side of the kingdom, whereas the kingdom of the heavens is the elevated side, which is important too; we cannot say that the elevated side is not moral, but the point is not that, but that it is elevation.
ANW I thought perhaps Romans would help there, in that the kingdom of God is in relation to the Spirit, whereas the kingdom of the heavens is in relation to the King in heaven.
JT That is true, too. I am sure that is good.
LW And later on in chapter 6:33 of this same book the Lord says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”, which stands in relation to what is moral too.
JT The distinction between what is moral and what is elevated is perfectly clear to me; that the moral side is, as it were, the level of things here below, whereas the elevated side is what is upward, what is uplifted. The word ‘heaven’ has the significance of what is uplifted, it suggests lifted-up things; the kingdom of the heavens has that character, whereas the kingdom of God is on the level of the earth here, and it has therefore the moral idea.
JHP I was thinking of this expression, the kingdom of the heavens, as touching on two of the [p. 30] matters that you alluded to this morning; the thought of the king, David the king, and then the heavenly side that you spoke of at the end, both these matters entering into this expression.
JT That is what we come to, “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
GH The thought of the kingdom of the heavens would I suppose be in keeping with the thought of the mountains mentioned in this gospel, the elevated thought?
JT That is the idea running right through the book, the idea of mountains; the last one is at Galilee where the disciples are to meet the Lord.
AR Why does the Lord bring in the idea of the heavenly Father so much in these few chapters in Matthew?
JT “Our Father which art in heaven”, it says, “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9 - 11). All that is just the elevated side; it is drawn away from the level of the earth where man is, where man’s responsibility especially is.
JHT Would you say a little more on verse 9, about the peace-makers being called sons of God? Is it a gift, being a peace-maker?
JT It shows how nearly we come to the idea of sonship. We read in the epistle to the Hebrews of the Father bringing many sons to glory, and we can see the nearness to it here, the proximity to it in the makers of peace; they are very near to glory, they are making for glory, “Blessed the peace-makers”.
RWS Do these principles buttress the assembly? And if we are in the assembly in a weak way, would it be because we do not go through these chapters?
JT That is right. The book is consecutive, I would say; it is a consecutive instruction, and you cannot transpose the chapters. Chapter 5 is the [p. 31] legislative chapter where we learn things from the Lord on high, from His own mouth on high. We are being made ready for the assembly in this fifth chapter.
EAL It says in verse 17 of chapter 4, “From that time began Jesus to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh”. Repentance there is the prerequisite for taking on these blessings, is it not? It is progressive in that sense.
JT Just so, leading up to chapter 5; that is to say, the fact that chapter 4 precedes the fifth means that it must have some bearing on the fifth.
VCL Is this at all akin to the truth brought out in Romans? The book of Romans ends with the suggestion of the mystery; and here in chapter 5 there are suggestions of the wonderful truth of the whole assembly just hidden away, as it were, in what the Lord says. Is it therefore a question of educating personnel?
JT Very good; Romans touches on the mystery at the end but the touching on it does not make the mystery. You have to go to Ephesians for the mystery, we have to put things in their place. If we want to get the mystery, as the Lord Jesus has it in mind, which He has given over to Paul and which is just touched in Romans, we have to go to Ephesians for it; that is where we get it. The Bible is one whole, it is the great teaching book, and we have to learn from it and know where to place things.
WWM Do you think that the Lord in pronouncing these blessings, suggests that they are blessings as they become true in us? “Blessed are they ...”; it is supposed to have the subjective effect upon us.
JT Just so, and we are capable of it; the Lord indicates that. He went up on high and the disciples came to Him; they are worthy to be listeners; they [p. 32] are worthy of the discourse that He is making; they have come up; it takes some energy to come up a mountain and learning needs energy. It costs you something.
Rem It is like coming to these meetings.
JT Exactly, just like coming to these meetings, if we are not coming for holiday purposes.
CHH Would John’s teaching underlie this for a moral foundation? It says in John 3:5, “Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. That seems to be the foundation before we reach the kingdom of the heavens.
JT That is good. We had recently a very important line of thought as to John’s ministry, and that is the abstract idea. It was said that it is the one thing the brethren need at the present time; that what we all need is to come to the idea of what is abstract. And John is the great teacher of it. You have to come to what is abstract to get the real truth of the heavenly side of things, because it makes for what is constitutionally heaven, and that we are fit for it.
RP Would you illustrate a little what you mean by coming to what is abstract?
JT We have to tax our understanding of words, not that I am going to ask you to make much of your dictionary, but we all need to come to the idea of what is abstract. We are not coming to the truth if we do not; we shall surely edge away from the truth unless we hold to the abstract.
LLP Would you say that all these nine proposals look at us as in responsibility?
JT Quite so. Look what is being built up! The Lord is here taking on a great matter; it is a legislative matter, as we have been saying, and if we keep to that I think we shall get something. And when we say that it cost something for the disciples [p. 33] to go up on to the mountain, it cost the Lord something too; not because He is the Lord, for we are dealing with divine Persons and They have great capabilities; but at the same time it cost the Lord something to bring out these things; let us not forget that!
FNW Since you made that remark in New York about the abstract, I was further helped by something you said many years ago: it was that you always hold yourself in the light of God’s thoughts as to you. These are my words, but it is in substance, I think, what you said. Because if you do so, when you fail you are exercised, and that exercise leads to soul progress. Is that right?
JT Quite so; and John helps on that line: he says, “We know that if it is manifested we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”, not as He was, but as He is (1 John 3:2). That is what I call abstract in the full sense of the word.
Ques Would you tell us more about the first blessing, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”? What kind of person does that refer to? I wondered if it meant humble and lowly?
JT I would rather let it stand as it is, let the word have its own place, the word ‘poor’.
JWB Does it bear by contrast on the spirit of the present age when men are marked by standing for their rights? Is it the opposite of being self-assertive?
JT And pretending to be rich when they are not. The Lord says as to the Laodicean condition, “and knowest not that thou art ... the miserable, and poor” (Revelation 3:17). We need just to use the word given, and to learn the meaning of the word in its given setting. And here it is ‘poor in spirit’; you can see it is entirely different from what is in the Lord’s mind in speaking [p. 34] to Laodicea.
FJF It says of Him in Isaiah 53 that there was no lordliness in Him.
JT Very good; we know that the Lord was not characterised by pretension or lordliness here in this world.
FJF He was not marked by human pretension, He was poor in spirit.
JT The Lord was that; the Lord was fully that. So Psalm 41 says, “Blessed is he that understandeth the poor”; that is Christ. We have to learn the idea of poor in Christ in that sense.
AR I should like to ask more about the matter of abstract. A large part of the book of Ephesians bears on what is abstract, does it not? How would you work that out?
JT According to the meaning of the word.
AR It says that God has “raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).
JT Quite so; but it is more particularly to be learned in John’s epistles. They are the great epistles for abstract ideas. “We know that if it is manifested we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”. We have to learn that the thing is abstract because we are not that now; it is when we shall see Him as He is.
RP Is it your thought that we should dwell on what is abstract?
JT Quite so, and that Scripture is the place to learn the meaning of the word. The Scriptures are so full and so instructive that they do not leave us adrift, as it were. The Spirit of God is immediately at our hand to help us; He is near to us, “The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). And you will soon learn, if you wait on the Lord, that “The Lord is near”.
Ques Are you urging that our being “poor in spirit” begins with God according to new birth? John says in the epistle that “Whoever has been [p. 35] begotten of God does not practise sin, because his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin” (1 John 3:9).
JT I should like everybody to get hold of that at this reading; that is the idea of abstract.
EAL In Ephesians we see the assembly in an abstract way perfectly, do we not? I mean in the expression, “that he might present the assembly to himself glorious” (Ephesians 5:27).
JT Do you mean the idea of abstract is presented in Ephesians perfectly?
EAL The assembly is always presented in that way, as being perfect.
JT No, not always; sometimes it is presented anticipatively; the epistle to the Ephesians is largely anticipative truth. We have to learn the truth and see if it is the truth. It is an anticipative idea there, Ephesians is largely that. It is a question of such a statement as that we are raised up together and made to sit down together in the heavenly places. That is anticipative truth, you see. One thing we have to learn this afternoon I believe, is the idea of anticipative truth; that is Ephesians.
RWS So we come to a time when we can stand the school of Tyrannus. Paul reasoned in connection with the kingdom for three months and then he came to the school of Tyrannus. Can we not stand it now to be adjusted, any one of us? Because the time is urgent, we have not much time to go, and yet we have so much to learn.
FJF Would you say that the abstract is what is abidingly true?
JT It is better to get the use of the word ‘abstract’, I mean as applied to ourselves. It would not refer to Christ at all; it would apply to the way things are worked out in us believers.
JWB Does ‘abstract’ refer to what is in the mind of God for the saints and [p. 36] in a sense is true now?
JT In a sense it is true now, of course; you have it now, in a sense. Otherwise it would not be abstract; but it is abstract. That is to say, it is something that is seen in Christ actually but applied to us now because of certain conditions that God has brought about as in new birth. The new birth is a thing that works out what is abstract.
JWB It will finally be seen actually in the saints, will it not?
JT Well, it is worked out in them.
FHL John says to the young men, “Ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14). Is that not in type like Christ?
JT That is right; “Ye have”, it is done already; it is a thing done.
FNW In connection with what we enter into in our spirits in the assembly service, would you say that ‘anticipative’ is a good word to use there rather than ‘abstract’?
JT I think so, yes. We can regard it as true in a certain sense, because He has raised us up together and has made us to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. That is an anticipative thought, but it can only be so because of the presence of the Spirit here on earth; you could not speak of it otherwise in that way.
ACW Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus was occupied with the Lord Himself, and in John 12 she could move intelligently spiritually, knowing what to do. Could we say that in regard to Mary she was occupied with perfection in the Lord Himself, she appreciated Him? Would John 12 prove that she had taken it on? She moved there in an intelligent way.
JT So that we can apply that to ourselves; we are abstracted by the presence of the Lord, sitting at His feet and hearing His word. It is predicated of you that you are abstracted there; but then it [p. 37] will pass away if you are not careful, so that it is not fully abstract, it is not fully perfected. But here we have something that is said to be perfected; it says, “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. I mean to say that is anticipative too, but it is actually true; the Lord is concentrating on that thought. “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
JHP Does not this chapter really lead up to that sentence that you have just read? There seems to be a kind of progressiveness. I was thinking of these thoughts — “The salt of the earth”, and “the light of the world”, and then “a city situated on the top of a mountain”, and then “a lamp”; they seem to lead up to this great result. Would that be right?
JT We might as well touch on that a little now. The passage from verse 43 reads: “Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who insult you and persecute you, that ye may be the sons of your Father who is in the heavens; for he makes his sun rise on evil and good, and sends rain on just and unjust. For if ye should love those who love you, what reward have ye? Do not also the tax-gatherers the same? And if ye should salute your brethren only, what do ye extraordinary? Do not also the Gentiles the same? Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
I think we might well rest on that now and see how the result that we are dealing with is to work out in us. And I would just add that we have to take account of the Lord’s saying things and how He says them in Spirit. He has a spiritual way of saying them. For instance, He says that if a person says, ‘Come with me a mile’, you are to go with him two. But the man might not want you to go with [p. 38] him two. But you see we have to learn how language is used, how language can be used to enforce the truth. It is a very rare thing to get such usage as that. “And whoever will compel thee to go one mile, go with him two”.
Now we must say the Lord has a right to speak in that way, because anyone can see that the man might not want to go at all. And we cannot be sure that the man who asked him wanted him to go two miles; he only asked him to go one mile. But the Lord has that way of speaking and you can see the force of it. It is just to bring out the use of language in Scripture so that we can use it rightly.
RP Would you say that Stephen at the end of his life would be an example of one who is perfect even as his Father in heaven is perfect? At the end you might say that he takes account of what is abstract, “Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). I was wondering if you would get there the idea of what is abstract?
JT “He saw ... Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Lo, I behold ... the Son of man standing at the right hand of God”. The heavens were opened to him. You have all these things to take into account, that the heavens are opened at this particular time to a man here on earth. He was going to heaven himself; but he was going to be martyred.
RWS Would you help us with that word ‘perfect’? “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. What does it mean, please?
JT Well, there must be some meaning to it, surely, that what applies to God applies to us. And how can it apply to us? We have to see how it can, and what language we can use and use rightly to say these things ourselves.
Ques Is love connected with it? This passage you read begins with love, “Love your enemies”.
[p. 39] JT Well, quite so.
ANW And impartiality? It looks as though impartiality would have something to do with it, to act the same toward an evil person as toward a good. And it rains on the just and the unjust.
JT That is a striking truth; it is very important to have just the same rain coming on them that we have on us, showing that God is saying, ‘I am acting in mercy toward My creature still, and that is the way I am doing it; and you should learn how to do it, and be perfect in doing it’.
Rem James tells us what a perfect man is, “If any one offend not in word” (James 3:2).
JT “He is a perfect man”, quite so, “able to bridle the whole body too”.
CHH 1 Corinthians 14:20 speaks about “grown men”. Does not that have a connection with ‘perfect’?
JT And so in Hebrews 5:14, it says that “solid food belongs to full-grown men”.
CHH And in Philippians 3:15 too, “As many therefore as are perfect”, and then the note to that says, ‘or full-grown’, and refers you to Corinthians where they are to be babes as to malice, but in minds to be full-grown men.
JT That is the idea; that is very good.
JHP I was wondering if this word ‘perfect’ at the end of Matthew 5 would not bring in all these inward thoughts that we have been dwelling on this afternoon all through the chapter; the thought of inwardness you mentioned at the beginning as leading up to this end here?
JT So the following chapters, the sixth and seventh, deal with the whole matter, and that leads up to something else that we still have before us in chapter 10. God willing, the first reading tomorrow will be chapter 10, and will bring up what apostleship [p. 40] is in the disciples, so that a list of their names is given in that chapter.
FJF Will all these things be seen in perfection in the heavenly city?
JT How could we have the heavenly city without them? It is a heavenly thing; we must hold to that. For instance, Peter says, “According to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). We must have that, and we must have the idea of what is abstract to get to that; we must have it. It is a great missing thought if we do not have the idea of what is abstract in getting to that.
BW Is what is abstract now anticipative for us too? Could we use both words?
JT Just so. It is a question of the use of language. As I was saying, the Lord uses language and we are entitled to use it, too, as He uses it. I think it would help us all to realise that we have a perfect Model in the Lord in the way He did things. The beatitudes as they are called — although I do not care for the word — mean just that. “The heaven and the earth shall pass away”, the Lord says, “but my words shall in no wise pass away” (Luke 21:33).
CHH So this would have no application to the world to come, would it? It is what is actual now. The injunctions in this chapter and chapters 6 and 7 will have no force at all in the millennium. Is it not what is practicable now? There will be no persecution and that kind of thing in the millennium.
JT Just so, but then there are other things besides persecution in the chapter. The chapter teaches perfection in what we are talking about. “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
WWM Do you think the desire of the Lord in His teaching here is to set before them that He wants [p. 41] them to act like God in this world? Is that the point?
JT It is; and the Lord is leading up to perfection, of course; He says that. And we must remember He is leading up to the assembly; He has that in His mind in all that He is saying, to speak about the assembly, because Matthew is the great assembly gospel.
EAL I wanted to ask about Ephesians 5:27, “that he might present the assembly to himself glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things; but that it might be holy and blameless”. That is perfection, is it not?
JT Well, it is an end in view in the Lord’s mind. But we have not reached that end yet in Ephesians.