THE LORD ENTERING INTO PERSONAL RELATIONS WITH HIS OWN
[p. 47] THE LORD ENTERING INTO PERSONAL RELATIONS WITH HIS OWN
Acts 9:3,4; Acts 9:6; Matthew 14:22,23; Luke 24:36 - 39
These scriptures afford us instruction as to how the Lord enters into personal relations with His own. In our days the Spirit is enlarging for us on the great thought of the divine economy; the order of things into which God has come, and, in coming, has revealed at the same time, the great fact of the Trinity; each holy Person in it being recognised in the order in which He is seen, and in which He functions, in view of the great purpose on hand. So we have the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit; the Son having taken on the ministerial and mediatorial services, and thus having peculiarly to do with us; His services establishing personal links. In doing so He brings the Father near, for as in the economy we find not only direct teaching as to the holy Persons, but facts incidentally stated, which gradually operate to enable us to fit in to the economy, so that we are not strangers in it.
The Lord Jesus seems to take peculiar pleasure in saying, in these circumstances and this service, at certain times, “It is I”; sometimes calling individuals by name; though this is not new to our dispensation, nor distinctive of it. It may be said, however, that all the dispensations have this one in mind, for in speaking on this line the apostle says to the Corinthians, “upon whom the ends of the ages [or dispensations] are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11); all has our dispensation in view. Whatever happened or whatever is written, all is for us, and the apostle Paul, with characteristic forcefulness, says, “all things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas ... all are yours; and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:23). So that we are bound up in this economy, not as silent partners, so to speak, or inactive, but aglow with interest; that is the intent.
[p. 48] However lethargic we may be, from the divine side all is active; the angels above are always on the alert to note any repentance effected by the operations of God in us. Any little movement in any one who may have been lagging behind is taken notice of there, even to second or third conversions. The keenest interest exists all the time, and history is being made above, of what transpires here below.
So that one designedly takes up Saul of Tarsus first, to make application of these remarks — the greatest servant, one can say unhesitatingly as to him — but I take him up not so much to speak of his service, but to show that he is an example, indeed, as he calls himself, “a delineation of those about to believe ... to life eternal” (1 Timothy 1:16). This includes every one of us, so that the Lord takes him up, according to the first account we have, impressing him at once with the saints; and if we make a present application, this is important. If the Lord is taking anybody up now, He would speak to him in relation to the saints, as much as to say, You are to be bound up with them both for time and for eternity, and you must regard them rightly; you must have right thoughts of them, and make the most of them. You must learn to see that they are worthy of your confidence and of your love. This was what Saul of Tarsus, like each of us, had to learn.
We have two other accounts, by himself, of this incident; they vary from this, particularly in this matter of the saints. In the last one, that is made before Agrippa, he leaves out the matter of the saints, for it was a question of his ministry. This would be intelligible to the king and those personages with him, who were conversant with Roman order and rank; they would understand how the Lord of glory, as Paul would have them to know Him, appointed him a minister, delivering him from the Jews and from the nations, to whom He would send him to open their eyes. It was of no consequence to Agrippa and his friends to [p. 49] be told about the matter of the saints, although the apostle very affectionately does allude to “our whole twelve tribes”, but it was of no consequence to them that there should be such a man in Damascus as Ananias or that there should be a meeting of saints in Damascus. They might however be impressed by the fact that this man who was a prisoner before their eyes was in truth a minister of Jesus Christ, not simply a servant, but a minister; he used the word that implies relative dignity.
In speaking at Jerusalem regarding the facts, Paul makes much of Ananias as a pious Jew and in favour with the Jews, and indeed he goes so far as to discredit himself in saying that he lingered as regards baptism, so that Ananias had to urge him to be baptised (Acts 22:16). The apostle was conveying to his Jewish audience that he was not rushing into christianity, he was urged into it, and no one who understands christianity in its greatness and glory and blessedness, could fail to urge people to enter into it. Ananias had said, “why lingerest thou? Arise and get baptised, and have thy sins washed away, calling on his name”. The Spirit of God does not give us the account fully here in Acts 9, although the facts were doubtless known in measure to all. Luke would have heard about them, but the Spirit of God gives us the account through Luke, and what is stressed is what was in Damascus; the Lord first calling the name of Saul twice, which is a matter to be noted. It is not new; it was not peculiar to him, because others had been signalised in like manner, especially Abraham, Moses, and Samuel; but what is evidently implied is that this person is peculiarly in the Lord’s mind. Of course every christian is peculiarly in the Lord’s mind; the Lord would always give us to understand that each is a special one, for in truth each one has his own distinction. Divine results will not be complete until each one, selected according to divine foreknowledge, is secured; so the apostle says “I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that [p. 50] they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10). He had that great thought that each of the elect should obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Each one is needed for the divine purpose, each has his own distinction.
Nevertheless Saul is especially singled out; and the first word to him is, “why persecutest thou me?” meaning the saints. The Lord is beginning at the bottom with him. He would henceforth be bound up with the saints both for time and for eternity, to love and to serve them. No one, as far as Scripture shows, had such a view, and such an impression of them from the very outset. I am speaking of this now, dear brethren, so that each of us might be impressed accordingly in his measure, for the Lord would impress each of us with the saints and what they are to Him. In fact, in the sense in which we have it here, they are Himself. We are apt to think lightly of the saints, and if any little opportunity arises, to speak ill of them. It may be to cover an ignominious retreat — someone seeking to find a place in the world hides his wretched apostasy, for that is what it is in principle, by calling attention to discrepancies among the brethren. Heaven will not admit of that at all, for the Lord resents it peculiarly, but it is very patent that it is current. The enemy finds avenues of attack through such ignoble, despicable motives. How much less discreditable it would be for such an one to tell the truth, and openly state that he wants the world. Satan finds avenues of attack through such motives, and other kinds of motives, too, in order to malign the saints, sometimes leavening a whole district by misrepresentation of the saints in other districts, or it may be a servant. Leaven of that kind gets in and works, and it takes time to eradicate it; in some instances it is not eradicated.
So this great servant was converted under the circumstances described in the verses in Acts 9 which I [p. 51] read. He was to be minister of the gospel in a special way, and of the assembly, involving the mystery — having that wonderful ministry to which the saints are essential; in that mystery being hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It was that he might be impressed with the saints; that he might see that the saints are essential to him, first of all in telling him what to do. You may say, The Lord will tell me what to do. Do not forget that the Lord sent this great convert to the saints, in fact, He sent him into Damascus. He was teaching him by inference, in a way even more effective than by direct words. As much as to say, Saul, you know I do not mean you to go to the Mayor of Damascus, nor the City Council; you will understand by My sending you to Damascus that there are those there who belong to Me, whom I regard as Myself; I have just called them Myself, I have just asked you why are you persecuting Me. Would Paul ever forget that question? Persecution of the saints is common, as I have already intimated, not in the sense of dragging them before tribunals perhaps, although that is coming in now, too, but in the sense of maligning them, accusing and belittling them. There is much of that, and the Lord would say to anyone of us who is doing it in any way at this moment, Why are you doing it?; you are doing it to Me, you are persecuting Me.
Then another thing here is that the Lord having conveyed to Saul that He had something in Damascus, makes him know also that He had those in Damascus who could instruct him. I may ask in passing, dear brethren, Where is there anyone who will instruct you really as to God, save those who have the Spirit of God, and who recognise the Spirit of God, those who are pious, like Ananias? You may go to seminaries, colleges, universities, but they will not tell you what to do as subject to the will of God. They will instruct you as to many things, but they will not tell you what heaven wants you to do. On the other hand,
[p. 52] there are those who know what heaven wants, and they will tell you; that is the point. Thank God there are such, and the Lord is concerned about them, so that if a convert or a convicted person comes to them, they will know how to meet him. That is another side of the matter; I am speaking about the saints, and the Lord is concerned that, if we are enquired of, we may be able to tell people what to do. People all around are asking — if they are not asking in words, the question is in their hearts — What am I to do? Well, the Lord would convey to such that there are people who can tell you, and it is for you to find them.
Here the Lord does not wait for Saul to say, What shall I do? We get it later, of course, but the point here is not that, but that the Lord is anticipating the fact that he needs to know what to do. He always anticipates the needs of His people, and Saul’s need at this particular time was to know what he should do. The Lord says, There are people who can tell you; go into Damascus; the Lord inferring thus that there are those that can tell you what to do; and so as to make the matter complete, the Lord goes before him into Damascus. He can go quicker than any other, there is no locomotion like His: we have an illustration of it in Elijah, who told Ahab that he heard the sound of rain, and that he should go to Samaria, but Elijah girded up his loins and went before him, in spite of his chariot (1 Kings 18); and so the Lord is always before us. He was before Saul in Damascus, at least He was with Ananias before Saul met him, and he prepared Ananias to do what was needful in order to serve this convert.
So the lesson is the Lord coming into the circumstances of a Saul, and stressing the fact of His saints. If there is one here who thinks he can get along without them, it is a mistake, the Lord indicates that you cannot. Even when you go up to heaven you will go with them; we are to be all raised up together. So this convert is with the disciples; the Lord sent Ananias to him,
[p. 53] and Ananias set him at rest, calling him brother. It may be there is someone here, lonely in his soul, isolated; you are assuming perhaps that you must go on by yourself, there are none you can go on with. The Lord would say to you, “go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. Not only will those to whom you are sent tell you what to do, but they will love you and make you at home. One of the finest types in the Old Testament, I think, is the feast of tabernacles; it refers to the households of God’s people, the families, where love is, not in an abstract way, as we speak of it sometimes in our addresses and reading meetings, but love shown, that is the idea of the feast of tabernacles. The Lord said to His disciples, “By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves”, (John 13:35). The feast of tabernacles recognises that; it is the saints together in outwardly small circumstances near to one another, so that love can have free course; and if there is anyone here at all isolated in his spirit, cold, and thinking, it may be, that nobody loves him, the Lord would say to you, not only that He loves you, but there are those here that love you too — go into the city, as it were, and you will find them.
Now I pass on to Matthew, and what you get in this remarkable passage is that the saints are together under the Lord’s compelling influence. If there is anyone here such as I suggested, you would do well to take this to heart, that in this feature of the subject before us there is no option. To remain isolated is not optional, it is lawlessness; that is another side of the matter, so we are told that the Lord compelled the disciples to go into the ship, they had no option in the matter. It very often is our salvation to be reminded of authority, for we are prone to think that as regards divine things all is optional, but no, there is nothing optional; all is imperative, even in regard to repentance; God commands it (Acts 17:30), but particularly with regard to the saints’ associations, He compelled them to go into the ship.
These verses in Matthew 14 are dispensational, that is, the boat has a meaning in that connection, the Lord not being in it at the outset, but entering it later. What is in mind here is that the disciples were directed or compelled by the Lord to enter into certain circumstances. He was praying for them from above, but they are there under His compulsion, and the enemy would like to upset that position, to defeat the divine intent in it. So the wind was contrary to them, and the sea became agitated. Applying it now it would be the Lord giving us to understand that our position in relation to the things of God is not optional. He would have each of us in a certain setting, He would have each to be with the saints, with his brethren. Why should anyone be isolated? Well, you may say, the brethren get into trouble, and I do not want to share their troubles. Well, the sea became agitated, for the wind blew; that is, Satan would upset that position, but then it is educational, this matter of the agitation of the sea, for what are we if we do not experience some little adversity here? We are not worth being called christians, unless we are ready to face a little opposition, or a big opposition, whatever it may be, good soldiers of Jesus Christ, or good seamen, as it were.
You may think that if you remain in isolation or in some human association you will avoid all this sorrow, but then we want to see how the Lord comes into such circumstances as these, the sorrows and troubles of the saints. As compelled into a certain position by Him, we must be safe there, no ill can befall us there. It is education, the Lord would instruct us as to Himself, and He would draw us to His side in these circumstances into which He has come, for in this instance He came into their circumstances — not at first into the boat, but on the sea near the boat, And now the [p. 55] next question is what am I to do, if He is in that position and I am in this position? What were the twelve to do when troubles and persecutions arose as at the time of Stephen’s martyrdom? They remained at Jerusalem, they did not, as it were, leave the boat. I am not discrediting these servants, because their names are in the foundations of the heavenly city, and that means that, from the divine point of view, everyone of these men did his work; the Lord gave to every man his work, and each man did his work, or his name would not be in the foundation of the city. But they did not leave Jerusalem, whereas others did, and the Spirit of God went with these others, the scattered ones, as much as to say, They have taken to the sea, they have left the boat, they are walking on an agitated sea, scattered by persecution; but they are quite composed, superior to their circumstances, and as in them they are preaching Christ, and they are getting souls, too.
Now, dear brethren, what is meant is that the forsaking of a position in which Christ has placed us must depend on His command. If I have to move from any given position in which He has placed me; if His instructions require that I am to be in it, then I must await His command before leaving, nothing is optional. The saint has to learn that every step of the way is to be at His commandment. The word is not “bid” but “command”. Peter says, “command me”. I do not know why Peter did not say that when Stephen was martyred. He stayed in Jerusalem, although the Lord had said, “when they persecute you in this city, flee to the other” (Matthew 10:23). Most of the saints were scattered; they became part of “the dispersion”. They had to walk on the sea, as it were, the troubled sea that arose on the persecution of Stephen; and they joined the Lord in that way. He had, as it were, commanded them; it was perfectly evident from His instructions to the twelve, that the time had come to leave the boat.
[p. 56] Well now, someone here may be in such a boat. You may say, I was converted there. Thank God, if you were; wherever you were converted, we can thank God for the conversion, but being converted in a certain setting does not mean in itself that you are to remain there. The Lord is not in the public profession. Where is He? That is the point now. You say, Well, just now you have been telling me to stick to the saints; to get amongst them. That is true, but I am speaking now about a boat, and a boat is typically what fits into the water, the agitated thing, it fits in. There is not a sect in christendom — not that I am here to accuse — but there is not a sect in christendom that does not fit in with the world in some sense; not one. If I were to go over each one consecutively I could show you how they fit in, whereas there is a position today that does not fit into the world. The Lord was walking on the sea, it does not say He was walking on agitated waters, He was walking on the sea. That is a new thing for man, it was unheard of before. People say, Well, this thought of leaving worldly religious associations is new, it is unheard of. Well, it may be unheard of in your ears, but that does not mean it is unheard of.
So the Lord is saying, maybe to someone here, I am in circumstances in which you are not, but still it is I, and I am in them in relation to you, to the end that you should come into them. The Lord could have gone round the lake, He could have gone over it divinely, He was not walking on the water just to get across, but He was walking on the water in relation to them. They were in the boat, and they were troubled. One would be thankful if all the christians in this city were troubled about some movement of Jesus. He is moving all the time, walking in the midst of the seven golden lamps. Would that every christian in humanly organised associations were troubled about His movements, it would be an indication that there was something of God in them, some hope, but alas! there are [p. 57] very few troubled about it. Perhaps you do not know anything about His movements, and yet He is walking in the midst of the seven golden lamps.
Now, the Lord is walking on the water and the disciples are troubled; they thought He was a spirit; they were hazy and unspiritual, but still He was there in relation to them; that is why He was there. He is drawing near to them, walking on the sea, but the waters are troubled, they are agitated, and the Lord says, “It is I, be not afraid”. Assuring words! The One who has said “I Jesus”, says, when referring to the saints, They are Myself; that is what He had said to Paul, but now it is not that. The saints are in the boat, the associations of the boat, and Jesus is alone, nearby on the sea; He is there in relation to those in the boat. He is walking on the water in relation to them, as I said. He is in this city moving in relation to someone or many. Is anyone interested enough to notice? He says, “It is I, be not afraid”, and Peter said, “Lord”. Here is one who is interested, only just one, interested enough to say, “Lord, if it be thou, command me”. It is a question of the Lord’s authority, and this extends to us all. If anyone is not in the right association He would call you out. The object in what He is saying is that you might ask Him, “if it be thou, command me”. Does the Lord’s authority require that I should move? Yes, it does! Then it is imperative that I should do so, and so Peter went down out of the ship and walked on the waters to go to Jesus.
Now some of you may not have noticed that it was the strength of the wind that caused Peter’s fear. But the Lord had ordered him to come to Him on the water, and hence Peter was perfectly safe in doing so; but he did not use his mind in faith. Our minds are under our control, our eyes are under our control; hence I must not be baffled by them. If I am moving under the Lord’s authority, I am safe, and I must not be discouraged by feelings arising from opposition.
[p. 58] I have an eye and I have a mind, and I may allow them to rule me, whereas the teaching in Romans 7:25 is that I am to rule them. “I myself with the mind serve God’s law”. What is God’s law? Well, God’s law was implied in “command me to come to thee on the waters”, and the Lord said “Come”. That is God’s law. Whatever people say about the laws of nature, the laws of God are above the laws of nature. “Command me”. This was to Peter an untried law, but moving in the recognition of it, all would be well. All such laws speak for themselves. Here was Peter, his feet were sinking in the waters, it was because of his mind, which he ought to have used to serve God’s law in walking. This is important, do not let yourself be governed by what you should control. Why should I think of the strength of the waves, I am not sinking; the Lord Jesus has said, “Come”. A divine law was operating, and that is as sure as the foundation of the earth. It was through giving way, allowing his mind to carry him away, that he began to sink. There is much instruction in all this for everyone here, to be steadily under the command of Christ. Whatever it is you may have to leave, do not be afraid. If you are serving God’s law, if Christ says “Come”, all is well as you move to Him; you cannot be safer than as obeying.
Then the dispensational thought arises, namely, that the Lord goes into the ship, meaning that it is the Jewish ship, and they come to land. The effect of all this is that those in the ship are helped, they worship Jesus. I mean by this that if there is anyone moving on these lines, coming under the Lord’s direction and compulsion and finally His command, then others will be affected; it is a movement. One hears constantly of little or no movement in some places, little or no addition; no outside material secured. Well, this is the way to it, it is moving under the Lord’s compulsion and command, and serving God’s law (”I myself with the mind serve God’s law”), and the effect is that others are affected. Here all that were in the boat came and worshipped Jesus, and said, “Truly thou art God’s Son”. That is increase.
Finally, just a word as to Luke. I wanted to show that the Lord coming in at this time says “I myself”. He had said to those in the boat, “It is I”, and to Saul, “I am Jesus”, alluding to the saints as His body, but now He has come into their midst, that is the next thing; and we have the pronoun added: “Jesus himself”; as much as to say, These are My own circumstances. Walking on the sea is not characteristic of His circumstances, He is doing it for a purpose; to lead others to do it; to teach us how to walk, and to be superior to our circumstances, however bad they may be. Now He has what He may call His own circumstances. How attractive that thought is! And what you will notice is, that it is amongst the saints, as those who are talking about Him and His things — the assembly in its public aspect. He has come in there and it is “Jesus himself”. We get it indeed earlier when He is seeking to recover two that belonged to the assembly, but who were going away from it, turning their backs on it, though belonging to it — “two of you”. We may say, it is always Himself to those of the assembly; so that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. To any two, or one, turning away from the truth of the assembly, and yet belonging to it, the Lord says, You belong to Me, and you belong to the assembly — “two of you”. It is not only that you belong to Christ, but you belong to the assembly, the most august body in the universe. The Lord would impress us with that. But if you are turning your back on the assembly, you are not characteristically of it, although still belonging to it. Jesus Himself drew near, as much as to say, You are of these people, you belong to the assembly: why should you be elsewhere? Jesus Himself drew near and went with them, and then,
[p. 60] when they go back to the assembly, Jesus Himself stood in their midst; it is His own sphere.
The Lord is greatly helping His people on this point, and I bring it forward now so as to confirm us in what is being done by Him, and if there are any inclined to move away, the Lord would say, You belong to the assembly, do not forget that your place is there. These two had come back, and they were talking about Jesus, they were telling the others that He was made known to them in the breaking of bread, a sure evidence that they belonged to the company. What could they know about the breaking of bread if they did not belong to that company? What does any one in a humanly-made organisation today know about the breaking of bread? There they do not understand it, they call it ‘the sacrament’. It is not the Lord’s supper; but the two at Emmaus belonged to the assembly, and hence knew something of the breaking of bread, and they can tell others that the Lord had appeared to them in the way, and that “he was made known to them in the breaking of bread”. Then, as they were saying these things, the Lord “himself” stood in their midst. He is now in His own circumstances, normally circumstances corresponding to what He has in heaven. He says, “it is I myself. Handle me and see”. He is not a spirit merely; a spirit has not flesh and bones.
May the Lord give us to ponder this beautiful expression, “it is I myself”, and cause it to rest in our souls! And let us not only be content in the position into which He has brought us, but let us be as those who are baptised in the power of the one Spirit, into one body, and who drinking into one Spirit are thus satisfied, and see that we can provide the Lord with what He regards as His own circumstances.