ATTENTION CALLED TO CHRIST
P. van den Berg
Isaiah 32: 1, 2; 40: 9–11; 42: 1; Zechariah 6: 12, 13
You will notice the references to “Behold”, in the scriptures that we have read. “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness”; “Behold your God!”; “Behold my servant”; “Behold a man”. God is speaking prophetically in the Old Testament, drawing our attention to Christ as He is presented in the four gospels, “Behold your God” referring to the glory of the Person of Christ as in John’s gospel; “Behold my servant” referring to the gospel of Mark where we have the Servant; “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness” in Matthew’s gospel as the King; and “Behold a man”, is Luke’s gospel where we have the glorious perfection of the Lord Jesus as Man. How glorious Jesus is in His Person! How great are His official glories!
How infinitely great is His personal glory! If it was not for His personal glory, what He is as over all God blessed for ever, He could never have been our Saviour. It is by virtue of who He is that the work He has accomplished can be for our eternal salvation. The grace of God carrying salvation for all men has appeared in the Person of the Lord Jesus. How glorious is the way He has come out! He came out from God, and He went back to God, and He secured what was for God’s eternal pleasure. What fruit there will be! If it was not for His going into death He would have remained alone. But He died in order that you might be secured; in order that you might be brought into blessing, that your sins might be forgiven through His precious blood. The Lord Jesus suffered as a sheep dumb before her shearers. He opened not His mouth. Pilate said, “Behold the man!” (John 19: 6), but he scourged Him. There never had been a Man like Jesus. He is the Mediator of God and men, the Man Christ Jesus! What did the world do to Him? They crucified Him. Pilate said, “Behold your king”, but Israel refused Him, they said they had no
king but Caesar. Dear friend, What is your choice tonight? Will it be Christ, or will it be the world? Will you be lost, or will you be saved? The word in the gospel is, “Behold”—John the baptist says, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”, John 1: 29. See Him, the holy Sin Bearer, the Lamb of God, slain for you and for me.
So we have these references in Isaiah. It says of Isaiah that he saw His glory, and spoke of Him (John 12: 41). In the passage we read in Isaiah 32, it says, “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the storm”. Dear friends, what will you be in the storms of life without Jesus? What a Friend we have in Jesus! What protection we have, how safe we are as sheltered by Jesus! God said to Moses, “Behold, there is a place by me ... I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand”, Exodus 33: 21, 22. What a hiding-place!
‘Rock of Ages! cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleansing from its guilt and power’. (Hymn 396)
Think of the virtue of the blood of Jesus! The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses from all sin. The rights of God have been met in the blood of Jesus; the blood is on the mercy-seat and God is able to come out in blessing to man in order that whosoever believeth might be saved, might be brought into blessing, redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, a Lamb foreknown before the world’s foundation. What a price has been paid! God has given His own Son. He completed the will of God in holy perfection, and He could say on the cross, “It is finished”, John 19: 30.
When we come to chapter 40 it says, “O Zion, that
bringest glad tidings”. God is shining out in mercy today. We have not come to the obscurity and darkness of mount Sinai, we have come to mount Zion where God is shining out in mercy and blessing for man. The grace of God which carries salvation, for all men has appeared. So it says, “O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength—lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” The Lord Jesus is God, He is, “over all, God blessed for ever”, Romans 9: 5. He said to the Pharisees,
“unless ye shall believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”, John 8: 24. There are those that deny the deity of the Lord Jesus, and if you deny that you cannot be saved. It is only in virtue of who He is in His Person that you can be saved. No other blood could ever atone, no other could ever have accomplished the work of redemption. It was the One who came from God and went back to God, who alone was able to redeem us. It is on the basis of an accomplished redemption that the glad tidings are proclaimed, and through believing in the precious name of the Lord Jesus you will be saved. It may be in the last moment of a person’s life, “For every one whosoever, who shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved”, Romans 10: 13. Such is the grace of God. There was one on a cross next to Jesus who repented and the Lord said to him, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”, Luke 23: 43.
There was nothing he could do, there were no works he could do, he was just about to die in his sins, but putting his trust in the Lord Jesus he was saved, saved for eternity. Think of the grace of God! Where would we be but for the grace of God? How wonderful that grace is, grace that met us in our need and set us up in the dignity of sonship. The prodigal had the best robe put upon him; he was there in perfect liberty in the presence of his father. In Luke 10, the Samaritan met the man on the way to Jericho in the need in which he was; that was mercy, but in Luke 15 you come to the grace of God. In Luke 14 you have the celebration of grace, and the word is, “Come, for already all things are ready”. The gospel is for all, it is
not limited to just a few, the gospel is for whosoever will.
So that we read in this chapter, “Behold your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd”. John in his gospel presents the Lord Jesus as the good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. We see the good Shepherd in Psalm 22, forsaken on the cross. In Psalm 23 we have the great Shepherd of the sheep. His present activities in this wonderful dispensation of grace, serving in shepherd love. Then Peter speaks of the chief Shepherd appearing, and that is what we see in Psalm 24; the everlasting doors are lifted up to let the King of glory come in. He is going to be manifested and believers will be manifested with Him in glory. It will be a wonderful moment when the Lord Jesus will come for us at the rapture, to take us to be with Him, all those that have believed, that have known the precious Saviour who died on the cross, who was forsaken of God. But He is going to appear publicly and we shall be manifested with Him in glory. What a portion the believer has, saved from his sins, and saved from a world that has rejected Christ. What a full salvation! The final salvation will be that we will have bodies of glory like His own body of glory. So it says, “how shall we escape if we have been negligent of so great salvation”, Hebrews 2: 3. This is what is being proclaimed in the glad tidings and it is for you to come into the blessing of it.
Then it goes on to say, “he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom”.
Dear young ones here tonight, that is what the Saviour will be to you. He will carry you; He knows your need. He understands your feeblest cry, He has perfect sympathy with you, and in His wondrous love He has the best in store for you. He committed to Peter not only His sheep but His lambs. The Lord is concerned about our young
ones, that they may be fed, that they may have a touch of the love of Jesus; He carries them in His bosom, near His heart. How safe it is to be there!
‘Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest’.
What a place of rest, what a place of nearness it is! Do you know it? John was in the bosom of Jesus, leaning on His breast, and he well knew it. At the time the disciples had gone astray in John 21, after they had taken the multitude of fishes. John said, “It is the Lord”, and he then knew the voice that said, “Children, have ye anything to eat?” It was the voice of the Shepherd, seeking to recover them in His love for them. We have an all-the-way Saviour, a Friend who never lets us down; He never leaves us. He would go after that which is lost, He will bring it home rejoicing. That is what the Lord Jesus is doing today. How wonderful His love is!
I pass on to chapter 42 where it says, “Behold my servant”. Attention is drawn to the Person of Christ in the distinctive glories in which He is presented in the gospels. Here it is the Servant, answering to Mark’s gospel, and in Mark’s gospel you get a special touch for the young people. The Lord claimed a colt in Mark’s gospel, it was the young generation the Lord was calling, that they might be available for Him. The Master had need of it; and the Master has need of the younger generation for the continuation of the testimony today. Mark himself as a young man had lost his way in the testimony, and being recovered he speaks in a distinctive way; he mentions a young man who lost his garment (Mark 14: 51, 52), and in his account of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, he says there was a young man in the sepulchre in a white robe. Mark was fully recovered and available for the testimony at the end. Paul said to Timothy, “Take Mark, and bring him with thyself, for he is serviceable to me for ministry”, 2 Timothy 4: 11. You get
those touches in the servant’s gospel. The setting of the four gospels is remarkable indeed.
Matthew’s gospel gives you the genealogy of the King, going back to Abraham. In Luke you get the genealogy that goes right back to Adam, because He is presented there as the Son of man. In Mark’s gospel you have no genealogy, for a servant has no genealogy, he is a bondman. In John’s gospel you get the majestic statement, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1: 1); there you get the personal glory of Christ, His eternal personality. The official glories of Christ shine in the three synoptic gospels, what He is as Prophet, Priest and King, but in John the emphasis is on the personal glory of Christ. Of course the other gospels also present the glory of His Person, and His official glories are also seen in John, but the distinctive character of John’s gospel is the deity of the Person of the Son.
So here it is “Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth!”.
How God expressed His delight in Mark’s gospel, “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”, (Mark 1: 11). And again on the mount of transfiguration how the Lord Jesus was distinguished, “This is my beloved Son—hear him” (Mark 9: 7). As they go down the mountain from that scene of glory, we get a young child whose condition seems to be beyond any hope and the father is in distress. You feel for fathers losing their children. The father is beseeching the Lord to come into the situation and help. The Lord went into great detail as to the matter and healed him. The gospel has healing in mind for old and young. So in Zechariah we get a very sweet touch in this post captivity prophecy, “Behold a man whose name is the Branch”. He is presented here as a Man answering to Luke’s gospel. It says, “and he shall grow up from his own place”. Think of the Lord Jesus growing up in His own place, then how He went up to Jerusalem at the age of twelve, and how He spoke in the temple of being in His Father’s business,
and how He advanced in wisdom and stature (Luke 2: 52). Luke’s presentation of Him is priestly in character. It says here, “and he shall build the temple of Jehovah ... and he shall bear the glory”. The Lord is able to sustain the glory. He is now out of death. We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour; He is Priest according to the order of Melchisedec. He has ascended as Man into heaven—the Spirit of God came down and the assembly was formed.
Then it says, “he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both”, that is between God and Christ. This looks on to the world to come when the Lord Jesus will be Priest on His throne. What a scene of blessing it will be when the Lord’s rights will be publicly owned; when all that has been secured in a scene of suffering at the present time will be vindicated in glory, and Christ will have the supreme place; He will be everything in that day, the day of Jesus Christ. Dear friend, What is the place that Christ has in your heart? Is He King to you? Is He supreme in your affections? Do you love the Man Christ Jesus? Do you appreciate the service of that lowly Servant who is ready to wash your feet, that you might have part with Him? Do you know what the Lord has in mind for you in that precious vessel, the assembly? You see, God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, and the assembly is the pillar and the base of the truth, it is known and upheld there, and He wants you to be in relation to it.
So it says, “and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne”.
What do we know about the throne of grace? Let us keep near to the throne of grace, may we not get away from it, may we keep near to it. We are in the reign of grace. Grace is reigning, through righteousness unto life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is what God has in
view, and the word is “Behold”, it is all in Christ. All that is presented to you is in Christ and it is for you to lay hold of it in faith; to come to Him as drawn by that precious love of Christ.
You see the attraction of Christ particularly in John’s gospel, how persons are drawn to Him, and find their eternal blessing in the One who is the glorious centre of God’s world. God presents the gospel to you in Christ. May you lay hold of what God offers to you in the glad tidings; the forgiveness of your sins; the gift of the Holy Spirit; eternal life; sonship.
God wants you to have these blessings; to increase in the knowledge of God, and in the knowledge of what we have been called into. I have to confess I know but little. We depend on the priesthood of Christ, we need the help of the Lord Jesus as our Priest. May you be in the gain of the priesthood of Christ. The Lord knows our desires; He knows our weakness and He is able to sympathise with us, and what we have been called into is not beyond us, it is open for everyone to come into. God has provided everything from His own side in order that you might come into the blessing of it through His unspeakable gift, the gift of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ in His priestly grace is ever interceding in His love for us on high, and the blessed Holy Spirit is here to guide us into all the truth, to bring us into the realisation of what our relations are with our blessed Lord and with the Father, the Holy Spirit being the Earnest of the inheritance. What an inheritance we have been called into!
May we be believing, and through faith lay hold of these wonderful matters. May it be so for His name’s sake.
Preaching at Kirkcaldy, 6 September 1992
GOD’S APPROACH TO MAN IN THE GOSPEL
W. Dickson
James 4: 8; Genesis 4: 3–7; Luke 18: 9–14; 23: 39–43
The gospel from the divine side involves God’s approach to man. That is the great feature of the dispensation that God has approached man. Luke’s gospel brings out that in a very remarkable way. In the Lord Jesus as a Babe, it was evident that God had approached man, because He could approach in no other way but in a manner which man could apprehend and understand. The great truth of the incarnation lies behind that because God wanted to draw near to man and the only way He could do it was in One of the Godhead, One of the Trinity, becoming man. That was God’s plan. The wisdom of God entered into that matter, that God became a Man in the Person of Jesus in order that He could reach man and bless him. That is the gospel from the divine side.
I want to speak tonight, as the Lord may help me, about the sinner drawing near to God; not so much God drawing near to the sinner, but the sinner drawing near to God. It says in this passage in James, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded”. In other words we have to remember that when we approach God He expects us to be in the gain and the value of the work of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even in men professedly atheistic, despite their stoical attitude at times, there is a fear of God, that eventually they will have to meet God. Even in persons who may despise the gospel, and say, We have heard it all before; deep down in the conscience there is the thought that at some time or other they will meet God.
So it says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you”. I trust this preaching this afternoon will
result in persons drawing near to God. These scriptures that we have read speak of two persons in each case, one who drew near to God in the right way, and another who drew near to God in the wrong way. They all felt they had to draw near to God. Somehow or other your conscience will bring home to you that God has to be met. That is why God gave man a conscience. He did not give him only conscience, blessed be His name! If man was all conscience I am afraid I could not present the gospel to you. Man has a heart as well as a conscience, and God is a God of love. Though I speak feelingly of conscience, I speak from the standpoint that the God whom I present to you is a God of love, and, He appeals to your heart, and if you draw near to Him He will draw nigh to you.
In the book of Genesis we find at the very outset of Scripture there is this matter of drawing near to God. These two brothers, Cain and Abel, had equal opportunities, they were brothers who had been brought up with a father and mother, Adam and Eve, with some knowledge of God. They desired to bring an offering to God, to draw near to Him. It says that Cain
“brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Jehovah”. Now, dear young people, you might say to me, Well, what was wrong with that offering? Men say that today, I do my best, I give to the poor, I contribute to the religious societies, I make my offering, what is wrong with it? What was wrong with Cain’s offering? What was wrong with Cain’s offering was that it was not a sacrifice that involved death. How glad man naturally would be if he could approach God without the sacrifice that involved the death of another. How it would make opportunities for men of wealth, substance and good works to claim that they had established a right to approach God by bringing an offering that was not based on the death of another.
So Cain might say, ‘I want to draw near to God. God clothed my parents and put coats of skin on them in order that they could be in the presence of God. It must be a blessed thing to be in the presence of God.
and I will bring Him an offering’. He brought of the fruit of the ground as an offering. But Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat. That speaks of Jesus; it speaks of the excellency of Jesus. If you are going to draw near to God tonight I can assure you that there is only one way in which you can do it, and that is by presenting the perfect offering that God accepted when the Lord Jesus. Christ offered up Himself on the cross a spotless sacrifice to God.
‘Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thyself I cling’. (Hymn 396)
How true that is. Abel brought of the firstlings of the flock and of their fat. Who could that represent but Jesus?
‘How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!’ (Hymn 54)
Abel may have had some light from God as to the sacrifice that was necessary, and which would ultimately come to pass in the death of Jesus. These were two men approaching God, wanting to be near Him; one the wrong way, one the right way. Are there any such here tonight? What way are you on as you draw near to God? God looked upon Abel and on his offering. He took account of the fact that Abel, so to speak, said I cannot bring anything of myself, I have no righteousness, I have no standing, I have no right to the favour of God, I can only plead the death and the work of the Saviour, Jesus. There is no other way. If there is one thought that occupies the minds of men at the present time, it is the many ways in which they can approach God; that thought marks the ethnic teaching in schools, that man can choose his own way in which he can draw near to God. A man of a certain race can say, I can choose my own way; another can say, I can choose my way; but a Christian says, there is only one way in which I can approach God and that is in the virtue of the finished work of Jesus. God looked upon Abel and on his offering, but on Cain and on his offering. He did not look. “And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell”. Why should that be? If he was sure that his offering
was right, why did his countenance fall? In the reading today, a question was asked as to assurance. Cain had not the assurance; Abel had the assurance, he was assured that God would accept his offering. When Cain found out that God did not look at his offering he was very angry and his countenance fell. You know believers in the Lord Jesus when you see them in the street with countenances bright and happy. It is very rare to meet a dismal Christian. If you have the joy of the work of Jesus in your heart, and your link with that blessed glorious Man your countenance is always bright. Cain’s countenance fell, he would think of all the toil on the ground, and it is no good at the end. Abel could say, I just took that lamb, that offering, and I placed it before God, and He has accepted it because it spoke to Him of Jesus.
In Luke 18 we find another two men who went up into the temple to pray. They wanted to draw near to God, they went up with this purpose in mind, one was a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. Now, “The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus to himself—God, I thank thee that I am not as the rest of men”, from the scripture you can almost sense the pride oozing out of him. What self-righteousness, how displeasing to God is self-righteousness—“I am not as the rest of men”. Paul says, “but mercy was shewn me because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief”, 1
Timothy 1: 13. Paul was not like this Pharisee, he knew what it was to draw near to God.
How solemn that man could be so full of his self-righteousness that he thought he could draw near to God in this way! He says, “I fast twice in the week, I tithe everything I gain”, that was like Cain, he had his own way of drawing near to God. How solemn! If a man was to go into the centre of Rotherham and say, ‘I have authority from God to say that everybody who attends church in Rotherham tonight will get into heaven’, every church in Rotherham would be packed to overflowing. If you proclaim the gospel of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, how few return; but there are those who accept the
testimony.
Then it says, “And the tax-gatherer, standing afar off, would not lift up even his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast”, he had a sense of the holiness of God—“Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded”. How important to smite upon your breast; to own that as a sinner you have no love for Jesus, but to recognise that, if you draw near to God, it is in virtue of His work. So he says, “O God, have compassion on me, the sinner”. As he drew near, what feelings marked his heart! Do you think he would be greatly concerned that the Pharisee thought so little of him? No, I do not think so. Once you are on the right road, you know nothing can alter the acceptance of a believer who is there in the virtue of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord says, “This man went down to his house justified rather than that other”.
I was thinking recently that you do not hear many gospel preachings with justification as a theme. Justification is one of the great blessings of the gospel. It must have been a wonderful thing for this tax-gatherer to have been justified. It means that despite his history, or my history, or your history, God looks upon believers in virtue of the work of Jesus, just the same as He looks upon Jesus. Every sinner who approaches in the virtue of that work is justified.
His past history has gone for ever from the eye of God, and he is justified in a risen and glorified Christ. It is wonderful to know that your history is gone in the death of Christ and you are justified in a blessed Man at the right hand of God. Nobody can raise a charge against you, God has met all in the blood of Jesus. What a gospel that is. Think of how John Bunyan wrote in ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ of Christian journeying to the heavenly city, and all the obstacles he met, the trials and tribulations he went through, the inward fears experienced, until the day when he saw the value of the work of Christ in all its perfection, then he went on the heavenly road and
reached the golden gate much quicker than he ever expected. He was a justified man in the virtue of the work of Christ. How good to approach God, draw near to Him in the right way.
In Luke 23 you find another two men. They were both on the point of death. One would have to face God as a Judge and the other would face God as a Saviour—One as a sinner saved by grace, and one as an unrepentant sinner who had to face the judgment of God. What marked the sinner who was saved was that he put his faith and trust in the Saviour who was by his side. If you were to enter into the presence of God tonight, would you go with the assurance that God receives you in virtue of the work of His beloved Son? Think about the fact that eventually you will be either with Jesus in paradise or in the place of remorse. It is very necessary sometimes to warn persons of the danger of neglecting the gospel. It says one of the malefactors said insultingly, “Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us”, going into the presence of God insulting the Saviour. “But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost thou too not fear God, thou that art under the same judgment? and we indeed justly, for we receive the just recompense of what we have done; but this man has done nothing amiss”.
What the malefactor said was acceptable to God, but the other man went into eternity insulting the Saviour. Jesus said to the repentant sinner, “Verily I say to thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. Now, he is still there. That man has been in paradise for nearly two thousand years. He will not be in the church. You say, Why do you say that? I will tell you. You have a greater opportunity tonight than that malefactor had, because you can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and be in the church. If you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and present to God that precious work of His, you may receive the Holy Spirit and be in the church. Is that not wonderful, to be in the church? The church belongs to Jesus, the church of God, the body of Christ, the assembly. If you have
the Holy Spirit you will be a member of the universal church. Everyone who has the Holy Spirit is a member of the church. Why? Because they have approached God in the right way in virtue of the blood of Christ. May we all enter into the joy of it, for His name’s sake.
Amen.
Preaching at Rotherham, 16 August 1992
TROPHIMUS THE EPHESIAN
A. C. Craig
Acts 20: 4–7 (to “morrow”); 21: 27–29; 2 Timothy 4: 19, 20
These are all the references to Trophimus in the Scriptures. In the second one he is called “the Ephesian”; that might be said because he came from the city of Ephesus. That may be, but do not forget that it is in the inspired record. I do not know that anybody else of Paul’s companions is ever named like that, for instance a Corinthian, or a Colossian, just this one man—“the Ephesian”. I want to say something about an Ephesian saint; the word saint comes into every chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians. I think there are nine references to the saints in the epistle to the Ephesians. Now there should be as many soldiers as there are saints, every saint should be a soldier. The word saints presents the divine side, they are called saints. That is God’s sovereignty, He has called us saints. If you belonged to certain of the systems you might never be recognised as a saint, unless after hundreds of years they might canonize you and make you a saint, but that is a poor thing. God has called us saints; that brings up God’s sovereignty and the divine calling, which is the great side of privilege.
How wonderful! But the corresponding side is that we might be soldiers here, holding to the territory that has already been secured;
that is the soldier in chapter 6 of the epistle to the Ephesians. We are not called upon to open up new territory. The ground has been won, the territory has been secured and we are called upon to hold the ground.
He is a very interesting person, this Trophimus. He appears first where I read in Acts 20, he appears in a group of seven. You have Sopater, he is mentioned by himself, and then you have three pairs; one single and three pairs, now that is like the configuration of the candlestick. There was one lamp at the top, and out of it came three branches on either side, making up seven. This would be proper to an Ephesian that he is here in the maintenance of light that shines for God, there is no obscurity, no darkness. He must have had a history before he is first mentioned in chapter 20. It could well be that he was one of the twelve men who were there when Paul arrived by the upper districts which is very important. That bears on the school of Tyrannus; but Paul came to Ephesus by the upper districts. I suppose he came to certain disciples who are later called saints, which believers are by divine calling; that is God’s side of it and it is a great privilege. It helps us in our thanksgiving to God on Monday night, Lord’s day morning, and all the time, we are thankful to God that He has called us saints. It is not a question of merit or attainment, He calls us that; it is as question of living it out by divine help.
Well here is this man and probably, as I said, he was one of the twelve men, and attended Paul’s school. Two things are required, I believe, leading up to this matter, that is that we attend the school of Tyrannus and we hold a bonfire. These are two things that are required, as far as I see, to make any headway in this matter of being an Ephesian. They gathered the books of charms and held a fire. You will never be an Ephesian if you do not do that. But first of all you come to the school of Tyrannus, it is not easy, it is high school. I think the
elementary school was at Antioch where Paul and Barnabas laboured for a whole year, through all the seasons, and the disciples were first called Christians there; that is a remarkable result. But at Ephesus it is different, it is the school of Tyrannus where discipline is maintained. Discipline is not a very good subject nowadays at school, and out of school too. Unless you come this way you will never qualify; this is the way to qualify, to come through Paul’s teaching. When some had spoken against the way at Ephesus, it says he separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus, and for two years he was there, teaching there. It is most important that we attend school, and submit ourselves to the discipline that goes on in the school. It would not be too easy, the school of Tyrannus; Paul took it over and he taught the disciples there. Something else went on as well as the teaching which I will speak about when I come to Trophimus being left sick.
This is a very important matter that the school would help us in, that we come to a certain calculated judgment about the books of charms and all that they may suggest in the way of other teaching. The school of Tyrannus and what proceeds there takes precedence, it would be adhered to. It is very important that we follow Paul’s teaching and that we adhere to it, and come to a certain calculation as to everything else; we must be in keeping with that. So as I said, they came out with those books of charms and burnt them. That is a very remarkable thing. I think Paul’s teaching would help us to come to a decisive judgment about all those sort of things that might deflect us in time to come, something that might remain by way of influence, that we get rid of all those things. It is amazing what you can bring out once you get the fire going, things you may have treasured. Once you get the fire started in they go and you get a great clearance. I believe that is very important. I think Trophimus had come that way. So I say again as to the importance of being a saint, an
Ephesian saint, with an appreciation of God’s wonderful sovereignty, of His having called us.
We form part of the testimony because we are saints. Every provision is made for us that that might be so, that there might be some vitality about the testimony, some purity of light. As we accept the teaching of Paul, we get rid of the things that would becloud the light, or there would be dimness about it. What vitality and power and brightness there is about the light. So as I say, Trophimus forms part of this company in chapter 20; he is the last named, but it is significant that there were many lights in the upper chamber. He was one of those lights in the upper chamber where Paul was carrying on his teaching, where he was carrying on his recovery service; Trophimus was there, affording light on the position. We can meet that in a ready committal to the Lord and, as accepting the discipline and teaching of Paul, we can shine so that some light is conveyed from us, in view of the continuation of this service of recovery.
In the second scripture where I said he is called “the Ephesian”, it is a very difficult setting, and he is the occasion of the uproar in the city. Paul is there, although he had been warned in this chapter (Acts 21) not to go up to Jerusalem; twice over he was warned, the first time by the disciples in Tyre who spoke to him by the Spirit, and then at Caesarea he was besought not to go. It was a very testing situation. Paul had to learn that there was only one blessed Man who was able to face up to the hostility and all that went on in a religious way in Jerusalem. There was only one blessed Man equal to it and that was the Lord Himself. So Paul was warned twice over, but he said, I am going, and, sorrowful to say, he came under the influence there of Jerusalem. Then there is this great uproar, and it is all because of Trophimus; they supposed Paul had brought him into the temple, and profaned the holy place, but really all had been set aside already. By the incoming of Christ and His death, and the incoming of the Spirit, the whole thing had been set aside, and something new had been
introduced which Paul taught. Trophimus is the occasion of the uproar, and he is there as a witness as to what had come out of the Gentiles. As there in that city, you can imagine what power he lent to Paul’s testimony, even though he had come under the power of religious influence. This man is there to strengthen Paul, to be a comfort to him; he is the Lord’s provision for Paul in that way, and it is in that connection he is called “the Ephesian”. There is something very precious about that. It is distinctive. We do not claim to be anything, but if we follow up the teaching and accept the discipline we can qualify for being a support to what Paul represents at a critical time. I think it is a very fine service he is rendering; not saying anything, but he is there in the full support of Paul himself while the whole city is in an uproar.
Although worse than ever is the state of things today, we can be a support and strengthening of the character of the testimony in which Paul has set things on. That is a great matter. They do not care for Paul in the great systems, they will not have Paul, they want to set him aside. I think it lies on each one to be like Trophimus, to be here in support of what Paul represents; to maintain what he has set on in the way of heavenly ministry, in the direction and guidance of the testimony here, and in what belongs to church order. We ought to listen to Paul and be a support to him. It is not only what happens in Christendom generally, but it comes close home to each one. It is a great thing to be a support to Paul in how he has set matters on, the law of the house, and everything that governs it. An Ephesian would know what to do, he would support what is set out in the law of the house. I think that is very fine that he should be found in that city with so much confusion in it. May we come the way of divine teaching, having rid ourselves of all that might in any way becloud the light and influence wrongly. We tend to come under influence, but I think Trophimus is not prepared to come under influence.
Where all the confusion is, he is found
in full support of Paul to represent what is right regarding the testimony.
This last scripture is mainly what I want to speak about where Paul says, “Trophimus I left behind in Miletus sick”. That is why I referred to this man mainly, he is left sick at Miletus.
To go back to the reference to Paul’s teaching in the school of Tyrannus, at the same time as Paul was teaching, the credentials of the teaching came out in the fact that there were aprons and napkins carried from Paul’s body and laid on the sick and they were recovered. These were the credentials of the teaching. You can depend upon it that going along with Paul’s teaching, and it is true that the teaching goes on today, there will be certain credentials. The Spirit of God would not present mere theory, nor anything that would be only objective without there being evidence of results following.
So Trophimus was left sick. He might have been one of those persons who carried those aprons or napkins and laid them upon the sick so that they were healed. Following the fall of Eutychus in Acts 20, he might have seen Paul descending and enfolding him in his arms, then his recovery. And now here, at the very end (because in 2 Timothy Paul is closing the record) Trophimus is left sick. I want to speak about what might be before the Spirit, and before us too, in regard of this incident and the circumstances. He knew what Paul could do and might wonder in his mind, Why does he not heal me? Why does he go off and leave me? You can think of the exercise of his mind and heart. This is what I mainly want to speak about. As to this great matter, at the end of the dispensation, the exercise comes up amongst the Lord’s people. How much sorrow there is, anxiety of mind and heart, whether it be in domestic matters or bereavement, or in matters further afield. Who knows what is going on in the way of exercise of heart and mind? Is the Lord indifferent? You can imagine the scene here with this man. He had been a supporter of
Paul in crises; he had been at Troas when all the lights were there, he had been in a vital way in the testimony, but the time comes when he is left sick. Did Paul not care? Had Paul lost his power? You can imagine what came up in his mind.
All this is intended, beloved brethren, to affect us, and I am sure it does; you search and you search, before God, before the Lord. What is it? You might not be able to explain these things that come up, these exercising matters, they are very difficult. What are we being taught in this? This happens in our time; middle aged men die of strokes, younger men are taken away; there is ever so much in the way to cause sorrow. Why is it? I believe that Trophimus helps us in this matter, not only as to the acceptance of it, he could do nothing else but accept it, but that he might have something else. I believe all these things are intended of the Lord to draw us to Himself. Paul is taken away, but there is still the Lord. That is my point, beloved brethren, that we might learn something from this man who was left sick, that with all that goes on, the disappointment, the frustration, even if we have had a part commendably and vitally in the testimony, and yet this comes upon us. I think the Lord is teaching us. You want Me; you have still got Me. That is a very wonderful thing. What more could we have than that; when there is the pressure and the anxiety and the sorrow, that we can turn to the Lord.
He knows all about the saints; He knows all about the exercises, and He will supply the need Himself. I believe the purpose of Trophimus being left sick, was to direct our attention to the great Priest.
I would commend it to us in that respect. Jesus, the Son of God has passed through the heavens. He does not go off and leave us, He draws nigh, He supports, He sustains, He comforts, He helps. That is all I have to say. This man would serve that purpose of encouraging us by the Spirit, to help us and direct our attention to the Lord. Whatever the pressure, or the
difficulties, we have the Lord. What better could I say to us than that? I would direct our attention to Him, the One who would be everything for us in the midst of the pressure, and in the sorrow, and in the difficulty. I think it is very wonderful that when things seem so dark and cloudy, and inexplicable, yet the Lord would draw nigh, and say, It is I; you have got Me.
Why is it that so many of the beloved brethren are incapacitated with sickness, and many other things too? So you say, Why has it come on me? It is that we might learn to turn to the Lord, to trust in Him. I think as we draw near the end of the dispensation Christ will become more to us; more to each individual, not only those who are passing through things themselves personally, but those who are looking on too. All that would help towards the Lord becoming greater to us in view of the rapture, when relief will come in for every kind of condition. There will be an intensity of affection for Christ, and I think all these things we pass through, and Trophimus would help us in that, will teach us to look to the Lord; to trust Him more, to get to know His healing hand, and the comfort that He brings when He comes in. The Spirit would direct our attention to Him in that sense and make Him indispensable to us. Whatever else may fail, or whatever else may come in the way, the lesson to be learnt is that we have the Lord. May He bless the word.
Address at Buckie, 14 November 1992
“THAT GOD”
D. L. Stewart
“Thou art that God”, for ever Thou the Same
Thy words are truth, we glory in Thy name
Thy will supreme, Thy way of love how blest
We worship now as brought to Thee in rest.
Thou art “our God”, one God the Father Thou
Of Thee all things, and we are for Thee now,
What grace indeed that such as we should know
Relationship with Thee while here below.
Thou art “my God”, supplying all I need
My Maker Thou, Redeemer, yes indeed
To know Thee thus is bliss beyond all thought,
By night my song, as by Thy Spirit taught.
EXTRACTS
In thinking of the sufferings of Christ which stand related to the Lord’s supper we are to have in our minds what the Lord left behind in the way of sufferings when He went to heaven, for all the sufferings of His saints He feels and regards as His own, as Colossians 1: 24 and 1
Peter 1: 11 and 4: 13 show. The former passage specially shows that a measure, determined by the Lord in His love and wisdom, was left to be gone through by the assembly in order to bring her into full accord with Christ in the place of testimony here in the fulfilment of the will of God. They are therefore to be regarded as the sufferings of Christ which He endures in His suffering assembly; the “me” of Acts 9: 4.
J. Taylor (Vol. 63, pp.133, 134)
I trust that God will give you to be large of heart, but firm in the narrow path in which it behoves the saints to walk in these last days.
J. N. Darby (‘Letters’ Vol. 2, p.137)
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