PROCEDURE IN THE ASSEMBLY
PROCEDURE IN THE ASSEMBLY
JT These verses serve by comparison to set out the assembly as seen in 1 Corinthians and in Ephesians. The first scripture says that the Lord stood in their midst; in John 20 it is in the midst. We may perhaps be helped in speaking together of this great subject in its two parts, as indicated in these verses.
HL Would the first scripture imply that the Lord came into their circumstances?
JT Yes; what they are saying is mentioned. In the midst is unlimited, and would imply the Lord giving effect, by His presence, to the message that He had sent by Mary. The Lord would give effect to the light. As we apprehend Him in the midst, we get the full import of the message — “Go to my brethren”, etc. This is in keeping with Ephesians, and is universal. It involves the spiritual state of the assembly; in the power of the Spirit we are led from what is local to what is universal and eternal.
JMcM They thought they beheld a spirit, in Luke. There is nothing of that in John.
JT That plainly indicates the difference between the two positions. What they were saying would indicate in a general way that they were qualifying to be the assembly in a public way. The two from Emmaus found the eleven and those that were with them gathered together. You do not get that in John, nor do you get what they were saying. Here you do: “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon”. Then the two that had been restored told “what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread”. The Lord having appeared to Simon was an expression [p. 81] of grace.
ELM The breaking of bread stands in relation to the public position?
JT That is quite obvious. Grace was to mark it. “Hath appeared to Simon” is grace — the Lord appearing to one who had sinned so flagrantly. They could not be the assembly of God save as grace is expressed there. The assembly must be the reflection of what God is. There was variety in unity. They found the eleven, which would mean those that were representative; there was authority. The features of Gad (Deuteronomy 33:20,21) would be in the eleven; there would thus be a basis for enlargement. And they were gathered together; that is another feature of the assembly. In John 20 it is “where the disciples were”.
JC They found the eleven?
JT Yes, and the number would mean that there is a broken state of things, but that did not disqualify them; they could go on in spite of it. The basis of their position was moral, which also applies to our own time. The mention of the broken number of the apostles, Peter and the two from Emmaus, points to the dominance of restoring grace. This marks the recovery in these last days. Evidently those, noted in Luke 24, who had erred, are so completely restored that there is no feeling of distance. They are talking about the worst of them; there was not one as bad as Peter. If ‘unlearned’ or ‘unbelievers’ came in, they would observe this, and would ask, no doubt, Who is he? What has he done? Why do you say the Lord appeared to him? If Simon were interrogated, he would tell the whole truth; and so an exercised person would say, If the Lord is so gracious to that man, He will be gracious to me. Luke, as emphasising grace, records these facts; thus the public assembly begins as descriptive of the dispensation — what God is. In Luke the Lord is presented as “the Christ of God”, (Luke 9:20). It would encourage anybody that is needing grace. “They returned the same hour”. If we had more spiritual vigour, we should have more readings on Lord’s day afternoons. The Lord’s day afternoon is the most auspicious time for a Bible reading. We have the advantage of all that enters into the day. If He is made known to us in the breaking of bread, we shall be energetic. At the end of our chapter it is said the disciples “were continually in the temple”.
JMcM Would each one have something to say?
JT Each brother ought to be able to contribute something. The eleven and those that were with them were evidently freely engaged in talking about the things of Christ, and those from Emmaus spoke about what had happened in the way. What way? That on which they were going astray. Well, any person who came in under exercise — who too had been going astray — would be interested and helped. The grace in Christ that restored them could restore him. I speak in this way because of the importance now of maintaining the principle of grace in our meetings.
HL It makes all the difference to our spiritual energy to have known the Lord in the breaking of bread.
JT That is how it is put here. Many ‘addresses’ could not exhaust what “happened on the way”. “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. How much enters into that!
ELM Does the breaking of bread open the door for the Lord to manifest Himself?
JT That is what is seen here. “He was made known to them in the breaking of bread”. That happened in the house, but the Lord had the assembly in mind, and intended to qualify them to have part in it.
ELM He vanished out of their sight. Do we not know something of that?
JT That indicates that what He is to us in our houses is to prepare us for the assembly; indeed, His service to us is in view of the assembly. It is a question here of the restoring grace of the Lord, and how that culminates in [p. 83] our having part in the assembly. It is a question whether I have learned the lesson; if I have, I can take part in the assembly. The assembly is the place of knowledge, where the things of God are known. The glory came in (Exodus 40) when everything was in its place; “as the Lord commanded Moses” appears seven times in verses 19 - 32. This corresponds with the first part of the assembly meeting. It is a question of everything being regulated by the will of the Lord. Then room is made for Him as Head, and as Minister of the sanctuary.
HL You were speaking of Exodus as corresponding with this in Luke 24?
JT I was speaking of the order that is proper to the assembly. Very much is made in Exodus of the parts of the tabernacle, and that the material itself for the tabernacle was from the people. Every Israelite must be considered. In 1 Chronicles the contributions are almost entirely from David and Solomon. Thus in this book it is what comes in typically through Christ.
Ques Would you connect Luke with the first part, and John with the second?
JT Yes.
ELM The second part is Christ speaking to us.
JT Yes; He will impress us with His “unsearchable riches”, (Ephesians 3:8). The first part relates to what we have; “have ye here any meat?” (verse 41). Then He ministers what He has. In Chronicles it is the wealth that David provided — a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver — it is the immensity of the wealth that is in view. That is Ephesians — what Christ brings in. But first it is, Have you here anything? That is Luke; that is the local position. This passage indicates how we acquire wealth in this respect. Peter would gain by the Lord appearing to him, and the Lord spoke to ‘the two’ of all the scriptures. Think of the Lord opening out Exodus to them! What a view they would have! Every [p. 84] experience we have of the Lord in our daily path ought to involve a fresh apprehension of Him; you know Him in a new way, and that is material for the assembly when we come together. There is thus something the Lord can take part in, in our meetings; then He brings in His part. There is the immense wealth of what He brings in. His priestly grace and service appear here also. They needed adjustment. It is almost a certainty in every local meeting that we need adjustment. It is ‘Himself’; He is not there representatively. He comes in fully to confirm them in what they had already attained to. The full bearing of what was of God there would become apparent as His presence is rightly apprehended. It is the presence of the Lord that shows you the bearing of the ministry He gives through His servants.
FI Is it “I ... will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20)?
JT Exactly. He came to them, and then they came into His circumstances. He brings us into accord with Himself. Everything is seen in its true bearing when Christ is known in the midst. Coming together in assembly is thus essential for formation and testimony. “These are the words which I spake unto you” (verse 44). He had already spoken these things, but they were not understood. “Then opened he their understanding”. All this service enters into the assembly.
In what follows we see that this chapter bears on the whole testimony of the gospel: “That repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all nations”, (verse 47). That was in view, so that the local assembly is to be in keeping with the dispensation; it is behind the preaching.
John is more what is inward — towards God, towards heaven, towards eternity. As already said, in John it is not “in their midst”, but “in the midst”. The bearing of this is wider — infinite indeed. It is like the stronghold of Zion, which David took, and built inward. Zion [p. 85] is the saints taken up in the light of God’s sovereign rights.
ELM In Luke you have His hands and feet, in John His hands and side?
JT The latter has in view a state of things that is outside the sin question altogether. The hands and feet are quite in keeping with Luke, but you do not have any travelling in heaven; the ark is at rest. Hands will be active there; they are useful for the display of affection, (Song of Songs 2:6). The Lord’s side points to the origin of the church, as Eve was taken out of Adam. His death, thus indicated, testifies to His love for the church. One had observed in moving about that there is great disregard of the light that governs the assembly in this twofold way. What belongs to the first part is often carried too far into the second part. Brethren speak to the Lord instead of the Father unduly after the breaking of bread; and often there is speaking to the Father and then to the Lord. There is evidenced in this a want of spiritual intelligence and steadiness. The saints should become accustomed to the heavenly side of the assembly, the side on which headship is known and the wealth of heaven is brought in. The Lord leads towards the Father in the assembly. There we learn how He is with the Father, the bearing of the message sent to the disciples through Mary. Thus if we speak to the Lord as Head, we have the Father before us. After the breaking of bread, the bearing of the assembly is towards heaven. Our place is there. We are raised up together and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ. The One for whom are all things and by whom are all things is bringing many sons to glory. The Father is before us in the assembly. The Son is the Minister of the sanctuary, in which all is for the Father’s glory. In 1 Chronicles David provides the material in abundance, but it is the son that is to build. It is “the Son of the Father’s love”. It is no longer the Lord as such; authority, although never [p. 86] absent, is not in evidence. The priests could not stand to serve, according to Chronicles, as the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of God. Jehovah (for us the Father) could fill the whole scene. But the saints, as sons, are not shut out. If the Father fills all, it is according to what He is to Christ and to us. He is in the assembly according to His eternal love and counsel. The type fails as to this. The sons are in the glory — brought to it. We are in the assembly in the relation of sons to the Father, and of brethren to Christ. The ideas of lordship and priesthood would be what is needed because of actual conditions down here. These terms have reference to our position as still down here. If we abstract ourselves from flesh and blood, it is a question of sonship. David built inward — that means that you reach the eternal thought of God, which is sonship. If we are able to abstract ourselves from all that is of this creation, then the idea of lordship and priesthood drops. David built inward; that is John’s line. If you address the Lord after addressing the Father, you are dropping down. And if a word of ministry is given, it is not the end of the meeting. As coming from God in the midst of worship, it should stimulate us to deeper notes. What is needed is the intelligence that accompanies sonship. God is bringing many sons to glory, not priests. We are governed by the light that governs the position.
Rem The holiest is more in the wilderness and is more individual; you see things there as they are before God. One who goes into the holiest knows how to be before God in the assembly.
JT The second part of the assembly is not local at all; it is a spiritual matter, and has the whole assembly in view. It is a question of spiritual power. “The doors being shut”. ‘The door’ would be in keeping with Luke, but in John it is a question of the state of our souls. There is thus room for the Lord to act, and He gives its full bearing to the message through Mary. A meeting is [p. 87] damaged through a door being left open. After the Supper they sang a hymn and went to the mount of Olives. That would agree with the procedure in the assembly, of which we have been speaking. The mount of Olives is a link with heaven.