HOW THE TRUTH OF THE ASSEMBLY APPEARED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOD'S WAYS (2)
[p. 462] HOW THE TRUTH OF THE ASSEMBLY APPEARED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOD’S WAYS (2)
Acts 11: 22 - 30; Acts 13: 1 - 3
JT We saw previously that the end of Luke’s gospel presents the Lord as the Blesser, blessing a company upon earth; and having blessed them He is parted from them, and carried up into heaven. You have presented a company, blessed on earth, with the Blesser hid in heaven. This might be linked on with the millennial condition of things, a company blessed on earth. Whereas, chapter 9 of this book, which, as we know, is recorded by the same writer, presents Christ speaking out of heaven, and owning those that were on earth as His body; so that He is no longer parted from them. They are His body; and the body is vitally bound up with its head; there is no such thought as separation from it. Hence the position now is heavenly. The saints, persecuted, are Himself, really. And in connection with that, we have what is called “a light out of heaven”; a very suggestive thought. One has observed, lately, the frequency with which Mr. Darby’s hymns have been sung amongst us; and it is noticeable how much the idea of “heavenly light” is found in them. Light itself is precious; I mean to say, if you are in a dark scene, light of any kind is to be desired; you may not think for the moment of the kind of light; it is a question of light. God has said, “Let there be light, and there was light”. It was not a question where it came from; it was simply that the necessity for it was apparent, and the divine word brought it into existence. But then, in the book of Genesis, we have [p. 463] a luminary set in the heavens, to show that light henceforth comes from heaven.
In the gospel of Luke Christ is seen on earth, as the Vessel of grace; in the Acts He is seen in heaven; and from chapter 7, onwards, the centre of the divine operations is transferred from Jerusalem to heaven; and the light now issues from heaven, instead of Jerusalem. The temple was in Jerusalem of old, and hence light came from Jerusalem; but now it comes from heaven.
Rem I think the character of the assembly, in a way, is seen in Stephen’s countenance.
JT His countenance shone as the face of an angel.
Rem That meant that it was a heavenly countenance.
JT Quite so; he was affected by the light from heaven. We have to distinguish between an earthly remnant and their exercises and feelings, and a heavenly people. The earthly in the future will have certain exercises, which will find expression in the books of Psalms. If they have enemies, they call for vengeance on them. Now that does not describe the exercises of a heavenly man. He never calls for vengeance on his enemies. Stephen says, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”. That indicates what the body is. That may be a crude way of putting it; but it is well to be practical. One feature of the body is seen in “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”. One of Christ’s members was saying that. It was a reflection of Christ.
Rem That was the spirit of Christ.
JT Exactly; the member was actuated by Christ’s spirit. A member of Christ is in character what Christ was here.
Rem So in that way the body is to be for the continuation of that Man.
Rem Paul’s conversion was an intimation of the assembly.
JT Yes, the circumstances of his conversion involved the truth of the assembly. First of all, a Man speaks out of heaven, and He owns the saints on earth as Himself, saying, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest”. In thus owning the saints on earth as Himself, He could do it truthfully, because Stephen was like the Lord in that sense; he acted entirely in the spirit of Christ, when he was put to death. The Lord could say that. The next chapter, 8, shows us Saul going from house to house, seeking out the members of Christ to drag them to persecution; and there is no evidence that there was any resistance. James himself testifies “Ye have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you”. So that the Lord can truthfully own such people as Himself. Now, that is how you find out the “body”; you find it in people who do not resist suffering.
Rem Who being reviled, reviled not again.
Rem It is not so much the doctrine of the thing, as the thing itself.
JT Stephen’s countenance shone in the presence of the council. Before his execution his countenance shone; in his execution his whole body was luminous.
Ques What is the connection with what we have read?
JT The circumstances warranted the light that was vouchsafed, and if the light of the assembly, is revealed, room must be made for it. Christ here in His body is a great idea. It must be universal in its bearing; it cannot be limited to any locality on earth; and hence chapter 10 is to make room for it. Peter is brought forward in his official capacity; not as a vessel of the light, but as one who has the keys of the kingdom so that he might open the door [p. 465] for the development of this wonderful light that had come in.
Rem There was no room for it in Judaism.
JT If you compare this with Matthew 16 you will see what is meant; the Lord said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. And then He said, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. He gives Peter authority to open the door for the Gentiles; to release the Gentiles from the governmental restrictions that lay upon them.
Rem In every nation he that feareth Him is accepted with Him.
JT That is it. That is the force of Peter’s action at Caesarea. If you compare Paul in chapter 9 with Peter in chapter 10, you will notice that Paul acts as it were voluntarily; his whole heart was in it; he announced in the synagogues at Damascus that Jesus is the Son of God.
Rem Then, once the light is out, Peter is used to make room for what is involved.
JT Paul acts voluntarily, as one whose heart is in the thing; whereas in the next chapter, one might say, Peter is compelled to go to Caesarea.
Rem That makes the commencement of Paul’s ministry even more precious, because it was done voluntarily.
JT I think so. He was like Abraham’s servant; he knew what was needed. Now, Peter is an official. Really one does not like to refer critically to any of those great men. Peter was obedient, when he was sent. Paul never thought himself too great to do anything. Now, in, chapter 6 of Acts, the apostles said, “It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables”. Therefore they had [p. 466] certain men selected from the congregation that they might appoint to what they called “this business”. It was of a lower order than their vocation; the “business” was to look after the poor; to do the work of a deacon. Now, it is a remarkable thing that of the men who were appointed the Lord took up some to do the highest kind of “service”; and the apostles are left to some extent in the shade. He took up Stephen and Philip. But Paul does not select his work; he is prepared to do everything for the saints. So that in the end of chapter 11 he is seen acting as a deacon; Barnabas and Paul are acting together; and they shine in apostolic service in chapter 13. The spirit of service is this, that if a work is there to be done, the true servant will do it because it is to be done, without thinking whether it lowers his dignity or not.
Rem All that came out in Christ Himself when here.
JT Yes. I do not know anything, in a way, that is so suggestive, as the remarkable manner in which Stephen and Philip shone, and the twelve are left almost unnoticed. It is remarkable that Stephen, although beginning as a deacon, should be the first really to reflect the heavenly light.
Rem Paul, in a sense, was the fruit of that.
JT I have no doubt he got an impression in that memorable moment when Christ, as you might say, was put to death before him. Now, having room officially made for the assembly in chapter 10, in chapter 11 you have the connecting link of sympathy in Barnabas.
Rem You mean the act of Barnabas going to fetch Paul.
JT Barnabas had great respect for the twelve. You find, in the end of chapter 4, that the apostles give him the surname of Barnabas, which means, “Son of Consolation”. He had a piece of ground;
[p. 467] he did not give it away. It is a great mistake to give away any property in the sense that it is of no use. Everything is of value. He regarded it as of value; but he could use the money which he might get for it in the Lord’s work; and so he sold the land, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. He did not tell the apostles what to do with it; he had too much respect for their authority to do that; they represented in his mind the authority of the Lord Jesus; and he judged rightly that they could use the money more wisely and more advantageously than he could. It would be an impossible thing to do that today. If a man has money, he has to be steward of it himself.
Rem We have no apostles to give it to now.
JT The difference between a rich brother and a poor brother is this. If a poor brother gives, he sacrifices; if a rich brother gives, he is a steward; he is giving for the Lord; he does not suffer for it; but he is giving as a steward, and the Lord will hold him responsible for using it in divine wisdom. Now, Barnabas has means; but in his day, he had this advantage that the apostles could use it better than he could, and he laid it at their feet. He was full of faith, and of the Holy Spirit; and in his affections he was enabled to go outside the twelve; he went to Antioch. He was the link between the ministry of the twelve and the ministry that the Lord was going to use in connection with the Gentiles; and he was a sympathetic link.
Rem You mean Barnabas was sympathetic with the apostles, and he was sympathetic with Paul.
JT He was sympathetic with Paul, because he saw that Paul was the man. You see, the Lord moves but then He looks for sympathy in the saints in what He does. That is a great thing in service: you find you have not only the Lord’s clear guidance in what you are to do, but you have the sympathy of the [p. 468] saints. So, in Barnabas there is the link between the twelve and the new movement in Antioch.
Rem It is a great thing to be in sympathy with what the Lord is doing.
Rem The work is, in a way, lifeless apart from that.
JT I am sure you know how encouraging it is in seeking to minister, to have the sympathy of those you are ministering to.
Rem It is a very great thing indeed.
Rem And how much the Lord values that you are with Him in what He is doing.
JT In Paul I think we have the spirit of Abraham’s servant. He knew that a bride for Isaac was needed. And Paul knew that the link with Israel being broken, consequently Christ was, as it were, alone. Isaac is said to have been in the field meditating; there was a need in his heart, and we are told that when he got Rebecca “he loved her and was comforted after the death of his mother”. Paul was led to understand Christ’s need for the assembly, so that all his activities afterwards were to the end that the assembly should be presented to Christ.
Rem To bring in the church, the bride.
JT There is another touch which I think should be noticed. In the end of chapter 11 there is a true spirit of charity found among those who were converted. We read, “then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea; which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul”. That was truly the spirit of love and care seen outside Judea. Well, all these things are guides as to how we reach the assembly here, and the kind of people that form it.
Rem That is what grace did.
JT Exactly; they are the people that can suffer without murmuring or complaining; and, on the [p. 469] other hand, they are ready to give where it is needed.
Rem So it all takes a practical shape.
JT Yes; there is nothing more practical than Christianity.
Rem What do you mean by outside Judea?
JT Those living at Antioch, outside Jewish territory. God so ordered it in His government that the Jewish saints were suffering materially, and the Gentile saints were in a position to help them; and in that way God brought into evidence the work He was doing outside; there was a tangible evidence of it.
Rem It is remarkable that it should come from the Gentiles.
JT Well, now, these things being found amongst the Gentiles, there is the evidence that God can trust the Gentiles; and hence in chapter 13 you find that God can act in that company. He is acting outside Jerusalem, and outside Jews.
Rem And receiving in that way the expression of love from the Gentiles would prepare their hearts for the truth that the middle wall between them was broken down.
JT Yes, the barriers are broken down by love. “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head”. That is the way to bring him down; a man soon bows when you put the fire on his head.
Rem The Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. Barnabas is mentioned before Saul?
JT He was first at the beginning; but he soon becomes second; Paul outstripped him. Barnabas was the greater man spiritually, I suppose, for the moment, but in a little time Paul is mentioned first.
Ques What is the fire you alluded to in Romans 12?
JT [p. 470] Well, it is the thing that brings the down.
Ques Why is it called fire?
JT It is a peculiar kind of judgment to use. Instead of judgment on an enemy, as in Psalms, love brings him down; it is just as effective; but then it does not destroy him.
Rem It humbles him. The fire consumes the enmity.
JT Quite so.
Ques What do you make of Agabus coming in here?
JT Well, he and other prophets were found at Antioch; he came from Jerusalem; indicating another link, I think, with Jerusalem.
Rem Although there were so many in the faith at Antioch, God had need of him.
Rem He was evidently another that was sympathetic.
JT He did not stay at Jerusalem; he went outside. The truth is this, that these chapters indicate the movement of the tent of the testimony, and, as has often been pointed out, every true hearted person followed the tent when it moved. So that in Barnabas and Agabus you have men who followed the tent.
Now, when you come to the beginning of chapter 13 you have God definitely acting in the way of administration amongst a Gentile company. What a definite movement that was. The first thing to notice is that the assembly is formally recognised; there “were in Antioch, in the assembly which was there, prophets and teachers”; and then it says, “they were ministering to the Lord”. All these things show what existed there.
Ques What would ministering to the Lord convey to you?
JT [p. 471] I think it means that there was true priestly state there. That was what Aaron was called out to do: to minister to the Lord. In the end of chapter 11 there is the spirit of love. You can trust love. If God finds a man who loves the brethren, He can entrust him with something, He always does. Now, the assembly at Antioch was marked by that; and they ministered to the Lord; and they fasted. That is to say, they could deny themselves. Then the Spirit puts the honour upon them, in associating them with Him in the work, for He says, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”.
Rem It is remarkable the way the testimony moved; it is not independent.
JT No, there is the recognition of the link of sympathy between what was at Jerusalem and Antioch.
Ques Could you apply this at the present day?
JT Now, that raises an important consideration as to what light it is we are to walk in at the present time. If it is a question of church order, we walk in the light of first principles. In the last chapter of the Old Testament, the Spirit of God says,.”Remember ye the law of Moses my servant which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments”. They were to remember the statutes and judgments which were given there for all Israel. These were to be a light for the remnant at the last days; and the same applies to us; so that we walk in the light of first principles. Therefore, if it be a question of what was at Antioch, you look for love among the brethren, and care for one another; if there is need, ministering to the need. You remember the high priest had the breastplate and shoulder pieces. If you love the brethren you “support” them. And then, on the other hand, the priest ministers to Jehovah.
[p. 472] Rem It is remarkable there are so many differences amongst God’s people now; and yet every thing was so plainly stated at the beginning of the Acts in connection with them down here.
JT Well, I think the Lord would bring us back to that; to the simplicity of things as a company of people who love one another. Doubtless many, at Antioch had not seen the saints at Jerusalem, but the love of God in their hearts led them to minister to their need.
Rem All would be well if we continued to walk according to first principles.
JT If there is love amongst the saints, then you may look for the ministering to the Lord.
Ques Why were they first called Christians at Antioch?
JT That is another significant thing. Instead of being known as a sect among the Jews, they are looked at by the world as the followers of Christ. It is a name given them by the world, but accepted by the Spirit.
Rem It is a great thing to see that it is the assembly, and nothing else is Christ.
Rem So it is not simply a company of people who break bread; it is a company of people such as is presented here.
Ques I suppose you would say you get back to first principles in 2 Timothy?
JT Yes. One important point there is that you must leave the saints in the Lord’s hands. You do not know them all. The Lord knows them all. That is the comfort. Your business is to be sure that your course is clear, and that you see to it, that if there are others like minded you are with them.
I think it is very beautiful to see the place the Lord obtained in this Gentile company. They ministered to the Lord. What a place the Lord had [p. 473] with them. And they fasted; that meant there was self-denial. It is the true priestly state amongst the Gentiles, that is what it is. The whole system at Jerusalem is superseded by this. So that Antioch, as it were, reflects heaven. That is the idea in the assembly, it reflects heaven. The Spirit of God is acting in the assembly there.
Rem The Spirit of the Man who has gone up.
JT What a beautiful action it was, the saints laying their hands on Barnabas and Saul, because the Spirit wanted them. They are in complete sympathy with the work of God.
Ques What do you say the laying on of hands was?
JT When they had fasted and prayed they laid their hands on them, and sent them away; it is complete identification. That is what the laying on of hands means. They said virtually, ‘We are with you; you have our sympathy; you have our prayers’.
Rem You would not say there was any gift imparted by their action.
JT No, it was simply identification. And then another important point is, the independent sovereign action of the Spirit; the Spirit acts; the Spirit speaks.
Ques Do the hands mean nothing?
JT It is the means by which you identify yourself. As of old the offerer laid his hands on the head of the victim. Paul says to Timothy, “Lay hands suddenly on no man”. You see, if you do, you become partaker of their sins if they go wrong.
Ques “Lay hands suddenly on no man”. Does that mean you are not to be too quick in receiving anybody?
JT Yes; take care. Beware with whom you are identifying yourself.