ASSEMBLY CHARACTERISTICS

R. D. Plant

Acts 27: 37–44; Genesis 24: 17–21, 67; Acts 2: 37–47; 9: 10–17; Proverbs 31: 10–29

As thinking about this service, someone reminded me of an expression that we used to hear frequently but not so much today, and that is the importance of being ‘heavenly minded’. We need to be careful with our expressions in a broken day as to the assembly, but it has led me to speak as to the importance of assembly characteristics.

I think, beloved brethren, ours is a day in which assembly characteristics are to be seen. Publicly the church as a whole cannot be seen. It was here when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, when the assembly was inaugurated upon the earth, and for that brief time, there was a wonderful demonstration here of what was in that vessel. Almost we may say what God was doing in those days was irresistible, and you can read in the Acts the account of it. Even where we read it refers to a day in which three thousand souls were added to the assembly. I am not sure what we would do in Grangemouth, or Birmingham, or Kirkcaldy if that happened today. Ruin and breakdown, breakdown publicly came in very quickly as man’s mind operated, and as far as I can see from scripture, it was never intended by God that it would ever be set up publicly again. That is not to say that the assembly in character is not here, because God does not give up His thoughts. But publicly the thing came to ruin through the activities of men, and man’s mind. The fact that features of it are still here, what is for Christ’s heart, manifest in the fact that in the end the Spirit and the bride will say come (Revelation 22: 17). I suppose the Spirit and bride were in unison at the beginning of the Acts, and that characteristic will be there at the end, it says the Spirit and the bride will say, Come. But it is a matter of great sorrow that the public expression of the assembly very quickly fell into ruin as man’s mind worked in relation to it.

This chapter in Acts is a very graphic illustration of the breakup of the church publicly. I can only touch briefly upon the details, but you find very quickly in the voyage of this ship carrying Paul to Rome as a prisoner, that difficulties soon came in as they did in the early assembly. The enemy began to operate quickly. Persecutions and scattering took place, and you find the account of all these things in the Acts, as the enemy began his relentless activity to destroy every feature of that vessel that was here for Christ, and formed by the Holy Spirit. The winds here were contrary (Acts 27: 4). You will see the contrary winds if you read the beginning of Acts, and you will see the way the enemy began to blow upon things publicly, and how quickly as things came in, it began to erode what was so publicly precious to Christ. And then you find that they set sail and various things happened and they decided to winter in a harbour, Phoenice, that faced in two directions (Acts 27: 12). How quickly that came into the church. I only say these things as a background to things that I want to touch upon, and to show how ruin came in and how easily these things can still affect us, because the enemy does not change his tactics, he uses the same tactics. The port of Phoenice was apparently one, according to the scriptures, which faced in two directions; and how quickly what came in, in the church publicly, began to face in two directions. The church is connected with what is heavenly, but how quickly under the hands of men it started to look in two directions; it started to look also to the world in which Christ was crucified.

You will find all these things in the chapter and they all contributed to the eventual loss of the ship. From that point on they were unable to bring the head of the ship to the wind (Acts 27: 15). You will find, beloved, that if you start to face in two directions you will be unable to bring yourself to face in the right direction, the right point of the compass, you will not be able to do it. Beloved young people here, if you begin to look in two directions in your Christian life, you will very quickly find that you will not be able to steer straight. You will find that things pull you in this direction, and in that direction, and it says they could not bring the ship’s head to the wind. Then it says that they used helps and various things to try and keep the ship together, and they put ropes round the ship. You will find in the early church that they used every kind of human effort, the different creeds the different divisions in Christendom and so on, in an attempt to hold the thing together, but it was all in vain. Then comes that moment in this chapter where it says they threw the cargo overboard (Acts 27: 18). What a sad thing it was when the church publicly discarded the truth of what was heavenly. I say these things because I think the enemy uses the same stratagems today. One of the things that he is most set upon at the present time is to throw overboard the truth of what is heavenly.

From that point on the voyage proceeds, and no sun or moon or stars were appearing, the furniture was thrown overboard with their own hands. I will say this for the young people here that you can find in Scripture, even these historical references, some prophetic help as to what has happened. All thought of church order was thrown away. You may think that is not such an important thing, but order is one of the things that came in the assembly early, as you can see in the early chapters of the Acts; order is something that is a right thing among the people of God. I trust that we all accept that, as it is a very important thing for all of us, that order is maintained among God’s people. From that point it seems that all hope of them being saved was lost, and Paul intervenes, and says that the God whose he was and whom he served had spoken to him through an angel that there was to be no loss at all of life, only of the ship. There is something very precious here beloved, because what was vital was to be preserved and I think that is something to hold on to in our day, because although the ship was destroyed, and similarly the outward order of the church cannot be found today in its fulness, and as far as I can see in God’s ordering neither will it appear again as it was; but what was vital has been preserved. There should be no loss at all of life, only of the ship.

We read here the record of how it broke up on the rocks and so on, as it says, “And falling into a place where two seas met they ran the ship aground, and the prow having stuck itself fast remained unmoved”. Oh beloved brethren, there is so much presumption in the church is there not? and so much show in relation to a public order, and there is so little body and substance behind it. The prow it says, “having stuck itself fast remained unmoved”. Can we be unmoved by the way that what is so precious to Christ’s heart has been so broken by the workings of man’s will? Does it move your soul, as to the breakup in Christendom, including the breakup among brethren? It does me. One of the blessed joys we have had recently is that we have had the joy of having some of our brethren available to us again; that is a very precious thing to all here I believe, but there are so many more beloved brethren, the prow remained unmoved, but what was vital got out of the ship and they got to the land. Some could swim, some on boards, and some on some of the things that came from the ship and so it says that “all got safe to land”.

I would like to just touch on what I think is “some of the things that came from the ship”, because what I wanted to speak of was assembly characteristics—features that belong to the vessel which is for Christ’s heart and still here. Every believer on the Lord Jesus who has the Spirit, forms part of the assembly, and that is something to hold to as well, and the Lord knows each one of them. But the thing is so broken that we can never see it even in a place in its fulness, but what we love to see are the characteristics of that vessel that was for Christ’s heart, still in evidence here as I believe what is vital remains.

I read that scripture in Genesis 24 which is so typical of the bride being brought to Christ. It is a very interesting section of Scripture. I hope we all, especially the young, are attracted to reading the Scriptures and seeing how God has woven into them lessons and words and prophetic writings for our help in these days in which we are. You stand back from the detail of the Scriptures for a moment and you see patterns. Genesis has been called the seed plot of the Bible. In chapter 22 of Genesis, you get the reference to Isaac being taken up, which is a type of Christ risen, and in chapter 23 you get Sarah’s death, that is the death of Israel, I believe, in chapter 24 you get the church called out, and in chapter 25 you get relations with Israel resumed again. That covers a vast scope of time, but there it all is and this whole chapter is given up to the calling out of the church for Christ. It is a chapter that always yields. This is not about my initial conversion, this is not about what is for me, this chapter is about what is for Christ. The assembly is not about what is for me, but about what is for Christ.

We know the background to this, that Abraham sends his servant that he might find a wife for his son Isaac. And there were two requirements, at least two; one was that she was to be of his lineage, she was to be kin with Isaac, and the second was that she was to move to the place where Isaac was, two features of the assembly, two characteristics. One is that she was of the same lineage, the same family as Isaac, and the second was, as it is so graphically put, “Beware that thou bring not my son thither again” (Genesis 24: 6).

Think of the feelings of God that entered into that, beloved brethren, typically as knowing what it was to see His beloved Son as the One who has been here and lived here and died here and now having received Him in resurrection. He says, “Beware that thou bring not my son thither again”. Christ is not to come here, the bride is to go to Christ, that is an assembly feature. The assembly will always have that aspect, always have a heavenly aspect, it is not an earthly one. And the assembly is not exactly here for men, the assembly is here for Christ. These are assembly features, assembly characteristics, let them be maintained among God’s people.

So we know the detail of how the servant came with his camels and waited beside the well and the women came out to draw water and he spoke to Jehovah. I love to think of the words of the servant, typical of the Holy Spirit, here by the well of water, “And let it come to pass, that the maiden to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and who will say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also, be she whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and hereby I shall know that thou hast dealt kindly with my master” (Genesis 24: 14). He was looking for something that not only would meet his request for refreshment but would go further. And one of the assembly characteristics I am speaking of, I would suggest to the brethren, is that the assembly is marked by the feature of excess; excess in the sense that she goes beyond the requirement of the day; it is a feature that marked the Lord Jesus Christ.

It says of the ark of God in the wilderness, when there was a suggestion that a man of the wilderness could be the guide for the people, it says “the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting-place for them”, Numbers 10: 33. The ark, according to the divine prescription, was to travel in the midst of the camp when the camp was lifted and they were to travel across the wilderness. But when there was that suggestion that a man of the desert should lead them across the wilderness, it says the ark went forward itself to lead the way. What a wonderful thing beloved, that the Lord Jesus Christ has gone beyond prescription, in the words of one who has helped us, beyond what could be expected, that He might find a resting place for them. We are here today because that is the way Jesus has gone, and I think that feature is also seen in the assembly.

Rebecca “hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water; and she drew for all his camels. And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not”. Think of a divine Person typically astonished at what He found in a creature vessel. She was of Isaac’s lineage, his family, but more than that she was marked by character, assembly character, and I think that is an important thing today. Beloved young people too, when you look around with a view to marriage, look not only for those who are of the same kin, the family of faith as you have in this chapter, but take note that the servant here, typical of the Holy Spirit was looking for something additional. He was looking for the character of the assembly. Here that came to light in the feature of excess that would take on the hard work, that would take on the hard struggle of drawing for these camels, that would draw water from the well, that would provide, and continue to provide until the camels had drunk enough; that is an assembly feature beloved. Oh ever let us be preserved in these things, let it be one of the characteristics that marks the people of God that they are ready to draw, to draw and to draw again until all that is needed in relation to this wilderness way is completed.

I read in the Acts chapter 2 where you get the establishment of the assembly; the Holy Spirit came and you have this company coming to light here. I think there are beautiful lessons that we learn in early Acts, the pentecostal assembly. You do not exactly get what is final here, there is very little about the pentecostal assembly that relates to the divine service for instance, there is very little of what comes out later in the apostle Paul’s teaching and instruction as to the assembly. The aspect of the assembly in the Acts is largely the kingdom, and at the end of the Acts Paul is still “preaching the kingdom of God” (Acts 28: 31). But nevertheless in what came out at the beginning are features that we should take note of. These persons came together, and they were marked by repentance, baptism, remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. These were some of the essential things that marked the character of the assembly.

Then it says later “they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”. I would suggest to the brethren that if there is to be assembly character these things will all be included in it. Not only that we know what it is to be convicted as to our condition, not only that we prove the blessing of that, but repentance and baptism are features that would mark persons of assembly character. Is it possible that the truth of baptism sometimes might slip with us? I think baptism is a vital thing. It involves what is public and it is connected with salvation, not in the sense of soul salvation, but certainly salvation in relation to the present day. And then it says remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, all these things form the basis of this company that comes to light in the Acts, and then it says “they persevered”; I like that word, “they persevered”. You may well say that perseverance we associate with a broken day, we associate it with days like Nehemiah when they persevered amongst difficult things; but they persevered at the beginning and they persevered in the teaching of the apostles. It would mean they did not give it up, despite the pressures we spoke about, despite the contrary winds that were blowing and have been blowing ever since, they persevered in the apostles’ teaching.

What was the apostles’ teaching? It certainly included the truth of the Lord Jesus as Peter speaks of earlier “a man borne witness to by God” (Acts 2: 22), that was part of the apostles’ teaching. And then he speaks as to Him being given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, and His death at the hands of men. He was raised again by God, and so you can go on through all these great truths right on to where it says, “that God has made him, this Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ”. Read those things in Peter’s address, I think it is part of the apostles’ teaching, and they persevered in it. I think an assembly characteristic is it does not give up basic truth, it does not give up the truth as to the Lord Jesus Christ. It holds every truth as to the Lord Jesus, not just some of them. Whatever the day may be, whatever the scientific findings of the day, whatever the words that come from the clerical side of things, one characteristic feature of the assembly is that it does not give up the teaching as to Christ. It does not give up as to the fact that a Man was here who was attested to by God; it does not give up the fact that He was given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, into the hands of men by whom He was crucified and slain; it never gives up the truth of His resurrection; it never gives up the coming of the Holy Spirit; and it never gives up the fact that this Jesus whom God has raised up, He has made Him Lord and Christ. I think that is the great part of the apostles’ doctrine.

Now when you come to Paul the thing develops. The pentecostal assembly, I suppose we could say, was not the full thought in detail of what was in the divine mind, but we do need to say at this time in which we are that we need to persevere in the truth. Then it speaks about breaking bread, and if there are assembly characteristics, I think that would be where there is the breaking of bread; it almost stands like one of the bulwarks of the truth here in this day; the breaking of bread. I think we need to be reinforced in the preciousness of this at the present time, and then it says, “and prayers”. Why did they pray? I think they were always dependent. I think we are always dependent; we always need help and we always need to join in, in prayer and praise to God; it is an assembly feature.

I go on to Saul of Tarsus and his reception in Acts 9. We have often thought of Saul and the kind of man he was, one of the greatest men of his age, the protégé of the Jewish establishment. He was possibly the greatest tool in the hand of the enemy there had ever been. And God intervenes as we know on the road to Damascus, and beautiful as that is we cannot go into that today. But the Lord speaks to him and says, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest”, but further than that He says, “enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. It is a very interesting thing that there was something in the city which was for God. There was something there that He could rely upon. I think you could say in embryo at least in Acts 9 that Rebecca was in Sarah’s tent. There was something there. I think the assembly was available and is to be kept available in relation to reflecting God. The reflection of what God is, the reflection of what the Lord is, in the days in which we are is an assembly characteristic. Ananias was very tested by it. He says, “I have heard from many concerning this man”. He knew what he was like, how he had rampaged through the whole area. Paul had letters of authority (and men love letters of authority even in this day) from the chief priests to pursue those who were “of the way” in Damascus. He himself shut up in prisons many of the saints, and when they were put to death, Paul says, “I gave my vote”, Acts 26: 10. This was the man that Ananias said he had heard from many and the evil he had done. You may say a more unlikely man than Saul of Tarsus could never have been, and yet the Lord Jesus says to Ananias, “Go, for this man is an elect vessel to me”. I love the way that Ananias is quickly adjusted. It is interesting that this fact that he had to be adjusted is shown here in scripture. The Lord adjusts him and he goes to Saul of Tarsus and he says, “Saul, brother, the Lord has sent me”. Ever let us, beloved brethren, reflect the blessed God in what we have to do. That is an assembly characteristic. It is very easy for me to try to impose my thoughts and my will, but here Ananias was quickly adjusted, he says “Saul, brother, the Lord has sent me”. I would like to be available like that, I think it is an assembly characteristic. The assembly is marked by the spirit of receptiveness of all that is in connection with what God is doing.

Now I just read in Proverbs but I did not intend to speak much at all as to it, because it carries its own credentials; the woman of worth. You get two prophecies at the end of Proverbs. We have been taught that chapter 30 is one prophecy and chapter 31 is another. Chapter 30 of Proverbs gives us a prophecy about the world, and the way that the world is set up and the way that it works; things which disquiet the earth, things which are wise on the earth, things which are too wonderful, it speaks about the leech and a generation that curses. But we have been taught also that chapter 31 is a prophecy that picks up this wonderful mystery that, even amidst the conditions of chapter 30, there is something which is here for Christ. And it begins with this verse, “Who can find a woman of worth?”. One of the joys we may say of the present day is that we can move with the Spirit’s help in the characteristics that mark the assembly for Christ.

Let us always remember that the assembly is here for Christ. Everything that the assembly does is for Christ, everything that she puts her hand to is for Christ, every thought is for Him. You can read these things, “Who can find a woman of worth? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband confideth in her, and he shall have no lack of spoil. She doeth him good, and not evil, all the days of her life”. I do not go through the details, you can go through them yourself, but there are some very precious thoughts in it. I think it speaks of assembly characteristics in a broken and ruined day. May these characteristics remain beloved, and may we know what it is to identify them, and may we know what it is to be in that spirit that is for Christ at the present time, until that moment when the church will emerge from its public ruin into its glory, and the world will go from its glory to its ruin, when the Spirit and the bride say, “Come”. May it be so for His name’s sake.

Address at Kirkcaldy
6 February 2010