HEAVENLY APPEARINGS
[p. 162] HEAVENLY APPEARINGS
Genesis 18:1 - 8; 1 Corinthians 15:3 - 8
I have in mind to show that the assembly is to reflect heavenly conditions. We are led to this thought as we see that with Abraham we have great communications between heaven and earth. Solomon asked, Will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? The answer to this question, brought out in the Old Testament, is fully set out in the New Testament. In Revelation 21:2 we see the bride descending; it speaks of “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. A great voice from heaven announces that “the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God”, (verse 3). Heaven has never exhibited any jealousy as to the earth; when the Son became man, the multitude of the heavenly host celebrated the event, without any jealousy at all with regard to the great honour conferred on men. There was to be glory to God, peace on earth, and good pleasure in men. So when the heavenly city comes down in newness and freshness, the voice out of heaven announces that the tabernacle of God is with men. This city will contain all the elements of the heavenly dwelling; there is nothing in it which is unsuitable to God. Now God had all that in view when He chose Abraham; it was to him above all others that God appeared. God is said to have walked in the garden of Eden, but it does not say that God appeared to Adam, nor to Enoch, nor to Noah. Abraham is the great progenitor of heavenly and earthly families; that is to say that the great thought of kinship is set out in Abraham. Jehovah appeared to him so that he might be able to communicate the impression he had received. A father passes on to his generation what he considers the most profitable, the best. Therefore,
[p. 163] the forty-two generations from Abraham to Christ form an uninterrupted link, and in these generations we see the cumulative growth of all the impressions. Stephen, who is the great guide of the New Testament, gives us a splendid summary in his address in Acts 7. Beginning with Abraham, he said, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham”: it is a striking opening for a preaching in which Stephen was participating. “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran”, (verse 2). God gave to “our father Abraham” the idea of what was in view, for we must remember that he is father not only of earthly families, but of heavenly families. Now this golden thread introduced into the first appearing reappears in all the weaving. In the light and in the power of that appearing Abraham moved forward. An appearing is not a word, but an impression given, although there may be words. God appeared to him several times, but Stephen brings forward the spiritual feature when he says, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham”. God had a system of glory to develop in man, and the first principle is that of separation, “Go out of thy land, and from thy kindred”, (verse 3). God develops the system of glory in those who are separate.
I suggested the passage we have read in Genesis 18 because of the very special intimate character of the appearing and of the mutual element which marked it, showing, I believe, that God wanted to accustom Abraham to the way in which He was concerned with men. Abraham is in a position morally suitable to receive such a visit, so the visitation takes place; he is in the position of a pilgrim, at the tent-door, and alert and understanding. We are told that three men were “standing near him”: notice the word ‘near’. It does not say ‘three angels’, nor ‘Jehovah and two men’, but “three men”; this was enough to give the idea of the way [p. 164] in which God dwells with men. What a precious privilege — “three men standing near him”! God wanted to indicate that in His dwelling with men He was to be close to them, a matter of being ‘near’. Drawing near is a great divine thought, for love hates distance. National divisions show distance very clearly, but all these divisions disappear according to the measure in which we realise the divine thought. “Will God indeed dwell with man on the earth?” (2 Chronicles 6:18). Not with Jews or gentiles as such, but with men. Here we have three men, and as we take account of what they do, we discern the ways of heaven. You understand, dear brethren, everything has to come from heaven. Heaven can act very simply; the Creator takes the time necessary to come down with two others, as a man, and all three stand near a pilgrim, who is moving on. The house of God quickens the pilgrim’s walk in his journey. For the moment, it is heaven come down to earth; these three men then (of whom one of them was Jehovah Himself) placed themselves at Abraham’s tent-door to receive hospitality. There was not a single commandment from Jehovah; He leaves all the initiative in the hands of the pilgrim, in the hands of the man who had already received in his soul the impression of divine glory. He had some sensibility as to what was suitable for God, but now, God had come to him in company. God’s coming is one thing, but His coming in company is another. It is as if He wanted to put within our compass the ways of heaven. What follows proves that Abraham was quite capable of receiving his visitors and hastens to evidence to them his hospitality. Think of the great Creator of the universe and of His mighty angels waiting with patience while a man prepares a meal. This God is our God. There we see how heaven acts; they enjoyed his hospitality. We have said already in the course of these meetings, “Perfect love casts out fear”, (1 John 4:18). Abraham had no fear in the presence of [p. 165] this heavenly simplicity. Unbelievers may mock at it, but we accept it fully. What would God not do to make Himself known to us, so that our confidence in Him is established, so that we are free and at home in His presence? You notice, too, the devoted activity of Abraham’s household. What a delight for God to see this beautiful activity taking place before Him! This passage is, in my opinion, one of the most striking in Scripture, as preparing us for what is in the divine mind, “Will God indeed dwell with man on the earth?” Can we doubt it, in the light of this passage? If the necessary conditions exist, He will really dwell there. As the Lord said to Judas (not Iscariot), “If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him”, (John 14:23). These words are for us, dear brethren, directly for us at the present moment; it is a question of love, “If any one love me”, He says.
Having spoken at length of Genesis 18, I should now like to go into the details of 1 Corinthians 15, because the same idea is developed there. There is no longer any distance: the Son Himself has come, God indeed, in the Person of the Son. Much has been said and written on the tradition of the Early Fathers, but what was to be communicated to the brethren was the impression given by Christ at the outset. The writings of the Church Fathers are completely without such impression. God did not have tradition in view; He desired that the impression received should be communicated. There are evidently writings — the gospels, the epistles and the Revelation and these writings, divinely inspired, are divine authority for us. But God’s thought was that the saints should receive, in addition to these writings, divine impressions of Christ, and these impressions are now imprinted on us by the Holy Spirit.
So in writing to the Corinthians, the apostle speaks of the appearings of Christ. At Corinth, there were [p. 166] adversaries and worldly conditions; hence, in confirmation of his ministry, the apostle quotes these remarkable appearings of Christ. Peter said that he had not followed “cleverly imagined fables”, in order to make known “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”, but that they were “eyewitnesses of his majesty”. “This voice we heard uttered from heaven, being with him on the holy mountain”, (2 Peter 1:16 - 18). He brings in the same principle; what was communicated by the ministry was confirmed in the souls of the servants. It is not, I say, a question only of the word, but also of the impression given. In reading church history, one finds with regret that these impressions are totally lacking. No knowledge of Scripture nor doctrine can make up for this lack of impressions. So no one besides Moses could build the tabernacle, for the simple reason that he alone had seen the model of it. “See that thou make them according to their pattern, which hath been shewn to thee in the mountain”, (Exodus 25:40). It is true that everything is specified in Exodus, but none other than Moses could communicate the impression, so that the finished work was wholly submitted to Moses, each part separately, “And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded — so had they done it; and Moses blessed them”, (Exodus 39:43). He blessed the workmen. He alone could be sure that all the parts constructed corresponded to the model. We understand therefore how important it is to receive an impression of Christ in the assembly.
The first appearing of Christ is to Cephas. If we consult Luke’s gospel, we see that the appearing was to Simon, because Luke would give us the impression of grace, showing that the Lord could appear to anyone even, who had sinned in such a way. The Lord would break the heart of every sinner by showing that He could appear to the one who had failed so seriously! But Paul says that He was seen of Cephas, who [p. 167] represents material for the assembly; this material is to receive an impression of Christ. Each one of us having a place in the building ought to receive an impression of Christ. I do not say that we can hope to have manifestations like these here, but certainly no one is suitable for the building unless he has received an impression of Christ. Christ is looked at as “a living stone, cast away indeed as worthless by men, but with God chosen, precious”. “Yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house”, (1 Peter 2:4,5). Each stone is tested in coming to the living Stone. Why do I come to Christ? Because I have received an impression of Him. He is the living Stone who has come out of death. The gospel declares that He is “marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead” (Romans 1:4). In this way one obtains an appreciation of Christ and comes to Him; although He is rejected of men, the rejection is accepted, and so one becomes part of the material suitable for the building.
After this, He was seen of the twelve; here it is a matter of the administration of what God possesses; as the materials for the assembly are heavenly, so the administration is heavenly. We can understand what an impression the Lord must have communicated to the twelve when He appeared to them — what He had done and how He had done it. How heavenly were His activities! All that is bound up in the appearing to the twelve. If there was any dispute among them, how they would have recalled what the Lord had said to them, when He was with them, before His death, “I am among you as he that serveth”, (Luke 22:27). He had had to present Himself to their mind on the level of heavenly administration, showing them how things were done in heaven. See how liberally the Lord gives to the whole world light, air, water and all that man needs. How much more abundantly does He give what is spiritual! God gives in abundance, but He gives through the medium of the [p. 168] twelve. He wants to give by means of those who serve in love, for love, in whatever way it manifests itself, is really the essence of heaven. We are told that “if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemned”, (Song of Songs 8:7).
After the twelve, it speaks of “above five hundred brethren at once”. Now we have a company sufficiently great for the communication of the divine thought, and the idea was that the impression received should be spread abroad. The apostle says, “of whom the most remain until now”. One would love to have met some of those five hundred brethren. One after another, they have fallen asleep, and those who understood spiritual things would say, All is diminishing. How they could have recounted to us the way heaven acted among the brethren! The Lord wanted to introduce heaven’s behaviour amongst those five hundred brethren. And Paul says, “of whom the most remain until now”; if they remain, it is for you, Corinthians, to go and find them and appreciate their impressions. A wonderful moment, dear brethren, when the Lord appeared to above five hundred brethren at once!
The next appearing was to James. I do not want to say much about that. According to the passage where he is mentioned, his name would indicate a man of distinction, a man who appeared at a critical moment. Of such a man, the Lord would make a “man of God”. The fact that there were others named James emphasises that this one was someone distinctive, and evidently was a man well known among the brethren. I think that the apostle wants to show in this way what is the secret of James being put forward. We can be certain that prominence given to a brother springs from something similar to what we see in James. No one can hope to be for God in a time of crisis if he has not had to do with God personally.
The time comes, dear brethren, when authority has [p. 169] to be exercised; that is why it says that the Lord appeared to all the apostles. He had in mind no doubt, the great necessity for authority. There is no need for me to say that we have no apostles today, but that does not mean to say that there is no divine authority. That authority must proceed from personal relations with Christ. John 14:21 affords basis for each one of us, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him”. Such manifestations denote moral power amongst the saints. How much need we have of them, dear brethren! It says, “all the apostles”: it is not God’s thought for one brother to direct a meeting. The Lord would operate through each of those who have moral power. Now moral power comes from the manifestations of Christ.
“And last of all, as to an abortion, he appeared to me also”. This remarkable expression, which refers to the apostle Paul, “as to an abortion”, is an allusion to the feeling he had of himself as being nothing. He continues, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called apostle, because I have persecuted the assembly of God”. That shows what was in his mind; he begins with Cephas and ends with the assembly of God, that is what was before him, what was before God. The body of Christ was on earth and Saul persecuted it. That is why he says, “last of all ... he appeared to me also”. He comes on the scene at the end, and he accomplishes more than all the others. Ought we to be discouraged, dear brethren? “Last of all”, says the apostle; the Lord can appear at the end and do more even than at the beginning, but by means of whom? Of the one who is conscious of his own insignificance. Paul does not consider himself worthy of the name of apostle, because he persecuted the assembly of God. He adds, “But by God’s grace I am what I am; and his grace, which was [p. 170] towards me, has not been vain; but I have laboured more abundantly than they all, but not I, but the grace of God which was with me”, (verse 10).
So we are encouraged in the thought of divine communications which give us to know the ways of heaven so that there is in the assembly the reflection of what is in heaven, in the same way as the tabernacle represented what was in heaven. Heavenly things are introduced on earth, and God dwells down here in relation with these things. Therefore now at this moment and in a living way, heaven’s ways are reproduced down here, for it says that the assembly is “a habitation of God in the Spirit”, (Ephesians 2:22).
May God bless His word!