DIVINE PERSONS
[p. 452] DIVINE PERSONS
Genesis 12: 1 - 3; Numbers 12: 1 - 3; 2 Samuel 23: 1 - 5; 2 Corinthians 11: 16 - 24
It is in my mind to say something about divine Persons. I use those words carefully as comparing Them with creatures, however distinguished. So I have read about these persons, Abraham first, then Moses and then David and finally Paul, believing that this selection will serve to bring out what is in mind. One has been observant in recent times of great cloudiness in the minds of the brethren as to divine Persons and the comparison to be made between Them and creatures, however distinguished these latter may be.
One desires to set out the truth to the brethren and to do this we have to know the truth and the scriptures that contain it; such scriptures are indited by the Holy Spirit Himself. Every scripture is inspired of God, implying that it is from the Holy Spirit. The question therefore is as to whether we understand the names of the divine Persons and how to speak to Them and how to view Them, and how to worship Them, too. Then, on the other hand, one desires to bring out the great difference between Them and creatures, however distinguished any creature may be.
We get, for instance, in Isaiah 6, the term ‘seraphim’ and in Genesis 3 we get reference to the ‘cherubim’. Now I would ask the brethren to consider whether or not these are creatures. My own impression is that they are not. And to this end the inquiry comes up at once whether there are unnamed divine Persons. I am speaking soberly and I believe the brethren will listen and think of what I am saying. Are there any unnamed divine Persons? I am sure that there are none and, as far as I can see from Scripture, there are none.
[p. 453] There are three divine Persons and three only, and They are to be revered and worshipped and we are to bow down to Them.
Now the question comes up as to these terms that are mentioned. The word ‘cherubim’ is in Genesis 3. The cherubim were set to protect the tree of life, “to guard the way to the tree of life”. The tree of life in the garden was a tree, it is not a person. Eternal life is not a person itself. Some have thought that it is. It is a term, a term of blessing that we have come into, one of the greatest blessings that we have, but it is not as great as what is to be reached in the assembly. The assembly is the greatest of all divine concepts. The assembly is not a divine Person, it is a creature, however much we may regard it and however great the statements that are made as to it, and I give one citation. The assembly is said to be “the pillar and base of the truth”, 1 Timothy 3: 15. Now it might be assumed that a vessel of which that is stated must be divine, but it is not divine; it is a creature. The fact is that eternal life is the name of a thing; “the eternal life, which was with the Father” is a thing. The Lord Jesus was with the Father, but He is a divine Person. But the thing itself is a thing; eternal life is a thing; but I do not continue to speak about eternal life, because that issue has been settled. But fifty years or so ago there were those who assumed and asserted definitely that eternal life was a person, and those who did not believe it were regarded as erroneous, but that is a thing of the past, thank God!
But I come back to these symbolic names, for they are just symbols; that is to say, cherubim and seraphim are both symbolic names. The seraphim are mentioned in Isaiah 6. The cherubim are first spoken of in Genesis 3: 24. It is remarkable that they are spoken of early. But no one can prove from Scripture that the word ‘cherubim’ speaks of a kind of person-not rightly. Scripture does not afford [p. 454] light that the word is other than a symbolic thing. It is used as a symbol, something that conveys a certain impression to the mind; it is a symbol. On the other hand angels are creatures, “Are they not all ministering spirits”, it says, “sent out for service on account of those who shall inherit salvation?”, Hebrews 1: 14. That is said about angels. Angels are not put over the age to come. The Son, the Lord Jesus is put over the age to come, the world to come of which we speak. That is a phrase from Scripture that F.E.R. used frequently and helped the brethren as to it. But angels were created long before man was created. Man’s creation is recorded in Genesis 1: 26. In Job 38: 7 we are told that the sons of God shouted for joy at the founding of the earth. They are capable of joy. There may be a good many young people here tonight who probably have never thought of these things and I am hoping that they will get help to think over them and weigh the facts of Scripture.
Now we might leave the subject of angels and seraphim and cherubim and come down to Abraham. What I have in mind is that Abraham is a good sample of a creature to be considered in comparison with divine Persons. The way divine Persons speak of Abraham is very remarkable. We have it clearly here in Genesis 12. He was a most distinguished man, perhaps the most distinguished of any. Moses may have been equally distinguished, but I think that Abraham has peculiar distinction. He is the father of us all, it says-a remarkable thing that could be said of a creature.
Moses is the author of the Pentateuch, the most extensive of all writers of Scripture. We do not have any reference to the Lord writing except when He wrote on the ground. He wrote with His finger on the ground, a remarkable thing, that the Lord Himself did that. He stooped down and wrote with His finger on the ground; the Lord humbled Himself to that [p. 455] extent. Neither Abraham nor Moses did that, but I would say that Moses was the greatest of all writers. He wrote the Pentateuch and possibly other books, but he was not a divine Person. He was just a creature in spite of all that he did. We should have right thoughts about creatures whom God greatly honours and distinguishes. We will see them in heaven, I am sure, even those who died before the Lord Jesus became Man. I believe Abraham and others will be seen in heaven and we will look for them. What a glorious sight that will be, as the verse says,
‘Nor what is next Thy heart Can we forget;
Thy saints, O Lord, with Thee In glory met’. (160:8)
Now I go on to David. He is beautifully spoken of in Scripture. He is called the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Samuel 23: 1). And yet he is not a divine Person. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the root and offspring of David”, Revelation 22: 16. That is what the Lord Jesus said about David, and yet David was not a divine Person. But the Lord speaks of Himself as “the root and offspring of David”. He speaks of David as His offspring, in the sense that He says that He is the root of David. We have to understand how that can be. David failed greatly, and so did Abraham fail, and I might say, so did Moses and Paul fail. Yet God is regarding these as most dignified persons. So the question is, How can we speak of these persons rightly? and speak of them in the service of God. David is a wonderful person, one of the most extraordinary persons, but he is not a divine Person. That is the thing that I am seeking to bring forward, that we all may be conversant with the truth as to these things, so that we know how to speak of divine things and deal with divine things in the service of God on the first day of the week, particularly when we have the Lord’s supper.
[p. 456] And so I come to Paul, and what he says in 2 Corinthians 11: 5, is “I reckon that in nothing I am behind those who are in surpassing degree apostles”. Now I suggest to the brethren that what Paul says there indicates that he is the most superior of all the apostles. There was none like him; and yet he failed; yet he is a creature. I think it is well that we should all have these facts in our minds so that we will be able to converse about them and speak about them and serve God in them.
I might have spoken about John who speaks of himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Lord said to Peter, about John, “If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee?”, John 21: 22. The inference would be that the Lord would leave him here until He came, which would include the present moment. But the Lord did not say that. He said, “If I will that he abide until I come ..”. Therefore John, the apostle, has gone to be with the Lord long since, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Yet he was not a divine Person. The Lord loved him, and implied, in a certain sense, that He might keep him as a reserve man, but He has not done so. The Lord is getting on with what He has here on earth today. Some of us are kept here for that purpose and we can thank God that we are here today to edify one another. And we can say that the Lord loves us, too. It is a great privilege to be loved by the Lord.
But further as to Paul: he says, “I reckon that in nothing I am behind those who are in surpassing degree apostles”. The footnote in some of our Bibles says that this is an ironical allusion to those who were false apostles. But I think that is a mistake. The editor made a mistake there. The passage implies clearly that Paul was superior to any of the other apostles. He says in 1 Corinthians 15: 9 that he was not fit to be called an apostle because he persecuted the assembly, and he felt it.