THE LIVING GOD (3)
[p. 152] THE LIVING GOD (3)
1 Timothy 3: 14, 15; Hebrews 12: 22; 1 Thessalonians 1: 9, 10; Revelation 7: 2, 3
JT We have had first Matthew 16, in which Christ is owned by Peter as “the Son of the living God”. Then Romans 9, which speaks of believers being “Sons of the living God”, and then 2 Corinthians 3, in which writing by “the Spirit of the living God” is spoken of, and then Hebrews 9, “to worship the living God”.
What is before us now is “the assembly of the living God;” and intimately related with it, “the city of the living God” (Hebrews 12: 22); and then, in 1 Thessalonians 1, “the living and true God”, to whom the gentile believers turned from idols; and further in Revelation 7, “the seal of the living God”.
In each of these passages we have an important feature of the truth, each in its own setting. There are others that we may refer to in the course of our meeting, such as 1 Timothy 4, which speaks of the living God, in whom believers trust, who is the Preserver of all men. And we have in Hebrews 3: 12 a solemn warning against “turning away from the living God;” and later in that same epistle (chapter 10: 31), a further solemn word as to “falling into the hands of the living God”. The most important features of these scriptures are the first two we read, that is, the assembly of the living God, and what stands related to it in the passage read in 1 Timothy 3, a chapter which speaks of eldership and deaconship. It is linked on intimately too with the Lord’s own word in Matthew 16, “on this rock I will build my assembly”. He is the Son of the living God, and He builds the assembly. In 1 Timothy 3 the assembly is seen in relation to the truth, that is, it is “the pillar and base of the truth”, the chapter dealing with rule in it. The letter was written that one should know how to behave oneself in “God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God”.
JSB What does the apostle imply in regard to behaviour in the house of God?
JT Well, all that would comport with it. It is assumed that Timothy would understand. He was left at Ephesus to set in order, in the apostle’s absence, what remained unordered. The apostle hoped to come quickly, but in case there should be delay, he sought that there should be no irregularity in Timothy’s behaviour, and that others, of course, should know how to behave themselves in the house of God. Behaviour in the house of God is a very important matter. The house of God is such a great thought. It is where God resides, and those of us who are in it are to comport ourselves accordingly.
Rem Ritual would be out of place in that which is of the living God.
JT It would; a ritual does not fit with the idea of what is living; not that there are not ordinances which are to be observed in it, but ritual according to the ordinary meaning of the word is a dead form.
CSS Would the thought of the assembly of the living God imply activity, seen in those who stand by night (Psalm 134), instead of sitting, as Eli, or going to sleep?
JT You can see from 1 Samuel where the house of God is mentioned, how unbecoming the behaviour was. Of course, in the case of Eli’s sons it was abominable, but even Eli himself was wanting in his behaviour. He was sitting by the door-post unable to discern that Hannah was a priestly person, that she was really praying in a priestly way. He thought she was drunk, he was unable to discern. His posture was not in keeping with the [p. 154] house of God. Luke, following on Paul’s line, stresses the idea of behaviour, comeliness in all things even to the way we sit or place ourselves in the assembly.
GAvS Would good behaviour spring from life, as derived from the living God?
JT Well, it would. The earth, as some of us were saying, bears fruit of itself, that is, there is latent power. This is seen in the christian, and it works out in the house of God above all places, but then there is the idea of regulation in it. What most christians need, especially young ones, is regulation. The garden of Eden was planted by Jehovah. There were all forms of life there, with plenty of fertility we may be sure in the garden, for a river went out of Eden to water the garden. It was kept fertile, but still Adam was required to dress and keep it. That is, he would regulate the life, so that it should be uniform, it should be uniform in its development, and I think that is what is in mind in this epistle, that however spiritual or energetic we may be, we need regulation.
EF Has the anointing anything to do with the thought of behaviour?
JT No doubt it has. Among other things, the anointing is in order that we might behave rightly, the word would have in mind the dignity which the Spirit puts upon us, including behaviour. We know instinctively somewhat how to behave in the assembly, but there are besides that, the specific injunctions that we get in this epistle. The anointing is the Spirit, of course, but it is the Spirit in the sense of dignifying us so that we know what to do. The house of God is always universal, only it must take form locally, for Timothy was set at Ephesus, which is evidently a locality.
Rem What is living could not be formed by national features, or made to differ in one place from [p. 155] another.
JT Quite so, there is a sameness. “Thus I ordain in all the assemblies”, the apostle said. There should be the same principles, and not only so, but the same methods, and observances. The apostle uses the word custom; “we have no such custom”. There should not be amongst us mere local custom. There should be, not only uniformity of principle, but uniformity of custom in the house of God, for after all, we are one family. There is only one house of God, and we are exhorted “to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace” (Ephesians 4: 1 - 3). That really includes all that is external as well as what is internal.
JDU Is the living character of things indicated in what is mentioned in the first chapter of Timothy? The apostle refers to “love out of a pure heart”, and contrasts it with endless genealogies.
JT Yes, the highest expression of life is love. Love is really the most exalted expression of life, not that there are not other expressions of life. There is, speaking figuratively, vegetable life, and there is ordinary animal life, involving the idea of “soul”, and there is life that is conveyed in the breath of God. These are just features of life; although they are seen in the vegetable kingdom and the lower animal kingdom, they really allude to certain spiritual features in us. So that we get such an expression, for instance, as the “fruit” of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, and so on, nine different kinds. Fruit is a vegetable suggestion. The highest order of life is in man. Taking Genesis 1, we have the vegetable life on the third day, the animal life, that is, fowls and fishes, called “living souls”, on the fifth day. Then land animals and finally man on the sixth day. His is the most exalted [p. 156] idea. All are applicable to us in a spiritual sense, only there are gradations of life, and I think love is the highest expression, love governed by intelligence. The living God is there in Genesis 1, He is operating and He ordered life on the third day. It was life as out of the earth, that the earth was to cause grass to spring up and herbs and trees. That is, He put the power of life in the earth, as He has put the power of life in ourselves. The chapter outlines the different features of life, man being the highest conception of it, he is a living soul by the breath of God.
Ques Would the highest manifestation of life be in ministry Godward?
JT Well, I should think that; you mean what Hezekiah said, “the living, the living, he shall praise thee”.
Rem The thought here I suppose is representation. The assembly of the living God representing Him in this scene.
JT That is right. In Corinthians it is the assembly of God — just in the locality — the assembly of God meaning that it is His, without enlarging on the qualities. Here it is the assembly of the living God and you look for a living state of things, and that life should be regulated in us, working out in our behaviour.
WAP Would knowing how to behave oneself include the active part of brothers in a meeting, giving out a hymn, or engaging in prayer?
JT I think it would. Here it goes wider, of course, but the apostle in 1 Corinthians has great regard for external order in the assembly — how things are to be done. He makes much of that. One is struck with the references to order: he says, “I praise you ... that as I have directed you, ye keep the directions” (1 Corinthians 11: 2). Of course, the idea of the house extends beyond our convenings or actual assembly meetings, it extends to our own houses and generally; as in this chapter we have that an elder is to have his own house [p. 157] in control. I would say the fact that we are in the house of God implies order generally in us.
JDU It embraces sisters too, does it not?
JT It does.
HG Is the law of the house in Ezekiel introduced to regulate behaviour?
JT Quite so. It is: “Upon the top of the mountain all its border round about is most holy” (Ezekiel 43: 12). It is holiness in elevation. Corinthians is on relatively lower ground as regards these matters. It is initial. This epistle to Timothy treats of things at Ephesus, it had Ephesus in mind, which was the full result of Paul’s ministry. It deals largely with the question of behaviour, but the behaviour in the house of God, and in persons who are living, and who know the living God.
NBS In what sense is the assembly the base of the truth?
JT It is the support of it. When the truth is opened up, as in Paul’s service, the assembly normally would accept it, and support it. It would be seen more at the beginning, in the unfolding of the truth. The idea of the house properly comes in under Paul, and through him there was a great unfolding of things, new things, the unfolding of the mystery, for instance, and it was a great matter that the assembly was ready to come forward, and support what was being unfolded. In Acts 15, Paul’s doctrine was in question, and the assembly at Jerusalem ratified what he taught, not very positively, but it was supported. The way was kept open for the unfolding of the highest truths.
Ques You would not separate the dissemination of the truth today from the assembly?
JT I should not like to do so. One would look for the Lord to give support through the saints for whatever comes out. Whatever feature is presented the saints should rally to it. If they do not,
[p. 158] there will be declension and the Lord will be obliged to come in judicially; hence the importance of following what is being ministered; proving all things, as they did at Berea. The brethren should follow what the Lord is saying, what the Spirit is unfolding. There is great encouragement in that for those who minister. I believe that is what is meant. Paul counted on it.
JDU Would the fact of it being a living God mean that both conscience and faith are to be in activity?
JT Yes. We ought to have ears to hear; there is an appeal to the whole assembly as to this; it implies that we should be on the alert for what is being ministered, whether we listen to it or read it. There should be a following up of things. The apostle says to Timothy, “thou hast been thoroughly acquainted with my teaching, conduct ...” (2 Timothy 3: 10). All of us, the young ones, especially, should be conversant with what is current, and lend their support to it. The Lord looks for that.
FWW Do you connect the mystery of piety with the living God as expressed in the Lord Jesus?
JT The last verse of 1 Timothy 3 is to stress the idea of mystery. What comes out in our meetings, whilst we are glad to have anyone hear it, is to be regarded and known in a spiritual way. It should never be in our thoughts to reduce the holy things of God to the level of man’s mind. I believe that verse 16 is brought in to check the tendency to bring the things of God down to man’s level. There is the idea of mystery, and of course it is seen in the most exalted way in the incarnation. “The mystery of piety is great. God has been manifested in flesh, has been justified in the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3: 16). That means that what came out in Christ was not simply justified by man’s mental assent to it; it was by the Spirit He was justified. The incarnation was justified by the Spirit, and seen of angels, preached amongst the nations,
[p. 159] believed on in the world, received up in glory. All was in spiritual power, and beyond the range of man’s intellect.
GH-k Timothy was told to guard the entrusted deposit.
JT Quite so. It was to be kept by the Holy Spirit.
GH What is the import of the house of God being described as the assembly of the living God?
JT The house is, as the word implies, a family residence; God residing here, and it becomes most attractive spiritually to the saints. To young people, there is a sphere of family affections emanating from God, to be found amongst the brethren, so that there is a home for the very youngest; a place of family affections, and hence, as common in all family abodes, behaviour is a great feature. The word assembly would convey another thing, that is called out, and also involves, I think, intelligence. “I speak as to intelligent persons”. It involves persons who can take counsel together. “My assembly”, the Lord says, “I will build my assembly, and hades’ gates shall not prevail against it”. Hades’ gates allude to the power of satanic counsel, the universal lords of this darkness. We may be sure that a great deal of counsel is taken against the assembly, whereas in the assembly, in our care meetings, the counsel we take ought to bear on the overthrow of evil, the keeping out of evil, and the maintenance of the truth. The truth is tested and inquired into as it comes out. In Revelation 2 we read how the Lord commended Ephesus for trying those who said that they were apostles and were not, and found them liars. There was the power to discern and decide on the truth, and the contrary. I believe the word assembly has all that in mind, hence it is said to be the pillar and base of the truth.
[p. 160] Ques Do these two terms, the house of God and the assembly of the living God, bring together affection and spiritual intelligence?
JT That is how the truth stands. There is included in the thought of the assembly as the pillar and base of the truth, the assembly viewed as the temple of God. There would be care too, as the apostle says, “how shall he take care of the assembly of God?”
GH This would be the assembly, then, in a provisional setting?
JT Yes. What it is now, whilst the truth is being unfolded. It is the time of the unfolding of the truth, and there is that in this world which stands by the truth; it is no question of gift, but spiritual ability to discern the truth and maintain it.
EM What is lacking in companies where there are customs that are not universal?
JT Well, I think these irregular customs are usually the outcome of what is national or sectional. The saints are drawn into imitation of what is current religiously. I think the law of the house upon the top of the mountain being holy (Ezekiel 43: 12) is to stress the exalted thought; what is above the common level.
JDU I suppose there can be no such thing as orthodoxy in a stereotyped sense, being connected with the living God?
JT While orthodoxy may be to a large extent correct, it is the letter rather than the spirit of the truth and is the opposite of what is living. It began generally about the second century, or perhaps a little earlier, immediately after the apostles were taken. The leaders began to formulate the doctrines of christianity, adding philosophy. That has gone on ever since, and characterises christendom today, whereas christianity is from the living God, and hence life must mark it.
WG Is the Spirit speaking continuously in that way, He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to [p. 161] the assemblies?
JT That is just the truth; if we have an ear to hear, we are waiting for the Spirit to speak, and that keeps us going on in a living way.
CSS Would there be an order suggested in this chapter, of conducting one’s own house, conducting oneself in the house of God, and then taking care of the assembly?
JT Yes. Behaviour includes not only persons who are specially caring for things, but everyone, brothers and sisters alike. This epistle is very remarkable for the detail we get, for brothers, sisters, and even children.
Ques There is no suggestion of gift in elders and deacons is there?
JT No, it is more experience, and, of course, qualifications in a moral way.
GH Would the delay in the apostle coming bring out in Timothy the spiritual development referred to?
JT Delay, or the absence of persons on whom we depend, or are expected to depend, usually tests us. There were tests by the apostle being absent, by Moses being absent, and by the Lord being absent. We see how the people departing from Moses in order to provide the needed things for the tabernacle answer to this test (Exodus 35: 20 - 29). We are always tested in this way, and the test brings out where we are, so that Timothy would be tested by Paul being absent.
JM Would trustworthiness as seen in the virtuous woman, come out in that way?
JT Quite so. It is the absence of her husband, as you might say. Proverbs 7 brings out the contrast to that, where the wicked wife knows that her husband is absent and takes advantage of this to sin. That has its counterpart in christendom today. The virtuous woman is concerned about her husband being known in the gates in his absence. That is,
[p. 162] the assembly takes care of things for Christ in His absence. You get this much in scripture. The Lord takes children in His arms and blesses them, and then He departed (Matthew 19: 15). What is to become of the children? The parents are tested by His absence. So in many instances absence tests us, but the test is to bring out what is latent. If we accept the absence and rely on the provision made for the absence, we shall prove victorious. The Lord is looking with great interest to see how every gathering of His people throughout the world gets on. How they work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, recognising that God works in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It is delightful to heaven to see the divine plantings prosper. On the other hand, the Lord says, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up” (Matthew 15: 13). God looks constantly to see what is of Himself here working out. 1 Timothy 3: 16 is remarkable as the end of what we have in the chapter. It is a wonderful consummation of the instruction, the greatness of the mystery of piety, what the saints have in the way of mystery, holy things that we cherish and keep from the natural, rude mind of man.
GHMcK What is the force of the word piety?
JT I think it is bringing God into what is here. We are brought into what is there “in Christ” and as I apprehend what is there, I bring God into my circumstances here. That is what marked the Lord throughout in the gospels. It is the mystery of piety, how He was here, manifested in the flesh, not justified in men’s minds; they did not justify Him, it was the Spirit that justified Him, nor will He ever be justified save by the Spirit.
GHMcK What do you mean by that?
JT That the incarnation is justifiable. It was the wisdom of God, and the natural mind of man [p. 163] does not grasp that. The incarnation can never be grasped by the natural mind, but it is “justified in the Spirit, seen of angels;” that is, angels are sympathetic. They saw God manifest in flesh: the Lord said of men, “they have both seen and hated both me and my Father” (John 15: 24). How wonderful was the presence of God here in manhood, accompanied by the justifying power of the Spirit in everything that was done!
DND Does the mystery correspond to “the hidden things” belonging “to Jehovah our God” in Deuteronomy 29: 29?
JT Well, there, what was hidden was known to God only, whereas the mystery is known to the saints, that is, those who are instructed into it by the Spirit. The thought of it is inclusive, but rigidly exclusive of the natural mind, which has nothing to say to these things. The very opposite of the instruction here is seen throughout christendom, where everything is brought down to man’s level, so that christianity has become in men’s thoughts just a religion of the world — that is all it is publicly.
WBP There is a danger of our casting our pearls before swine.
JT There is indeed.
CSS Who are the “you” — “to you it is given to know the mysteries”?
JT Characteristically all christians. He was speaking to the disciples, of course; He also said, “Blessed are your eyes”. What eyes they were! How few eyes are really blessed! Verse 16 is to be connected with Christ. The mystery, “God has been manifested in flesh”, I believe that is the proper reading. It is disputed, but there is no doubt that that is what is meant. Things are not to be brought in to gratify man’s mind, because as soon as a thing becomes of any moment in this world, men would like to have a part in it. When christianity was established in the power of the [p. 164] Spirit, men began to see that there was something in it which would do them some good to take part in, and that is what the Lord intended was to be shut out.
Rem That keeps divine things on their proper level.
Ques Do we get individual instruction as to the assembly in this chapter?
JT Yes; each individual in it: “that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house”.
Ques What is the thought of the pillar?
JT It is something to be seen as a testimony, like the pillars named Jachin and Boaz, and the twelve pillars that Moses raised up at the foot of Sinai.
GHMcK The same as, “A city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid” (Matthew 5: 14).
JT Yes, for testimony. Not for man’s gaze, but testimony there in a spiritual way, so that the overcomer in Philadelphia is to be made a pillar, because that is what he really is in the testimony of God now.
As regards the second scripture, Hebrews 12, we have a cognate thought to what we have been engaged with as to the assembly; it is “the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem”. The word city, of course, is a more general thought: the capital is a centre of light and rule, but Jerusalem has its own place too, here “heavenly Jerusalem”.
FWW What have you in mind as to that?
JT Well, the name has acquired a fame. There is fame in that name, and that has to be kept in mind; it is not to be desecrated; the name must not in our minds lose its place or power. Jerusalem is said to be “the city of the great King”. If we have taken it up at all we do not want it to lose its lustre. The idea of Jerusalem is to go through. It is a higher [p. 165] thought than Zion in the sense of its distinction as applying to Christ’s bride, and is seen as the divine residence in relation to the millennial world. Zion is the first thing. There are eight things mentioned here. Zion is like the constitution, as for instance the constitution of this country, whereas the capital is another thing; then the universal gathering is another thing, the parliament so to speak, the third thing mentioned here. Then the society of the system, the assembly of the firstborn ones; persons of distinction in a social sense spiritually. These are great thoughts. We have come to them all. They are all viewed as completed here, that is, they are viewed abstractly, but there is to be some answer to them in a concrete way in the assembly now. The idea of the constitution is simple, it is a sense of mercy: “according to his own mercy he saved us” (Titus 3: 5).
EE Viewing it at the present moment, is the throne of God on earth in character?
JT I think so, it is in the assembly, the assembly has taken the place of all that Jerusalem stood for in the old economy. “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth” (Psalm 48: 2).
GH-k Does legislation flow out of the constitution of the assembly?
JT Yes, the constitution must be the basis of all legislation, as is usual in all countries. The city of the living God is the great thought before us and it is also called heavenly Jerusalem; its heavenly character gives lustre to all that is done.
JSB Would you help as to having come to these things, rather than regarding them as merely future?
JT It is a feature of Hebrews that we have come to finality, and one of the leading words in Hebrews is “we have”. It does not mean that the saints addressed were characterised by having these things. Things are sometimes put in the abstract, so that we should take them up. “Ye have come to mount Zion”, the allusion [p. 166] here is to Israel, having traversed the desert and camped before the mountain. They came to the mountain, and God then began to open up to them His thoughts. Well, we have come to mount Zion, that is the first thing. We want to see what it is, that is the principle of Hebrews, that the things are there for us, and we are to work them out, so that the first great thought is as to the constitution. It is sovereign mercy, and that is to work out in our relations with one another.
GAvS Would mount Zion show the way in which the constitution is worked out according to the truth we have in Timothy?
JT I think the city would be like 1 Timothy, that is, rule in the assembly. Titus runs with 1 Timothy and there we have much made of mercy. The two epistles go further than the constitution: there are laws worked out according to the constitution.
GAvS What is meant by “just men made perfect”?
JT All is anticipative here; it is, I think, the acquirement of our bodies of glory, making the complete man, spirit, soul, and body. It is spirits of just men we come to, but they are made perfect, meaning that they have every means of expressing themselves, they are not lacking in anything. This follows “God, judge of all”.
GAvS Would it have any reference to their display in glory?
JT Well, they will not be lacking as men; disembodied spirits are lacking. We are not made perfect, I apprehend, until we have the means of expressing ourselves, in every sense being what God intends us to be, including our bodies.
Ques Is it men that are perfect, and not the spirits?
JT “Perfect” refers to “spirits”, I believe.
GHMcK Why do you stress the spirits, that we have come to the spirits of just men made perfect?
JT Because after all, that is what you are. Your spirit is what you are really. You say, What a spirit [p. 167] that man has! Well, that is the man himself. Thus if I go to be with Christ, as falling asleep, my spirit goes, but I go. Stephen says, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;” but I am imperfect until I receive my spiritual body.
GAvS I was wondering whether all this is connected with the apprehension of “the living God”. Would such a phrase as “just men made perfect” appertain to what He is as the living God?
JT Just so; your point is life, and that is borne out by the Lord’s remark in Luke as to Exodus 3: 6. He said, “the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob; but he is not God of the dead but of the living; for all live for him” (Luke 20: 37, 38). That is what is in mind here, they are made perfect. God is the God of Abraham according to His own mind as to him, not simply as a disembodied spirit, but Abraham as a just man.
JDU Is it a help to us today to connect this innumerable company of angels with this living system and the living God?
JT Yes, the allusion is not the administrative side, but rather the legislative side of the system; the saints, as we saw, come together, as it were, in congress, or parliament, where they take counsel. J.N.D. says the word translated “universal gathering” refers to the States of Greece, but it would include gatherings for festive purposes.
GH Does the local assembly provide an inlet into these things as suggested in the gates of the heavenly city?
JT I think it does. In a practical way that is the inlet to all this. Entering the local assembly in an orderly way, according to Corinthians, in the recognition of the Spirit, we are let into all this in a practical concrete way, so that the end of the meeting is a universal position, and a heavenly one, too.
Ques What exactly do you mean by [p. 168] heavenly?
JT Well it is the heavenly Jerusalem; for instance, in Ephesians we have a peculiar word used where it is said that we are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies”. It is not that our minds are directed to different places, but to the fulness of the idea of heaven. Paul says, he was caught up to the third heaven, I think he reached the full elevation belonging to us as creatures. There is that which is beyond that, but the third heaven certainly gives us fulness in height. That is what I think we are to reach in assembly; what we are above, where our blessings are, and our relationship with God there, and our correspondence with Christ there, “accepted in the beloved”. Then in chapter 2 we are raised up together — that is, with each other — and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ.
CSS Is the vista that is spread out before us so wholly marked by life, and of such a distinctive character, that the necessity is to learn how to behave ourselves?
JT Yes, and the heavenly Jerusalem would mean, the city thought in its fulness. When we come to Revelation 21 we see it — the bride — as new Jerusalem, and it comes down out of heaven from God. This should give lustre to all our proceedings administratively.
HG Is the thought of display connected with the city?
JT It is in that way seen in Revelation. It is God’s best; the metals, the figures used all show that it is the best conceivable thing outside of what is divine, that is divine Persons.
JSB Would you say a little as to the scripture in Thessalonians turning to God from idols?
JT It brings out the true God. The true God, connected with Him as living: the living and true God; the idea of the true God being added, is to keep us from idolatry. It is a question of deliverance. The [p. 169] saints turning away from idols, whatever they were, to a God thus presented and known. The Lord uses the term, the true God. To “know thee, the only true God”, and John uses it and applies it to the Lord Himself; “He is the true God”, and there again the connection is, “keep yourselves from idols”. It is to deliver us from all that disputes the thought of God in our souls. He is the true God.
The living God, I suppose, would save them from judaism, because judaism had a very great place in Thessalonica, but then heathendom had a place there too, and the true God would bear on heathendom. Of course, we have to be delivered and preserved from both of these things.
Referring now to the passage in 1 Timothy 4, where we read, “we trust in the living God”. He stands related to the whole human race, the “preserver of all men”. That is, the Spirit of God connects God with all men, with every single person in the world, that, “he is not far from each one of us”, Paul said, and “in him we live, and move and exist” (Acts 17: 27, 28). He even brings in their own poets to show that they were the offspring of God. An important side of the truth, especially in the gospel, is to have in mind that we are dealing with creatures of God, not simply wicked men. The gospel is to be preached to all the creation, and in preaching it to men who are unconverted the point is not only in mind that they are wicked men, but also creatures of God, that there is a link between God and them as His creatures.
JM Having in view that they should turn to the living God.
JT Yes, and it establishes confidence in their hearts. It gives them to understand that there is a link between them and the living God, but they will forfeit it if they remain in unbelief. The world is now held in [p. 170] reconciliation provisionally.
GHMcK Do you think it is happy for the preacher to address men as sinners?
JT Well, Peter addresses “Men of Judaea, and all ye inhabitants of Jerusalem;” and Paul said, “Israelites, and ye that fear God, hearken;” and on Mars Hill, he said, “Athenians”. You find in the addresses given in the Acts that there is respect for men whether they are Jews or heathen, they are regarded abstractly, and that is the way to establish confidence. Of course, the person’s sins must come up, repentance too.
GHMcK You think it is important that confidence should be sought?
JT That is exactly what Luke’s ministry would teach us, following up Paul’s. Paul’s address on Mars Hill, his address in Lystra, his address in Antioch, Peter’s two addresses in Acts 2 and 3 are models. They are set down as precedents for us to go by. We must have respect for our fellow men. The living God, in 1 Timothy 4, is said to be the “preserver of all men, especially of those that believe”.
WB Is that preservation moral, or creatorial?
JT It is creatorial, that is what is meant. Not that God is not helping men morally, too. “The powers that be are ordained of God”. In Revelation 7 we see that the seal of the living God is upon His people as numbered, the number He has in mind in His counsels. It is a question of His number, the number sealed. Paul says that he endured all things for the sake of the elect, “that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2: 10). The seal here is on that side of the truth. The second half of the chapter is the other side, namely, that there is an uncountable number, as far as creatures are concerned, of the redeemed, but that does not militate against the first part of the chapter, that God has His number, and what we think is uncountable fits in with God’s number, the latter being a question of predestination.
JDU It means that every individual [p. 171] counts?
JT Exactly, and no believer is an accident. It is all in perfect order according to the infinite accuracy of the divine counsel. It happens as God would have it. He makes things fit. It is a great thing to have that in mind, I think, in our ministry, that God has His number, and the seal means that they are secure.
GAvS The seal of the living God?
JT There is in it the evidence of life.
JDU Why is it on the forehead?
JT It is the profession, where it can be seen, so that we are known by life, not only by what we say, but what is seen. It is a living state of things.
Rem Known and read of all men, is that the thought?
JT Just so.
CSS In view of all this, is there a danger of our turning away from the living God (Hebrews 3: 12), in contrast to turning to Him, as in Thessalonica?
JT That is very solemn indeed, a striking contrast, and shows the importance of the brethren in these last days maintaining the thought of life, because it is in the saints that the living God is now expressed and the thought of life maintained. It makes it all the more serious for persons who turn away, and alas, how many have turned away from the presence of life, the presence of God in a living way among His people! The next thing is “falling into the hands of the living God”, that is, ultimate retribution at the hands of the God they turn away from.