THIS CITY
[p. 172] THIS CITY
Acts 4: 27, 28; Acts 18: 9 - 11; Hebrews 12: 22
The object in view in reading these scriptures is to speak about the idea of a city, in relation to both evil and good, particularly “the city of the living God”. The thought of a city is well known to us as set out in the Scriptures, and as having been prevalent throughout the history of mankind from the outset, but I desire to confine myself to these two thoughts, what it is in relation to evil, and in relation to good, the good that may be in the cities of the world; and then the city of the living God in which there is nothing else but good, which is the positive presentation of the idea.
The inclusion of the words “in this city”, in Acts 4: 27 is according to the best authorities, “for in truth ... in this city;” and spiritually the words “in this city” have a place in this setting, for the history of Jerusalem is in mind. It was the city of the great King, but it had become the residence of evil, the most consummate evil; so much so that the Lord intimated that it was scarcely possible that a prophet should suffer outside of it, as if murderous opposition to God and His mind had found a residence in this once-favoured city. The Lord Himself, too, in view of the gospel, said “remain in the city”. He was then in it, although risen from the dead. He suffered in it according to Revelation 11: 8, although according to Hebrews 13: 12, He suffered without the gate. His sufferings were in it, morally, and it was, therefore, the one spot on earth least deserving of grace. In spite of that they were to stay there until clothed with power from on high, and the preaching of the gospel was to begin there. So to continue that thought we read in Acts 4, “in this city”, the one they were in at that time. So [p. 173] in Acts 18: 10, it is this city; it was one the Lord was in again — a gentile city. He was in it, not only as risen, as in Jerusalem, but as having ascended into heaven, He appeared to Paul in a vision in regard to that city; a very significant fact, for He had much people there.
The bearing of what is to be said at this time is “this city”, the one we are in now. The Scriptures always bear immediately upon the person, or persons, who are reading them or dealing with them. So in this passage in Acts 4, it is “this city”, the one they were in. They had remained there according to the Lord’s directions, not only until they were “clothed with power from on high”, but had continued on there in that city exercising the service of grace in most marvellous power. Indeed, the testimony of the apostles in it was one of the greatest of its privileges — such marvellous power being demonstrated in that testimony. The glory had never been in it as it was at Pentecost, and it was loth to leave it. The same power was seen elsewhere later, but now it was there in relation to the city. God regarded it abstractly for the moment, as according to what it was in His mind, and presented a most marvellous testimony there, not only in words in living power, but in the effect of the words; so that notice had to be taken of the effect of the testimony rendered. It was forced under their notice. They would have it that it was the effect of new wine; the enemy was working immediately to counteract what God was doing, to discredit it, as ever, but Peter’s address makes plain what it was. It was a wonderful intervention of divine power, the blessed Spirit of God Himself, having come down, found suitable vessels in Peter and the other apostles, and thus the testimony was effectively rendered. Thus for a considerable time afterwards, the Lord having in mind His word that they were to tarry there, this great service went on, and there was not only actual power by the Spirit, but moral power in the [p. 174] vessels, that is the ability to bear patiently the terrible sufferings that were forced upon them.
So Peter and John being let go, came to their own company; that is what love values. It is said of the Lord, “having loved his own ... loved them to the end:” now the thought is connected with the apostles. What can be more priceless on earth, dear brethren, than “our own”, in this sense in the particular city in which we are? We are to clothe all that are in “this city” in this way. “Being let go, they went to their own company” and unbosomed all their exercises and their triumphs; and what a heart-felt sympathy there was in their sufferings and their services! Then the prayer was most suitable. I would call attention to what they said to God. They took account in their prayer of Psalm 2, and spoke about it very suitably; it applied exactly. Nothing in a way is more instructive than the use of the Old Testament scriptures in the New; the exactness spiritually, not only verbally but the spiritual exactness. Verbal exactness is not always necessary for conveying the sense of a passage, but spiritual exactness is what strikes you in the use of the Old Testament scriptures in the New. Here Psalm 2 is quoted, which is one of the outstanding psalms, governing the whole Book. The first Psalm is the moral side, as no doubt you have often heard; the second Psalm is the official. It is against the official, that is, Jesus anointed, that Satan specially raises opposition. Psalm 2 is brought forward here with spiritual exactness to the very moment in which they were speaking. It is always important to keep in mind the exact moment, the exact time and place in which the scripture is spoken or read. In quoting the psalm the apostles and those with them bring it down to their own circumstances. They say “both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city”. Historically, of course, it was so. We know in the endings of the gospels, how this murderous [p. 175] combination conferred whilst the Lord was opening His heart to His own. Outside, there was this wicked combination against Him. No one knew it better than He.
This opposition continued, for Peter and John were themselves the suffering witnesses to it. There was no change, for Jerusalem had not repented. There are conditions like this abroad today. The Lord says of Jezebel, “she will not repent”, and thus there is retribution: there are fixed conditions, governmentally, in christendom — God has acted, imposing conditions, and fixing them, inasmuch as men have gone on in persistent opposition, in spite of remonstrance and gracious appeals. This is a very solemn matter. It may be so with individuals, persons who have gone on in a self-willed way against the truth. God fixes that state upon them; a very solemn thing for those who will not repent. The Lord says, “I will kill her children with death”. That is a condition that exists today throughout christendom; it was developed in Jerusalem — a hardened condition. The Lord had prayed for their forgiveness, but there was no weakening of the opposition. Indeed the word in the message sent after Him said: “We will not have this man to reign over us”. The prayer in Acts 4 makes no allusion whatever to any weakening of this attitude, and so they say, “now, Lord, look upon their threatenings”. The murderous attitude toward Christ and His people was unchanged in Jerusalem. The high priest was suitable, as linked with the Sadducees, for the purpose of the enemy; the leading testimony now being the resurrection of Christ, and the Sadducees denied the resurrection.
Dear brethren, these are the conditions with which we have to do in this city — the one we are in now. Whatever the outward appearances are, these are the underlying conditions; let there be no mistake about that. Some cities may be worse than others in this sense, but let there be no mistake, in a greater or lesser degree the cities of the nations are all permeated by [p. 176] this, and in time it will appear in “the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11: 8). The immediate witnesses of Christ were allowed to lie unburied in its streets after their faithful testimony. It is well that we should be apprised of this, not that we should say anything at all against authority, but we should recognise that when the test comes, the underlying conditions in all the cities of the world will be marked by these things. They are gradually and surely drifting in that direction and God would have us to utter our prayers accordingly. Not that we should pry into the evil; but accept our function of holding out against it at least in principle and in testimony, for it is in this way, among other things, that evil is held in check.
The prayer is the point here; as they prayed, the place was shaken; not yet the city; presently the city will be shaken with the shake of judgment. The place is shaken, and the power that is in it is of the same power that is working in us. That power will be used presently against evil retributively, and is being used now, more or less against evil in a moral way by every christian. The same power by which we draw near to God, is the power by which we can stand up against evil and testify against it.
In chapter 18, the Lord expressly says, as to Corinth, “I have much people in this city”. That brings in another matter, that in praying for the authorities of a city or a country, we have in mind what the Lord has in them. There can be no doubt that He has holdings in every city, especially in christendom, and as visiting these cities, as He does, in a sense He would always say, in this city. That is really a great feature of local responsibility. It is that the Lord comes into the city, town, or village in which the saints may be, and then He says, This city, or, This village. That is, He stands alongside of us, and in truth, we never get a right view of things until we stand alongside of the [p. 177] Lord, or He alongside of us, and utters His thoughts, and we see things from His point of view. There is much more of His activity than we are prone to think. Indeed Revelation says that He walks in the midst of the seven golden lamps. He stands in relation to all the assemblies, and in His visitations, He will say, This city. There can be no doubt that many of the dear brethren in this city have experienced this in prayer or otherwise; how the Lord has given them to understand as to their particular exercises and sorrows that He knows. He says, “I know”. What a comforting word! He says, “I know” to every assembly that He addresses in Revelation.
Now the apostle Paul had been in this city, Corinth, for some time, and in this chapter certain things are said to have happened. The Lord might have appeared in a vision to Paul earlier, but he did not, according to the record — not that the apostle had not been much in exercise and prayer, because chapters 17 and 18 show that he had the profoundest consideration for that part of Greece. He had been to Athens, but with very little result, his spirit was stirred, but there was no vision there. He had been in Corinth a considerable time, waiting for Silas and Timotheus to come, and as soon as they were come, he was pressed in respect of the word, as if he felt it was the word that was needed there; not exactly the terms of the gospel, but the mind of God was needed there. It was a place of learning and profligacy, too. The word of God was needed to search out the actual state of things. The Lord waited for the right moment, as He always does, and He appeared in a vision in the night. I suppose the allusion would be to quietude, when one is free from the burdens of the day. It is always well to make room for the Lord in the quiet hours of the night. It was a vision, but so vivid that the Lord speaks of Himself as actually in this city. He says, “no one shall set [p. 178] upon thee to injure thee; because I have much people in this city”.
Now we have to view the cities in which we are from these angles. First, what they are in relation to evil. The peculiar kind of power there is in the concentration of humanity in a regularised community. All that is capable of attracting the human heart and gripping it, is found, from the standpoint of evil, in the cities. We do well to bear this in mind. It ought to enter into our prayers. The cities of the world seem to be the special places for the development of evil; as we see in Luke 8, the man came out of the city having the legion of demons. Decapolis means the place of ten cities. It is the concentration of evil in an organised way. On the other hand, in spite of that, it is wonderful to see, as one moves about the world, how the young people, and old, too, are being delivered and kept, an exhibition in these latter days of the intervention of God, His power for salvation, as Paul said, “that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2: 10). It is the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, giving the saints another status, and attached to it is the wonderful thought of glory. I believe we can see it; the idea of salvation in the young and the old, and the glory, in a moral sense, shining. That is a great thing; to have the glory shining in our salvation. That is a principle with God from the outset, as to His people viewed collectively, that the glory comes in and shines. Both in regard to the tabernacle and the temple, God comes in and takes charge of it all, God being pleased with His people as in their places in the assembly.
So, as I said, the Lord would instruct His servant in regard to the people in Corinth. Not that Paul was ignorant of the evil in that city; he was not, and hence his ministry took character accordingly. He gauged what was in the place from the standpoint of evil. So according to the vision, despite the terrible conditions [p. 179] of this city, his ministry was to go on. The Lord says, “No one shall set upon thee to injure thee; because I have much people in this city”. What a great thought that is, as to these large cities. One rejoices in what there is now here: indeed what is present in this meeting. “I have much people in this city”. If the Lord were to speak tonight, He would remind us of it. His own are here, but the much people are viewed abstractly; they are to be secured. We must never let this out of our mind — what the Lord thinks of in this city; what He actually has, and what He has yet to be obtained through the gospel. The apostle stayed eighteen months in Corinth, which was a long time for him — a long period of his service, in order to carry out the Lord’s wish that those much people should be secured. His ministry and epistles show unmistakably that he gauged things rightly in the presence of the Lord, so as to secure them from the peculiar kind of evil that was in that city.
Now the final thing is the city, not only of God, but “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”. It is a full title of what God has in His mind in regard of a city. We have much of it throughout the Old Testament, but this description is very beautiful and stirring. This is one of the eight items given in this list to which we, as christians, have come. One could say a good deal about each of them, but I am just speaking about this one item, coming in after Zion; “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”. We have come to that. The epistle to the Hebrews does not go into the things it speaks of in the concrete working out of them, as is seen in other scriptures. The state of the saints was very low, and what was in mind was to interest them in the greatness of what they had come to. It was for them to work out the significance of each of these eight items. They had very largely lost the power of them, and they are reminded of what they had come to, and my thought [p. 180] is, not to speak of it in the objective sense only, in which it is spoken of here, but as having part in it, because in truth the saints to whom the epistle was addressed were part of the city. Every true christian is part of this. The book of Revelation opens it up to us in a striking manner, but this is the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and I refer to it on the side of our having part in it. Not only that we have come to it — the feeblest christian may have come to it; but how blessed to have part in it! It is a matter of spiritual experience. Most of us have an idea of it, and it is being worked out, I believe, throughout the world, and it is a testimony; that is the idea of administration carried on in a heavenly way, and not only in a heavenly way, but in a living way.
There is available to us what is represented in this idea of what we have come to as christians, and of what is workable in the way of carrying out the mind of God in government and order. It has to be taken up now, in an abstract way, but inasmuch as there are two or three or more who understand it, it is workable. I believe if there is one thing more than another that the Lord is stressing, it is that the dispensation should be carried on to the finish, to end up in some sense as it began, that is, in a living way, and in a heavenly way, and especially in regard to our administrative matters. We are so prone to borrow from our own thoughts or from the world’s way in these things. Government is greatly stressed amongst the nations. I am speaking now of ordinary government as it is today. Never was so much money spent on government in the history of the world as is done today; the extraordinary expense of government is noticeable everywhere, but then God would meet that in His way, in a heavenly way. So in regard of administration, one of the first things you get in reference to the assembly convened in its public bearing is that the brethren were saying, “The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24: 34). That is to say, the great principle of grace in dealing with an erring one is stressed; and then the second thing is that He was made known to certain ones in the breaking of bread.
These are two great public factors, the principle of grace and the Lord’s supper. How can we go on together, how can we carry on the idea of the heavenly city aside from the supply of grace; grace reigning through righteousness; and, on the other hand, the constant recalling of Jesus, of our Head in heaven; constantly being reminded of Him in the memorial that He has left us? These two things run together publicly, and every one of us should see to them; should see that grace reigns through righteousness, and that there is a place for the Lord to come in and out, bringing in heavenly freshness and power constantly, so that every bit of administrative activity is governed by these things. If it were a question of choosing an apostle, it must be one that “assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he was taken up” (Acts 1: 21, 22). It is in that way you get the thought of the living God carried on practically, the city of the living God. Life is expressed in the Lord coming in and out amongst us. Of course, it is expressed by the Spirit. The Spirit is life, but things are never to be on the principle of judaism — that is, on the principle of demand without supply. It is a living and heavenly state of things. It is the idea of the reflex of what is in heaven in the way of government that has to be carried out here on earth.
Now in view of all that, the other side is, that if I am in this city, my responsibility is to observe that the Lord has placed me here under these conditions. He has placed His authority here and so He says to Saul, who was subsequently to work it out more than anyone, “go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. That is what every person who is amenable to discipline has to bear in mind. Not one of us is immune from discipline. I have to respect the idea of the city, and move in that way. I have my individual liberty with God, and I stand or fall to my own Master. Nevertheless, I have to observe what the Lord said to His great servant, “go into the city, and it shall be told thee”. The Lord saw to it that things were right in that city. Otherwise, Saul would have had a poor handling, even with a man like Ananias. How easily we may misrepresent the Lord in the way we handle matters, but the Lord prepared Ananias and he handled it most beautifully. Why? Because the Lord went before, and fitted him to do this. So that Saul was cared for according to the Lord’s mind. The Lord had in His mind that Saul should be impressed from the outset of his christian life with the thought that the Lord had authority here. Saul was to get the idea into his mind as a christian, that the Lord had authority here vested in certain ones. He did not say, the assembly, or the saints, it is in “the city”. Saul was to be impressed with that, but then he was led in in blindness. Saul’s eyes were opened in the city, not like the man in Mark 8, who was taken out of the city. Saul was to see, not the wicked things, but what the Lord had set there. That is a great matter.
To illustrate this before I close, I would remind you of Boaz, the progenitor of David, the great city man, who took Jerusalem. The thought was beautifully set out, as I am just coming to it now. When a contract is to be entered into, when an alliance is to be formed, let us not forget the city, let us not forget, when entering into alliances, the place of the city where the Lord has placed His authority. If we do, we shall rue it. The selection of our companionships, in marriage, or in business, and the like, and the entrance into these matters cannot be made with disregard to the authority that the Lord has set amongst His people; any disregard [p. 183] will only bring confusion. Boaz, we are told, having settled things in his mind about Ruth, went into the city. (She was the one he had carefully watched; he had settled as to her in his mind, and had measured the barley into her cloak, which she had held.) The Authorised Version says, “she” went into the city, but the correct translation as the context shows to be right, reads that “he” went into the city. He, having selected his prospective wife, went into the city. This is a matter of great importance, and it must be settled in relation to the city. It must not be done clandestinely, in any sense. It must be done openly and transparently, and it was. He went into the city, and Ruth went to her mother-in-law, who said to her, “the man will not rest until he have completed the matter this day” (Ruth 3: 18). She understood the moral greatness of her kinsman, as we ought to, and “he went into the city”. As soon as he entered into the city, the whole circumstances enabled him to do what he had in his mind, that is, to work openly in an appropriate and honest way. The man who had the first claim over Ruth and the property came into his way. He said, “Thou, such a one, turn aside, sit down here”. He would not transgress the rights of another. He put it to him, that he had prior rights to himself. Then he called ten men of the elders of the city and says to them also, “Sit down here”. This is a deliberative matter; it is not to be executed hastily. You are all acquainted with the facts; I need not go into them. The whole matter was settled to the glory of God and with the most important results. The line of royalty and sovereignty runs through it, and the worship of God. I am speaking of this not as a mere historical matter, but as a matter that bears on us, as scripture always does; the word of God bears upon those that read it and hear it. It is a question of brethren moving in earnestness, transparency, and honesty, in the recognition of the rights of one another, as the apostle says to the Thessalonians.
[p. 184] What I would specially wish that we should keep in mind is the thought of the city of the living God, of the heavenly Jerusalem, that as we draw near towards the end, when that great city, having the glory of God, will burst on the universe, that there should be some little reflection of it now; not only things done rightly, but in love, done in a living way, in a heavenly way, for that surely is the opposite to what is now done on earth.
May God bless these thoughts to us!