THE NUMERAL THREE IN TESTIMONY (2)
[p. 264] THE NUMERAL THREE IN TESTIMONY (2)
Genesis 24: 1 - 9; Genesis 28: 1 - 5; Genesis 48: 8 - 20
JT At the previous reading we dwelt on Genesis 18, having, as then said, the numeral three in mind, as indicating complete testimony on any given subject. There it was, in type, a full testimony to the Deity as entering into the economy in which God is known. The thought now is to look into the patriarchal testimony as set out in the three fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I believe that they set out the full testimony on the patriarchal side, the side of the Father, following on the declaration of God as seen in John’s and Matthew’s gospels. Indeed, generally the Father takes supremacy and prominence in the economy, and so, in the present dispensation, it is the Father. The other two divine Persons are seen moving subserviently in relation to the Father. Thus it says in Ephesians 4: 4 - 6, “There is one body and one Spirit”, then “one Lord”, then “one God and Father”. That is how the scripture in the New Testament presents it; denoting the grace in regard of the testimony towards man, and the accomplishment of eternal purpose in regard of the saints. With these thoughts in mind, I think the brethren will see there is a good deal to be gathered up for our souls in these scriptures as to fatherhood, as to God known in that way. It is thought that the closing records of the lives of these three patriarchs are the most suitable to bring out the result in each. The passage in chapter 24 brings out Abraham as stressing the heavenly side of the truth, and occupied with Christ and the assembly in type. Isaac, following upon that, also has Christ and the assembly in type in mind, only, in a sense, on lower ground, for it is in relation to the testimony rendered here. Then Jacob in his closing moments is occupied with the tribes, and the passage brings out the principle of selection, of lifting certain ones, that [p. 265] is, Ephraim and Manasseh, on to a higher level, in taking these grandchildren and giving them the full status of sons, like Reuben and Simeon. The thought applies to ourselves, God giving us that full status. It would help us to grasp the thought of the Father. These fathers are necessarily on the divine side and representative, carrying with them the power to bless.
Ques Is there a certain sequence in them, in which we discern the unfolding of what God has in mind for us?
JT That is what is in mind, first, the heavenly side of our position, but the heavenly side is not stressed at first in the history of the testimony in the Acts. God held that in abeyance in order to manifest His patience toward Israel. Abraham includes the ministry of Paul, that is the heavenly side of the truth, that Christ is not presented as standing in heaven waiting to come back to Israel, as we see in Acts 7, but rather as sitting with a view to the calling out of the assembly, the formation of the assembly as His heavenly bride. So that you get here the thought of the heavens, and the earth; the thought of heaven particularly in Abraham’s command that Isaac must not be taken back to the country from whence Abraham came. For in no sense must he leave Canaan; figuratively, Christ must not be brought down to a lower level than the heavenly testimony. He must remain on that level.
WJH Is that what the Lord meant when speaking to Mary, when He forbade her to touch Him?
JT That is what I understand. She would link Him with the garden. First she thought He was the gardener, but evidently, even after knowing Him, she linked Him with the earth. He enjoins her not to touch Him, because, as He said, “I have not yet ascended to my Father”. That is, the link between us and Christ is on heavenly ground.
Ques Does that emphasise the fact that the assembly is completely detached from earth and what is of earth?
JT That is what Paul’s doctrine brings out. We belong to heaven, “as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones”. The sheet that appeared to Peter came down from heaven, and went back into heaven. He says in Acts 11: 5, “it came even to me”, as if Peter needed to have the thought brought near to him, so that it should lay hold of him, and that he should be elevated to the heavenly side of the truth. In Genesis 22, Isaac is offered up by Abraham and received back from the dead in figure, but he is not said to have come back with Abraham to Beer-sheba. The inference is that Christ has gone up, as He intimated to Mary, “go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend”. Then at the end of Genesis 22 Rebecca appears, for that is the divine thought now, to bring out Christ and the assembly. Figuratively, it is the christian dispensation seen from the highest point of view; not in its historical development as related the Acts, but the full thought of God, brought out in Paul’s ministry.
FWW Would what you have been saying help us to distinguish between the thought of father and children, and father and sons?
JT Well, it is not that the children are on any lower level, the idea of children is that we are here on earth in testimony, but the same persons. Sonship as applied to us, refers to heaven, and I hope by what will develop in this inquiry, we shall see that the types begin at the very top and come down in Isaac, and again in Jacob, but they begin at the very top.
ESW Is that heavenly relationship seen in the early part of chapter 22; the father and the son moving together?
JT Quite so. You might say it is typically the Father and the Son, that is God and Christ in that relation, and then Christ received back in figure from the dead, and Isaac not seen as coming down with Abraham to Beer-sheba, the place of promise, but remaining [p. 267] above, and Rebecca coming into view at the end of chapter 22. Then the death of Sarah is referred to; that is Israel entirely disappeared in the grave, her tent is vacant, so that Rebecca is led into it. It is the Lord taking the assembly into a position, not her own heavenly one, but a provisional one for testimony.
JDU You refer to the patriarchs being blessers. Does that connect with what is said in Ephesians in regard to blessings in heavenly places?
JT It is the Father who has blessed us — “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 3).
Ques Is it the function of the Spirit to bring the assembly to where Christ is; is that not an important beginning?
JT It is, and the strict requirement is that Isaac must not be brought out of Canaan. In no sense is he to be brought out of Canaan, that is to say, Christ retains His place in heaven. We must keep that in mind; that is the basis of the dispensation, not simply resurrection, but Christ in heaven, and that the assembly is brought to Him there, and then she is led into another position. The leading is another thing, Isaac led her into his mother’s tent.
GCH Does that twofold position indicate the place the assembly has, both in relation to the God of the heavens and the God of the earth?
JT I think so, but the first thought is the heavens, and when we come to Isaac, only the heavenly scene is in mind, though Abraham speaks of God being God not only of the heavens but also of the earth. I believe that the thought is that the assembly is brought to Christ in heavenly places by the Spirit, in affection and intelligence, and presented. We are taken on by Him. It is not finality, it is in view of the provisional testimony that God would render to Israel first. Rebecca is led into Sarah’s tent. In the New Testament we read [p. 268] in Luke what corresponds to what we are saying. The Lord, after instructing the saints, opening their understandings, led them out as far as to Bethany. He led them to that point, and then was carried up to heaven, but they returned to Jerusalem. That would mean that they are left in connection with the place of love — but still on Jewish ground.
WJH Would the Lord breathing into His disciples (John 20), following upon the message through Mary, fit us to take up that heavenly position?
JT I think that is the thought in it. The last Adam is a quickening Spirit; a very remarkable fact that enters into what we are speaking of; not simply a quickening Person, but a quickening Spirit (1 Corinthians 15: 45). Another passage says that “the Lord is the Spirit”. There is a remarkable combination of divine Persons so as to make the service, in view of all this, efficacious; first in regard of the covenant, and then in regard of the heavenly position.
Ques Does ascending to the Father apply to the completion of the forty days?
JT The message sent through Mary speaks of what is characteristic rather than historical. It is “I ascend”, not shall ascend. The forty days do not enter into the heavenly position; properly they are educational, particularly in regard of spirituality.
ESW Is that what you had in mind in regard to “He led them out”? We have to be led and taught during the forty days.
JT Yes, they were educated by the extraordinary things that occurred, especially the Lord’s appearances to them. The forty days is an educational period preparatory to the heavenly position. We must become spiritual; the point in the forty days is spiritual education, what spirituality means. The Lord is a quickening Spirit, yet He is a real Man; He stresses that point in Jerusalem according to Luke 24, but He [p. 269] is a quickening Spirit.
SS At Pentecost the numeral three is in evidence.
JT You mean that “having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which ye behold and hear”. The three Persons are there; it is remarkable how many illustrations you get of the Trinity in co-operation.
Ques Seeing that knowing the Father is a blessing that belongs to christianity particularly, shall we be helped to grow in that by seeing Him in the Son?
JT We apprehend Him by the Son, it is the Son who reveals Him. “No one knows the Son but the Father, nor does any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal him” (Matthew 11: 27). It is the Son that makes the Father known; the Father is made known by and in relation to the Son. The Father, according to what He is, is seen in the Son in testimony; as the Lord said, “he that has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14: 9). That is God in Christ, which is largely the testimony in John’s gospel, but the Father has to be apprehended as that Person of the Deity, so that He speaks from heaven, to and of the Son as here on earth.
ESW So that Genesis 22 is fundamental to the subject of which you are speaking, divine relationships seen in operation.
JT Yes; it really is the basis of what we are speaking of, and to see how Abraham is concerned typically as to the heavenly side; that Christ typically should not be taken out of it, but that the assembly should be brought to Him there. Then, subject to His leading, to be available in whatever capacity He may want to use her. What the Lord is labouring for, particularly lately, is to help the brethren to lay hold of the heavenly position; that we belong to heaven, but if the Lord wishes to use us in any capacity on earth we are amenable to His directions, His leadership. Isaac led Rebecca into his mother Sarah’s tent, as the Lord led His disciples to Bethany. He had a [p. 270] reason for that, the function of the assembly is subservient to the Lord’s leading, He refers to it as “my assembly”, and He is free therefore to use it as needed. It is a great vessel, and yet amenable and subservient to Christ, so that He may render particular testimonies in a particular way. The dignity and greatness generally of the vessel qualifies it for the most exalted services.
GCH You remarked that the assembly provides the place for divine Persons to move relatively. Would Rebecca as brought to Isaac on the one hand, and led into the tent on the other indicate this?
JT I think that is the thought. He led her there, and connecting that with the New Testament you can see how the assembly was used in service in the Acts. How, in it, God set out His great patience in waiting on Israel, and it will be used by and by in a greater way as the heavenly city. But throughout the dispensation now it is used as the house of God, and it is the body of Christ. It is the pillar and base of the truth, and so on; also a vessel of service Godward. So that it must be regarded as the greatest vessel for divine purposes, always remembering that it is heavenly and united to a heavenly Christ.
EESL Would those two sides be connected with the epistles to the Ephesians and the Philippians respectively?
JT Yes. That to the Ephesians is the full divine thought, so that we are there immediately introduced to our own sphere; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 3). Then in chapter 2 we are said to be raised up together and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ, in order that God might display in the coming ages the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Now, however, He expects of us that we might walk in the good works that He has ordained for us (verse 10). At the end of this chapter [p. 271] it runs on to the thought of the assembly being the residence of God down here, and the gentiles brought in as a habitation of God by the Spirit, which runs on to the end of the dispensation. The truth is presented as though the Jews had dropped out and the gentiles by themselves are regarded as the habitation of God by the Spirit, and that is a function of the assembly to the end. In Philippians, it is here for the display of Christ in a practical way. The truth of it is seen there; Philippians is a counterpart of Ephesians in that sense.
Rem I was thinking that this is seen in connection with the younger son in Luke 15, who is spoken of as having been dead, but alive again, referring to the gentile as material for the house of God.
JT I think that is right, because the elder brother represents the Jew as now reprobate. It would correspond, I think, with Stephen’s testimony, “he ... would not go in”, but then the house is there, and the music and dancing go on notwithstanding.
EE Would you say what answers, in the scriptures we are now considering, to the position of the assembly as raised and seated in the heavenlies in Christ as in Ephesians 2?
JT The position of Rebecca led into Sarah’s tent does not indicate the present position in the heavenlies, it indicates the present position she is led into on earth, but as already heavenly as to dignity. The heavenly position is hers, it belongs to her as heavenly, but in view of testimony she is here and available to Christ for any purpose He may see it necessary to use her. Being such a vessel as He calls “my assembly”, she is available to Him and continues to the end of the dispensation in that availability.
WJH So that the apostle Paul calls the assembly in the epistle to the Galatians, the Israel of God; is that what is in mind?
[p. 272] JT Yes, she takes that place; she takes Israel’s place; she is in Sarah’s tent. Romans 9, Romans 10 and Romans 11 develop that truth in regard to the gospel, to reconcile God’s promises to His earthly people with the “no difference” gospel that Paul was preaching. Israel is yet to be restored to its own place, but in the meanwhile the position of testimony is occupied by the assembly.
SS “The king hath brought me into his chambers” (Song of Songs 1: 4). Is that after her following and then running? “Draw me, we will run after thee”.
JT Yes, Christ is her object. Paul’s ministry places the assembly in heavenly places, but she is also amenable for service toward Israel and generally, as still here upon earth in a provisional way. Then later she becomes, as the heavenly city, the great luminary of the universe. In every case she is subservient to the will of Christ.
Ques How would you distinguish between the servant leading Rebecca, and Isaac leading her into the tent?
JT The servant is simply the ministry of the Spirit, bringing us in mind and affection to Christ in heaven, but the other part of the question is that it is only as she apprehends her place, her formation, as derived from Christ in heaven, and as heavenly, that she is properly fit to be used here in testimony. She is not earthly, she is heavenly, but capable of being used here provisionally in any testimony that is to be presented.
ESW That is an important point, that we do well to lay hold of, for only as the heavenly position is understood and entered into, can we take up service intelligently here.
JT It is a very important matter, because the heavenly vessel has been lost sight of in testimony; whereas the great thought that characterises the dispensation is that God has the assembly here; itself heavenly and united to Christ up there: so that she is available and usable for the various purposes He has in [p. 273] mind, and in this way she is great enough for that. Unless we see that, our testimony must be correspondingly desultory or on lower ground than is proper.
HW Does that help as to the understanding of Revelation 21, the order in which things are presented as in the holy city?
JT She comes down. She is seen as coming down out of heaven, meaning that that is her place, she belongs to heaven; she comes down in liberty, she is not sent down; she comes down, having the glory of God, invested with it.
HW I was thinking of the fact that she is first seen in relation to eternity, before she is seen in relation to the world to come, in Revelation 21.
JT That is a very good point. We see her in the greatest relations before she is seen coming down into the sphere of testimony.
JSD Does the oath in this chapter refer to the urgency of the thing in the mind of God?
JT Yes. Abraham is so urgent about it, that under no circumstances will he have it otherwise, and that is for us; that we should hold to a heavenly Christ and a heavenly assembly. Those two points are essential if our testimony is to be such as divinely desired. The bride must be of the same family or lineage as the bridegroom, as Isaac; she is equal to him in that sense; she is great enough to be his bride. All this is to bring out what the assembly is in the divine counsels and as the subject of divine workmanship, and as raised up and made to sit down in the heavenlies in Christ.
HW May we have a little more as to the distinction between the bride and the wife?
JT The wife is brought in in Revelation 19. The bride is brought in in Revelation 21. It is a very remarkable thing that you have the wife before the bride. Usually the idea of the bride precedes the wife, though they are simultaneous. We talk about the bride and then the wife, but the wife is introduced first in Revelation; she is the Lamb’s wife; His confidant, and she is competent to fill the place in this time of testimony; He can trust her, as we get in Proverbs 31: 11.
GAvS Does the wife in that way indicate the transitional position of the assembly here upon the earth during the period of being in Sarah’s tent, as trusted and maintaining the interests of Christ, as the wife according to what you refer to in Proverbs 31?
JT Yes, she is His confidant, as already remarked; she can be trusted, and that is another thought for us, for that is the position today; we are to be trusted with something.
EESL Is it significant that Rebecca comes into view first as the subject of Abraham’s purpose and later as the subject of Isaac’s love?
JT It is after she is led into the tent you get the thought of His love for her, and I think that must mean that the idea of trustworthiness enters into her lovableness; what she is here in the position of testimony and as true in it. It is after she is led into the tent that it is said that Isaac loved her. I think the Lord must have been greatly pleased with what He had in the early days of the testimony; how the assembly behaved itself; what a testimony she was. It says in Acts 2, He added such as should be saved, she could be trusted with them; she is quite in keeping with His mind; there is nothing in her contrary to His mind.
Ques Can the full testimony be illustrated in the injunction that Rebecca gave to Jacob that he might bring two good kids out of the flock that she might make savoury venison which his father loved?
JT Chapter 27 brings out what Rebecca was in quality as facing problems. She had a great problem to solve. We have also the subterfuge and all that, which we must leave for the moment, but she faced the problem in a heroic way; she corresponds to Christ; ready to accept the curse upon herself, so that the mind of [p. 275] God should go through. What quality was there! “On me by thy curse, my son!” she says. She knew the mind of God because He had told her before the children were born that the elder should serve the younger, and she is prepared to suffer that this might go through; a very great point in the testimony. She is conversant with matters like the woman in Proverbs 31; how capable she was!
Ques Is the position partially recovered in Philadelphia, where the Lord says, “I have loved thee”?
JT Yes; I think the moral element enters into that; not only what the assembly is to Him in counsel, but what He has found her to be. Love may begin marital relations, but what is developed after the marriage tie is the test, and the Lord finds in the assembly as typified by Rebecca led into the tent (that is into the position of testimony among the Jews) what He can love, and so in Philadelphia today in a similar position. The Jewish element is one of the most testing things we have to face today; it is an element marked by feeling (usually personal) instead of being governed by right principles. The Lord refers to those who “say they are Jews, and are not”. It is what christendom has become — the revival of judaism and He says, “I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that I have loved thee” (Revelation 3: 9).
GAvS I was wondering whether the Father’s love is indicated in the love of Abraham for his son in seeing that a wife was secured for Isaac. Is that the source of what comes out in Rebecca and Isaac in relation to Jacob?
JT Quite so. Christ’s love for the assembly is seen as originating in Himself. It is that He has His ideal, and I believe that as the disciples came into view in His service here in the flesh, the thought of the assembly came into mind. He was looking for it, He was seeking “beautiful pearls”. He was a connoisseur of the finest things, and “found one pearl of great value”.
[p. 276] He is viewed in the parable as capable of discerning what is most excellent, and finding this one pearl of great price He sold all He had and bought it. The love of Christ for the assembly is seen as originating in Himself. Yet, because of what He has found her to be in the sphere of testimony, His affections became enhanced.
JDU Does that come out in the clothing of the Lamb’s wife?
JT I think that is the thought; what He has found her to be as wife, she is His companion in suffering. That is what is meant: “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19: 7). Then what she is granted to wear, as if it is due to her on moral lines; and hence “the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints”. That is the moral side and shows the importance of what we are speaking about; what it is to be in testimony as conforming to Christ.
ESW So that it is while she is housekeeping in Sarah’s tent that her lovable qualities come into view.
JT That is the idea. Lovableness marked her from the outset, but its presence in the definite sphere of testimony is of particular importance.
Ques Are bridal affections produced by faithfulness and trustworthiness?
JT Yes, I think the real affection in the marital tie is after it is made, all before that is preliminary. It is in the relation of wife that the moral qualities are fully seen; that is where the test comes. The Lord has had to deal severely with the assembly in public, but in Philadelphia He comes back to the real thought, and He does not hesitate to say that they “shall know that I have loved thee”.
We have two other patriarchs to dwell upon, but there is hardly time now. We should take up the thought of the Father coming out in Deity and then the idea of the Father in full testimony. It is of great importance that we should give time [p. 277] to that.
WJH I was wondering in regard to your reference to Philadelphia, where the Lord says, “I will cause that they ... shall know that I have loved thee”, and then He speaks of writing on the overcomer there “the name of my God” and “my new name”. Does this suggest the heavenly side permanently established in the saints?
JT We spoke of that in Melbourne and I think we got help. The Lord in speaking to the overcomer in Philadelphia uses the phrase My God four times. He is suggesting the final thought that God has in mind, that is to bring us to Himself; not simply the covenant God, but Christ’s God; that He is to be apprehended as Christ’s God, and what is said to Philadelphia implies an understanding of that. I think that is the thought the Lord is helping us on at present; it brings out what God is in relation to Christ. Christ alone knows Him in His absoluteness, and we are to be brought to Him who is Christ’s God.
Rem That gives us a little sense of the greatness of what is heavenly.
JT What is eternal also; what is final. I think the final thought is not so much the heavenly, although of course it is that, but it is God; it is finality; “the end”.
Rem So that Christ not only secures something for His own heart, but something for God that will endure eternally.
JT Yes, it is secured by One who knows Him as “My God”, not simply as we know Him in the economy into which He has come, but in His absoluteness. Obviously absoluteness is included in the knowledge that Christ as Man has of God.
Ques Are we to be brought to that as a present thing?
JT I think so, “My God and your God”. It can only be entered into in any sense as we are, as it were, alongside of Christ, but being creatures we cannot [p. 278] grasp it. There is a link between the relative and the absolute in Christ, He has to do with both.
Rem “From eternity to eternity thou art God” (Psalm 90: 2).
JT I am speaking of Christ as Man. The other side of the truth is the great fact that He is God.