FAITHFULNESS

Revelation 1:4-6; Ephesians 1:1,2; Numbers 12:1-13;

Daniel 1:8-16; Colossians 4:7-9

J.L.      The thought that is before me in reading these several passages is the subject of faithfulness. It is manifestly pleasing to divine Persons and is perfectly in keeping with God’s own character because He is referred to as being faithful Himself; “God is faithful”, 1 Cor.1:9; 2 Cor.1:18. I might add that it is a necessity in view of the continuance of the testimony. Without faithfulness, confusion will result, but as clearly indicated by the apostle Paul, faithfulness is necessary in view of the continuation of divine interests in the testimony. That raises a challenge as to the measure in which we are committed to the Lord’s interests so that He should find faithfulness in our several local assemblies. We might have a reading on the subject of faithfulness only, but my thought is to view faithfulness in the several relationships and circumstances in which it is presented in these passages, because I think we will clearly see that it is a most attractive thing in the sight of God, and greatly blessed of God.

In Revelation the Lord Jesus Himself, the One who has set out this attribute in full perfection, is spoken of as “the faithful witness”, and in the very same verse is referred to as the One “who loves us”. I find it very appealing that the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus stands right alongside this beautiful reference to His love. I had in mind in looking at the reference in the epistle to the Ephesians to see how Paul, though somewhat sparingly making reference to faithfulness in regard of saints in local assemblies, nevertheless refers to the Ephesians in that way. It stands right alongside the highest truths that have been unfolded, the full height and disclosure of the purpose of God. If we look at the reference in Numbers to Moses, he has been spoken of as perhaps the most faithful person known on earth until the incoming of the Lord¹. Perhaps he may be described in that way, but Moses stands out so beautifully on account of his association with meekness and the enjoyment of communion, and for his priestly intercession. All these things seem to stand in parallel with the display of faithfulness. In Daniel we have his faithfulness, along with others, in the circumstances of the testimony, but manifestly he is immediately associated with a divine reward in blessing, and a mark of God’s favour upon him and those with him in the course of their activities where they were in the scene of captivity. Lastly I thought we might consider some of those referred to in the scripture by Paul as faithful. In the epistle to the Colossians we have two of the saints mentioned, Tychicus and Onesimus, and again we have attractive features set right alongside the thought of faithfulness. Tychicus is referred to as “the beloved brother and faithful minister” and Onesimus as “the faithful and beloved brother”.

I thought these things might be profitable for us to consider. We might think that faithfulness is associated with a hard line and with legality, but Scripture seems to present it in a very beautiful light and in a most attractive way. I think it would be good for us to dwell on that so that while in no way departing from the spirit of faithfulness, we might be marked by these other features that seem to be set alongside it in a most attractive way.

H.T.F.      It is a very full matter, and very exercising. I think the suggestion to look at the Lord Jesus is good. He is spoken of too as “the faithful and true witness”, Rev.3:14. What else is there for our hearts to feed upon if we are to be formed in any measure in the feature of faithfulness?

J.L.      I am sure the brethren will appreciate why I selected this passage first of all, because it is good to begin with the divine standard set out in perfection in Christ. Faithfulness found its full display in Him. He is referred to several times in the Revelation on account of His faithfulness, and indeed He is referred to as being called by that name, “Faithful”, with a capital ‘F’ (Rev.19:11), the only one in Scripture thus referred to.

R.H.B.      Was it in mind that the church should be the faithful and true witness on the earth? There has been breakdown in that, but does the Lord present Himself as the fulfilment of what was in the divine mind, and particularly in the address to Laodicea?

J.L.      Yes, we may come later to your point a little more fully about the church as being expected to be the faithful witness. Christ was so when He was here as Man; He was the outstanding faithful Witness, and I have no doubt that what was intended was that the church should become, in the absence of Christ, the faithful witness here on earth. Sadly, public failure has come in; but that does not excuse us from keeping our eye upon the divine standard and walking according to the light that has been revealed; we have no other standard to go by. I think we should just dwell for a moment on the perfection of what found its expression in the Lord Jesus as Man, and I find it so attractive that He who is referred to as the faithful Witness is also the One who has so loved us.

R.D.P.      The Lord is associated with “the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness”. We did not know the Lord after the flesh when He was here, but is there a connection between the seven Spirits and “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness”?

J.L.      That would be a manifest connection with the full outshining of power in the testimony by the Spirit for the continuance of things.

R.D.P.      I wondered if “the seven Spirits which are before his throne” are a suggestion of the extent of the service of the Holy Spirit; they are prominent in Revelation.

J.L.      Yes. We should all be thoroughly clear, including the younger ones, that there is only one Person referred to as the Holy Spirit, one of the persons of the Godhead. But the reference to “the seven Spirits” would be the full display of the manifest power and present testimony by the Spirit here. Their being before the throne would show that all that is here has to be maintained in accord with the rights of God, and therefore they are suited to be connected with the subject of faithfulness.

R.D.P.      Jesus said that the Spirit would receive of the things that are His and show them to us (John 16:15), and He also speaks of the Spirit as bringing “demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”, John 16:8. As you say, there is only one Holy Spirit but “the seven Spirits” seem to be a suggestion of the various aspects in which the Spirit serves.

J.L.      Yes, that is a good way to put it.

P.A.G.      Does the Lord’s own word in John 14 bear on it? He says, “but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded me, thus I do”. Is that the character of “the faithful witness”?

J.L.      Yes, very good. The Lord never departed from that, from His faithful commitment to the Father’s will and the Father’s interests, even going so far as to lay down His life in perfect accord with the will of His God and Father. It cost the Lord a great deal, and I have no doubt that faithfulness in the testimony will cost those who seek to stand faithfully a good deal. We should be encouraged that the Lord set out that pathway for us in such clarity and in such perfection, and yet alongside that, in His wonderful love. I dwell on that thought. It is very precious to me today, “To him who loves us”; that faithful Person who never at any point deviated from the requirements of God’s will has such a heart of love.

P.A.G.      His love for the Father was His motivation for His faithfulness in filling out the Father’s will. His love for His own is the same. There is of course a distinct relationship between the Lord as Man and His Father, but still it is the same love that motivated Him in His commitment to the will of God that is exercised towards His own.

J.L.      Yes, that is very true. That wonderful love characterises His very nature and came out in such full expression in every way in the Lord and, as we have often been reminded, love needs no motive; love is the motive. That is what motivated the Lord Jesus and impelled Him forward, if I can use that word carefully of the Lord, in faithfulness here as Man.

R.D.P-r.      I was thinking particularly of the spirit of that Man referred to in Matthew 12, the One that God had laid His hand upon. “He shall not strive or cry out, nor shall any one hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, until he bring forth judgment unto victory” (vv.19,20). I wondered whether God was laying help on One there that would be faithful and true.

J.L.      Yes, I am sure that is right, and will ultimately have its display when things are brought to full victory. I suppose that is a forward look to the coming kingdom. How perfectly suited Christ is to fill out everything in coming glory, though as Man here He was seen to be “the faithful witness” and as such addresses the church in Laodicea, as our brother reminded us too, which is very searching. The Lord would look for that feature then among His saints. Is that what was in your mind?

R.H.B.      Yes, I did not want to distract from your focusing our attention upon Christ, but I was struck as you were speaking that the Lord filled out perfectly as Man what the church was intended to be in that regard. There was a full expression of what God is. God was made known faithfully to men, but there was also the expression in Himself of all that God ever sought from man.

J.L.      Yes, it is good to bring in that line of thought in regard of the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus. I would like to be careful in what I say, but faithfulness is not just a personal determination to stand by some particular point of view that I have. Faithfulness must be connected with a standard, and it must be in relation to the truth. All that was to be known and brought out in testimony here was filled out in full measure by the Lord Jesus. I might take up a determined line of things and not be willing to depart from it, which might have nothing to do with faithfulness: it might just be sheer personal determination. I say that carefully, but faithfulness must be identified with the truth. All that came into expression in the Lord Jesus came out in that blessed way, but not apart from His wonderful love.

P.M.      Does His own word, that He is “Altogether that which I also say unto you” (John 8:25), lie behind “the faithful witness”?

J.L.            Yes, I am sure it would. How beautiful the perfect consistency that marked the Lord Jesus as Man.

P.M.      Paul says that the Lord Jesus “witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession”, 1 Tim.6:13. As we have often been reminded, that was largely in silence. It was what He was in Himself.

J.L.      Very good; what He was in Himself and in perfect consistency in every circumstance in which the Lord was found, even in the extreme circumstances of His trial before Pilate.

D.J.W.      Does love give character to the witness? It is not just a cold expression of light. Is there a certain sense in which you find witness even in a family? There is testimony to what the father’s desires are, and what his thoughts for the household would be, but it is done in love, and he testifies to that out of love. Does the father give a certain character to the expression of what is in his heart and in his mind?

J.L.      Yes. Sometimes we might think of a witness as one who may somewhat simply have seen or heard and therefore be able to give a report of something, but that is not quite the thought. The “faithful witness” was One who in Himself in every way was the very expression of what came out in His testimony here.

H.T.F.      It reminds me of Mr Deck’s hymn,

      ‘Faithful amidst unfaithfulness,

       ’Mid darkness only light’.      

The first verse ends,

      ‘Thy faithfulness to God’.            (Hymn 230)

The contrast was there because of His absolute commitment to His God.

J.L.      Yes, very good; He was faithful in every circumstance. We are reminded about that again in 2 Timothy chapter 2, where it is said of the Lord Jesus, “if we are unfaithful, he abides faithful” (v.13). How beautiful to take account of it in perfection in the Lord Jesus. I thought it well to begin with that, but then it is interesting that Paul makes reference to those who were faithful at Ephesus. That is a local company. I think faithfulness is only specifically identified with two companies, that in Ephesus and that in Colosse. I find it interesting that in both of these we have the highest truths brought out and enjoyed among the saints. Surely there is a connection to be noted there between faithful brethren and truth set forth that the saints should enjoy.

P.H.H.      Paul could have addressed ‘the saints and faithful who are at Ephesus’, but he writes “in Christ Jesus”. Do you have some thought for us as to that?

J.L.      I suppose it might be a reference to Paul’s confidence in the saints as viewing them “in Christ Jesus”. He does not refer to the Galatian saints in the same way. He somewhat despaired of the Galatians, and indicates that in his letter to them, although as we were saying in the home earlier this morning, a few verses after he expressed his concern about the Galatians, he then says, “I have confidence as to you in the Lord”, Gal.5:10. It is as if he was taking account of the work of God that was there, and that would be how he was viewing the saints here at Ephesus. They seemed at this point to be preserved in a practical way in keeping with their position in Christ Jesus; they were “faithful in Christ Jesus”.

P.H.H.      I am thankful for what you say. I was wondering whether as viewed here, they would be really those who were holding to their first love. It would emphasise the importance of what the Lord raised with the assembly in Ephesus in Revelation, “thou hast left thy first love” (Rev.2:4), but here “in Christ Jesus” would be maintained in the blessedness of that first love.

J.L.      Yes. I think they were still viewed in that happy position. Our brother was reminding us of the way that the church publicly has departed from that and failed in its public witness, but at this point there was something maintained and preserved thus far among the saints in Ephesus. Paul beautifully refers to them as “the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus”.

J.B.I.      It was said at the beginning that faithfulness is needed for the maintenance and enjoyment of the purpose of God, the high level of the truth. Would you say more about that, please?

J.L.      I believe that to be a fact; I am sure you would agree with that. If it is not maintained among us, there will be departure from the height and enjoyment of the blessed truth that has been revealed to us. I think it is an exercise that is to be maintained among us at all times. We often quote Paul’s word to Timothy exhorting him to pass things on to “faithful men, such as shall be competent to instruct others also”, 2 Tim.2:2. Clearly the continuance of the testimony requires that.

J.B.I.      I feel the importance of it, and how it is an incentive to be maintained in faithfulness so that what is so pleasurable to God according to His purpose might be fully enjoyed; not just in terms but the enjoyment of it.

J.L.      Yes, we need to be maintained in these things. I remember hearing about someone who I believe said to Mr Darby, ‘Do you not think, Mr Darby, that we need to come back to first principles?'. I understand he said in reply, ‘I trust I have never departed from them’. That is always what is needed. Faithfulness would help us to maintain what is right according to God and suited according to the unfolding of the truth.

R.W.McC.      I was thinking that faithfulness embraces the whole spectrum of all these features you are talking about. I could perhaps be regarded as faithful in one thing but perhaps lax in another, but in the Lord it was perfect. He was completely faultless, but it is wonderful that the apostle could draw out these features in the saints. Is it a good thing to be able to recognise and promote these things in the saints?

J.L.      That is good and very challenging, so that we might not be found in any way just as specialists in regard of some particular point and failing in others. I think that is a very good thing to bring to our attention and perhaps bears on the suitable way in which Paul addresses the saints both at Ephesus and Colosse. The full spectrum of the truth would largely be in mind in both these epistles.

R.D.P.      Paul also wrote, “I … exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling” (Eph.4:1), and “Be ye therefore imitators of God”, Eph.5:1. Faithful in Christ Jesus would involve not only the holding of that precious truth, but walking in it. There is quite a lot of exhortation to Ephesus as to the way they walked.

J.L.      Yes. There are two words that in a way stand together in connection with that. Paul frequently uses the word “according to”; that is the maintenance of the same standard throughout. It keeps things at the height of the way in which they have been set forth from God. Then your further reference to “therefore” shows that, as a consequence, things have to be worked out practically in keeping with that. That keeps us exercised in the course of our pathway here, that there should be the desire found to be preserved in faithfulness. I feel desirous today of encouraging all of us to be preserved in that feature. We should not be discouraged through seeking to continue faithfully, because it is clearly pleasing to God and has a divine reward.

R.D.P.      We might be able to recite the terms of the truth, even affectionately, but faithfulness would involve that not only is the truth light to us but it becomes law to us, and is to mark the believer’s walk, outlook and actions. Would faithfulness involve that too, as well as holding the terms?

J.L.      Yes, that is good, and though we are viewing it in connection with a local company such as Ephesus, it must be found in persons. Faithfulness is what characterises persons, and it can only be said of a local assembly in the measure in which it is found amongst the saints who reside there; faithfulness in persons.

R.H.B.      You spoke about faithfulness as causing suffering to the Lord, and it will cause suffering for the saints, so we might say that there are disincentives to it. Could you help us practically as to what would promote the desire in our hearts to be faithful?

J.L.      It might be an opportune point to pass on to the book of Numbers. How was it that Moses was maintained in faithfulness? He stands out as a remarkable figure, not only referred to by someone else as being faithful but by God Himself. God regarded him as faithful. Paul referred to some of the saints as faithful but it was God who designated Moses as a faithful person. Your question was, What helps us in being maintained in that? I thought it was very beautiful that Moses was referred to by God as one to whom He spoke “Mouth to mouth”. Does that raise the exercise about our own personal links in intimacy with divine Persons if we are in any measure going to be preserved in faithfulness in the course of the testimony?

R.H.B.      I was thinking of what it says of Moses that there came a point in his life where he chose rather “to suffer affliction along with the people of God than to have the temporary pleasure of sin”, Heb.11:25. He had great opportunity in Pharaoh’s house to go in a different direction, but there came a point of commitment to the people of God, who were in slavery. I suppose they would not have looked much like the people of God, but Moses got something in his soul that resulted in a commitment to the reproach of the Christ and choosing to suffer affliction along with an afflicted people. We need to come to a point like that if this is to be seen in us.

J.L.      I think all that is very interesting. These would be, we might say, the early stages of the evidence of Moses’ faithful commitment, and then I suppose the maintenance of that would be on account of God continuing to speak to him “Mouth to mouth”. I had the simple thought when looking at the scripture before the meeting that it was not mouth to ear; that is communication. “Mouth to mouth” is communion; there is a special intimacy involved. Our brother a moment or two ago said that it is not merely just the communication of light and that we seek to be faithful to it, though that is appropriate. But communion is more than that; it was the maintenance of personal links that seemed to sustain Moses in faithfulness in his course as he conducted the people of God through the wilderness.

R.D.P.      This was an unusual point in the course of the children of Israel, and may have raised some questions. Moses had taken an Ethiopian woman as wife, the Cushite, and it seemed to promote this opposition which was obviously latent there. It is very striking that it comes in a period in the history of the children of Israel when things were not so clear on the surface.

J.L.      I wondered in referring to Moses taking the Ethiopian woman, if Miriam and Aaron were searching for some personal failure that they could pinpoint in regard of Moses to detract from His faithfulness, but God did not allow that to take place. God brought in a serious rebuke because of the way that they sought to take the edge off the faithful word of Moses by finding fault with something that they decided he should not have done in his own personal life. We have to be careful that we do not detract from the edge and power of the faithfulness connected with God’s word and God’s testimony; “The word is faithful”.

A.M.      Because he was faithful and was known to be in communion with God, Moses was to be held in esteem. The word says, “Why then were ye not afraid … ?”. The saints are in communion with God; they are all to be held in esteem.

J.L.      I think that very much; we have to be so careful how we speak of the saints. God loves His people and God loved this faithful man. It is most remarkable that at the time this issue took place, the glory departed from the tent. I think it was the only occasion in the whole wilderness journey when the glory departed from the tent for a moment. We are told that in verse 10; God “went away; and the cloud departed from off the tent”. That is a very sobering thing, as if God was clearly making manifest His great displeasure in the way that a faithful man was spoken against. We have to be careful. But my thought was that alongside of this outstanding faithfulness marking this remarkable servant, here we have his meekness, here we have his intimacy of communion and here we have his priestly intercession for those that failed. Are we marked by these features in parallel, we might say, with the exercise to be faithful? I find that very searching.

J.B.I.      It is interesting that in 2 Timothy 2 it begins with faithfulness and ends with the expression of meekness. I was just wondering as to God’s pointing to meekness here in Moses along with his faithfulness. The way faithfulness is expressed is important.

J.L.      Yes, that is very good. God is spoken of as being faithful. I did notice in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, and in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul seems to dwell quite a bit on the faithfulness of God, and I was alluding a moment ago to the faithfulness of His word. Faithfulness is an attribute when seen in persons, but “The word is faithful”. That was said several times by the apostle Paul and shows how the truth stands without variation. The word has a slightly different meaning when connected with the testimony as set out. Faithfulness in persons is an attribute that is commendable in the sight of God, but when applied to “the word”, it means that it is something that neither changes nor varies at all. It has not to be amended or altered. What is of God stands; that is a feature of the truth that stands in all its perfection. Other things may change and vary but the truth stands.

P.A.G.      Would you say something about what God meant when He said that Moses “is faithful in all my house”?

J.L.      I can see that he was a man who was consistently marked by faithfulness. Our brother reminded us a moment ago that we might be faithful in regard of one point and be sadly failing in regard of something else, but that was not so with Moses. He was faithful in every matter connected with God’s house. I suppose in that way he was really a type of Christ as referred to as the Builder of the house and the outstanding faithfulness that marks the Lord Jesus. That is outlined in the epistle to the Hebrews for us.

P.A.G.      You have spoken about the faithful word as relating, I suppose, to the truth as conveyed to us. The truth is one whole. We get the expression in Ephesians 4, “as the truth is in Jesus” (v.21); it is entirely expressed in Him. Do you think faithfulness would involve acceptance of the truth in its entirety, not simply certain aspects of it but the way it has been expressed in its entirety?

J.L.      Yes I do. I like your use of the words ‘truth in its entirety’. I suppose that is a connection with what we were looking at a moment ago in Ephesians, because Paul had unfolded the whole counsel of God to the Ephesians saints. He had presented the truth in its entirety, and it would seem as if for the moment faithful saints at Ephesus were holding to the whole scope and fulness of it. It is seen in a person here, Moses, one who was faithful in regard of every feature that was proper to God’s house. These things are exercising for us.

D.J.W.      Is that seen in 1 John; “That which was from the beginning”, 1 John 1:1. We are brought back to that, and John writes that “we have seen, and bear witness” (v.2). Is that in relation to what they had witnessed in Christ Himself; is faithfulness really a witness?

J.L.      Yes, that is a good thought. They had witnessed the fulness in the standard set out in Christ Himself. God would bring us back to the divine standard, and as our brother was reminding us, the truth is one whole and we need to be preserved with a right outlook in regard of the whole scope and range of divine interests.

D.A.A.      In John’s gospel, we get a reference to the way in which we all have received of His fulness (John 1:16). I was wondering if something of that kind of fulness was coming out in Moses’ ministry.

J.L.      Yes, that is an interesting reference there to the “fulness”. It is said there, “and grace upon grace”. Fulness goes beyond grace. I say that carefully because there clearly was a fulness about the manifestation of grace in the Lord Jesus, but the word “and” is used there as if to indicate that fulness as expressed in Christ as Man had immense scope. I suppose we could say that “of his fulness” is infinite in its range of scope and perfection. How much have we drawn from the fulness of all that came out in Christ? We have certainly known something about the grace; how much it is needed among us, and we can surely say we have been the recipients of it, “grace upon grace”. But how much do we know about the fulness of all that came out in that blessed Man?

P.M.      Would you say something as to this reference, “the form of Jehovah doth he behold”?

J.L.      I hardly know what to say about that. We are in the immensely blessed time when the Father has been revealed and God has been declared. If the word ‘fulness’ was in any way appropriate, it would certainly apply to what is known at the present time. I suppose the form that Moses beheld was what could be known of God as far as it could be known at that point, but have you some particular thought about it?

P.M.      It must relate to the way that God had made Himself known at that point to Israel. But I was interested that Jehovah did not say that Moses had beheld His form; rather it was a continual characteristic of Moses, “the form of Jehovah doth he behold”. I wondered if the bearing of that would help us in faithfulness.

J.L.      Yes, I am sure it would. I think that the form in which Moses beheld Him must have given him a constant reminder of the holiness of God, because that came out manifestly at Sinai and at other times. I think the form in which he knew God must have continually brought before him that He was a holy God.

H.T.F.      Was the desire of Moses kept by God until it was fulfilled on the mount of transfiguration? Moses and Elijah, who appeared with him, were faithful men. Was that the compensation in glory?

J.L.      I am convinced that faithfulness has its reward. I would not like to convey that faithfulness on our part could in any sense put divine Persons under obligation, otherwise we would be concluding that our blessing was the fruit of fulfilled responsibility, which it is not. It is based entirely on the blessedness of divine grace. We owe all to the grace of God, but it is clear from Scripture that faithfulness carries its reward, and Moses must have enjoyed that when on the mount. What an answer and a testimony to God’s appreciation of that faithful man.

R.D.P-r.      We get a sense of God’s appreciation of faithfulness in this section, and I was thinking of what was said of the Lord, “in whom I have found my delight”. I wondered whether God speaking of Moses as “my servant” was evidence of His pleasure in his faithfulness.

J.L.      Yes, God found great pleasure in the faithfulness of Moses. God speaks of him as such, “he is faithful in all my house”. How pleasing it must have been to God to see the spirit that marked Moses. I think sometimes we might be inclined to associate hardness with faithfulness. Faithfulness must be in keeping with the requirements of the truth, but Moses was the meekest man. It says here, “the man Moses was very meek, above all men that were upon the face of the earth”. I was thinking too of the beautiful spirit that marked him in priestly intercession on the part of those who had so sadly failed in opposition at this point. He intercedes for them before God, “O God, heal her, I beseech thee!”. What a beautiful spirit.

R.D.P-r.      I was thinking too of the Lord’s spirit. He “gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”, 1 Pet.2:23. I wondered whether Moses shows that spirit in being very meek; he commits the matter into God’s hands for righteous judgment.

J.L.      Yes, he did not in any way make a claim for self-justification, but he took up priestly intercession for those that had failed. That is quite a different thing.

R.W.McC.      The reward is because of God’s appreciation. Is it for those to whom the Lord comes in the second watch and the third watch and finds them watching? He sits down and serves them. Would that show divine appreciation of faithfulness?

J.L.      Yes, there is divine appreciation, and it is a right thought that God brings in reward; indeed He is referred to as a Rewarder (Heb.11:6). But all I was guarding against was that we cannot in any way put divine Persons under obligation, though God clearly brings in His reward. Daniel’s history is an evidence of that. What a reward, what a blessing came in. That was faithfulness in the public circumstances of the testimony, and that is a challenge to us as well in these days. Do we walk in faithfulness in the course of our public testimony amongst men, or have we become so entangled in the affairs and conduct of all that proceeds in the world that we are somewhat indistinguishable? That would be a poor thing.

R.H.B.      There is a sanctifying effect in what you are saying because in the world around us, unfaithfulness is the order of the day; unfaithfulness in marriage relationships, in business relationships. In any commitment that men make, they may seek to renege on it. The thought of faithfulness as you are presenting it to us is very sanctifying when we are in a world that is characterised by the exact opposite.

J.L.      Yes, that is a good word to bring in, the sanctifying effect that this brings in. It was so in the practical lives of these persons; they were preserved from being tainted by all the worldly influence of Babylon’s system. I suppose in practice it shows that they were really maintained in the spirit of sanctification in their separate path, and God answered that with particular blessing. “At the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and were fatter in flesh than all the youths that ate of the king’s delicate food”. Daniel says, “Prove thy servants”. Would we stand up to the test if there was a proof wanted or looked for? Daniel did; it says of Daniel that he was faithful (Dan.6:4).

D.J.W.      Is that indicated in the last verse of Daniel; “stand in thy lot at the end of the days”, Dan.12:13? He had to be faithful through many different circumstances.

J.L.      Yes, a faithful man but a man greatly beloved, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved”, Dan.10:11. That is an attractive thought, that alongside the faithfulness found in him, there should be lovable features marking him that brought out such a report from God through the angel.

R.D.P.      It was a testing time here, because they were in the king’s palace that they might be taught “the learning and the language of the Chaldeans” (v.4). That is very much the order of the present day. The “learning and the language of the Chaldeans” is something that is being extensively taught today, especially to a younger generation. In God’s ordering they are to find their way through that, but this side of things you are speaking about comes out particularly. There is a different language and a different learning prevalent in the world today from that which belongs to God.

J.L.      Yes, that is very good. I feel for our young people and carry a lot of sympathy for parents bringing up young people. We did not pass through the same tests when we were young. We did have tests, there is no doubt about that, but things are very serious nowadays, and here is the judgment of Daniel that he might not have to pollute himself. That is the word he uses, “pollute himself”. That shows his judgment of these conditions that marked Babylon’s system. I suppose the more the sanctifying effect of our gatherings has its inward effect on our younger brethren, so it helps them and protects them as they move out into that environment where there is pollution. It would help their sensitivities and consciences to be activated to seek to be free of it

R.D.P.      The language and learning of the Chaldeans does not promote what is spiritual; it is calculated to raise questions about any other order of things. This is the background to the view of this education taken by these young persons, for they were relatively young persons.

J.L.      It would seem so, yes.

D.McL.      Daniel’s faithfulness was in what he was characteristically. Later on, he prayed three times to Jerusalem as he was used to doing, and here the pulse was his regular diet. Esau ate a dish of pulse, but it had no moral effect on him; it was just a one-off thing. This is Daniel’s regular diet.

J.L.      That is good. He was consistently marked by that feature, and then in the later time of particular difficulty, that was the very occasion when it says that he was found faithful because he was preserved in the maintenance of his personal links with God. We were speaking about that in relation to Moses, and here is another man now, Daniel, preserved in prayer in a very difficult time. We are in difficult times. I believe the Lord would encourage us today to be preserved in faithfulness in times of difficulty too.

D.J.W.      God granted Daniel favour. Must God support a person who is faithful in that way? I was thinking of the word which says, “the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro through the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him”, 2 Chron.16:9. Must God support a man who acts righteously in that way in faithfulness to Himself?

J.L.      Yes, God would delight to do that.

R.D.P-r.      I was thinking of Moses’ mother, and teaching in the house that would introduce a knowledge of the things of God and preserve us in relation to them. Solomon says, “Train up the child according to the tenor of his way, and when he is old he will not depart from it”, Prov.22:6. Is that one of the secrets of developing faithfulness?

J.L.      Yes, and sowing to the Spirit is an important thing so that we are developed in proper sensibilities and tastes. The Spirit of God would help us in that.

M.J.P.      The fruit of the Spirit is described as one fruit (Gal.5:22); thinking of our brother’s remark about not being experts in one segment, it is a complete matter. And at the beginning of Matthew, the Lord teaches us, in what we call the beatitudes, where to go to get blessing.

J.L.      Yes, all these things help. We do need to be developed in spiritual sensibilities and suitable tastes.

Could we have a very brief reference to Colossians? It is interesting that Tychicus is a “faithful minister”; that is a word to any who may in any way serve the Lord, to be faithful ministers, but Tychicus was also a “beloved brother” and “fellow-bondman in the Lord”. I do think, beloved brethren, we need to be most definitely preserved in faithfulness, but we do not want to develop a hard spirit. We need to be maintained in this brotherly spirit, “Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-bondman in the Lord”. There is a man committed in devotion, a fellow-bondman in the Lord. He was a fellow-worker with Paul, but he was a “fellow-bondman in the Lord”. Then “Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother”. Someone might say, how could you say that Onesimus was faithful following all that marked him previously? But there we are, the apostle says of Onesimus “the faithful and beloved brother”. There was a man fully recovered, serviceable, walking in faithfulness and commended because of it.

P.A.G.      Could you help us as to the matter of faithfulness in relation, not only to the world’s system, which we have seen in Daniel, but also in relation to other believers? You spoke rightly and appreciatively of other gatherings of the saints that we might not know about, other companies of believers, but we need to be faithful in relation to the place in which we have been set. It says of Onesimus, “who is one of you”. So we must be faithful in relation to our own brethren.

J.L.      We certainly must. That is a necessity. We have no licence to freely go out and walk with everyone and anyone. The truth would not permit that, and faithfulness on our part to the truth necessarily involves a path of separation. My exercise in referring to others was that we need to be preserved in lowliness and humility in our outlook as to ourselves. Moses was a meek man. He stood for what was right and he spoke faithfully. He was certainly a faithful minister as well. We cannot wander about in our pathways. We need to walk according to the light. We have been reminded of the divine standard, and faithfulness would help us to do that, but at the same time it is right and suitable that we should be respectful of the work of God.

R.H.B.      In relation to what our brother has said, is it right to think of faithfulness as essential to fellowship, because fellowship involves a bond, which is a special bond. I do not have that with everybody, but am I to be faithful to that bond and to those that are in it with me?

J.L.      Yes, I would thoroughly agree with that; that is a very appropriate word. A breakdown in faithfulness is destructive of the practical links in fellowship among us. I am sure what you say is right and has to be attended to by us. Our brother reminded us about Onesimus, “who is one of you”. We need to protect what has been preserved among us in happy links in fellowship, “one of you”, one of the local company.

P.M.      Is it a requirement to be faithful to God in relation to the calling into which we have been called (Eph.4:1)? Paul says to Timothy, “But thou, abide in those things”, 2 Tim.3:14. Does that require faithfulness to God?

J.L.      Yes, it is good to close with that. We have been looking at quite a number of aspects – faithfulness in the public testimony, faithfulness in service and faithfulness in ministry – but faithfulness to God is a prime requirement. I have no doubt that was seen perfectly in the Lord Jesus, ‘Faithful amidst unfaithfulness’ (Hymn 230), but faithful to every holy requirement of God the Father. How devoted and committed the Lord was to it.

R.D.P.      I recall a remark of Mr Coates; he said, if we will have the Lord Jesus in all His love and grace we must also have Him in His faithfulness to God².

J.L.      Yes, that is a beautiful blend.

R.W.McC.      Faithfulness seen in others would promote faithfulness in me, or should do. Is that your thought?

J.L.      I am sure it would work out that way; it would stimulate it as I see it in someone else. It would perhaps be an inducement to help me to stand more faithfully too. May we be helped to encourage one another.

Reading at Grimsby

13 February 2016