GENERATION
[p. 106] GENERATION
Matthew 15: 21 - 28; 1 Peter 2: 9
It is thought to speak about generation. We have to distinguish between generation, which refers to the family, and creation; both thoughts apply to christians, and men generally. It is assumed that those present now are christians, and with this belief one will have more liberty than if this were not so. The idea of generation is old, as old as man, if not older. It is applied to seen things, to physical things, but it is applied in general to persons. There are two words used in Scripture for speaking about generation, one of which refers to a circle, to an association of persons, who are near to us by natural or other relationship; the other word refers more to the origin of things. There are many families in the Old Testament referred to as generations, but not in the sense of what is now before me. There are generations in the New Testament too, especially in the gospel of Matthew. The first chapter deals with the matter very exhaustively; it mentions forty-two generations, as if God in working thus would call attention to the process by which He reaches His end; it is an end worked out through all these generations. All descended from one man, that is Abraham, not simply from God. There can be no doubt that God intended to work out through the process a perfect result, a perfect man, a perfect family. If that could have been effected without forty-two generations God would have done it, but God has elected to work out all by the Man by whom He could accomplish all things. God not only wished to distinguish Christ, for Jesus Christ is the first name in the book of Matthew, but the generations preceding Him, it is not that Christ is in the process, but Christ is reached as a result of the process in us.
[p. 107] Whatever we may think of the generations in detail, there was one thought in the mind of God and that was, that that family should be worked out from His point of view through these forty-two generations. Each generation has its own distinction, and every head has its own distinction.
I have elected to read from Matthew because it speaks of the very thing that I have before me. In chapter 15 he speaks about one who has no distinction at all as to generation, but is referred to by the Lord indirectly, or we might even say directly, as a dog. The word thus used in a spiritual sense, shows that the gentiles were in His mind according to their discreditable histories. It is not my purpose to enter into the negative side of the human race, but one might speak of the Asiatic race as peculiarly discreditable. Israel, it is true, was derived from an Asiatic, that is to say, from Abraham himself; but God took account of Abraham as of one who was creditable. He called him alone, as Isaiah tells us, “I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him”, Isaiah 51: 2. He never said that of any other. Later Jacob was blessed, Isaac was blessed, and the twelve tribes were blessed. The children of Israel were blessed, for God intended to work out His thoughts in the continuing generations through them, and to this end He called Abraham alone and blessed him. We have to take note of the nations of Asia when we think of Abraham being called alone.
In the passage that I read in Matthew we have a woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon, an unclean demon. The mother told the Lord about her daughter; she cried out to him about her daughter, saying that she had an unclean demon, but He said nothing to her, “he did not answer her a word”. We have to learn everything from Christ and this is one of the things. He did not answer her a word. This is so, I might say, unendurable to the disciples,
[p. 108] that they would have dismissed her, but the Lord at length said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs”, she answered “Truth, Lord: [p. 112] yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”. Her words show that she had some knowledge of the truth. One of the certain things I can say at this time is that there is great need of the knowledge of the truth. The importance of the knowledge of the truth cannot be overstated, and above all the truth about God, and following that the truth about ourselves severally, and then about the whole of us together; that is, all christians.
We should understand that we are a generation, “a chosen generation”, a generation specially selected by God. One is not at all attempting to eulogise the brethren; one would not do it, because of being one of them; at the same time there are none like them; they are the brethren of Christ. The Lord Himself said, “One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren”, Matthew 23: 8. That is a fine word and the Lord is, you might say, eulogising His own, assuring them of what they were to each other, even as we are here today, we are all brethren. Along with others I rejoice in it myself, for I am one of them too; I should say, one of you. It was said about Judas, “One of you shall betray me” (John 13: 21), so that it is good to search our hearts, in view of the possibility of betrayal of the Lord Jesus. It is most touching, that in taking up the subject of the Lord’s supper in the letter to the Corinthians, the apostle says “that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it” 1 Corinthians 11: 23, 24. On the night in which He was betrayed. Betrayed by whom? He had said “one of you”. I am not saying that such a one is here, for I have already intimated that I think the contrary, and I rejoice in it that we are really brethren and not [p. 109] betrayers of Christ. The apostle Paul, however, in taking up the subject of the Lord’s supper in the first letter to the Corinthians, says, “The Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread”. The apostle said that deliberately, and with concern too, for among the Corinthians, alas, some were betrayers. They were not all real, some were without the knowledge of God. The apostle says further in writing to them that he was “in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience shall have been fulfilled”, 2 Corinthians 10:6. He was speaking to the Corinthians, for there were some of them who had done terrible things as will be seen by reference to later chapters of the second epistle. It is a most solemn thing that there should be among real christians anyone who betrays Christ.
I must refer again to the passage in Matthew 15 and the woman who spoke to the Lord saying that her daughter had a demon, an unclean demon. He did not answer her at first, but allowed her to wait, when she begged of Him about her daughter. He did not answer a word, but after some delay said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs”. The children’s bread! What did the Lord have in mind? The children refers to a notable people, a family, not simply the human race, but to a family who love the Lord, a distinguished family. The Lord had that in mind, and, dear brethren, we all belong to that family. We are the children; the word refers to christians, a generation, but as a family. The Lord was not ready according to His words, He was not ready to take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs. The word dogs would mean that according to human standards there was not anything of importance in those so designated; they are of little or no value. The Lord said it is not meet to give to such the children’s bread. The children belong to a distinguished family. But then the [p. 110] woman, while passing through this searching process, is not turned aside, and the Lord valued that. If there is anyone who is careless as to these things, the Lord is not valuing your attitude. The woman was equal to the testing and the Lord loved that. She replied, “Truth, Lord”. She says, so to speak, ‘You may think of me as a little dog, not to be thought of at all, only to belong outside’, for “without are dogs”. She would say, in her heart to the Lord, ‘Whatever You might say about me and how little I am, I want to say this that even the dogs partake of the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table’. She answered intelligently, so the Lord continues and says more. I mention that because of the importance of brethren not only speaking intelligently, but hearing intelligently, for whatever is said we should see to it that we know what is meant. We should not speak in riddles, but say what is intelligible and plainly to be understood. Mark tells us in chapter 12 of his gospel that when the Lord saw that a man answered intelligently He went on to say more to him. It is always very interesting to read the different incidents in which the Lord goes on to speak more because of certain things in the hearers. He is influenced, I speak reverently, by the hearers. As to what I am saying now, I hope the brethren are listening intelligently. So one said “Understandest thou what thou readest?” Acts 8: 30. That was Philip’s word to the eunuch, a chancellor under Queen Candace of the Ethiopians. He recognised that he could not understand unless somebody taught him; it shewed intelligence for him to say that.
I would say to you, dear brethren, that we have to be taught. You may say, Well, I know I have to learn; yes, but you have to be taught. Christianity is established and continued on the principle and basis of teaching. Therefore you have to get a teacher to be taught. You are to learn by teaching [p. 111] and therefore I would urge the brethren to see to it that the teaching and what you are taking in by way of teaching is intelligible to you. See what is meant, “Understandest thou ... ?” as I have said before. So the woman said to the Lord, “The dogs eat of the crumbs”. She recognised her own position in saying it. The Lord intended it thus. He would not use such words if He did not intend it. He used it designedly and she was to understand that she was to take that place and she did. She says, “Truth, Lord”. She understood the truth, and the truth was being taught to her; the Lord was teaching her, and she was learning. As a result He says, “O woman, great is thy faith”, Matthew 15: 28. I should like to be spoken of in that way as one who has great faith; not as Peter was told, “O thou of little faith”, Matthew 14: 31. Christianity is based on faith and great faith. The Lord said to Thomas, “Blessed they who have not seen and have believed”, John 20: 29. It is a time of great opposition to the truth and we need to meet it with great faith, not great teachers or great preachers. I insist on this matter of faith, great faith. The Lord said it, because of what the woman said, and her child was healed.
Well now to come to the thought of generations. This woman was of the generation spoken of in Matthew. She was a distinguished woman. Joseph is distinguished in Matthew more than he is in Luke, and he is spoken of as a righteous man; he belongs to the generation which is in my mind at this time, and this woman too, she belonged to it. She was possessed of great faith. There are few described in that sense, but she was one of them, she belonged to that generation and I wish everybody here to try and take it in, in order to apprehend what a generation we christians belong to. It is a distinguished generation and we learn in her how we come into it. She came into it, because she said, “Truth, Lord:
yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”, Matthew 15: 27. Even of the children’s crumbs, The Lord had spoken of the children in the sense of a great people; that is to say, a distinguished family. She spake of the dogs, the little dogs, for she was acquiring the idea of smallness in herself and others. The Lord’s dealings with her were bringing out what she was in His mind and she was becoming one of the personnel of the great generation recorded in the gospel of Matthew. The Lord had lifted her, elevated her, her own words enabling the Lord to do that. In recording it in Scripture the Lord means it for us. How many sermons have been preached from it and there will be more! I am doing my best now to commend it to you, this matter of generation and how we come into it. It is by taking the low place and apprehending the Lord’s teaching.
We thus come into this distinguished family. The woman laid hold of what He meant, she knew what He meant and she said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”. The generation I am speaking of is not simply Jewish, but a generation derived from among the gentiles, those who formerly had no generation of any dignity before God. The woman had no generation, she had no distinction, but now she has the greatest distinctions, and comes into the greatest family, a family elevated according to her own words, but by the words of Christ, “O woman, great is thy faith”. The Lord leaves her with us, and we are glad to have her; you know what I mean, we are glad to have all these records left by the Lord for use in ministry, as the woman in John 12, or the one in Matthew 26 who is doubtless Mary of Bethany, whom He leaves with us. The Lord says that wherever this gospel is preached the woman of Matthew 26 is to be mentioned, for “she hath done what she could”. We are glad to have her. She is distinguished and is of such use in the ministry. We can be assured as using these persons of the quality of the ministry and of variety in the subjects that we can bring forward. The Lord has put these into our hands to use to instruct His people.
I pass on now to speak of Peter for a little while. The chapter I read says that “ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”. The apostle Peter is speaking about the Jews at that time. He was assigned by the Lord to the circumcision; that is to say, the Jews. Taking up the gospel it was in mind that they should come into this family, this chosen generation, this royal priesthood, and Peter shows ability in using adjectives, he uses a fine vocabulary in order to express his thoughts, to express the truth. Right language is essential to the preaching, essential to the truth. I suppose it began with God. In the beginning of Genesis we read of God speaking. God said, “Let there be light”. He said to Moses, “Who hath made man’s mouth?” Exodus 4: 11. God made it. The greatest masterpiece we might say in creation. God does not belong to creation. He is a Creator, Christ is a Creator, the Spirit of God had His part in the creation. I would say that man’s mouth is the greatest item in the workmanship of God in the creation; the greatest creative act of God. As brought into God’s marvellous light our mouths are to show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. These praises are to come from man’s mouth, so that it is a question for each one of keeping his mouth. God says to Moses, Who made man’s mouth? Moses did not answer that, but he answered it in time in the inwards of his heart. He said to Jehovah, “Shew me thy glory”, Exodus 33: 18. That is what he said to Jehovah, and God did show him His glory. Moses saw the glory in the face of Jesus, he saw the glory of God there. He saw it on the mount of transfiguration, I would say; that is what I wish to finish with. As belonging to this chosen generation, this royal priesthood, this holy nation, this peculiar people, we are to show forth the praises of Him who has called us from darkness into His marvellous light. Peter’s vocabulary of adjectives in the expression of these things is worthy of our consideration; as we look into it we shall see what words he uses and how he leads on to God and His praises. It is for each of us to lay hold of the idea of faith and to have a great faith, because christianity is characterised by great faith. Those who are characteristically true christians are those who have not seen and yet have believed. That is great faith. I am endeavouring to speak so as to force into our minds in some sense the idea of great faith. It is a time of great opposition to the truth and what meets that is great faith, great understanding, and then great teaching; that is, the teaching of the great things of God. We need teachers, for it is a time of learning, and there is much to learn before the end.