REPRESENTATION

^[p. 307] REPRESENTATION

Revelation 1:4 - 6, Revelation 1:9 - 11; John 21:15 - 17; Acts 26:13 - 16; Acts 9:7,20; 2 Corinthians 11:2

In what I have in mind to say on these scriptures, my object is that in the people of God at the present time, and until the end of the assembly’s sojourn on earth, there is to be a representation of Christ; that is, a representation of His personal feelings, affections, and sympathies. I have selected passages covering the three great servants who, in the beginning of the divine economy on earth, were personal representatives of the Lord. They, of course, were employed in the establishment and maintenance of the whole economy of God, for they had to do with the public administration of the kingdom. But I hope we shall see that, whilst this is so, they, in a peculiar way, represented Christ in a personal sense, for we have to distinguish what refers to the Lord, personally, from what is general. The revelation of God in Christ involves the whole truth as to God; but, then, there is bound up in that what is special to Christ.

I take up John first, because he, in a peculiar way, represents what is special to Christ. So, also, do Peter and Paul — the last in a more extended way than any. But I take up John first, because it is through his ministry that the great recovery, the benefits of which we all enjoy at the present time, came about. He was, as you know, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. It will be observed that he says, “that disciple whom Jesus loved” — not the disciple whom Jesus loves. I do not apprehend that John intended to convey that he, of all others throughout the dispensation, had that special place. He had it at one time. I do not say that he lost it; but he would make room for those who followed, for ^[p. 308] love always makes room for possibilities; and when we think of lovableness, the possibilities are very great. He was the disciple whom Jesus loved. He received no special commission, as Peter did, and as Paul did; but, being in the secret of love, he afforded the Lord a ready vessel of reserve — one that is content to wait, one who is content to be out of view, if need be, if the requirements of love necessitated it. Love never fails; and as John was the loved one, he was the ready vessel of reserve. He it is who tells us that, when the multitude had to be fed, the Lord knew, Himself, what He would do. And so, in the exigencies of the great departure which the Lord well foreknew — He knew, Himself, what He would do; and He had in John a ready vessel, one who styles himself in the book of Revelation a bondman of Christ. So that John represents the Lord in the new sorrowful circumstances of the great departure and apostasy that ensued. The Lord had in John one in whom He could confide; he was His confidant, as we may say. It is an immense thing, dear brethren, to be in the confidence of the Lord at the present time in regard of what exists, and in the whole sphere to which His name is publicly attached. He is concerned about it, His name is involved in it. And so it is an immense thing to be in the secret, and to know what He Himself is doing. He knew what He would do; and He would let those whom He loves into the secret of what He is doing; so that there should be in the midst of it here, those who are personally representative of His feelings, of His resentment of the insults offered to Him, of His appreciation of any little bit of regard there may be for Him in the midst of these things. And so, in John, there is one to whom He can open up, as it were, His mind. And John, in beautiful correspondence with his Master, addresses the assemblies. You will observe the personal character of the ^[p. 309] addresses — John to the seven assemblies. In addressing them, he has nothing personally to say against them. All that was embodied in the letters. The Lord’s resentment and announcements of judgment, and at the same time expressions of sympathy and interest and affection, were all involved and bound up in the Revelation — the letters or addresses to the seven assemblies — but John addresses the assemblies in a personal way. “John, to the seven assemblies”. There could be nothing finer, dear brethren, than the manner in which he rises above the sorrowful situation that was beginning to take place, in addressing himself to the assemblies. He is in keeping, as I said, with Christ — he represents Him personally.

And then, having addressed them in terms of grace, he further says, “I, John, your brother, and companion in tribulation”. We thus learn from this great servant how to face those conditions. We are to be affected, as the Lord is, by them, but we are to address ourselves to them according to His way. So that John places himself in the midst; for we are all, outwardly, in the same position — we are all in the sphere of profession; and we can address ourselves, singling out those who are genuine, wherever they may be, and convey to them our relationship with them. They are our relations, they are our brethren; and if we are to represent the feelings and sympathies and affections of Christ for them, it is incumbent upon us to place ourselves alongside of them, as “our brothers”, or brethren, and “companions in tribulation”.

And so, you find in these addresses most remarkable evidences of personal interest. It says, “I, John”, and in the end of the book, “I, Jesus”. I would say to every believer here, whatever your associations are, the Lord Jesus has a personal interest in you. He would place Himself outside your door, even if it has been closed against Him for years.

^[p. 310] Hence, it says in the last address — that to Laodicea — “Behold, I stand at the door, and am knocking”. Revelation 3:20. What interest there is in the heart of Jesus for you. It may be you have never opened the door to Him, or it may be that, having opened it once, you have closed it. Nevertheless, His personal interest in you is undimmed; He stands, Himself, at your door. He says, “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him”. Revelation 3:20. How personal He is! He would come into your circumstances and sup with you; but it is to the end that you might sup with Him. This subject of Revelation is very great, and I can only touch on it in this way.

I now turn to Peter. I take these scriptures up in this order, because the order that I indicate is the way in which the Lord reaches us, the order in which He sustains us by food, the order in which He leads us on and introduces us into the great truth of the mystery. So, in turning to Peter, I need not enlarge on the scriptures that call attention to the Lord’s personal dealings with him. He stands out, indeed, as a model for us, one who was taken up and dealt with by the Lord in the most personal way, to the end that he, in his turn, might know how to deal with others as representative of the Lord’s personal interest in them. If there is anything that one covets it is to be able to convey to souls the Lord’s personal interest in them. So Peter is, himself, the subject of the Lord’s personal dealings. How personal the Lord was with Peter in connection with his conversion! He got into Peter’s boat; He would get as near as possible to him. And then, again, He addresses Himself personally to Simon in regard to the foundation of the assembly. He says, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven”, Matthew 16:17. The Father had made it a special personal matter to reveal to Peter who Jesus was. And Jesus says, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter”, Matthew 16:18. You see how personal He was with him. It was not only that Peter should know how the Lord loved and cared for him, but that he should become a qualified vessel on earth to convey his own personal feelings — feelings of grace — to others. And so the Lord says to him, “Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”, Luke 22:31,32. How much hung on that one man! What a conflict there was between Christ and the devil for that one man! Satan would have him, but Jesus was victorious, and Jesus has him. And so here He looks on Peter, as we have often remarked. In the midst of His unspeakable sufferings, the Lord has time and thought for His erring one, as He has for you tonight, if there be an erring one here. He looked upon Peter as the cock crew. That look was enough, for Peter went out and wept bitterly. Think of the wonderful place Peter had in the mind and heart of Christ, as He had gone through the unspeakable sufferings of Calvary! And when the Lord was risen, the young man says to the women, “Tell his disciples and Peter”, Mark 16:7. And, again, after the Lord had risen, He “appeared to Simon”, Luke 24:34. You see how personal all that was. And so, now, as they dine, the Lord speaks to him personally; He sets him up here in confidence; He says, “Feed my Iambs”, “Shepherd my sheep”, “Feed my sheep”. You see how the order follows, as I remarked.

If the personal interest has a successful result in one opening the door to Christ, the next great thing is that you should sup with Him. He sups with you, but He would have you to feed at His table; and there is abundance there. Peter, being the Lord’s confidant, as I may say, is qualified through personal acquaintance with Christ, to convey His personal ^[p. 312] feelings, hospitality, and bounty, so that you should be nourished. Food is not only for those who are walking in the truth — food is for every one of the people of God, His lambs, His sheep. We have to consider the poor of Zion — they have all to be fed. “I will satisfy her poor”, Psalm 132:15. How many there are! But the disposition of the Lord is to satisfy the poor with bread; and so He would have us as so many Peters, confidants, knowing Him in such a way as to be able to convey to souls the Lord’s bounty and hospitality, for there is abundance with Him. Hence, I say, Peter represents that side of personal representation that ministers to and cares for the needs and the food the people of God require.

When one comes to Paul, one has to move and speak slowly. Paul is the great pattern vessel. Those other two great servants have their relative positions, as I have said; but Paul’s position is unique. Nevertheless, Paul is set before us as a pattern, that we should be here as representative of the feelings and affections of Christ for the assembly. It is a wonderful thing, dear brethren, that the truth of Christ and the assembly has been recovered; and, as recovered, it is essential that there should be those here in the light of Christ’s feelings and sympathies and affections in regard of the assembly. And so, at this juncture, in the Acts, Paul is dealt with in the most personal way by the Lord. Paul says, “A light from heaven”. Everything is in the light. “At midday”, he says, “O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me”. Just think of it, the light was brighter than the sun; wonderful things were in the heart and mind of Christ to be disclosed; and the light must be great, so that these things should be seen in all their proper proportions. The Lord says to Paul, in the Hebrew language — and here, again, consider how personal the ^[p. 313] Lord was with Paul, how sympathetic He was with Paul’s feelings as a Hebrew — “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” The Lord says, “I am Jesus”. Think of Jesus in heaven, beloved, introducing Himself to such a man as Saul upon earth. The Lord says to him — you are persecuting Me. In that Me, as we have often remarked, was wrapped up the great truth of the assembly, and, doubtless, Paul felt the point of it, for his hands were reeking with the blood of Jesus’ martyrs. How differently the saints would be viewed in his eyes henceforth! He was not meet to be called an apostle, he says, because he persecuted the assembly. Such was his sense of the value of the assembly in the mind of the Lord, that he felt he was utterly unworthy even to be called an apostle, because, in past days, he had persecuted it. But, nevertheless, the Lord knew His man, and He will have this vessel, and so He speaks to him in the Hebrew language, and says, “It is hard for thee”. How His sympathies poured into the lacerated soul of that penitent as he fell to the earth; what an introduction to him of Jesus! So that now the Lord has got him securely forever, as the sequel shows.

In chapter 9:20, it says of Saul, that he preached in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Now I wanted, my dear brethren, to dwell for a moment on this remarkable fact, that it was the idea of the Son of God that came into his soul, for no position can be greater than that one should be here representing the thoughts and feelings of the Son of God. Think of that! And so, Paul says later: God, who revealed His Son in me. God revealed His Son in Paul. It is not a question now of Paul standing for the great truth of the Son, of the Person of Jesus — that is John’s service in the main. What was revealed in Paul was that Jesus was God’s Son in relation to men. Would that we understood that, that the Son of God is in relation to men! So that Paul says,

“^[p. 314] God ... was pleased to reveal his Son in me, that I might announce him as glad tidings amongst the nations”. Galatians 1:16. It is the Son of God in relation to men. Think of the Son of God, dear brethren, in relation to our race; think of how dignified the race has become, since the Son has become a Man; the Son of God in relation to men, is what was revealed in Paul’s heart, that he might announce Him as glad tidings amongst the nations. It is not, as I remarked, a question of His deity, although all that is wrapped up in it. The idea in the gospel is that the Son of God is in relation to men.

And what works out in the development of the truth is that the Son takes account of men severally. So he announces Him as glad tidings among the nations. The Son of God is watching for isolated ones. He has a new system altogether. He does not take men up en masse, He takes us up as isolated ones. And so, the great example of the truth of the Son of God is set out in John 9. The principle of the Son of God in relation to men is, “Me and thee”. Matthew 17:27 can anything be greater in the way of glad tidings than that the Son of God is interested in you and me? He would attach you and me firmly to Himself for ever. He is looking for you in isolation. He comes down, in Luke 9, to the plain; that is, to the level of where men are. In John 9 He came down to where the blind man was, and He opened his eyes, but he did not stay by Him. But when Jesus heard that they had cast him out, He finds him. The principle underlying the assembly is that the Son finds every one of us severally, and attaches us firmly to Himself for ever. It is only in the apprehension of the Son that I am in the assembly according to God. So it says, “Jesus heard that they had cast him out”. John 9:35. The blind man was isolated, you see. His confession of Jesus had isolated him religiously. I wonder if there is one here tonight who is isolated ^[p. 315] religiously. You find your former associations stifling. All human organisations are stifling; there is no breath there for a Christian to breathe. The spirit of the world is there, and if you confess Christ faithfully, you will soon be isolated, and you may thank God for it, because the Son of God finds you. He is looking for you. The Lord Jesus says to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” That is the great question. You see, it is the Son of God, and one man. It is the Lord again saying, “Me and thee”. Matthew 17:27. How lovely to be taken into such companionship! It is no less than that, beloved. If there is an isolated soul here tonight, I say to you, it is nothing less than that. The Son of God is seeking your company. The man replies, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” John 9:36. He is ready for it — I wonder if you are. The Lord’s answer comes immediately, “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee”, John 9:37. What can be greater gospel, beloved, than that, as Paul says, “I might announce him as glad tidings”? Galatians 1:16. The Son of God seeks out a solitary one, and offers him His company.

And what follows? Ah, Paul says, “The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. That underlies the great truth of the assembly. Think of the Son of God having you in His heart when He died! Can anything transcend that in the way of love and personal interest? He might have said, He loves me. But he did not. He said, “He loved me”. It is past history. It is present history, of course, but he is emphasising past history, that, when the Son of God died, He loved him. Well might he, indeed, announce such a One as glad tidings. What can transcend such glad tidings as that, that the Son of God loves one person, and dies for him? And now He offers him His company. He says: ‘I want your company, I offer you Mine’. So that we have,

^[p. 316] thus, in Paul, one who can personally represent the feelings and sympathies and power of the Son of God.

But then, not only that, Christ loved the assembly. Paul knew that, and he would subserve that. He was Christ’s bondman for them. I liken these great servants to the three mighty men of David, who heard him say, “Oh, that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is in the gate!” 2 Samuel 23:15. They got near enough to the Lord to know the breathings of His heart. They could, therefore, be personally representative of His affections and feelings. And so the apostle Paul got the light of the assembly, according to what it is to Christ. In that one man the Lord expressed what was wrapped up in the assembly, and Paul always had it before him.

Now, dear brethren, this subject is great, but I believe you will follow me in what I am saying about Paul. The Lord looks for correspondence with the service — with the example of those great servants at the present time. He looks for sympathy with Himself in His affections, and sympathies for the assembly. The assembly has taken form, as I may say, before His eyes, in a very meagre and weak way in our day; but, nevertheless, He sees it, and He values those who are in sympathy with Him in it. In Revelation 3, the Lord says to the assembly in Philadelphia, “I also will keep thee”, Revelation 3:10 and He had said, “I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee”. Revelation 3:9. He speaks there of the assembly. And the apostle Paul knew what was in the Lord’s heart; he knew what He sought, and, from the outset, he was the Lord’s personal representative, in this world, in regard of the assembly. And so, in the passage I read in 2 Corinthians 11:2, he says, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ”. You see how entirely sympathetic he was with the Lord in regard to the Corinthians. He found them ^[p. 317] in their nakedness. The Lord had told him He had much people in that city, and Paul found them in their unloveliness. But he would clothe them and espouse them to Christ as a chaste virgin, and he did. How he laboured in his letters and prayers, that they should be maintained according to that.

That is the service, dear brethren, that is so important at the present time. In John you have the delivering ministry; in Peter you have the feeding ministry; in Paul the ministry of the assembly — the formation and purification and sanctification of the assembly, in order that it should be presented to Christ suitably. The result, indeed, is seen at the end of Revelation, where it says, The Lamb’s “wife has made herself ready”. Revelation 19:7. How could she be ready for Him, were it not that, by ministry through devoted servants, the requirements of Christ were brought to her attention? Therefore, she learns what is suitable, and she has “made herself ready”.