REMAINING IN THE WAY OR LEAVING IT
[p. 435] REMAINING IN THE WAY OR LEAVING IT
Mark 10: 17 - 22; Acts 18: 24 - 28
The positive side of the truth is in mind in connection with Apollos and the negative side in the young man in Mark 10, who, you will observe, ran into the way; it says, “And as he went forth into the way, a person ran up to him”. Apollos had also come into the way, and he is especially the one in mind to be spoken about. He remained in the way; the young man did not. Maybe some here tonight have been in the way, and have left it; in the language of scripture, which says, “if he draw back, my soul does not take pleasure in him”; but the positive side is, “we are not drawers back to perdition, but of faith to saving the soul”, Hebrews 10: 38 and 39. There is pleasure in addressing such brethren; I never have any difficulty to address the saints, but often feel difficulty in addressing unbelievers. The saints generally listen to “the implanted word”, which as James 1: 21 says, “is able to save your souls”. The word has the power. There is the sense of being saved by endurance to the end; and saved by water; there is also the idea of being saved “as through the fire” — 1 Corinthians 3: 15. Noah and his family were “saved through water”, 1 Peter 3: 20. So Paul speaks to those at Corinth who would need to be saved “as through the fire”, their works being burnt up, they themselves being saved. It is of great importance to see how you have been saved. Each will be saved of course by the Lord Jesus, as Saviour, but these are features by which we are saved; and continuing to the end is a great and essential matter, that is that we are not likely to run into the way, and leave it as the young man did. It says, “And Jesus looking upon him loved him” — verse 21; how He could love one so disappointing is a challenge to our minds. But one thing can be said, that our thoughts [p. 436] may trammel what divine Persons do and say, and the scripture will tell us how He could love that rich young man. It is worth while thinking of; the variety of ways. They can act by Themselves, unhampered by our thoughts and creeds and such things; They have Their own outlook and point of view, and what They do and have done, and have recently done, we must accept. One would hesitate to say the Lord would love an unconverted young man here; before His death things were different; it says of Him in Psalm 113: 6, “Who humbleth himself to look on the heavens and on the earth”; He could address men as they were. If one ran into the way, He gave him credit for it; He did not ridicule him. This young man says, “Good Teacher” or as the Authorised version says, “Good Master”; today many servants have become masters, and vice versa; the Lord did not correct him in that, but in his thoughts, “Why callest thou me good? no one is good but one, that is God”; that is the divine way, to direct our thoughts to God, who is “the Father, of whom all things, and we for him”, 1 Corinthians 8: 6. Some say God is the Father of all men; scripture does not say so, but it says, “One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all”, Ephesians 4: 6; He is the Governor of the universe, but He is “in us all”; we are the “us”. We may regard ourselves as under God, and that He is our Father; we have no greater authority than this, the authority of the Lord Jesus. My idea is to stress the thought of being taught. The first title by which His first followers called Him was ‘Teacher’, or “Rabbi”; they left John and followed Jesus, they had found a better Teacher, John 1: 38. In Bethany a woman anointed Him upon His head, which means His supreme intelligence as a Teacher. To Him Mary Magdalene says the same in effect, “Rabboni, which means Teacher”, John 20: 16. I am thinking now of the idea of being taught, and how ready the Lord is to teach us. It is not [p. 437] only the things that are said, but it is a gift, and means power; we have “shepherds and teachers” (Ephesians 4: 11), both being one gift, meaning care and teaching; the gifts are persons in each case. We are wonderfully furnished by the Lord to meet the current needs in our souls. “Good Teacher ... Why callest thou me good?” That is the teacher and the teaching; we can teach others what we have in power in our souls; and if it is in power in your soul, you will pass it on in power. Then we have the following remarks in the passage. The Lord loved him, and in that regard we need to be taught. He might love one then, but not now. He was there as the Creator. He had come down and so could love. This young man called Him, “Good Teacher”, he respected Him, “and kneeling to him” in the way; the Lord did not pass him, nor blind Bartimaeus either (Mark 10: 46), it says He “desired him to be called”; it was grace reigning; presently it would “reign through righteousness” — Romans 5: 21; it was the Lord here in His own personal rights on behalf of God. In Luke 7 the centurion says, “I also am a man placed under authority” — verse 8; another beside the Lord who was “under authority”, He was under the Father’s authority. The Lord recognized the centurion as a man under authority, and a good man who loved his servant; a rare thing, for a bondman meant in those days slavery. But the centurion loved his own servant, who was sick, and he besought the Lord for him; so it says (Luke 7: 9), “And Jesus hearing this wondered at him, and turning to the crowd following him said, I say to you, Not even in Israel have I found so great faith”, the Lord recognized it. In Mark 12 one of the scribes asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first commandment of all is, Hear, Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding, and with [p. 438] all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And a second like it is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is not another commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him, Right, teacher; thou hast spoken according to the truth. For he is one, and there is none other besides him; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the intelligence, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as one’s self, is more than all the burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And Jesus, seeing that he had answered intelligently, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared question him any more”, verses 28 to 34. The Lord saw that he had answered intelligently, for He named things and persons, as the last Adam. So this young man ran into the way, and certain things ensued; they are so beautiful, these conversations in the gospels; the Lord of glory doing it; it all shews His wonderful affection.
Now to proceed to my main subject. I have finished with this young man, who ran into the way, that none of us may be found running into the way, and leaving it, for “if he draw back, my soul does not take pleasure in him”. The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are very discriminating in respect of love.
Now as to Apollos and how he came into the way; a most remarkable young man, who came from Alexandria, and was born there. He was “an eloquent man, who was mighty in the scriptures”, Acts 18: 24. He was in the way, he knew “the way of the Lord”, not yet “the way of God”; we will speak of that in a moment. “He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in his spirit, he spoke and taught exactly the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue” — verses 25 and 26; presently Aquila and Priscilla spoke to him “the way of God”. “He was instructed in the way of the Lord”, and [p. 439] my word is that instruction is a most important thing. I have spoken of the two disciples who left John the baptist; there are also Mary of Bethany, Mary of Magdala, Nathanael, and many more, and many here; nearly all in this hall are instructed persons. One sees it characteristically among the brethren; they are instructed; they have been taught; and so Apollos comes up to this standard. He was “instructed in the way of the Lord”, a properly selected phrase, and so is the other one mentioned, “the way of God”. I am now endeavouring to reach this point. Aquila and Priscilla observed this man; they are to be noted. Aquila was born in Pontus; he was a Jew, and his wife Priscilla, a Jew and a Jewess; they had to leave Rome according to the government; when it was a question of divine instruction they would obey God rather than man; but here they were subject to the powers that be; they left Rome, and a good thing they did, for they found Paul, or rather, Paul found them. They were tent-makers by trade, and he lodged with them, chapter 18: 1 - 3. He had just been at Athens, a very hard place, but God makes His selection. In this town relatively the number of believers is large, but not so in Athens, the seat of learning; there were those who wished to be learned at Athens, and the Athenians called Paul “this chatterer”! Let someone try and convey what that meant in speaking of Paul. At Lystra in chapter 14 he “took the lead in speaking”, for it was really “Paul and his company” — chapter 13: 13, yet here called “this chatterer”! It was no chattering as Aquila and Priscilla spoke of the way of God. Paul spoke long, right into the night, of the Lord’s supper; I cannot say how long; and after the breaking of bread, they had a long conversation. This was Christianity at the beginning, when God had His way in it. In Acts 14: 1 it says, “they ... so spake that a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed”,
[p. 440] their speaking was the means of believing. God had made Paul’s mouth and Barnabas’s mouth and Apollos’ mouth, and so with every believer. Aquila and Priscilla left Rome; they originally came from Pontus; why should we question their origin? Cornelius, a Roman centurion, was going to be made something in heaven. There is, of course, the moral side, where we can stand and suffer, but it is the divine side, the side of counsel and purpose; all is, dear brethren, on that side, and these persons have distinction on earth on the moral side as well. Paul and Aquila and Priscilla were all in the same business house, I may say; what beautiful conversations would go on among these three tent-makers! They were working with Paul, and Paul, when he left Corinth took them to Ephesus, and left them there. Finally Apollos arrived at Ephesus, it says in verse 24; it was a great moment for Ephesus and for Paul, for he “was mighty in the scriptures”, and it says, “He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in his spirit, he spoke and taught exactly the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John”. In the next chapter twelve men near by knew it also, but not as much as Apollos. One wonders why some are so slow, and some so quick, in taking in divine things! Paul did not say much; nothing as to time, weather, politics, only he says, “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye had believed?” They were to think on that; they were to be converted; they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit; why were they so ignorant? Why did they lack instruction? I am not chiding anyone here, but I speaking in general terms, so that we all challenge ourselves as to the matter of being instructed in things. And so Apollos “spoke and taught exactly the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John”. It is not said he “did not even hear if the Holy Spirit was come”, it is simply said, “knowing only the baptism of John”. So far he was intelligent; as to certain matters of the truth, well, know them, know that; so it goes on, “And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And Aquila and Priscilla, having heard him, took him to them and unfolded to him the way of God more exactly”. We are now dealing with an excellent person, not only a convert; he learned scripture accurately (so we are not to guess, but to get it accurately!); that was Apollos; we can well understand how he learned quickly, just as Nathanael learnt in John 1. It is my simple thought, not to take any advantage of the brethren, but just this, Be accurate as to the truth! Bibles are cheap, so is the ministry, but we need the meditation on things, the chewing of the cud, as we had yesterday. Are these clean things, or clean persons? One may be a Christian, and yet not worthy of the company of other Christians. We want to have the company of those who are real believers, in dwelt with the Holy Spirit, to appropriate them, the saints of God, We shall have them all in heaven of course, for saints met in glory may be there in a promiscuous sense, but they will be in heaven and we shall meet them there, for there is only one standard in heaven:
“Nor what is next Thy heart
Can we forget;
Thy saints, O Lord, with Thee
In glory met.
Perfect in comeliness
Before Thy face,
Th’ eternal witness, all,
Of Thine own grace”. (160:8)
The time is now to get understanding, “with all thy getting get understanding” — Proverbs 4: 7, that we may become instructed in the way of the Lord. Presently you will meet a brother and sister who will [p. 442] invite you to their house; Aquila and Priscilla may have had only one room, but they asked him in, maybe after a meeting; we are in these times of speaking “often one to another” — Malachi 3: 16; and they spoke to him, and they learnt from him too, but he learnt “the way of God more exactly”. They would say, ‘We have been with Paul and have heard great things’, and Apollos would prick up his ears to hear of Paul, the great apostle. We have not got him now, only his writings and much is made of Paul. He says to the Corinthian leaders, “If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”, 1 Corinthians 14: 37; it is one great commandment, a singular thought; one great authoritative commandment; we have a dual commandment in the two epistles, and I am insisting in my little way that we should be true Bereans, Acts 17: 11; to see if what was said by the great apostle was right; let us be like that. Apollos was a model for incomers to the gospel; we have in John 21: 11 the catch of one hundred and fifty-three “great fishes”, and Apollos was a sample of a great fish; it says there, “and though there were so many, the net was not rent”; the net here, the divine net, did not break. He was ready to be corrected; Apollos seems to be next to Paul in prominence, so Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3: 6, “I have planted; Apollos watered; but God has given the increase”, to bring out the greatness of this servant, to bring him in with himself. So he says (1 Corinthians 3: 1) “And I, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly; as to babes in Christ”. The Corinthian saints were not very far on, so instead of having the best teaching, they had to be fed with milk, “not meat, for ye have not yet been able, nor indeed are ye yet able; for ye are yet carnal”; that is why I read the passage that shews he is classed with Paul,
and we are to note that “God has given the increase”; and now the point is that God is bringing in souls, like the fishes mentioned in the end of John’s gospel, typical of persons; and in Apollos’ case, we have one great fish, as it were, caught by a line; so great that he could be linked with Paul at once, after being with Aquila and Priscilla one day. Paul says to him, 1 Corinthians 16: 12; ‘I should like you to go to Corinth’, but Apollos was not at all minded to go, so Timothy went, 1 Corinthians 4: 17. Apollos refers to independency in the work of the Spirit, which is a great matter. We have to be on the alert for such to teach them the way of God, not the way of the Presbyterians, or the way of the Church of England; this is the great way spoken of in the scriptures, and a brother and his wife were there to help him.
I finish now with verse 26, “And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And Aquila and Priscilla, having heard him, took him to them and unfolded to him the way of God more exactly. And when he purposed to go into Achaia, the brethren wrote to the disciples engaging them to receive him”; I am glad to believe that this word means to receive him gladly; that is a matter to look into if we are desirous of fellowship among the people of God, that they should receive us gladly. If any applicant or enquirer is here, let him be sure he is commendable, and let the brethren be sure they receive him gladly. “And when he purposed to go into Achaia, the brethren wrote to the disciples engaging them to receive him, who, being come, contributed much to those who believed through grace. For he with great force convinced the Jews publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ”. He was the great acquisition at that time, and there are such today, waiting to come into fellowship; none should be left out. The Spirit of God is sweeping the house for every lost piece of silver; it is our business to receive such.