THE ONENESS OF THE BODY
[p. 26] THE ONENESS OF THE BODY
Exodus 12:46,47; 1 Kings 17:13; 1 Corinthians 10:16 (last clause),17
JT These scriptures are selected in the hope that we may learn through them how the body of Christ, as composed of all believers, is reached in the history of believers from the beginning. These scriptures, and others like them in the Old and the New Testaments: present the whole idea as applied to persons, or as applied to Christ or God or to the saints. The Old Testament laid down originally that “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” (Deuteronomy 6:4); that was foundational, running through. See also Zechariah 14:9. In the New Testament we have the thought applied to our calling, “One body and one Spirit” and “one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all” Ephesians 4:4 - 6, each great idea carrying the whole thought. So “to us there is one God, the Father ... and one Lord, Jesus Christ”, 1 Corinthians 8:6. The Deity may be spoken of, either in the Father or in the Son or in the Spirit, but there is never any idea or suggestion of three deities — always one. So the thoughts in these scriptures will suffice us to consider this subject. First the passover, the law requiring that a bone should not be broken — that is, it is a whole thought, it is Christ, but, as it were, the whole thought as to Him, not partial. Then in Elijah we have what corresponds, namely, a cake, a little cake but still a whole thought. He first asked for a morsel of bread, but he eventually asked for a little cake to be made for him first; so, if we partake of the passover, “our passover”, as it says, “sacrificed for us” 1 Corinthians 5:7 — God would have His portion in the cake something that is the outcome of exercise, which the [p. 27] cake suggests, however small. It is not part of a cake, but a cake, a little one but still a cake. Then in the third scripture we have the two thoughts combined; that is, the body of Christ, His own personal body which He took and in which He died, and out of that develops: “We, being many, are one loaf, one body” — this all centring in the Lord’s supper. We shall have, of course, in connection with the passover, to speak of what is initial in the believer’s history, how this thought is there — a constitutional thought, as we may call it — from the very outset. The New Testament says, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” 1 Corinthians 5:7,8, but it is Christ as a whole, as we may say, not a divided Christ; for that is the word the apostle uses in this epistle, “Is Christ divided?”. 1 Corinthians 1:13. He is not divided; He is to be apprehended and appropriated as food in the passover, which presents the whole Person in a particular way, that is, a sacrificial way, the Lamb of God.
AC In the verse read it says, “In one house shall it be eaten”.
JT Showing that it is on family lines, for God builds up the structure in that way on family lines. It develops into a nation in Israel, and in us it is one body.
EBG Does the thought of sacrifice lie behind all these scriptures? In Exodus it is the passover; then in regard to the woman in Kings, the handful of meal seems to be all that was between her and death, and she is asked to surrender that; then there is the thought of Christ our passover, which you have alluded to.
JT I think that is good — the sacrificial thought, for, aside from it, our spiritual constitution must be [p. 28] extremely defective. John the baptist refers to the sacrifice; he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”. John 1:29. He saw in Him what was sacrificial, as coming to him, and that must enter into our constitution as believers. We shall be very wanting and without correspondence entirely to Christ unless the sacrificial element is in our constitution.
Ques What effect has the sacrificial side upon our constitution on our side in our walk and pathway?
JT It affects us so that we are persons who sacrifice; “To do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” Hebrews 13:16, and many other such scriptures. On a higher level, we are constituted priests according to Peter “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”, 1 Peter 2:5. The word carries with it the thought of surrender; sacrifice costs us something; it cost Jesus Himself His life.
Rem The whole thought is referred to in John 1: “Behold the Lamb of God”, John 1:36 and towards the end of the gospel it is referred to by John the evangelist.
JT It carries the whole thought through in the sacrifice of Christ, “A bone of him shall not be broken”. John 19:36. In any sacrifice our Lord went through, it is Himself, it is the whole Christ, not a partial one. The failure to see this truth tends to sectarianism. “Is Christ divided?”, 1 Corinthians 1:13 says the apostle; if He is not divided, then the saints should not be divided. If they are on a sacrificial line they will not be divided, they will be contributory to the whole thought, leading up to the truth of the assembly as the body of Christ.
ELM At the beginning of the chapter there is provision made: if the house be too small, then the neighbour is called in; would that make allowance [p. 29] for weakness on our part in apprehension, but the thought must be maintained?
JT Yes, so that, even if you call another in, the oneness of the sacrifice is maintained — it is in one house.
ELM Was that element of weakness at Corinth, and would the verse you are quoting, “Is Christ divided?”, 1 Corinthians 1:13 guard against any sectarian thought?
JT That is what I thought. It is significant that the first rebuke we get in the epistle, which is full of admonition and correction, is that there were divisions among them; the whole idea must be preserved. So in a local meeting; in this city there may be three subdivisions, but the whole idea must be maintained — it is one idea. If another nearby meeting is invited, that does not alter the position one iota. No matter how many meetings are invited or represented, it is a whole thought.
TT In the tabernacle there was a bar called the “middle bar” in the midst of the boards, reaching from one end to the other Exodus 26:28; would that have any bearing on this?
JT It is the same thought — one tabernacle; it is a sort of binding thought.
WSS I was thinking of what is said about Paul. The Lord said, “I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake”. Acts 9:16. The truth of the body was in view, and I am wondering whether the entering into the truth of the body necessarily involves suffering.
JT I think it does. It was the thing that was in the Lord’s mind when He spoke to Saul of Tarsus, “Why persecutest thou me?” Acts 9:4. The “me” would be the saints as one body; they were suffering. Paul was to be shown how much he must suffer.
Ques I am not quite sure if I have your thought. When the apostle said, “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”, Galatians [p. 30] 2:20 would that touch what you have before you at all?
JT Well, the Lord sacrificed to have all of us, and the thought in the passover is, I think, that we appropriate that as food and it enters into the spiritual constitution so that each takes on a sacrificial attitude. Sacrificing is, in a way, the very essence of christianity. So that when John saw the Lord Jesus coming to him he said, “Behold the Lamb of God”, John 1:29 meaning that he saw in Him what was here in the types. It is a Person greater than you or me, for the passover suggests the greatness of Christ, One who carries the thing through. Then he says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1:29 — an immense thought! Only a divine Person could undertake it, but He undertook it sacrificially. I believe the word here comes in in the instructions, possibly a late item in the instructions, but it is because you are all the more prepared now. The passover has a great place throughout the types, and this coming in so late is alluded to again in Numbers 9, where the passover might be celebrated a month later because of unspirituality. Yet this whole thought must be maintained, it must always be in mind, “A bone of him shall not be broken”. John 19:36.
Ques In your reference to the passover and Christ having been sacrificed, the previous verse says, “Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump” 1 Corinthians 5:7; is that the idea in mind in 1 Kings where we have the cake, a complete thought?
JT That is good. A new lump, and he says, “according as ye are unleavened”, a comforting thought as to the company locally; it is abstractly unleavened. So the cake would stand on the side of the saints, I think, what the saints are, and that is what Elijah had in mind; he asked for a morsel first. Speaking to the woman he says, “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand”, 1 Kings 17:11 and then she says, “I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse”, 1 Kings 17:12 and so on. And Elijah said to her, “Make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me”. It seems as if the local conditions were in mind when she spoke about the meal. He had spoken of a morsel of bread, but she had not a cake, she said, but she had the meal; she had the means of making a cake. Spiritually it would mean that, even in a low condition, the whole thought may be there. Saints are sometimes a great deal better off than they think they are.
ELM Is that exemplified in Mark 8? The disciples had taken no bread with them on board the vessel save one loaf, as though they had overlooked that; it was there all the time.
JT Yes, that was it; they had the whole thought.
ELM Is that what you mean in saying that the saints are not so badly off as possibly they think they are?
JT I think that is a very practical thought, for we are apt to take low conditions for granted and perhaps be too impoverished in our thoughts, as the widow of whom we read; she did not realise what she had in the house. If there is a little meal, however small, even a handful — she says, “An handful of meal” — well, that is something, a measured amount. And it is kept in a right place; a barrel is where it should be kept. There is very little; things are very impoverished and the barrel is almost empty, but still there is a little there, and that seems to have emboldened the prophet to ask for the cake. So I think in ministering, the initial thought would be to discover what there is in the place and make the most of that. The first meeting may bring out more than you have anticipated, and you may be encouraged to bring out great thoughts about Christ and about the saints too. But I think that handful [p. 32] of meal means some measured amount of knowledge and appreciation of Christ.
AC Have you in mind that prophetic ministry would help us in a locality to use what there is?
JT I think it bears on that very decidedly. You say, ‘We have not a gifted brother here; I do not think we are equal to the ministry’; but then, you cannot be sure. One brother may come with something and another brother may get something while sitting there and that is the sovereign side. You can never be sure what the Lord will do in that way: He may take up someone you have never thought of.
A Do you think the little oil suggested a cake to the prophet?
JT Well, she says, “An handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse” 1 Kings 17:12 — evidently both would be in mind; possibly the one referring to the apprehension we have of Christ in His humanity as coming in manhood, and the other to the Spirit; so that there is the means for a cake, a whole thought. As we have been remarking as to a ministry meeting, you may get a good time if you are simple about it and make allowance for what there may be there. A handful is a small amount, but measured; and the oil is a small amount, but in a cruse. In each case the material was where it should be; it is not held loosely, it is held in a vessel; things are therefore in order, and God may do more than I expect, for the handful would be what a brother might have in his soul. But then there is that which is revealed to one sitting by — one who is capable of having a thing revealed to him. He is fundamentally, in christianity, yielding to Christ and the Spirit, so that the Spirit can operate in him.
WS Would you say it was right, in coming together to a ministry meeting, to have something definitely before you, although you may not give it [p. 33] out?
JT I would; I believe we may rightly have something before us, for 1 Corinthians 14, dealing with this matter, says, “Every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine”, 1 Corinthians 14:26,or whatever it may be; a prophet may have something and he may stand up and give it out. But then there is the thought of something being revealed to one sitting by; maybe he did not bring anything, but he is available for revelation. That is a great matter, it belongs to christianity, to be ready for a revelation; the spirit of wisdom and revelation is the thing the apostle prays for for us. If I have that spirit, I am available for the Spirit of God to reveal something to me. If so and you are speaking, you might sit down; if you are in the sense of the organism you know you have finished; the Spirit has withdrawn His power from you, for He is going to use someone else. The order is one at a time; it is one idea all the time. Therefore the one who has the revelation would suggest the sovereign side, the Spirit giving something at the moment.
Ques Would you always look for a prophetic word in one of these meetings?
JT Well, it might not be exactly that, because it says, “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying”. 1 Corinthians 14:26. Then “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”. 1 Corinthians 14:29 - 32. Prophecy is the main thought, but it seems as if room is made for these other things; they may be needed; we may need teaching, or a psalm which would involve [p. 34] experience. A brother might be able to speak on those lines, but generally the thought is prophecy.
Ques In asking the question, I thought that the scripture you read suggested a certain amount of substance in the company. Every company as controlled by the Spirit should have substance, should it not?
JT That is, I think, what we see in 1 Kings. The woman had very little, but she had something, and that is what led the prophet to ask for the cake. As we were saying, it was a small amount, but it was measured. She had in her mind that something could be done with it; she could eat and die, but of course that was a reversal of the principle governing the position; eating is to live, and that is what the Spirit of God brings out, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth”. 1 Kings 17:14. We can understand spiritually that, if Christ is held in any gathering or in any soul, there is substance that can be utilised, and that does not fail; there is no idea of failure. It is a question of what it is spiritually that Christ on His side will not fail, nor the Spirit either. Prophetic ministry here, it seems to me, made room for what there was in the woman’s soul, so you have the dignified word ‘house’ — “she, and he, and her house, ate a whole year”. 1 Kings 17:15 In the light of your remarks in connection with the one cake, would we expect, in a meeting for ministry, to find unity of expression, whether it be in; two or three?
JT I think that is it — one person at a time, one idea at a time. The passage shows there is substance there, and then revelation coming in to add to that.
JW The exercise of the moment would be to learn to hold the substance in relation to what [p. 35] Elijah sets forth, the bringing in of the mind of God and learning to hold it.
JT That is what comes out. The woman is amenable to the prophet’s word. It says, “She went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate a whole year”. 1 Kings 17:15. The word of Elijah would be, of course, a prophetic word governing us, so that we should be on the alert to get it; we should have enlargement, we should have food.
Ques Did the household of Cornelius afford conditions? Peter said, “I perceive that God is no respecter of persons”. Acts 10:34.
JT It was one of the pointed features of the position that God comes in by way of revelation, but then there is substance there already. The whole substance in Acts 10 circles around the idea of what is to be eaten.
Ques Was the Lord challenging the hearts of the disciples when He said, “Give ye them to eat”? Matthew 14:16 Quite so, they were reminded that they should be ready to provide food.
Ques I would like to ask, does this apply to any brother in the locality, or must they definitely have gift?
JT Of course gift is in mind in the chapter, but it is very significant that it is stressed that it is subject to desire, and the chapter shows that prophecy is what is needed, because it edifies and meets conditions in a remarkable way, as the chapter teaches; the prophets are contemplated right down. But the idea of revelation might bring out that there was someone present who had ability in that way unknown to him before. These meetings bring out what there is in the locality. We cannot always be sure; there may be latent ability which opportunity brings out; we have to remember we are in a day of small things. We cannot look for such [p. 36] as obtained at Corinth where they came behind in no gift; evidently there was much gift there but badly used. But we are speaking of the possibility of gift being just latent and the opportunity bringing it out.
ELM Would it not be very encouraging to Elijah that what he starts with in the scripture he finds in a moment of apparent defeat; when he was awakened by the angel in the wilderness, he found a cake of bread; the divine thought had not failed?
JT It is very remarkable that should come in in his ministry, baken on hot coals, and that the meal and cruse are mentioned only once in 1 Kings 19, but in the end he eats twice — it is a second meal from that supply. There is the whole thought there too, what he needs. He had begun with the whole thought, but, as far as he knew, there was no Israel left except himself, and he could hardly represent the whole thought, he was only one person; no one person can represent the assembly in any sense. He failed, I think, in carrying through this idea of the little cake; the angel suggests it to him and he eats twice and goes in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights.
ELM Would the idea of the unity of the whole thought express itself in him in a moment of great spiritual brightness when he built the altar of twelve stones? Did he lapse for a moment from the light which had governed him?
JT It seems so. We have the unity, the whole thought, in the passover, and the little cake refers to the unity of God’s people, the perfect unity; the twelve refers to the administrative side. It is what is before God and affords a basis for administration, so that I think he was thoroughly in the light of this little cake when he took the twelve stones according to the number of the sons of Jacob and spoke of them as those to whom the word of God came.
[p. 37] He was fully in the light of the position then. Chapter 17 is the unity, the little cake; chapter 18 is the administrative side, I think, in the twelve: that is the same idea, only that it is turned round and individuals are it, usable according to love. That is, I think, what Corinthians brings out, that, while we can be used one by one, used separately, we are used in love, we are not in each other’s way.
WSS Chapter 19 is very necessary for us. What Elijah had to be reminded of is very important and we should be reminded of it, the whole thought suggested in the little cake.
JT I think so. It is a very important thought, one that ought to lay hold of every young christian, for we shall never fit into the assembly without it.
WSS And it is part of his secret history with God.
JT Evidently, you could not have a man like Elijah without secret history with God.
AHG I was thinking of our appreciation of Christ. Have you in mind that we should appreciate in measure every way in which this thought is presented?
JT Well, John says, “the Lamb of God”. John 1:29. That is a sacrificial thought, but then he goes on to testify that this is the Son of God and that is a sacrificial thought in another setting. It is Christ in either case, only there are so many sides to His Person. The point is to get the whole idea at any given time, not a part of Christ, because that is sectarian, just as the parting of His garments is sectarian.
WSS So that the apprehension of Christ in the way you are speaking of is dependent on what is in the passover, the understanding of the thought of the body. Would that be right?
JT Yes, that is what I was thinking. It may be subdivided, for the sake of convenience; it is indicated plainly that there were subdivisions in the [p. 38] assembly, but it is always the assembly, however many subdivisions there are. But then the difficulty now amongst the brethren is, I believe, that each subdivision is apt to act as though it were the whole, and the whole thought in the city is ignored. It is not simply that we say we are a subdivision, but there ought to be some concrete expressions of it, the more the better. The breaking of bread is not a concrete expression of it, for there are several meetings, and I think 1 Corinthians 14 has in mind that the saints should, as often as possible, have concrete evidence of the oneness of the assembly in any given sphere — it is the whole assembly coming together in one place.
WSS Our having substance is really consequent on this position being entered into.
JT We see how the little substance the woman had is made use of.
AC Are we apt to make too much of our meeting-rooms and miss the idea of the assembly in a city? Does Scripture refer to meeting-rooms?
JT I think so; we have, for instance, the assembly in a man’s house in a given town, at Rome or Ephesus. It is quite obvious that that assembly in that brother’s house does not include all.
JTS When you spoke of the breaking of bread not being a concrete example, had you in mind what I think you have called attention to elsewhere, first, “when ye come together in assembly”, in 1 Corinthians 11:18, and then, “the whole assembly come together in one place”, in 1 Corinthians 14:23?
JT Yes, the article is dropped, as you know, in chapter 11 — we come together in assembly, it is the character of the thing; but in chapter 14 it is the whole assembly, the article is placed before the word ‘assembly’, meaning that all are there; the sub-divisional idea is dropped, the whole thought is there in a concrete way; thus the man who gets help [p. 39] through the prophesying reports that God is amongst you of a truth. That would be the saints at Corinth as a whole, God’s best in a place, what He has.
EBG I am sure we see the importance of what you are pressing as to oneness. Would the opportunities for such expression be limited to the coming together for ministry and perhaps to a joint reading meeting in a city? Are there any other practical suggestions?
JT The point in it seems to be what is publicly beneficial. It is not service Godward that is in mind, but rather what is beneficial to men, to the saints, if God is to bring out what He has in any given place. That is the idea in the administrative side in the assembly, what God is doing in local companies. There is no idea in the scripture of a central or metropolitan company; it is any town or village where there may be an assembly. So you have, in Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas selecting elders for each assembly, and, then they appoint elders in every city, as if a city has the testimony manward in mind; it is a concrete representation in any given place.
Ques Does it come in in relation to the benefit the city receives — all administrative work should be done in the light of the oneness?
JT Quite so, it is the inner thought. So that they appointed elders for each assembly, that would be, as it were, the assembly as sustaining light, and there is something there that would represent God; An elder is described, he represents one who maintains order, and so a city might have several small subdivisions, but elders being appointed there (the appointment, I believe, is always of elders, not an elder) there is the means of maintaining what is due to God for man’s benefit. Hence a man comes in and the secrets of his heart are made manifest, he is convicted and judged of all and falling down on his [p. 40] face he worships God. He is benefited, but then God has His portion immediately through it.
FWW Would this suggest an assembly in very weak conditions? We often find that small meetings say, We have not the ability here for it. Would this encourage such meetings?
JT It is intended to encourage us on that line, and Jehovah’s word through the prophet was that the woman was to maintain him, showing there is a great thought attaching to any assembly, however low down, to maintain the testimony, and in order to maintain the testimony — for that is the word used to Elijah — there must be the making use of what there is in a place.
FWW The widow collecting two sticks does not suggest anything very large.
JT No, she had a very low thought; she was going to eat and die, but at the word of the prophet everything is altered, so that there is the idea of maintenance and the dignified word ‘house’ is used.
WSS It is very encouraging in connection with small and weak meetings to think of their possibilities in relation to the maintenance of the testimony.
JT I think so. I think it is one of the most painful things to think of a meeting being allowed to die out under the very eyes of the meetings nearby, whereas procedure of this kind would lead to revival, the prophetic word bringing God in. What is there there? Maybe a sister, a young person, a sick person, or what not — but there is revival.
Ques In a meeting that is dying out, would you look for a revival in the way of an exercise as to taking up things in this way?
JT I think that would be the thing. I think we look for too much, the Lord is able to make a little go a long way if we take up the prophetic ministry. See the great thought God had about this woman when He spoke to Elijah about her. She [p. 41] was a long way off when Jehovah spoke to Elijah about her, and said, “I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee”. 1 Kings 17:9. You would not think there was ever a command given to her of God.
Ques Would the whole year suggest maintenance in the varied circumstances of the whole period of testing in every season?
JT Well, you see what it says, “She, and he, and her house, ate a whole year”, 1 Kings 17:15 we only hear of one boy, the son. They ate a whole year, throughout all the seasons the prophet is maintained rightly, but the woman and her house are maintained too.
AFG Should we take courage from the meal and oil being used, that the meal in the barrel does not waste nor the oil fail in the cruse? If what we have is used, may we feel encouraged that there will be this further supply?
JT I think that is the lesson spiritually. It means that some one or ones in the place have an apprehension of Christ, and also of the Spirit — for there was the oil too — and they had the apprehension in an orderly way, not held loosely; they valued what they had.
Ques The prophet was sent directly at the word of the Lord. Would you look that things should be revived in this way in a local meeting, or would you expect it to spring up?
JT Well, in either way, for the prophet is sent to be maintained, not to revive, although it was necessary, for the lesson to be learnt is that God fills us with his own great thoughts. He commands — whatever it may be in the working out of it — He commanded a widow to maintain the prophet in this case. That is the great thought; it is the testimony that is in mind and the continuance of the testimony in the place. So it is not simply a question of the few saints there may be in the place, but God says,
‘[p. 42] I have a testimony in that place and I want it maintained’, and in this way you get revival and the prophetic ministry is brought in. So it is not simply that the prophet is maintained, but the testimony is held.
TT In a meeting where there are only sisters left, would it be right to carry on the meeting with only brothers visiting?
JT Well, it is a question of deciding what is in the place, whether there is this handful of meal, for that may be in sisters as well as in brothers; and I certainly believe that, if there be the handful of meal and the cruse of oil held ready — if these sisters have the idea of the assembly, the whole thought — every effort should be made to help them to maintain that thought, for there is a testimony in it.
WSS Perhaps we have not sufficiently realised our responsibility to neighbouring meetings where conditions are very feeble.
JT I think that may be, for if there be in a place a handful of meal and a little oil; that is, the apprehension of Christ and the Spirit — that is a real christian condition — and these things are held rightly, not loosely — the meal is in a barrel and the oil in a cruse — well, the testimony is involved in that. I think it is a very right thing for a brother or brothers there to see to it that what is needed is supplied so that the one idea of the assembly continues.
JI Do you think, if there are conditions, God will send someone there as He sent Elijah to the widow?
JT No doubt, but, as we were saying, that is not the way the matter is put: Elijah is not sent to help her, but to be maintained. He represents the testimony, but, as there, he represents the prophetic ministry that enlarges on what is there. It is quite right that God will take care of a condition like this [p. 43] and send somebody, but I think the lesson today is, not that God will do that, but that we should do it; the obligation is on us, I am not to leave to God what I should do. You do it, you give them to eat; the Lord knew what He would do, but you take the obligation.
HV So that she comes first in verse 15, “She, and he, and her house”. 1 Kings 17:15 Yes, she is the responsible element here — she is a sister; and her house, that is the responsible local element. But the primary thought of God in the matter is that the testimony is maintained.
F Is the word of the prophet Haggai a great encouragement to us in broken days? “I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not”. Haggai 2:4,5. Have you the full idea in that chapter, and it was only a short time before they began to build the house of God at Jerusalem?
JT That is good, and not only that but “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former” Haggai 2:9 — the whole idea is carried through, only it would be more glorious. The thought of the latter glory of the house is very encouraging.
In the third scripture we see how the thing culminates in the New Testament. The gospel of Matthew brings out that the Lord, in instituting His supper, says, “Take, eat; this is my body” Matthew 26:26 — not ‘This is my flesh’, but “my body”, maintaining in the New Testament what we have been speaking of, in a striking way. Paul takes it up in regard to our public position with one another, because the breaking of bread in 1 Corinthians alludes to the fellowship. In actually partaking of the Supper the point is not the fellowship but the order of it in the assembly, but the fellowship is the public side covering our everyday life and is brought in here so as to maintain [p. 44] the whole thought, so that we do not lose it, we do not forget it, we carry it through and recognise that we are all one; we are one body in the fellowship as partaking of the Lord’s supper. So I think it is good, in chapter 10, to keep this before us, and that the thoughts should not be weakened in us as to what we are locally, “We being many are one bread, and one body”. And the communion of the body of Christ brings in in Matthew the whole thought, but then, our relations with one another are included; we are to hold each other in this light; everything we do publicly throughout the week has this in mind, the maintenance of the one whole thought in the locality.