THE POSITIVE SIDE OF SEPARATION
A. J. McSeveney
Hebrews 7: 26; Romans 8: 29, 30; 1 Corinthians 7: 14; 2 Corinthians 6: 14–18; 2 Timothy 2: 16–22; Revelation 3: 7–12
Many dear saints carry great concern as to the breakdown of separation amongst God’s people. In some cases it has led to great sorrow. It may well be timely for us to remember that separation has been a prime feature in the ways of God particularly from the call of Abraham.
There may have been a period when extreme actions took place that were clearly wrong. However, we need to remember that separation did not begin in 1959 or even in 1828. Separation has been a principle that God has ever acted on for His glory and man’s blessing.
Separation is something that divine Persons have in mind that ultimately leads to the pleasure of God and the service of God. If our hearts are filled with Christ and we see what He was as a Man down here and still is where He is, we will be attracted to separation. As has been mentioned, God’s desire for separation is evident from the call of Abraham. Thereafter, God called Israel out of Egypt. Then, God separated the Levites for His service. Indeed, you will find in the Old Testament the blessing of Israel was always consequent on the nation remaining separate. You will find too that recovery came in when persons were recovered to separation. Samson is an example of that. There came a point when Samson broke down in separation and lost his power. However, he was recovered through becoming separate again. When he had returned to separation as a Nazarite, power was available to bring down the whole world system.
All these Old Testament types are very blessed but they are only shadows of the One who was coming, the true Nazarite, our blessed Lord Jesus. In Hebrews 7 He is described as “holy”. It was not only that He was separate in His outward walk. He was also entirely separate from the spirit of the world. All that was transpiring in Israel never altered the holiness of Christ. It never defiled Him in any way. He was entirely inwardly separate from all that was around. Think of Him as a boy growing up. He never became involved in the sinful things that other boys were involved in. He was different. You find Him at the age of twelve occupied with the things of His Father. You think of Him too being subject to His parents. As He grew up into manhood and entered into service there was nothing of the spirit of the world found in the Lord Jesus. He was entirely different. He is also described here as “harmless”, or as the footnote says, ‘guileless’. He always spoke the whole truth. There was something different and distinct about the words of the Lord Jesus. He was so perfect that He was able to pronounce the most searching of judgments and yet say it in a way that could retain men. He was free from all the parties that were forming in Israel in that period. The official priesthood in Israel was involved in political and religious parties. The Lord Jesus was free from all that. Instead, He was committed to doing the will of God and the ministry of reconciliation. He came from God into the presence of men with a ministry to touch their hearts and affections. If He saw a bruised reed He would not break it. If He saw a smoking flax He would not quench it. He desired that persons might be retained for God’s pleasure.
That is a Man that is entirely different and separate from all that is political in this world at the present time. He is also described as “undefiled”. We have been reminded in these meetings that we must regard the Lord Jesus as different from every other man. He was undefiled and undefilable. Nothing ever found its way into the heart of the Lord Jesus that should not have been there. There was no struggle in His heart when it came to sin. We weigh up things. We try to fight against sin.
That was never the case with the Lord Jesus. He was perfect. He could not sin and He never put Himself in a place that He should not have been in. You would not find Him in any of the defiling places in Jerusalem or in Israel. He was separate inwardly and separate in His outward pathway. Well, He died and was buried and in coming out of death was entirely separated from sinners. That is the point here. He was separate in His life before His death. He then died unto sin and now He lives exclusively unto God. He has also become higher than the heavens. Currently, as High Priest, He is ensuring that His people are separate in every way.
At the beginning of Hebrews 7: 26 it says, “For such a high priest became us”. Who are the “us”? The “us” are persons like you and me. In Romans 8: 28, 29 this is set out more clearly for us, where we are said to be “predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son”. Dear saint, there is something about you that is completely different from the world outside. The mass of humanity is not going to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. That is distinct to you. You are different. From God’s side you have been separated. That is the side that requires to be stressed before we come to our side. God has called you. What a moment that was. That was not exactly the general call in the gospel. There was a time when God called you by your name. Do you remember it? Is it clear in your mind? Dear saint, He has called you out of the world, like Abraham, and from His side you are now entirely separate. He has also “justified” you. Not every man is justified, but you are justified. All your past history is finished and you have been set up before God in Christ. You also are “glorified”. Many dear saints confine that to the time when they will receive a body of glory. Well, you will be glorified then but the thought here is that you are glorified now. You are glorified through the gift of the Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit you have something that people in the world do not have. You have been distinguished. The thought here conveyed in being glorified is distinction. God has distinguished you from the mass of sinful humanity. Do you realise that? Well, whether we realise it or not, it is true. It is imperative that we are firmly established in what God has done from His own side before we come to our side.
These verses in Romans 8 relate to every person that has trusted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and received the Holy Spirit. However, there are many young children here that do not yet know the Lord Jesus in that way. 1 Corinthians 7: 14 helps such to understand how they are also viewed as separate from God’s side. If a child has even one believing parent, then from God’s side they are regarded as holy. That is, they are regarded as outwardly different from children in the world as being set apart for God’s pleasure. Generally, that involves baptism when the child is committed to each divine Person but particularly the Lord Jesus. Remember that, dear child. It is difficult for you when you cannot do the things that other children do, or go to the places that other children go to. Did you ever wonder why that is so? It is because God regards you as different. There is also a positive side to that. You are protected by God. Divine Persons look after you. You do not even know Them yet. You do not even know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and yet He looks after you. If a child has been committed to Christ as Lord, then He looks after that child. There are also angels who exercise care. The more we spend time in the company of children the more we feel how active the angels really are. Dear child, angels are active in your care. They will come in on your behalf. There are times when it looks as if you are going to harm yourself but the angels protect you. It is not fanciful to say this. If the children do not remember anything else, they ought to remember that they are different and that divine Persons care for them. That is why your parents would have you to be separate.
When we come to the other scriptures we see how separation is worked out practically from our side. In 2 Corinthians 6, we see that the Corinthians were becoming cold in their love for the apostle. At the end of the chapter we find the reason why. The Corinthians coldness to Paul and to other saints too was because they were beginning to keep company with the world. Many a dear saint has been going on happily and then suddenly becomes cold. You often wonder why that is. Then you discover that they have been keeping company with the world. It is possible for any of us to be affected in this way. Once you look into your own heart you see the tremendous danger you might be in. If you get out of touch with Christ, anything is possible. But there is teaching here. We have seen how we are separate from God’s side. But now this is our side. It is for each one of us to ensure that we are not diversely yoked with unbelievers. The fundamental side has been stressed in these meetings, and that is just the side that is presented here. The main thought in mind in speaking of this scripture is to refer to trade unions and professional associations. To speak practically, the trade union might come to you and say, ‘If you do not join the trade union, you cannot work’.
That is what they used to say. At one point, in America, the trade union sent a man with a gun to shoot a brother. That is one reason why trade unions have been described as murderous associations. In these days that would probably not take place but the trade union still calls on you at the workplace. It says, ‘If you join the trade union we will look after your interests.
We will ensure that you will get a pay rise. If your employer is unreasonable, we will come to the table and we will speak on your behalf’. The professional association says, ‘If you pass our exams, we will help you to get a job. You can put our initials after your name. You can say that you are a member of our professional association, if you do not join us you cannot get a job in this line’. They claim they will look after you; they will give you prestige; they will help you out. The test comes down to each one of us. Would you be linked with an unbeliever? Would you be linked with a person who does not have the Spirit? Would you go on with someone who is really a drunkard or atheist or who takes the Lord Jesus’ name in vain? Well, you say, ‘It is going to be difficult’. That may well be the case.
But there is a positive value in being separate. If you reject worldly associations, the Father will come in for you. It is wonderful to prove that in your experience. You wake up in the morning and you ask, ‘Where is the wage going to come from for today, for tomorrow, for next week?’ ‘How are we going to manage with the pension?’ (as persons say these days). ‘If we keep clear from trade unions and professional associations, how are we going to manage?’
Well, you find that there is a Father in heaven who cares for you. Every morning, He comes in for you. You look up to Him and you ask Him for what you need and He provides it. He never lets you down. He wants you to know His love. If you associate yourself with the world and the things of this world you place yourself at enmity with God and you lose out on the opportunity of proving the love of the Father. There is nothing to be compared with His love.
The trade union will let you down. The professional association could well let you down. There is a Father in heaven that will never let you down. In His love He will provide for you and sometimes He will exert His power on your behalf. It says “the Lord Almighty” in this scripture. He is faithful to His promises and He is able to exert His power. Many have proved this in a very real way. Divine power has been exerted at critical junctures in their lives.
These days we do not face the same kind of things that brethren faced from trade unions but do we know the Father? Are we prepared to trust Him or are we going to side with unbelievers? This is not a hard line. This is not a legal line. This is simple Christianity. Do we really know the Father? If we are converted, God is our Father, but do we know Him? If we count on a trade union or a professional association, our knowledge of the Father will be weak. It is not that God is not our Father, but we will not know Him as we ought. The Son would love to reveal the Father to us. He is pleased to reveal the Father to those who are faithful to Him.
Would you be yoked with an unbeliever? Would you get married to one? Coming into fellowship is a test. You find your circle of friends diminishing. It is natural in a right sense to want to get married. There is nothing wrong with that. It is God’s original order in creation.
But, your circle is limited. We also can become impatient. Do you ever feel like that? Well, God would have us to wait sometimes. We do not get everything just when we want it, but we will get it when we need it. If we are prepared to wait and be patient, God will come in for us. If God sees that we need a husband or a wife, He will provide such. It may not be His will for us to get married but if that is the case, it is usually because He finds something of spiritual quality in our souls. It is clear that among brethren there are a few single brothers who are older, and many single sisters who are the backbone of local assemblies. They are keeping things going locally. Many of them have turned down advantageous proposals, because they had Christ before them and the Father has come in for them. He has stood by them, and has formed something in their souls that has stood the test of time. Well, if it is God’s will for us to get married, if we are patient, He will come in. Remember, that it must be “in the Lord”, 1 Corinthians 7: 39. It is not just that we do not marry an unbeliever. Nor is it simply that we marry someone in fellowship. We certainly could not marry someone without. It is someone that the Lord has in mind for us. We need to wait on Him. We need to be prepared to be adjusted from our own thoughts and preferences. We must wait His time.
We need to be sure. It is wrong to jump into marriage. We must wait on the Lord for His will to become clear. If we do so, things will work out. God will come in and clear the way. He knows the things that we have need of. He will come in for us.
2 Timothy 2 is a different setting. In this chapter, separation does not only involve unbelievers. Alas, it may involve separation from persons who are actually Christians. Some have attempted to say that separation here is restricted to unbelievers. That cannot be right. There are many persons in Christendom who are certainly Christians with whom we cannot walk. We need to be clear as to the teaching of this passage because it involves foundational truth. The great house with vessels to honour and dishonour is an illustration of what the profession of Christianity has become. It does not mean that the house of God is dilapidated.
This passage refers to what Christianity has become in the hands of man. It has expanded.
Many people have been brought into it and along with them has been introduced false doctrine of the most heinous kind. Here, persons were saying that the resurrection was past already. Currently, persons say the most awful things about our Lord Jesus. If He is your Lord, you will feel that. This relates to a time when the mass is so leavened that something has to take place. Now, there is a seal here and the first part of the seal confirms what has just been said. “The Lord knows those that are his”, whoever and wherever they are. They may even be in Rome itself, but “The Lord knows those that are his”. It is not for us to unchristianise anybody. We can leave that with the Lord. However, where there is moral or doctrinal iniquity and no prospect of purging it out, the believer must name the name of the Lord and depart from iniquity. However, it requires to be stressed that it must be done under the control of the Master. You may have a right judgment but before this action takes place, you must make sure that you are doing it under the control of the Master. You must act when He acts. You must not act before, you must not act after. The Master must be paramount in these matters. Well, someone takes a lead and purifies himself. It is a very strong matter. One is free outwardly and inwardly from all that has become iniquitous.
Purifying himself from these must involve persons. When an action of this kind takes place in the local assembly we have this scripture before us due to the breakdown in Christendom. We do not claim to be the assembly. We would be very careful before we use the language of 1 Corinthians 5. We certainly go with that chapter, but we go with this chapter as to how it works out practically in a broken day. We do it humbly as admitting that we are not the assembly, but are seeking to walk in the light of the assembly. But it must be insisted on that it involves persons. When this action takes place it is for each of us with lowliness of mind to respect the action of the local assembly.
This chapter then proceeds to the positive side. Dear brethren, think of the blessedness of it. It says “in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master”. You may think if you take this pathway that your service will end. Beloved brethren, your service will begin. There is so much to be done. There are souls all over the world that we can have fellowship with that need a visit. Are you prepared to get up and go?
It is not always easy to do so and you must have the Lord’s mind before you visit. You cannot move in your own free will. You must be concerned that you are moving under the control of the Lord and in the power of the Holy Spirit. This scripture also requires that in being separate ecclesiastically, we also need to be clear morally. “Youthful lusts” are not lusts confined to persons that are young. They are lusts that you might have at that time which keep springing up in your heart. You have to judge them. Let us not lose our way morally, beloved brethren. Well, how positive it is to “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace”. Righteousness relates to the maintenance of divinely appointed relationships and handling matters rightly. One reason that Mr. Raven left the Church of England was because he was impressed with the way the brethren handled disciplinary matters. “Faith” here is active. Many know from experience how little faith is needed to be a member of a system in Christendom. It is when you leave the boat like Peter, with the Lord before you, that you need active faith. You need to have His priesthood too for support or you will sink under the opposition. We also pursue “love”. Sometimes, it is said, there is no love amongst brethren. Many would dispute that and attest that they have never known such love as they have found from brethren pursuing this line. It is so wonderful to prove it, and to show it too. Love here is the calm settled disposition of the soul and in its fulness relates to God’s purpose. If you pursue this line you are going to have part in the service of God in praise. You will not exactly have part in it in the systems of Christendom. There is prayer and thanksgiving in these systems. There is also individual piety when a person breaks bread, but the Lord’s supper and the service of God relate to a separate pathway. That is the great positive value in being separate. Your part in these great matters preserves you although sometimes there may be pressure on you to give up. You feel the Lord saying to you, “Will ye also go away?” What holds you? It is the person of Christ that holds you and your part in the service of God. It is the stabilising factor in a Christian’s life. If you give up the pathway presented in this chapter you might have more Christians to have fellowship with, but you will lose your part in the Lord’s supper and the service of God. This scripture further says that we pursue “peace”. If righteousness leads, peace will be secured. However, there is also the peace of another world. Peace that the Lord Jesus brings in. It is so very blessed. If we shut the door as in John 20, He will bring in His peace and give character to the service of God.
Before we pass on, it is important to notice the rest of the chapter. Here, Paul stresses the qualities of the persons who are serviceable to the Master. It says, “But foolish and senseless questions avoid, knowing that they beget contentions. And a bondman of the Lord ought not to contend”. It also says, “but be gentle towards all; apt to teach; forbearing”. Then it says, “in meekness setting right those who oppose”. That appears to relate to persons who are out of fellowship. We would not expect a person who has been taken captive by Satan to be in fellowship. Yet the bondman of the Lord has to speak meekly to such persons as he sets them right. One thinks of Mr Darby’s comment about one who went astray. His comment as to him was, ‘my heart though pained, only yearns after’. Those are the feelings of a man who has acted rightly according to 2 Timothy 2. We might add that this is also the way we ought to speak to persons we currently walk with.
Let us finish with a touch on Revelation 3. The whole portion has been read but the main point in mind is to see the Lord’s appreciation of persons who are separate. There is blessing in it for you but there is also something for the heart of Christ. He loves to see separate persons. He says as to Philadelphia, they “shall know that I have loved thee”. The Lord Jesus loves persons who have been prepared to take this moral pathway. It is important to notice that Philadelphia does not present a public position. It is rather a moral state. You may be moving according to 2 Timothy 2 but not fully in the gain of what is presented here. The two scriptures ought to go together but we know in our own experience that it is not always the case. This is a condition in the souls of God’s people who are separate outwardly and inwardly. Dear brethren, would you do it for Christ? Would you gladden Christ’s heart? Give Him something in the time He is rejected. What else has He got? Israel has been put to one side, the professing church has effectively forgotten Him, and there are many dear Christians who know Him as their Saviour who are tied up in the world. What has He got? Can He not have your heart? As entirely separate, can you not be here for His pleasure? You need to persevere on this line. You may have been right yesterday but there is no guarantee that you will be right tomorrow. You need to be an overcomer. The overcomer in Philadelphia involves continuance on this line. If you do overcome, the Lord sees someone that He can form and impress upon the great things of God. Look what He is going to do with the overcomer. It says, “him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more at all out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God, and my new name”. Would you do it for His sake so that He can have you exclusively for His pleasure?
May the Lord help us and bless the word.
Address at Adelaide
29 April 2006