UNITY AS LEADING TO INCREASE
[p. 466] UNITY AS LEADING TO INCREASE
I have read these verses in Ephesians 4 to speak of unity. As you will observe, these verses treat of unity in its general bearing, for indeed the bearing of this epistle is more universal than local, and I have in mind to dwell on the universal setting of unity. That there should be such a thing is a victory achieved by God. In taking out a people from among the nations for His name, He unified them, so that they should be, not only theoretically, but practically one body, “one body in Christ”.
As soon as the Holy Spirit came down, according to Acts 2, He sat on each of the saints assembled, and they began to speak in the different dialects or languages represented in Jerusalem at that time, and the representation was large, not indeed of the nations as such, but of Jews and Jewish proselytes from among them, and they testified that what the saints were saying they understood, as spoken in the language in which they were born. What was said would establish a basis for practical unity as they returned to their respective countries, and as God wrought, there would be the existence of unity as the effect of the truth on their walk and ways. This was what was divinely intended as over against the deliberate scattering by God at Babel, where the race of mankind was scattered judicially throughout the whole earth. The principle of unity was to be introduced and it was to overthrow the confusion that had existed. Language ceased to be a barrier; and to the end that unity should be maintained, there were the gifts of tongues, so that divine things should continue to be ministered amongst the nations in an intelligible way.
What is to be observed from a practical point of view is that the first breach recorded was due to sectional feelings arising (Acts 6). The Hellenists, that is, the Grecian Jews, complained that their widows were [p. 467] neglected in the daily ministrations, not that their widows were any more interesting to heaven than the other widows, but they were of more interest to the other disciples who were from the part of the world indicated. I mention this, for indeed it is part of what I have in mind, that in dwelling for a little on this great thought of unity, we should keep before us the danger of disruption arising from sectional feeling.
Another illustration of sectional interference with the divine economy and unity is in the book of Numbers, chapter 16, where a great rebellion arose, two hundred and fifty of the princes of Israel being involved in it, and led by Korah, a Kohathite. He and his family of the Levites were stationed on the south side of the tabernacle as was also the tribe of Reuben, and the rebellion arose through the combination of this section of the Levites with certain of the tribe of Reuben, manifestly because they were adjacent to each other. Partisan feelings sprang up, arising from the contiguity of the tribe of Reuben to the Kohathites, the leading family in the tribe of Levi; the combination that arose was disastrous. So, dear brethren, there is always this danger of our being affected sectionally or nationally, or even in a continental sense, in a hemispherical sense, for a whole hemisphere may be affected because of mutual contiguity. The truth that is before us in this chapter implies that all this has to be watched, lest the work of God should in any way be marred, for His great thought is unity.
The Lord had this in mind in His prayer to His Father recorded by John, and by John only; He prayed for those who should believe on Him through the services of the apostles — that they should be one. He also says, that the glory that the Father gave to Him He gave to those whom the Father gave Him, so that they might be one — a very remarkable thing. He says to His Father, “The glory which thou hast given me I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one”. What a standard of unity! The Lord saw that the conferring of glory [p. 468] that He had received on the disciples was to promote the great thought of unity; that as we are glorified according to God, the state is present for unity according to Him.
In speaking thus, I am not referring to actual glorification, a condition which is still in prospect. There is glorification now, as the apostle Paul says, “whom he has justified, these also he has glorified”. I believe God intends glorification to mark us in all our settings, but particularly in regard of unity, that we are together happily and freely as dignified and as glorified by God. It all lies in the Spirit; for the Spirit works in us in the sense of anointing, and sealing, and of the earnest; so that we are not small, or legal, or exacting, and the Jewish element is negated in us. What is required for unity is largeness of heart in spiritual formation and wealth. The smallness that naturally attaches to us is inimical to unity, it militates against it. It descends to the level of judaism, that is current religious and sectarian feeling.
As I was saying, this thought of sectionalism may spread. Take, for instance, the great ocean in which we are set, the Pacific; it is not very long since that some of us had to consider the idea of contiguity, as related to its shores, involving thousands of miles of distance between saints who are supposed to be neighbours. In truth, they are not neighbours, and yet the principle had to be recognised. The thought of neighbourhood is good, but it may become merely sectional, for this is a time of travel and reduction of distances, and what is intended to be a right principle may degenerate into sectionalism, tending to cleavage. In this sense we may think more of persons who are near to us, than of those further off, and we may flatter one another that things are better because of this contiguity; such feelings and thoughts are entirely inimical to the work of God, and to the great unity that properly belongs to us, which is inclusive of every saint on earth. When we arrive at the idea of [p. 469] resurrection, all sectionalism disappears, and the great unity is realised. We never cross Jordan until we come to face death, for it is through death that we arrive at resurrection. As we do come to face Jordan, that is, death, there it is before us in all its rolling force, for Jordan overflows its banks in the time of harvest. When we arrive there, the Spirit of God says, The Ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going before you. This is no sectional thought.
The two and half tribes had taken up a section which, alas! proved disastrous in time, for in all these things, the sowing means reaping. They had taken up the section they had appraised and which they thought suited them best. They appropriated it and determined to have it, whatever Moses said. Happily they were amenable to the requirement to send forty thousand men, a fully representative number, to cross the Jordan; the unity of God’s people was thus maintained in principle. They crossed over willingly and valiantly to fight the battles attendant upon taking possession of the inheritance, so that the unity was there, and it was a question of “the Lord of all the earth”. God has nothing less than that in His mind, and I believe that the more we come to Jordan and understand the spiritual side of the position and the power of God operating in all Israel, as it were, in all the saints, sectionalism disappears. It is a question of the twelve tribes of Israel taking up their position in relation to the testimony of God as “the Lord of all the earth”.
In view of all this, you will see how Colossians and Ephesians fit in. In Colossians it says, they had love for all the saints. They were universal in their thoughts, and their love was spiritual. These are two things that are striking in regard to these saints. The only mention of the Spirit is in relation to their love — a very fine setting. It was love in the Spirit, and love in the Spirit, dear brethren, will never be sectional or preferential. If we have a “little sister” who needs attention, we are not to speak ill of her, but we will make the most of her and add [p. 470] to her, wherever she is. The family relationship stands, however geographically apart these persons may be. It is therefore a question of making the most of what there may be. Those of us who travel about the world thankfully recognise how the work of God in some places prospers more than in others, and we are, of course, entitled to inquire why it is, but, nevertheless, the work of God is the work of God, and the “little sister” is entitled to every bit of affection and help we can give her.
Thus it is that the principle of the body requires that the uncomely parts should be taken care of, and greater honour conferred upon them, instead of detracting from any section. In comparing ourselves with other sections, we should make the most of every section of the work of God. God would have us to make the most of our brothers and sisters, of the gatherings large and small throughout the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; also, of course, the British Isles, these southern countries, and the West Indies. It is a question of the unity of the Spirit, what God is going on with. We are in it by profession, but we are to be in it in reality, as this chapter teaches us: “with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace”. That is the first great statement. We must begin locally bearing with one another in love, and we may have to bear with a brother five thousand miles away. We may have to bear with his letters and with his influence. We are taxed, so to speak, in this way. It is a poor thing, dear brethren, so richly endowed as we are, if we cannot suffer from our brethren in profiting by them, because there is something of value in every brother. It may be something I need, and I do not want to be deprived of it.
On the other hand, there are conditions in the “little sister” which are to be enhanced, and we must see to it. If she be a door, for instance, we will “enclose her with boards of cedar”; if a wall, we will “build upon her a turret of silver”. If there be anything of the work of God, it is to be taken account of and furthered as much as possible, and if we have to suffer in the service, let us suffer. I do not know of anything more important, in this respect, than suffering. It comes in so many ways, and almost always the way out of every difficulty is by suffering. On this line we bear “with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace”. Although these verses are well known amongst us, one does not hesitate to go over the ground. We are in the centre of three concentric circles in these verses, and thus they suggest a remarkable environment. There is something, and this is surrounded by something else, and the latter is surrounded by what is infinite. The first circle is the “one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling”. What richness in that inner circle that should affect our spirits! We are set up in an immediate environment of the most precious and exalted thoughts and we are intended to absorb the effect of them.
The next is a circle of authority and, as understanding the inner one, we hail the outer one because it involves authority and power for protection. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”. It includes responsibility on our part. As in it we may have to think of persons whose possession of the Spirit is questionable; in such times as ours certainly, this second circle includes those whose christianity is very questionable; and what forbearance is needed in respect of that! There is the positive thing, the actual existence of a kingdom vested in Christ in heaven, and operated here on earth as under Him. It is a protection for us, but it calls for very great consideration and a good deal of suffering and humiliation, in order to get down to people who may indicate good evidence of their genuineness and yet they are not clear. Their christianity is cloudy, and I hardly know anything requiring so much grace as to serve such. But they are professedly in the realm of the Lord’s authority, having [p. 472] been baptised, and yet their christianity is doubtful. There may be some like that here. Your presence here is an encouragement for, so far, your face is in the right direction, and it is the business of those of us who love God and His people to serve you. In the kingdom the Lord exercises His grace and authority on your behalf, in spite of all these doubtful things, and His people are not to be behind Him. The responsibility of those who love God is to serve their brethren and rescue them from what hinders them, and that is involved in the second circle in which we are set.
The third one is infinite, you cannot fathom it, you cannot compass it. “One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all”. He is universal. The universe exists by God. It is not something thrown out as an act of divine power, and allowed to work out itself. It is pervaded by God and bounded by God, and the christian is able to regard himself as in it intelligently, as by faith he apprehends that the worlds were framed by the word of God. People are often baffled as to what is beyond that — and beyond that. The third is the final thought, and you cannot get beyond it. You cannot compass it. It is a question of God, and you thus rest as in it. It satisfies me that the universe is bounded by God, sustained by God, pervaded by God. A grain of wheat cast into the ground germinates by God. We look abroad, and whether it be the heavens or the earth, the working out is by God, “who is over all, and through all, and in us all”. This epistle teaches that the dwelling-place of God is composed of the saints. He is not in us, simply, as in the universe. He is in us as in holy relationship with us. He is resident amongst the saints, they have become a habitation of God by the Spirit.
What an environment all that is! And the intent is that, as set up in it, we are to be absorbent, impressionable, and to take on what is presented, and the more we take on, the more united we are. Every way we look,
[p. 473] in this wonderful environment, we see unity promoted. To show the bearing of this, the Spirit of God quotes from Psalm 68, a convenient scripture at this point. Quotations in the New Testament from the Old are intended, among other things, to help us in our meditations and in ministry, and we are struck with the skill in which passages are brought forward by the Spirit in the New Testament; and here is a passage brought forward, in view of this unity being set up in principle, so that there should be powerful ministry here; not simply that things are said and we converse about them, but that there should be a powerful ministry here superior to all opposing forces that exist; that is the idea of gift. Gift is superior to all the enemy can bring forward against it, and so it says that the Lord “ascended up on high”, leading captivity captive and has given gifts to men. Further it says — and this should touch our hearts — “that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth”. He has ascended far above all the heavens and being thus ascended He has given gifts. The gifts here are not simply given to the persons who have them, but the persons themselves are the gifts. That brings up the thought of suitability to the gift, that the person is in keeping with it, so that he may be spoken of as a gift from the ascended Christ. We can understand how careful the Lord was in regard to the twelve apostles, so that they should represent him, and also in regard to Paul and others. The gifts are representative of Him who has given them. If one is this in a characteristic way, it is most serious to discredit Him.
It will be observed that only four are mentioned here, and this is in accord with the universal unity I have been speaking of. It is worked out and maintained in ministry exercised by these four classifications of gifts. They are given in wisdom. The apostles came first as representative of the Lord’s direct authority, so much so, that the doctrine of the apostles was that with which the saints [p. 474] went on. They persevered in their teaching at the beginning, they understood the great place that the apostles had. The prophets are the second classification and they bring God to our souls; but in the apostles we have the authority of the Lord, wisely, for we need subjugation. In this sense there is a great difference between the ministry of Joshua and the ministry of David. With the former there was complete extirpation of the inhabitants of the land, but David does not do that, with him it is subjugation. Every one of us must come under that, and David set up garrisons so as to maintain his authority where he had effected subjugation; for us that implies the presence of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is this to us, the power to maintain the authority of the Lord in those subjugated.
Then the prophets, as I said, bring in God, and the presence of God is the answer to every question that may be raised against us. If God be with us, what can anybody say? Then, thirdly, under these circumstances, we have evangelists, those who enlarge the position. Now this further enlargement and increase of numbers, may cause trouble. I am not discrediting the numbers, for, after all, we are not very many, but I do think that during these days, God is showing just a little in a public way of what He has. He is pleased with His people as walking in the truth in any suitable way and would call attention to them. The brethren ought to be attractive to you, He would say. In response to this, young people say with Ruth, “thy people shall be my people”. It is not a time for display of thousands as at Jerusalem, but it is a time for God to show just a little of what He has in His inheritance in the saints, and He would invite men to think as He does.
God looks for quality in us, and if there be formation by the gracious energy of the Spirit, the word is, “we ... exhort ... that ye would abound still more”, 1 Thessalonians 4: 1. The first cleavage began with the increase of numbers; it says, as the numbers increased, that there [p. 475] was complaint by the Hellenists because their widows, as they thought, were not being cared for sufficiently. We must have our eyes on these things, and if God is increasing us in a little way, it should not be marred. Inflation is a very baneful thing, and God does not like it at all. The idea is seen in the grain of mustard seed becoming a great tree. In this respect the feast of unleavened bread keeps us, if it is kept according to God; let the numbers increase, they can be trusted. If we have the reduction involved in the keeping of the feast of unleavened bread there is nothing to fear. The apostle says, let us keep it; there were a good many at Corinth, but they were leavened with pride, and so he insists that they keep the feast with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”. That is how the truth stands in 1 Corinthians 5.
Then there are shepherds and teachers which are really two gifts, as it were, in one man. The word “some” indicates the division. You will notice the commas dividing “some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers”, one man embracing the last two. How beautiful it is that as the saints are brought in by the evangelist, the pastor or shepherd looks after each of them, ministering what is needed. He teaches, too, and there is hardly a thing that I know of more important at the present time, next to prophecy, than teaching. “My people”, says God, through the prophet, “are destroyed for lack of knowledge”, and the teacher, in line with the pastor, adjusts the minds of the saints by bringing in the truth in power so that the mind is regulated by it, and its unifying influence is felt. All that is involved in these four kinds of ministers, not that we have the apostles now, but this is what the Lord in His wisdom has provided for the maintenance and progress of the assembly; and so the passage says, “to the work of the ministry” — the work of it. Let us not think that ministry is an easy matter. It is toil. The word translated “work” in Numbers 4: 3 signifies positive toil.
Here we have “to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ; until we all arrive” — that is, all saints on earth. Every true minister understands that; he is thinking of all the saints. “Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”.
That is how it is to be. Not only that we love one another and are linked up together, but there is dignity amongst us in the knowledge of the Son of God, and we unitedly arrive at the great thought of the full-grown man, “in order that we may be no longer babes”. The word is babes, not children, meaning persons who are easily influenced — and oh! what destructive influences are abroad today! We have further that we should not be “carried about by every wind of that teaching which is in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning with a view to systematized error”. Think of those words! Men are deliberately set to deceive the people of God; they are agents of the devil; and the antidote to all that is ministry leading up to full growth, so that we are not deceived nor carried about by every evil wind of teaching.
The culmination of the instruction is in “the whole body”, showing that the universal thought runs right through. “The whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”. That is the triumph of God, that there is such a thing here, inclusive of all the true saints of God on earth. It is an organism in which love is active and the truth is held in love, not intellectually merely, but held in love. How important, therefore, that the truth should be ministered, and nothing but the truth; and so as ministered it is received into the hearts of the saints and held in love. Then there are the joints and the bands, so that there should be self-edification. In any town where there is not distinct ability, these organic conditions secure edification [p. 477] in the meeting. We are thus set up on this line of unity, in independency of man. There is “not need that any one should teach you”. There is ability amongst the saints, inherent ability in this sense, to edify one another. So that the whole body makes increase according to God.
That is all I have to say, and I commit it to you, dear brethren, as being, I believe, one of the most important things that I could bring before you at the present time.