THE CURRENT MIND OF GOD
[p. 502] THE CURRENT MIND OF GOD
Revelation 1: 9 - 19; Acts 10:9-21; Acts 10:44
I was thinking, dear brethren, of the current mind of God and our being in accord with it. One had better not be here on earth, if not in accord with the mind of God, not simply what it was or will be, but what it is. In this book of Revelation we have “I am ... he who is, and who was, and who is to come” (chapter 1: 8), “who is” comes first, so that in order to have a right apprehension of what has been, and what will be, it is essential to have an apprehension of what is. Of old, the people of God in the desert were to be certain of the divine way, and so the tabernacle with the cloud upon it was ever to be the guide. There is that at the present time which corresponds, and it is for all the people of God to see the way He takes; to be blind or indifferent is to court disaster, but to be in the apprehension of it and the recognition of its accompaniments, is to be in a current in which one is carried forward. So I selected these records of these two great servants of God, John and Peter, as illustrating the divine way of keeping us in the current of His mind. The selection is by no means accidental, for God had earlier set these two servants together, so that they moved together, as in Acts 3 we are told, “Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer”. They represented much, not simply the normal growth of believers, but the special workmanship of Christ. There is always that which is special in the ways of God, and we cannot deny Him that right. Peter and John in this way represented what was special, and they moved in beautiful harmony, John ever taking the second place. In these scriptures we find them in crises. The circumstances of these [p. 503] chapters are far apart, for doubtless Peter was with the Lord when John was in Patmos; they are not now seen together, but separately, and I wish to treat of them in that way, because, whilst, as I hope to show, the same principle enters into both incidents. John is called back, he hears a voice behind him; whereas Peter hears a voice, not from behind, but from heaven. A voice from heaven indicates a forward movement, whereas the voice behind is to call attention to something that is behind. It may be that some of us are behind, and if so, the Lord will not fail to call attention to what is behind. We have to look back on what is behind, not in a mirror in front of us, but there has to be a turning, as we see here. John turned back to see the voice. Those who take the lead turn back at times; indeed, we find it with the Lord; in the moment of supreme suffering He turned round, we are told, and looked at one who was far behind — one who had just denied Him; “The Lord, turning round, looked at Peter”, Luke 22: 61. That meant much for Him, but He did it, and it is ever right to do it when it is a question of one who is behind. Many of us, as I said, are apt to be behind, and those in front do not wish to go on without them. Those who are behind are greatly exposed. Amalek of old cut off those who were behind. Those in front cannot afford to ignore those who are behind, but I wish to point out that, for discernment of the present mind of God, spirituality is essential. Spirituality is a current word amongst us, but one is afraid that as to actual quantity it is not very apparent, and one includes oneself in this. Spirituality is not in much quantity, but it is essential to what I purpose to dwell upon. It is essential to be spiritual if there is to be any leadership, and let no one assume that there is not leadership. God always employs leaders; it may be in a small or a great way, but the principle of leadership is ever [p. 504] present with God; and if there be any qualifications for leading, it is of all moment that there should be spirituality, otherwise, in due course, the right eye will become utterly darkened, and the arm clean dried up (Zechariah 11: 17). One has to see clearly, to lead. Moses said to Hobab, “thou wilt be to us for eyes” (Numbers 10: 31), poor eyes those would have been, the eyes of a native of the wilderness, for that was what Hobab was. The people of God should never be natives; they are passing through, and a child of the wilderness could not, therefore, properly be eyes for the people. So God in Numbers 10 shows that He will be eyes to them. The ark, typifying the Lord Jesus, left its place of dignity in the camp, and took the lead (safe leading indeed!), three days journey in the wilderness. It was not only to take the lead, but “to search out a resting-place for them” — that is true leadership. True leadership is not always militant or to do with strife, but it is for peace and rest. So in Deborah’s days we read that the “leaders led in Israel”, and they led aright, with the result that the land was at rest. Deborah says, “Let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years”, Judges 5: 31. Rest is the consequence of true leadership. The leaders led in Israel, and the ark itself led; it went three days journey in the wilderness to find a resting-place for the people. When it set forward, Moses said, “Rise up, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thy face”, Numbers 10: 35. Depend upon it, true leadership means the scattering of the enemy. When it rested, he said, “Return, Jehovah, unto the myriads of the thousands of Israel”.
That is the divine way, and God is proceeding on those lines, so that in leadership it is of all importance to see the way, and to be able to turn back and see those who are behind; we must not go without them;
[p. 505] they are coming. I am not referring to apostasy — to those who draw back to perdition, that is a different matter: (”if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him”, Hebrews 10: 38). That is a different matter from those who are walking slowly. The latter are coming on, anyway, and we see them coming. Peter looked back when he saw John following and it is of all moment for leaders to be able to see, to have a clear vision.
John here, was in a true position for leadership; he “was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus”, and he was there as their brother and companion in tribulation, and he became “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”. I believe the “Lord’s day” in Revelation, suggests to us what the Lord has done for us in these last days. He has not publicly intervened in the regulation of the world yet. His object for the moment is to look after His people, the assembly, and He has intervened in the course of this world to make a way for us. It is the Lord’s day; it refers to the day in which He is dominant. It may be said that He is not dominant in the world, but He certainly is acting dominantly in christendom, as this book shows, and He has made a way for us. “I have set before thee an opened door”, Revelation 3: 8. He has done that, and it has caused a mighty movement in christendom covering a long period of time; but He has done it, and John on this day is “in the Spirit”, as if he is free to be abstracted. It is right to be free to be in the Spirit whenever possible. The realm of the Spirit is wonderful! It was not simply that he had the Spirit, or that he walked in the Spirit, but he was in the Spirit in the sense of being in the realm of the Spirit, and he was wholly absorbed in that realm on the Lord’s day. The Lord’s day and the Spirit go together. The Lord’s day means that the Lord has intervened for us and has made a way [p. 506] for us, and in doing so He has made a way for the Spirit, not only that the Spirit should convict, which He does, but that He should be available as a matter of privilege and enjoyment. But for that we need to be formed spiritually, not only to have the Spirit, but to accustom ourselves to the Spirit’s domination, so that room is made for Him in the mind, affection and soul; He dominates so that there is complete envelopment and enrapturing. It is possible, and that is where John was. You will remember that Philip was caught away by the Spirit. A marvellous statement, involving not only his moral being, but the body, the whole man raptured by the Spirit, and he is found in normal conditions afterwards, at Azotus. Paul said if he thought of God he was beside himself; God was so much to him.
John was in this state, and he heard a voice behind him like a trumpet. Why should John be disturbed? I do not suppose he ever complained about the disturbance: the voice of Jesus could never be a disturbance to be complained about by John. It may be a disturbance to some of us, who are in worldly associations, but the voice of Jesus, even when like a trumpet, would never be regarded by John as a disturbance. And there were words in the voice, which was behind: “What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven assemblies”. And then he turns to see the voice — a remarkable expression — and he saw the Lord, not in habiliments that belong properly to heaven or heavenly associations, but in habiliments that refer to a state of things here that needed to be dealt with judicially; it is that to which I would call attention. If we are to go forward spiritually, it is important not to ignore conditions that exist, for the Lord will call us back if we do. People who pretend to go forward spiritually, and ignore conditions locally or generally, will soon hear a trumpet voice behind, as if the Lord would say, ‘Take notice of local conditions’. I am speaking very practically and simply. It is well to be practical and not ignore actual current conditions among the people of God. I am not saying that there was any reproof for John in this trumpet voice, there was not; nevertheless John needed to have his attention called to what existed in the seven assemblies in Asia. I do not doubt but that he was conversant with these assemblies in his service. I believe he ministered in these very places in his later years; but we may minister in localities and yet need to have our attention called to certain current conditions, and that is what you get here. The voice is from behind, like a trumpet, and John is not only to be made acquainted with the conditions, but he is to write about them, he is to let the brethren know about them, he is to let the seven assemblies in Asia know, in writing, about these conditions. And so he sees the Lord in this judicial garb, and he falls at His feet as dead. It was a different Jesus for the moment, so far as John could judge, from what he had been accustomed to; but it is well to get a good view of the Lord in His judicial garb, because we have got to put on this garb if we are to be kept from the occasion of judgment. If there be a good doorkeeper in a judicial garb, evil is not admitted, it is judged. I doubt whether any one is of value in the assembly, save as he is able to form a judgment about evil. We get in this very book an angel talking to John saying, “I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore” (Revelation 17: 1); then he carried him away in spirit to a desert, so that he might see the evil in all its hideous magnitude, and the judgment of God upon it.
So here John falls at His feet as dead, but the Lord assures him that He is the same Jesus whom he had known from the outset: “Fear not; I am the first, and the last, and the living one; and I became dead,
[p. 508] and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades”; as if to say, I want you to see the evil — the drift of evil in the sphere of profession (in the midst of the candlesticks), but I wish you to understand that I am in control, and nothing can get beyond Me. He would assure us that He has “the keys of death and of hades”; He has power to limit the evil. Then He has also, the “key of David”, that is to say, the power to open up the door (chapter 3: 7). That is what John had to come to. He was assured of the Lord’s love, that it was the same Jesus, but here in judicial garb. Nothing in the whole sphere in which His name is owned, misses His eye. Nothing will escape His judgment, and He would bring us into accord with that now, so that as going forward in spiritual and assembly privilege, we are with Him in regard of the evil that exists abroad. 2 Timothy teaches us, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity” — you judge it, and leave it, and then you “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”.
In Peter’s case we have another crisis. It is not now a question of evil coming into the church. Thank God, it had been kept out. We see in Acts 5 and 6, that there was an attempt to bring in evil but it had been kept out by holy vigilance; so that in chapter 10 it is not a question of evil rushing in, but that something new and delightful to the heart of God, is about to be introduced. Now this is an important matter, because we can never tell when God will bring in something that we have not looked for, that we have not perhaps wished for. Something, indeed, that may interfere with our reckonings a little, and our personal position, but if we are in the Spirit, if we are spiritual, we shall be in full sympathy with it, and if there be anything lacking with us, as there is apt to be, God will reveal it unto us, “If in any thing ye be otherwise minded. God shall reveal even this unto you”, Philippians 3: 15. God has great consideration for a spiritual person. Most tenderly did He reveal things to Peter, so that he might act concurrently with what He was doing, as we see in this chapter. Saul of Tarsus had already been converted and was in active service; like His Master, the Lord Jesus who, before John Baptist was cast into prison, began to do something, according to John’s gospel. According to the synoptic gospels, He waited until John was in prison, that is to say, He was governed by levitical instincts and principles; but being a divine Person, according to John’s gospel, He Himself moves; He stood, and then He walked, and then He ministered. So Paul was already in service according to chapter 9, when the great current was moving out towards the gentiles. Is Peter going to be in this movement? If there be a current today, something distinctive from God (He loves to bring in distinctive things), if I am spiritual I shall not miss it. I may need correction, or even rebuke, but I shall not miss it; hence the great importance of spirituality.
Peter, we are told, was in the house of Simon a tanner, and Cornelius receives a vision from heaven. God is moving — a mighty current is moving towards the gentiles. Peter is not far away; he is at the seaside, and it is about the sixth hour (probably noon), and he is hungry. While the food is being prepared, Peter goes up; he did not go down. Had he been governed by natural feelings, he would have gone down to where the food was being prepared, for he was hungry; but he went up — moral ascent, a true evidence of spirituality, and he went up to pray; that is a sure sign of a dependant man. I am sure, dear brethren, we need to be on the watch, because God moves, as we sometimes sing, “in a mysterious way”; not that it is mysterious to the spiritual. God moves, and we do not want to be out [p. 510] of step with what He is doing; a spiritual man will not miss it.
Peter went up to pray, and an ecstasy came upon him: that is the evidence of spirituality in a crisis. Then the sheet comes down, “and it came even to me”. Peter says in chapter 10 it came from heaven with the creatures in it, and a voice says, “Rise, Peter, slay and eat”. Peter needed adjustment, and it soon came. This took place three times, and while Peter was in doubt as to the vision, the men who came from Cornelius stood before the gate, and the Spirit says to Peter, “Behold, three men seek thee ... go with them”. That is to say, he is spiritual, and the Spirit can speak to him. It is not a question of a call in discipline or providential intervention, but a direct voice from the Spirit to a person who knows how to listen to the Spirit. Peter is spiritual. I do not go into the details. Peter comes down to the three men, and they travel to Caesarea where Cornelius meets them. In the house of Cornelius, Peter, when beginning to speak, says, “Of a truth”. It is a fine thing if God is doing something that cuts across my feelings or prejudices, to recognise the truth. The truth should be the great adjusting principle. If I am subject, I bow to the truth, and let it have its way. The Lord Himself used the same words when at Nazareth, “I tell you of a truth”, Luke 4: 25. Peter says here, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons”. It is a very fine trait of spirituality, to bow to the truth of what God is doing.
And so Peter went on to preach to Cornelius and his company about the Lord Jesus. “While Peter was yet speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were hearing the word” (verse 44). That is to say, Peter is brought into accord with the current, and now the Holy Spirit has a free hand. That is one of the finest results of any exercise in service, that the Spirit has a free hand. The Spirit [p. 511] falls on Cornelius and his company while Peter is yet speaking. He did not ask Peter to stop, but He fell on them while Peter was speaking. What a scene! Peter was preaching in the power of the Spirit, undoubtedly, and the Spirit falls on his hearers, as if He were to say, I have a free hand now. And so we reach Luke 15 — the acme of the gospel — the prodigal brought back, and the best things of heaven brought out; that is where the Spirit of God has a free hand.
The Spirit of God “fell upon all those who were hearing the word”; that would denote an affectionate, energetic action, showing the divine feelings in connection with the reception of the gentiles. A marvellous scene! It all flows out in connection with Peter having been brought into accord with the current; he was fully in it, and he says later in justification of it, “who indeed was I to be able to forbid God?” It was God’s doing. What can be greater in our service, than that room is made for the Spirit of God — so that what is done is done by God, and not simply by us? Peter was brought into accord because he was spiritual, like the servant of Abraham of old, who said, “I being in the way. Jehovah has led me”, Genesis 24: 27.
May God help us not only to recognise the Spirit, but to be spiritual, as it says, “the spiritual discerns all things, and he is discerned of no one”, 1 Corinthians 2: 15.