FEATURES OF THE ASSEMBLY (2)
[p. 223] FEATURES OF THE ASSEMBLY (2)
Matthew 13:1 - 9; Matthew 13:24-30; Matthew 13:51-58
JT Our subject is the assembly. We considered righteousness, which is an important feature in Matthew leading up to the assembly, and it is thought now that we should consider the sowing, then formation in the next meeting, and the assembly in function in the last reading. The scriptures read deal with the sowing. The closing verses from 51 to 58 call attention to the Lord’s method of completing subjects in His ministry and, of course, He intends that we should learn from Him, from His example, so that the matter of sowing is finished, so to say, in this chapter and it is a subject that should now be touched in relation to the assembly. It is essential to the assembly. It is essential to the subject of the assembly. The subject of righteousness too, by itself, is essential to the matter of the assembly, as we saw last night. There are many other subordinate subjects which could be alluded to, but there is no time, because we are not pursuing the whole gospel of Matthew, but just taking up certain features of the assembly as mentioned.
The subject of sowing has a peculiar place, extending in the Scriptures to Genesis 8 and entering in peculiarly to the provisional period of the earth’s existence. It is said, “Henceforth, all the days of the earth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). It is to continue. So that sowing is a feature of the provisional period of the earth as it is. Presently we will have a new earth and new heaven; but the learning time is in the first earth and the first heaven, according to the hymn we sang in which we said that the Lord is Head of creation — not the new creation but the present one. His great provisional [p. 224] position is in view of the working out of the truth of the assembly, and then the working out with Israel too, and the continuance of the nations in testimony; and then there will be change. In the meantime it is a provisional period, the learning period, and in order to have things for God there must be sowing, otherwise there will be sterility or such conditions which would hardly be controlled. The seed time and harvest show that God is continuing to provide for suitable seed to be sown and grown, and all this leads up to the thought of the assembly and enters into the truth of it. So we have in the verses read at the beginning of the chapter: “And that same day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea”, alluding to the nations. Having left the Jewish position, He took up a position in relation to the nations as the great sphere of His sowing. “And great crowds were gathered together to him, so that going on board ship himself he sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore. And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow: and as he sowed, some grains fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them”; and so the passage runs on until we come to the positive result of the sowing: “And others fell upon the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty. He that has ears, let him hear”.
EGMcA Does this sowing indicate that what has preceded was not of right substance to bring in what would be suitable to God in the assembly? There had to be a sowing of something entirely fresh.
JT I would think that the whole history of Israel, extending down, we may say, from Abraham, had not yielded what was suitable for the assembly. The truth of the assembly had not been revealed. In view of it, the question of sowing comes up, and the Lord leaves the house He was in, which would be [p. 225] Jewry, and comes out and sits down by the sea. “And great crowds were gathered together to him, so that going on board ship himself he sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore. And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow”. So that I would say the position that had been was not enough to yield what was now in mind.
CCT In the last sowing fruit is produced, one hundred, sixty and thirty fold; this is on good ground. Was it your thought in speaking of this, that there might be the bearing of fruit coming forth in the assembly?
JT Quite so. Matthew contemplates a shrinkage, a reduction in the yield from the sowing. Therefore it says, “one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty”. There is reduction in the yield in Matthew as if it would be a feature of the assembly gospel that things become reduced immediately and the fruit less and less; whereas in Mark it is more and more.
EGMcA Would this one hundred, sixty, and thirty — the down-grade — correspond with the conditions seen in the letters to the churches in the second and third of Revelation?
JT That is good. The reduction is indicated, too, in the fact of what is said in chapter 18 of this gospel. “Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree” Matthew 18:19, meaning that there will be a reduction in the personnel as indicated in the first part of the chapter, the first part which alludes to the assembly.
SMcC In regard to this matter of sowing, according to Matthew the results have to do with assembly quality. Have you in mind sowing in that regard?
JT I think that is in it. In chapter 18, which we will have tomorrow, there is the idea of quality as well as quantity. The results would be produced gradually as is indicated in the addresses to the [p. 226] assemblies because the addresses to the assemblies are written under the Lord’s dictation. He tells John what to write and the order in which he was to write, beginning with Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira, which would allude to the greatest outward volume, but the least in quality. Relative quality is greatly reduced while the volume is greatly increased in the profession. The quality really comes out in Philadelphia; the quality is there but the quantity is reduced — “a little strength”.
HB When we come to Laodicea it says, “If any one hear my voice” (Revelation 3:20). Great reduction!
SMcC Take this continent and the great States to the south of us. If we read Mr. Darby’s letters we find references to Kentucky, and other States are much mentioned; but as we look around there is little in the way of result for the assembly there today, and yet there has been a good deal of sowing on other lines.
JT I believe the governmental side comes in there. What has marked this country constitutionally does not make for increase of spiritual quality. I think that is well established on fact. The quality is poor, and although there is great activity in America in certain ways, evangelical and the like, yet the quality is poor, and it certainly has not extended below the mark of the line dividing the North and South. I believe the government of God comes in. Governmentally God is not well pleased with the treatment of the negro. There is hardly anything at all for the assembly below the Mason and Dixon line. There is very little for God even now.
SMcC What you have said is very interesting. Going back to the negro question and the conditions which existed at one time, do you think the South has suffered because of it?
JT Quite so; whereas in the West Indian isles there is much for God in spite of the colour question.
[p. 227] That is to say, the negro race has yielded to the truth of the gospel in Barbados and Jamaica and other similar isles.
CAM The idea of the nations is the broadest kind of thought in God’s mind. God’s attentions to man were more limited in taking up the Jewish nation.
JT Well, the Jewish house is left. Apparently the Lord contemplates it would be necessary to leave it to widen out to the nations. And so this agrees with the actual historical facts. Paul says, “Lo, we turn to the nations” (Acts 13:46), and “the nations ... received the word of God”, (Acts 11:1). It is remarkable that whatever response there has been since that time has been from among the gentiles. Although there has been a good yield from the direct sowing of the twelve in western Asia and eastern Europe, most of the work is through Paul.
ASB Is that why in verse 1 of this chapter we are told, “And that same day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea”?
JT The meaning would be deliberation. He is now free to give time to that which is important. That is to say, time is very scarce but we must make up our minds to devote a good deal to the assembly. We cannot afford to neglect it, however scarce time is. It is the time for that now.
RWS “And that same day” would have a bearing on the Lord’s taking up assembly matters now immediately, would it not?
JT I would think so. It bears on what we have said as to the finishing of the subject; the beginning of a subject and the finishing of it. The finish is in the closing verses. It is said of the Lord in verse 53, “And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables he withdrew thence”. That is, the thing is over from that point of view. The course of instruction [p. 228] is given, in that particular area, and then the Lord withdrew and came to His own country, where we might expect greater attention. “And having come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, Whence has this man this wisdom and these works of power?”. “This man” they say, not ‘Jesus’; not the great prophet of God which this book would open up, but “this man”. Where did He get these instructions? How did He get this light? “Is not this the son of the carpenter?”. You see the appreciation of the Lord in His own country; and, of course. His own country in a wider sense is the Jews. But He left their house. “Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”. See how they minimise the Lord and reduce Him to an ordinary person; and, of course, the next thing would be disregard of what He says. If He can be discredited and reduced in value in the eyes of others, they will refuse Him; as it says, “And they were offended in him. And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honour, unless in his country and in his house. And he did not there many works of power, because of their unbelief”. So that they deprive themselves of the greatest possible thing, the instruction the Lord would give, because of their attitude towards Him. That is important in dealing with our matters, to begin and to finish things, and if there is a turning away we may be obliged to turn away from them. If people do not listen they are to be turned away from. There is no faith there to do anything with.
ASB It is Emmanuel, God with us. We are to take account of the origin of the thing.
JT How beautiful all that is! That is the point; Emmanuel, God with us. It was God Himself; and yet they say, He is the son of Joseph, and they speak [p. 229] of His mother and brothers and sisters, all to depreciate Him, to reduce Him to an ordinary person.
ABP The Lord had already severed His link with His brethren and mother in a previous chapter.
JT Yes; He brought in the moral side; they tell Him that His mother and brethren stand without, as much as to say. He must come to us; let Him come to us.
GMacPh Is it in your mind that the quality of the ministry should bring about assembly features in us?
JT That is the intent of it. The Lord has been doing much for us all these years to bring about interest, and you just wonder how much there is.
GMacPh He comes down from one hundred, and from thirty, to one person here: “He that has ears, let him hear”.
JB In Numbers, in regard to the reduction, we find large numbers on the military side and small numbers in the priesthood.
JT Yes; quantity on the military side, small numbers in the priesthood. Well, of course, when you come to the priesthood you expect refinement. You expect reduction in volume but increase of quality. No doubt that is the intention in regard of priesthood. The military ranks were furnished by the mass, something like six hundred thousand nominated for military service; whereas in Exodus we begin with one man for the priesthood, and that one man is Aaron, and then his sons; so that it is not so much volume in priesthood. There is a reduction in the numbers; in the government of God they are cut in half because of sin in two of them. Two of the priests come under the government of God and we are left with two: that is Eleazar and Ithamar, with their father. It is in the government of God that this takes place. God cut them off. Ultimately the foundation of the priesthood lies in Aaron’s rod that [p. 230] budded. The question of sowing comes in there, and our subject makes way for that — God’s rights in selection. “For many are called ones, but few chosen ones”. (Matthew 20:16). It is said in Hebrews of the priesthood, that no one takes this distinction on himself, but those who are called, such as Aaron. Priesthood is a highly refined matter centering, indeed, in Christ Himself, because He is Priest; the Son is Priest; whereas the military side is a question of numbers for conflict.
ASB Is the military side more a development of ruggedness and stability, and the priesthood more refinement as you are suggesting?
JT Yes; the military side is a question of age, but not so in priesthood. The military began with twenty years, the age of twenty, which would allude to a convert who has the Spirit. He is qualified for military service, as having the Spirit, whereas the priesthood is not governed by age. It is a question of sonship, the eternal idea.
ASB How would the idea of Gideon’s thirty-two thousand being reduced to three hundred come in here?
JT That is God showing how He can refine even, in military matters. Only a certain number is needed, three hundred, of whom it is said they lapped water like dogs; not lying down in a natural way, but just lapped it from the hand, and then were off to the fray. They drank enough for the present need, and were off to the conflict. It is to show what can be done by a few instead of by many. God is in that matter, and He shows what He can do.
Ques Joseph brought before Pharaoh only five of his brethren. Is the thought of quality there?
JT Yes; it would be Joseph’s selection. He brought five out of the whole number. It is a question of his own selection to set them before Pharaoh.
[p. 231] All of those matters are connected with what we are saying as to the assembly.
GMacPh As to your reference to sowing, how are we to overcome this question of the government of God in these matters in connection with the quality in our localities in this country?
JT The only way I see is for all of us who are left in the country here each to apply himself according to the principles governing such a position, such as Gideon’s circumstances. He shows how to work it out, how a small number suffices for the purpose in hand. The end is reached by a small number; so it is a question of just facing the matter and seeing what can be done on that principle now.
JRH The Lord speaks of “the word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19). That is something different from the popular gospel of the day. Presenting that would help as to meeting present conditions.
JT Just so. We have great principles here; they say to the Lord in verse 10, “Why speakest thou to them in parables?” Matthew 13:10. What comes out in this parabolic way is to reduce the result. The parables would bring out what was real and what was unreal. To the disciples, the Lord, “answering said ... Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given; for whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be caused to be in abundance; but he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him. For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand” Matthew 13:11 - 13. The whole matter of parabolic teaching is in mind, and the Lord is saying to His disciples: You are to understand everything I am saying, but the crowd will not, because they are not valuing what they have. They are not making anything of it. “For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing [p. 232] they do not hear nor understand; and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says. Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” Matthew 13:13 - 15. That is to say, God is acting now governmentally, because the people have been neglectful and careless about the great things the Lord has been saying. God’s feelings enter into this, and the Lord is going to take away the advantages they have, but the disciples are to have the full advantage of the teaching; their ears were attentive to what the Lord was saying. He says to them in verse 51, “Have ye understood all these things?”.
CB Is the parable brought in to set aside casualness and to make it a special matter of inquiry?
JT That is it; the Lord says as a result of their inquiry, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given” Matthew 13:11. There are people to whom it is not given; they have had the opportunity of getting it, and they have not got it, so there is a penalty attached to carelessness in listening to the ministry.
CCT It is connected with the thought of unbelief in this chapter?
JT Yes; the great result is worked out in the end of the chapter. The Lord is rejected by the masses; it is happening in Christendom now.
ABP If we attend meetings like these and if we feel we cannot get into the current of them, what would you suggest we do?
JT We shall see in this chapter. It is worked out in what the Lord says. It is a question now primarily of whether people are listening, and do [p. 233] they understand? The Lord has to open our understandings, and that is the secret of getting on in the truth — we must understand.
EGMcA Why is the thought of the kingdom introduced here? “And that same day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea”. And then it says, “The sower went out to sow”, as though it would be an unrestricted area in view. In the kingdom we have a restricted area. Is there not light to regulate from heaven in hearing what the Lord had to say in the parables? It is the kingdom of the heavens which is to rule, and we are to know the mysteries of the kingdom — a new kingdom has been set up, new principles and a restricted area in which the Lord is working. It is not a world-wide thought as ‘Lord of creation’ or ‘Head of creation’, but something new on the kingdom line; an area which He has under His own control and bringing in obligation for us to hear.
JT We shall see in what the Lord said just what you are indicating. There is the restrictive element in people that cannot understand, and God is going to expose that principle which will bring out apostasy. He is going to order the development of apostasy; it will not happen without Him. The apostasy comes about because of the attitude of the persons being ministered to. “And for this reason God sends to them a working of error, that they should believe what is [p. 236] false, that all might be judged who have not believed the truth, but have found pleasure in unrighteousness”, (2 Thessalonians 2:11). The thing will widen out until the assembly is removed, and the removal of the assembly almost synchronises with the apostasy being completed. It is not complete yet.
CAM Speaking of sowing, there is a word of encouragement in Ecclesiastes 11:6, “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper,
[p. 234] whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good”. There is great encouragement in realising that there is a remarkable answer to the ministry in these last days.
JT Well, there is indeed, and I hope we shall come to that. It is brought down: one hundred, sixty, and thirty. Thirty is quite a good proportion. There is that much to be said, but there is this power of God judicially. Some are just playing with the truth and God says, I am done with that. He will say it one day and the whole testimony will be withdrawn, when the time is up. The time is coming and that very soon. “Let the filthy make himself filthy still”, (Revelation 22:11). That is an awful thing.
CCT It seems to be a heart matter, ‘the heart is grown fat’. It is a sad thing that God has to say to a company of people that they have closed their eyes as asleep.
JT It is a question now of what the prophets have taught, which has to be borne in mind; to be instructed in what the prophets have taught. “For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand ... lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart and should be converted, and I should heal them” Matthew 13:13,15. Lest that should happen. That is a most remarkable thing, but that might be going on even in this little company; there might be some who are dealing with the truth of God being ministered to them on that principle. God may say, The time is up. God will begin on the principle of estrangement so that they cannot understand.
Rem It is remarkable that this scripture from Isaiah is quoted in the last chapter of the Acts.
JT It is quoted three times in the New Testament, showing how God had it in mind. The Lord said of Israel, ‘Lest they be converted’. God says,
[p. 235] I will do so-and-so, and that will hinder people getting the truth, a terrible thing! It is because of something that preceded; some neglect or carelessness of spiritual things, or worldliness, and God is finished with such things. The antichrist is to come; his coming synchronises with the apostasy. The antichrist will not come until the apostasy is full blown. “For the mystery of lawlessness already works; only there is he who restrains now until he be gone, and then the lawless one shall be revealed”, (2 Thessalonians 2:7,8). The apostasy will appear and antichrist too; but in the meantime God is keeping the door open. That is the most blessed thing for us; and the door is still open in this country for these meetings.
ABP The woman who touched the hem of the Lord’s garment was conscious of the matter being completed; there was blessing through contact with Him.
JT You shrink from thinking of what humanity is when thrown together with little or no governing principle. Whereas God is making His selection, in the midst of all these millions and millions of people. God is choosing out, making His selection from the masses we come up against in our daily life.
JMcK Cornelius comes to mind. Peter says, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34,35). Do you think the thirty-fold is based on the principle of righteousness as being maintained for God in the assembly?
JT It is still thirty out of one hundred instead of one hundred out of one hundred. God is reducing, and it will be more and more so until the end. God will accelerate the terribleness of the apostasy as it is said, “And for this reason God sends to them a working of error, that they should believe what is false, that all might be judged who have not believed the truth, but have found pleasure in unrighteousness”, (2 Thessalonians 2:11). So the thing synchronises. When the apostasy has taken place the time is ripe for the antichrist to come.
RWS Is the reduction general? Generally speaking, there is more for God in Great Britain as compared with this country which has been the cradle of heresies. You spoke of the constitutional matter in regard of this country. The British Isles have been the cradle of the truth.
JT The area is becoming greatly reduced in which God is operating. The main part of what God is operating in is the British Isles. He is operating in New Zealand too; but the leaders in England recognise that the nation is rapidly becoming apostate. The leaders of the Church of England have said that recently. They are endeavouring to stir up an evangelical effort to reconvert England, but we know this will not happen. There is no sign of such a thing. It is not God’s way that it should happen.
RWS Whereas it is God’s thought that we should recognise things as they are. The assembly would stand against Christian Science and all these bundles of tares.
JT Just so. We are to watch what is going on; not that I advocate devoting much time to the news, but just getting the mind of God in observing what is happening. God is watching what is going on in all these things, and this bundle gathering is an indication of what the angels will do presently.
EGMcA What is the idea in verse 36? “Then, having dismissed [p. 237] the crowds, he went into the house and his disciples came to him saying. Expound to us the parable of the darnel of the field” Matthew 13:36. It is where we are this afternoon, the atmosphere of the house where we are having things explained to us.
JT “He went into the house; and his disciples came to him” Matthew 13:36. The brethren are here this afternoon, but the point is the basis on which we have come. When you think of the vastness of this country, how few there are who have any interest, but still there it is: “his disciples came to him” Matthew 13:36. That is what the character of this meeting is; the disciples are here, and we have come to learn; not only taking in the ministry but understanding it, because that is the point.
EGMcA As having come into the house as we are now, the Lord opens up to the disciples the mysteries of the kingdom which He did not open up outside, such as the value of the assembly to Himself; the treasure hid in the field, and the pearl of great price, and then the casting out of the wicked. All this comes out to those not just watching, but learning. The precious things that Christ has on His heart are expounded to those who are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom.
JT That is very important, to enter fully into what is being said. “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” Matthew 13:16. But then the Lord is warning us as to understanding.
GMacPh The thought of the Son of man sowing good seed in His field — does that take in the profession or does it refer to the principle of the assembly?
JT Well, that is the next paragraph that we should look into. But first of all there is the sowing, the actual service of sowing. The Lord tells us the different things that happened in the sowing. “Behold, the sower went out to sow: and as he sowed, some grains fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them”. That is the devil’s activity, taking away the seed. “And others fell upon the rocky places where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang up out of the ground because of [p. 238] not having any depth of earth, but when the sun rose they were burned up, and because of not having any root were dried up; and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them”. These are all phases of this matter of sowing, the Lord’s own ministry and how it affects different persons and over against that are all these phases. He then says, “and others fell upon the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty”. Now we have to have our eyes open for the good ground, persons known as the subjects of the work of God; not mere listeners, not simply attending the meetings to meet others, but to learn of the word of God; that is the good ground.
JAP Would that be like the Bereans? It says of them, “And these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, receiving the word with all readiness of mind, daily searching the scriptures if these things were so”. (Acts 17:11). There is need of continuance with us.
JT That is the idea exactly; that is where the good ground is. We have a notable reference in Acts 20 where we are told of the persons who accompanied Paul. They were all the fruit of his own work. You will notice that in chapter 20 they accompanied him, and it is said, “And there were many lights in the upper room where we were assembled” Acts 20:8. They listened to the ministry of Paul; they reflected his ministry; they knew what it meant. So there was a flood of light in that hall, so to speak, many lights. Well, these men were affected by Paul’s ministry and followed intently what he was saying. That is, they are listening and really getting the truth. And then we are told that one young man did not get anything, showing how we may be getting nothing, but falling asleep. This young man fell down and apparently was dead. Paul served him, showing the energy of the minister in watching the good and [p. 239] watching the evil, so that the enemy may be defeated in all these meetings. Rivalry and all that is to be shut out, for one thing. Listen to what Paul says; attend to the things spoken by Paul.
GMacPh It is said of Lydia: “whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul”, (Acts 16:14).
JT Exactly. Reference has been made to the Bereans searching the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. One is greatly impressed by the many things that are said that are not so.
ABP Searching the Scriptures should be a concern to the young believer.
CCT The Lord looked about to see how His ministry was being taken and He would look about this afternoon to see how it is being taken on by us.
JT That is how the ministry comes. It is accurate; that is, what is being said is the truth. If things are said that are not right, they should be settled so that everything should be clear.
AC In Revelation 11 there are three classes of redeemed offering fruit to God. “Thy servants the prophets, and ... the saints, and ... those who fear thy name, small and great” Revelation 11:18. Would that suggest the hundred, sixty, and thirty?
JT Very good. The Lord told John what to write and the order in which it should be written. And so he says in Revelation 1:19, “Write therefore what thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to be after these”. Now that is the order in which the book is written, and in order to understand we have to follow that order. John is to prophesy again, and he has to eat the little book, indicating that we have to keep up with the need, the necessity, the exigency of the time. We have to keep up with that and know how to meet everything. It says in Revelation 11:18, “And thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to [p. 240] give the recompense to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, small and great; and to destroy those that destroy the earth”. Persons are classified here; this verse points to the conclusion of things; the day has come. That is what we are now dealing with; we are coming near to apostasy and who are to escape? Those on the earth then are exposed to the terrible judgments that are announced here.
ASB The Lord is calling attention to Isaiah, who in chapter 28 says, “Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?”, Isaiah 28:24 and “His God doth instruct him in his judgment, he doth teach him” Isaiah 28:26. He understood the ploughing up of the ground and the levelling out of things.
JT Quite so. Now to proceed: “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field”. Here we have to deal with persons, not simply the word of God, but the sons of the kingdom — persons. That is the next thing; where this one or that one is to be. The Lord is concerned where each one is to be; where we are to be sown as persons; where we are to exercise influence as sons of the kingdom; that is, to influence others. This is a very important matter in ministry leading up to the assembly; for it is a question now of the elders; those in the various localities where the truth is to be maintained and held. They are sown of the Lord; He sets them in certain positions so that they may be used as He sees fit to exercise His influence there. There is a great dearth of elders. The platform is much more sought after than eldership. Eldership involves care of the saints. “But if one does not know how to conduct his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God?”, (1 Timothy 3:5). Each of the saints is to be taken care of in each assembly; so that it says of Paul and Barnabas that they made selections, they chose them [p. 241] elders in every city. So that in a city the assembly should be provided for by elders, not simply teachers and preachers, but elders in every city. It is not only the ministry of the word of God in these meetings, but the ministry of persons being in right positions where the Lord can use them to the greatest effect.
SMcC What you have said is very interesting indeed. I had not heard it put that way before as to the sowing of the good seed, alluding to our respective spheres of influence.
JT I see in going around among the brethren a great need for elders, and others do, too, I am sure. The point now that we are dealing with is what the Lord is doing. He is sowing persons, and the devil knows that, and puts down his own seed as much like the persons the Lord is putting down to look after His interests. Darnel is a useless weed very closely resembling wheat. It is the devil’s work.
JRH The good seed are really persons formed in the kingdom in subjection as sons of the kingdom.
JT “And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom”, Matthew 13:38. The first idea is the word of God ministered by the Lord, and the second idea in verse 24 is, “Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel amongst the wheat, and went away. But when the blade shot up and produced fruit, then appeared the darnel also”. In expounding the Lord says in verse 37, “He that sows the good seed is the Son of man, and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom” Matthew 13:37,38. Not the word of God, but the sons of the kingdom, persons. That is, it is the Lord’s work; He is engaged in sowing persons; none of us would assume to be sowing persons in our ministry; the idea must enter into what we are [p. 242] saying in view of the assembly, that the Lord must have this person here and that one there, and so on. It is His own selection, because they are so much needed; persons who are to look after the truth and the saints in the various localities in which they are.
CCT Is that why the apostle calls out the elders from Ephesus in Acts and instructs them as to shepherding the people of God? Is that the idea of the seed?
JT We are to shepherd the flock of God. The Holy Spirit had made the elders of Ephesus to be overseers. The Holy Spirit Himself shepherded; the Lord does it here.
ASB Gaius and Diotrephes would be examples: one a true leader, the other assuming the place.
JT I am sure that is good. How great the need is for men who are reliable, who can be counted upon to teach the truth, not bringing in novelties, but that what we say can be supported by truth and the Scriptures, according to the Berean way. The saints are to know the Berean way of testing things by the Scriptures, and if it is not scriptural, they are not to accept it.
EGMcA If one lightly moves from one’s locality in which the Lord has set him, he makes that much more room for darnel to come up.
RWS It is a spiritual matter of identification. You identify the darnel and the wheat.
JT Just so; that is a good word: discerning the devil and what he is doing. It is not a question of our sowing, but it is most important to discern what grows up. We cannot deal with darnel - it must be left until harvest (Matthew 13:30). We are to distinguish between sowing the word of God and sowing persons. There are persons who are sons of the kingdom distinguished by subjection to the truth. Then follow the two great parables. “The kingdom [p. 243] of the heavens is like a treasure hid in the field, which a man having found has hid, and for the joy of it goes and sells all whatever he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; and having found one pearl of great value, he went and sold all whatever he had and bought it” Matthew 13:44 - 46. Then we have verse 47, which is the fishing parable; and then in verse 51 the Lord raises the question, “Have ye understood all these things?”. He is now challenging every one of us as to whether we understand. What has been built into your soul? Are you a person whom the Lord can sow somewhere to guard His interests? “Jesus says to them, Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yea, Lord”. He accepts that. “And he said to them, For this reason every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old”. It is a question of householders; the status they have in the economy. They are persons who understand what the Lord has taught, and have divine things in their households, so they can bring them out at any time. There are things new and old. Things new first and then things old. This householder is a connoisseur. He understands what is new and what is old. What may be classified as old is in the Old Testament, which is helpful to the understanding of the New; but he begins with the New. So the early converts began with the apostles; not with Moses. They were converted and persevered in the apostles’ doctrine. They did not persevere in Moses’ doctrine, but the apostles’, which is a very important thing to understand. Doctrine must be tested first by the apostles’ teaching and then by the Old Testament, if necessary.
CAM Confirmatory of that is the way the Old Testament has been opened up to the saints. It is not that we lacked what was new, but we have been [p. 244] helped on the Old Testament. It is a new book to the saints.
JT Quite so; new and profitable, indeed, as number two, but not as number one. That is, the Old Testament is available if necessary. It is valuable, you might say, for its age and it is valuable in its place, but the New is first. The householder puts the new first.
EGMcA Was that principle carried out by the Bereans? They listened to the doctrine of the apostles and referred to the Old Testament to test things.
JT Just so; they searched the Scriptures.
RWS But in administration in the assembly the New comes first. You have pointed out how much damage can be done by giving the Old Testament preference in such matter.
JT We have had examples of that, the Old Testament being put forward as the means to judge a matter which was really a New Testament matter. It is a question of doctrine governing the assembly in cases of discipline. The first epistle to the Corinthians is the scripture in the New Testament which refers to it. If the Old Testament is necessary as an adjunct in the matter, good and well; of course, it is right to look into it; but the New first. The apostles first in all cases.
GMacPh The heavenly city is built upon the foundation of the apostles. I wondered if it would suggest the new economy treasured in our households?
JT Yes; the names of the apostles of the Lamb are engraved in precious stones, in the holy city (Revelation 21), showing what the Lord thinks of them. The early believers “persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers” (Acts 2:42). It is the whole question concerning the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. We cannot deal with these two parables about the [p. 245] pearl and the treasure, but we should have them in our minds and carry them forward.
ABP One has observed a number of new households established among us and this word is very timely as to where the Son of man is sowing the sons of the kingdom; as to the locality chosen for the establishment of households.
JT Sons of peace. Households are not of much value if not owned by sons of peace. The Lord enjoined the seventy that went out: “And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace to this house. And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it”, (Luke 10:5,6). Of course, we are encouraged in the marriages and the Lord is blessing them too, but we wonder about the many marriages without houses set up. It is a weakness, because there should be houses when the marriages take place. A house is a great principle in Scripture; the housing of the saints as they are married is a very important matter.
SMcC The householder needs a house to live in.
JT I am sure that is right.