THE GOSPEL (7)
THE GOSPEL (7)
JTJr This scripture speaks of the kingdom of God, the Supper and the house. I thought perhaps we might consider these important features of the gospel.
JT “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God”.
JTJr I suppose there is an allusion in that to the place the kingdom of God will have publicly. The one who said that had the actual eating of bread in mind.
AMacd In Acts 28:30 it says that Paul “remained two whole years in his own hired lodging, ... preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ”. He had the kingdom in mind.
JTJr Paul speaks quite a little about the kingdom. I suppose the idea of eating bread in the kingdom would suppose that there would be peaceful conditions.
SW Would you say that as subjugated by the kingdom we would be at ease at the Supper?
JTJr I would say that; the kingdom of God has in view that there might be peaceful conditions, and it would make way for the Lord’s supper.
SCM It is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
JTJr That is the way it is spoken of in Romans 14:17; it is not yet in manifestation; but it is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
LW Had the conditions of the kingdom been established in the preparation of the Supper?
JTJr I think this chapter looks forward to the establishment of everything; no doubt it was fulfilled in Acts 2, when the Spirit came and the word was preached.
JT [p. 450] The Spirit being come, everything was ready; everything is done if the Spirit is here.
JTJr Everything is done. That is what it says here: “Come, for already all things are ready”. That would allude to the time when the Spirit was come.
ABP Was the person who spoke of eating bread anticipating the display of the kingdom rather than having an understanding of the character of the present moment?
JTJr Perhaps he was not fully in line with what was present, but I suppose his remark was right; it will be a blessed matter to eat in the kingdom.
ANW There seems to be a reflection of the very thing that we are engaged with in this section in what the Lord had said. It says, “And one of those that were lying at table with them, hearing these things ... .”. The Lord had said, “When thou makest a feast, call poor, crippled, lame, blind” Luke 14:13. This is the very kind of persons that is called into God’s house. The blessedness of that may have been seen in some measure.
JTJr Yes; the man was hearing these things.
Ques In 1 Chronicles 12:39 it says, “And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking”. Does that fit into the thought of eating bread in the kingdom?
JTJr Yes; David had provided peaceful conditions; so I suppose the coming in of Christ would provide conditions whereby we can be at rest.
JT “He spoke a parable to those that were invited” (verse 7).
JTJr The Lord carries the thought of those who were invited through to the parable of the great supper. Finally He says, “Not one of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper”. They had been invited but had refused the invitation.
AR There are two sides to the matter. They got the invitation and were called when all things [p. 451] were ready, but then, it is a question of coming, is it not?
JTJr I suppose those that were invited originally were Jews, and they did not come.
JT That is the idea, exactly, it was the Jews.
Ques Who are the invited ones now, by application to the present day?
JTJr I think the gospel is towards all. “But now without law righteousness of God is manifested ... by faith of Jesus Christ towards all, and upon all those who believe” (Romans 3:21,22), so that the preaching has been extended to all, through Paul and others.
ANW Are we in the compelling time? Are these the times when, as it says in verse 23, we “go out into the ways and fences and compel to come in”? We all have been compelled to come in from dire need, have we not?
JTJr There are many references to the gospel; many varied features come into it, whether it be as an invitation or compelling.
CJL In Matthew 22:3 it says that the king “sent his bondmen”. It is plural there, but in this chapter it is singular. Would the “bondman” be a type of the Spirit?
JTJr Well, I do not know that we can make too much out of that; it would probably suggest the preacher, I suppose. He is the bondman; one who is ready to do anything. The apostles alluded to themselves as bondmen.
JT And then it says, in verse 25, “And great crowds went with him; and, turning round, he said to them. If any man come to me, and shall not hate his own father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple”, Luke 14:25,26. That is a very strong word: He cannot be [p. 452] My disciple.
JTJr That is the test, is it not? The test in verse 25 is applied to those who come to the feast, we might say. There are those who would not come to the supper but there were those who came. It is a great supper; there never was a supper like it. It is the gospel supper.
JT Just so; the gospel supper.
LW At what part of the dispensation would you place the gospel supper?
JT Well, I think it is included in the Lord’s own service and in the presence of the Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the point.
JTJr All that the Lord did would be linked on with it.
AR What do you mean by the gospel supper?
JTJr That God was inviting men to this great feast, for the gospel is a feast; it is that which satisfies men and makes them joyful. A supper has that intent; it not only strengthens you but makes you joyful. It is a great supper.
EWS In Romans 10:15 it speaks of those that announce “glad tidings of good things”. Would that be descriptive of the feast?
JTJr Yes; the gospel supper has in mind good things.
JT It is a gospel scene.
CFE Does verse 25 have a present and direct bearing in our dispensation?
JTJr I think that is the test to those who come; we are reached through the gospel, but then we are tested as to how fully we are in the matter.
JT “Turning round, he said to them. If any man come to me, and shall not hate his own father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple”, Luke 14:25,26.
AR If we are going to eat, it is a question of coming into the house, is it not?
JTJr Yes; it says, “Compel to come in, that my house may be filled”. God has in mind that His house may be filled. And so in Acts 2:2 it says that the violent impetuous blowing “filled all the house where they were sitting”.
AR You mean that the house of God is here?
JTJr Yes; when the Spirit came at Pentecost the thought of the house was there.
ANW The house is very prominent in the next chapter; the sheep is brought to the house; the lost piece is found in the house; the prodigal son is in the house. I suppose, in principle, the thought of the house is carried right through, is it not?
JTJr We had ministry on the house of God in relation to the gospel many years ago.
JT What are you alluding to?
JTJr Notes of your ministry of 1905, entitled, The House of God and the Gospel (J.T. New Series, Volume 1, page 112).
JT Quite so; I remember that.
JTJr It links on with Acts 2; the house is mentioned there and the preaching followed.
JT You would expect God to bring about the gospel in that way.
Ques Do you have the house before the gospel is preached?
JT Quite so.
JTJr You must have the house before the gospel is preached; so that the Lord waited for the house to be formed before the preaching began at Pentecost. The disciples were told to tarry in Jerusalem and to await the promise of the Father.
CJL It is said of Noah that he builded and preached; the building and the preaching went on concurrently.
JTJr Yes; the house is a similar idea to the ark; the ark was a place of salvation and so is [p. 454] the assembly.
EAL In Matthew 13 the Lord dismissed the crowd and went into the house, and there the disciples asked Him to expound to them the parable of the darnel of the field. It is only in the house position that He discloses to them the detail of the truth.
JTJr Yes; in the house He opens up the mysteries. That is another side of the truth, but it connects with the house position.
AR Should every preacher have the assembly in his mind in his preaching?
JT I think so; and then the thought of the Supper should be in his mind also.
ABP Is it permissible to link the thought of the Lord’s supper with this parable?
JTJr I think so; would you say that?
JT You would expect the Lord to bring that thought in, in view of what has come out in relation to the Supper in these latter days.
JTJr In Acts 2:42 it says that the disciples “persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”.
AR Luke uses the expression, “the master of the house” here, in verse 21. He also uses the expression in chapter 22:11: “Ye shall say to the master of the house ...” Luke 22:11. What would “the master of the house” suggest?
JTJr It suggests authority; immediately the Spirit came in at Pentecost there was authority here in the house.
FNW Does the house involve a sphere of love for the family?
JTJr Well, it includes all that, I think; in Acts 2 you get so much that enters into the position; it is not a small position that we come into but a great one.
JT There is a wonderful thought [p. 455] in all that.
ANW In Acts 2:2 it says, “Filled all the house where they were sitting”.
AR Would the master of the house refer to the Spirit?
JT It is more the idea of authority.
JTJr Authority there, in the house.
GP Would the house of Chloe give the apostle Paul authority to write the epistle to the Corinthians?
JTJr He got information from the house of Chloe, but he had the authority before. He got information from the house of Chloe. It was the source of information; it was where he got some of the facts of the case.
ABP “A called apostle of Jesus Christ, by God’s will” (1 Corinthians 1:1), would be the authority behind Paul’s word.
JTJr The authority was set up immediately upon the incoming of the Spirit; then it came out in the apostles. It has been here ever since. The authority is here now; it is in the Spirit.
Rem The idea is that God’s house is being filled with subject persons.
JTJr That is what it should be. In Corinth, of course, there were some who were not subject; but still, the thought is that the house of God contains people who are subject.
AR Our gospel preaching should not be limited to the matter of persons going to heaven when they die, but of coming into the assembly now.
JTJr That is the point of this parable, but certain would not come; they made excuses.
Ques Does the enjoyment of the Supper and the blessings of the Lord’s Day lend tone to the preaching in the evening?
JTJr I think they do; the Lord’s supper is the centre of things, in that way.
JT Quite so; the Lord’s supper gives occasion for God to get His portion and to express His thoughts for men.
JTJr This chapter is inclusive of Paul’s ministry, because it awaited Paul to open up the truth as to the Supper.
SW In Luke 10, when the Samaritan brought the man to the inn, which would be a similar thought to the house, there is no suggestion that he had a desire to leave. It is a sad matter when persons desire to leave the assembly after having “tasted the good word of God” (Hebrews 6:5).
JTJr With such the test of verse 25 has not been faced. They have not valued the position properly. The test is whether we can leave everything and take up the cross.
ABP The trouble here seems to be that persons are not coming into fellowship.
JTJr Quite so; they are not responding to the call, those called are not coming.
FNW Mephibosheth would represent one who was affected by the grace of God and, in principle, enjoyed the Supper. So that when he was ill treated he did not leave the position. In principle, he hated his own life: “... such a dead dog as I am” (2 Samuel 9:8).
AR Are there three kinds of invitations to persons here? In verse 17 they are told to come; in verse 21 they are brought, and in verse 23 they are compelled.
JTJr God “desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). And then, it says, “God . . . now enjoins men that they shall all everywhere repent” (Acts 17:30). The gospel is not optional.
JT Yes; it says, “All things are ready”.
JTJr Compelling a person involves that you have the ability or authority to do so. To bring would evidently allude to the fact that the “poor and crippled and lame and blind” need to be brought.
RTM Would the anger of the master of the house be like the word in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men”? Does the solemnity of having to do with God as well as the display of His grace come into the gospel?
JTJr Quite so; it is right to allude to the anger of the master of the house because he rightly was angry. A great matter was on hand and invited persons were treating it lightly and slighting it.
JT “And all began, without exception, to excuse themselves. The first said to him, I have bought land, and I must go out and see it”.
JTJr How easily we find an excuse!
LW Would the being “pricked in heart” of the three thousand souls added at Peter’s preaching be the power that compels persons to come in?
JTJr That would be it, I suppose. There was conviction. The majority of the Jews refused to come. There was animosity with the Jews right through the Acts. They would not bow and they would not come.
EAL Would “Come now, let us reason together, saith Jehovah” (Isaiah 1:18), be an invitation, and would the anger be seen with Paul in Acts 18:6? After his reasoning with the Jews in the synagogue in Corinth they opposed and spoke injuriously, and he shook his clothes, and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own head; ... from henceforth I will go to the nations”.
JTJr That fits in with what we have been saying. The invitation was to them but they would not come.
FNW The excuses belittled the invitation.
JTJr Yes; the invitation related to a great matter. Christ had died; that is the way to look at [p. 458] it. Christ has died and has risen, and has gone into heaven, and the Spirit has come, so that all things are ready, and God is inviting all men to this wonderful supper.
DP Would Paul’s appeal before Agrippa be compelling?
JTJr Well, he said, “In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28). Paul did his best to compel him.
Ques Does “the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20), as spoken of by the Lord at the Supper, prepare the way for the gospel?
JTJr The whole matter is there: “Already all things are ready”.
ABP What is the underlying teaching in these excuses?
JTJr They refer to the various phases of life; some phase of life is liable to detain persons and they use it as an excuse.
EAL They may be right things in themselves, but as cutting across the will of God, they prevent persons from obeying Him.
GAL Would the streets and the lanes of the city suggest judaism and the ways and fences the gentile area?
JTJr Yes; and the ways and the fences may refer to practices and restrictions which hinder persons, but they are to be compelled to come in. It would include the preaching in the open air.
DP Is it easier to get along in the kingdom position than to move on to the house? There were certain in David’s regime who seemingly got along well in the kingdom position, but they did not fit into Solomon’s system in relation to the house.
JTJr Well, we are not to stop short, so the Lord in testing His followers tells us that His disciples must make a clean break with everything, taking up [p. 459] their cross.
ABP Does Paul name the five yoke of oxen in 2 Corinthians 6, where we are called upon to not be diversely yoked with unbelievers? He speaks of five unequal yokes in that passage.
JTJr Very good; the great principle brought in there is separation, not only from unions, but from everything else that is not compatible with Christianity, with the presence of the Spirit, and with the light we have received.
ABP So that the second excuse relates to associations that are damaging and which prevent us from taking on the fellowship.
JTJr Quite so; there is the suggestion of that in the yoke.
EAL Would hesitation to move forward be contrary to the truth?
JTJr Well, we do not want to be too severe; it is a question of going on with what is right; answering to the test. The Lord, turning round, said to them, “If any man come to me, and shall not hate his own father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). He touches the whole matter of whether we are prepared to take up the cross and follow Him.