THE NEW BOTTLES
[p. 155] THE NEW BOTTLES
Luke 5;36-39; Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:41-47
Ques Would you repeat your leading remarks of this morning?
JT We were considering those features of christianity that are spoken of as new, having in view that the Lord said He would write upon the overcomer in Philadelphia the name of the city of His God, new Jerusalem, and His own new name. The desire is that we may apprehend what is new and thus qualify for the promise to the overcomer in Philadelphia. The subject is one in four parts. The first has reference to the preservative element, that which ensures the preservation of the things of God in freshness. The feature to be before us on this occasion has reference to the strength of the vessel into which the Holy Spirit came — the vessel of the testimony. What one feels with regard to oneself is that one is not equal in spiritual formation to the light — to the things that one deals with, so that it may be said we are not morally as great as the things we are dealing with, the things that we have by faith.
EJMcB I think we would all agree with that. I suppose that is what you had in mind as to the thought of the cruse.
JT Yes.
EJMcB Then, do you look on the question of strength as being connected with the actual relations of the saints in fellowship with one another?
JT Yes, I think the consideration of the thoughts connected with the new bottles would perhaps enable us to see that there is a great disparity between us as believers, as nominally in fellowship, and the things that we possess by faith and speak of.
EJMcB [p. 156] Then do you look at the bottles as more connected with the question of joy?
JT Well, I thought they symbolise what God intended should contain that which came in by the Spirit — the great blessing administered by Christ in the coming in of the Spirit. The Lord intended by the use of these symbols — this parable, as it is called — to call attention to the greatness of the thing that was coming in — the new wine — the power of it, and what was needed to contain it, so that there should be no disparity, and that both might be preserved together. It is not in the way of criticism at all that I speak thus, but one feels it for oneself — the great disparity there is between oneself as a vessel and the things that are dealt with. I suppose no one would avoid sharing that feeling.
FHB I am sure no one would fail to own that.
JT I think that the divine intent was that they should be correlative. The heavenly city is not divine in its dimensions; it is human in its dimensions, but it has the glory of God. It contains morally what God has set out in Christ. There is perfect correspondence between it and what it has, and sets forth.
EJMcB Do you mean that, speaking practically for oneself, one should not be satisfied unless the matter dealt with, and one’s own spiritual measure in dealing with it, are one?
JT That is what I think we should see, and I think Luke 5 and 6 help specially in the formation of the bottles severally.
EJMcB Would you just say one more word as to the difference in your own mind between the thought of the cruse and the thought of the bottles?
JT The thought in the cruse was that it was new and suited as a vessel for the salt. It was not a question of strength, but that it was new. The word denotes something open but containing. The salt [p. 157] was put into it, which was a separate idea — introduced and then taken out again and applied to the source of the waters, so that it is not a question of strength in the cruse, but rather that it was new. Here (Luke 5) I think the newness denotes strength. The first part of the parable has reference to a piece of cloth, but that figure is not carried through. It is alluded to only to emphasise what the Lord had in His mind. He refers to a new piece of cloth, that is to say, new in the sense of being unmilled or unfinished, as the word used in the corresponding passages in Matthew and Mark means. There was no strength taken out of it by the finishing process. He introduces that thought, which is very obvious, to convey what was in His mind as to the question of strength, and then He carries the thought through in the bottles, that there should be something continued. The new piece of cloth is not referred to again, it simply suggests what is in His mind, but is not referred to as carried through or preserved. In the cloth it is not a question of freshness but of strength; it is new in that sense, but the idea of continuance is in the wine and in the bottles or skins, so that what is in view is strength.
WJH So that Paul and Silas in prison would be two bottles strong enough to hold the wine.
JT Just so. Under the greatest pressure from without the strength came out in prayer and praise. That is what comes out in Luke 6. The Lord spends the whole night in prayer before selecting His apostles. It was an important matter that the selection should be right. Thus we have in Him here an example of endurance in prayer — an important feature in the “bottles”. We are to pray and not faint.
AEM Is the old bottle the man after the flesh?
JT It is, I think, what Judaism had become. It had come down to be a fleshly thing, and it was not great enough to receive what the Lord was [p. 158] bringing in.
DLH Is there any thought in the new skins of that which is individual in the way of formation by the Spirit’s power, so that the vessel — each vessel in fact — is qualified to hold what is put into it? I thought that the cruse is more the thought of what is collective, and that the bottles have the thought of what is very much individual. I do not know whether I am right in that thought.
JT No doubt the individual side is in view in the bottles, but the thought must culminate in what is collective. The allusion is to the bottling of wine in a vineyard and so the plural had to be used, for one bottle would not suffice in the figure. The Lord was speaking of the strength needed in that which should contain the new wine. The twelve men at Ephesus received the Holy Spirit at one time under the same circumstances; in them I think you have what was to develop into that which should contain the new thing in its fullest sense, that is, through Paul’s ministry. I think the new wine acquired its greatest strength through the apostle’s ministry. The word for ‘new’ here signifies what is fresh, young, so that the strength would increase rather than diminish.
RB I notice you made a point that the cruse was open, but these bottles would appear to be closed vessels.
JT I think there is a good deal in that. We all know, if we know anything about wine, that the bottle ought to be kept closed. I think the bottles signify the contents kept in — the idea of the mystery is in it, things are hid. The wine should be kept in to maintain it in its strength.
HFN Would you kindly say a word as to the previous incidents in the chapter? Do they show how the bottles are formed? Would it begin with Peter?
JT Yes, I think that is a good suggestion.
[p. 159] Matthew 5 is from the divine side; Matthew 6 the result in us in the main, “Blessed are ye poor”, etc. Matthew 5 begins with men taken up out of their business relations. I believe that our businesses are more in view in the gospels than we may have thought. The great servants of the dispensation — the leading apostles — are introduced in their business relations. Then what comes out as expressed in the next paragraph is that there is a state of sinfulness in the leprous man. Then the Lord cleanses the man who was full of leprosy. There has to be a definite judgment of sin in relation to our businesses. So the Lord cleanses the leper by a touch, and afterwards He Himself is seen without in desert places and praying. Then it says that there was power there to heal them all. The next case is the paralytic who is healed and who goes to his house, and then we have the Lord entertained in Levi’s house; that is to say, there is a chain of adjustment in the soul, until the Lord acquires a place in the house.
The relation between the business and the house is obvious. My house should be according to my business normally. If I am governed by natural considerations, the Lord will not be considered. The guests in the house here were publicans and sinners, such as the Lord would wish to have.
Ques Do the bottles suggest the new capacity given by the Spirit of God in the soul?
JT I was just endeavouring to follow out what was suggested, that the chapter really lays the basis from the divine side for the bottles; that is, that if we are to have part in the new heavenly thing that is coming in, the moral steps indicated in the chapter have to be gone through; and so your house is not now a question of your business or social relations. Levi made a great entertainment for Him and the guests were suited to Him. They were such as the Lord would have — publicans and sinners. He had [p. 160] come for those, and the Lord confirms the selection of the guests. He says that He had come to call sinful persons to repentance. I think that as you proceed in the chapter you see what underlies the bottles, because in the testimony we should be marked by all these features. Then in Matthew 6 what the saints are, as the subjects of the work of God comes out. The Lord lifted up His eyes upon His disciples, and said, “Blessed are ye poor”, etc. We have also instructions and exhortations, so that we should be adjusted and formed as “new bottles”.
JJ Then would you suggest that persons who are not right in their businesses and in their houses would not be strong enough to contain this testimony?
JT If you look at the next chapter in this gospel, you have first, as I said, the Lord spending the night in prayer to God, then He descends into a level place with the twelve, and lifting up His eyes upon His disciples, He said, “Blessed are ye poor”. That is the thing, because the wealth accruing from riches is sure to damage the bottle.
HH Do you think it means literally poor?
JT Well, there it is. “Blessed are ye poor”. That is the first thing He mentions here, and the first thing He mentions after He speaks of being anointed is that the gospel is preached to the poor. See Matthew 4: 18.
JCS Would you say that there is in a way a very narrow boundary between our business and the world, and the strength of the vessel would be greatly tested in that connection?
JT “Blessed are ye poor” has its voice at the present time, I am sure. We must beware of growing rich through our businesses. The snare is great.
CHW Why should God choose the poor? James 2: 5 says, “Has not God chosen the poor as to the world?”
JT The apostle says, “consider your calling,
brethren”. You have to look around and see whom God has called — the kind of people He has chosen.
CHW Christ is spoken of as “a poor wise man”.
JT It says definitely, “For your sakes he, being rich, became poor” (2 Corinthians 8: 9). I only just touch on that because I think it enters into the question of the bottles; the relation in the chapter between a man’s business and his house should be noted. Levi corresponds with Peter, the chapter presenting sequence.
ESH “Silver and gold I have not” (Acts 3: 6).
JT That is how the dispensation began; that is what would correspond with the new bottle. “Silver and gold I have I not”. “Look on us”. That is a most searching thing, because in relation to the gospel you must be prepared to say that; not that you would actually say it, but you must be prepared for people to look on you and see just what you are in your locality — what there is in your business and in your house.
HFN Would you mind saying why you selected the gospel of Luke, seeing this incident comes in in Matthew and Mark? What is the great feature of Luke?
JT I was really thinking of the other narratives, but Luke adds one thing, and that is, “no one having drunk old wine straightway wishes for new, for he says, The old is better”. He shows the difficulty of giving up the old, and the importance of laying aside what ministers to the old and makes the old palatable.
ER Is that the legal system which gives man an importance?
JT No doubt.
HH Do you think, 2 Corinthians 6 would apply at all, where the apostle brings before the Corinthians that their hearts needed to be expanded?
JT Yes. They were narrowed in their affections through worldliness. They needed expansion towards [p. 162] himself and towards each other, also to take in the truth in its fulness.
WCG Do you think if a man’s bottle is equal to what is in him, he is marked by power? Peter said, “Such as I have”.
JT Quite. He was in keeping with what he had.
DLH But the man is the bottle, is he not?
JT The man is the bottle, but he is liable to be affected by worldly things, so that he is not equal to what he professes to have. This is seen collectively at Corinth. In Galatia it also appears, for they were going back to law.
PL Do you see this with Elihu? You were saying the wine is to be preserved and better for keeping. He said, “Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; like new flasks, it is ready to burst” (Job 32: 19).
JT Quite so; he was ready to burst. But you do not get that in christianity. You do not get the thing ready to burst; the bottle is strong enough. But still, there is a remarkable analogy, because he was able to keep the thing till the right moment came for him to speak. He spoke in that way to show the power of the truth in him.
WJH As the Lord gets hold of us in relation to our business, and the question of sin is judged in our own souls, and our hearts are held for Him, there is preparation in that way for a vessel to contain the wine.
JT Your circumstances are to be in keeping with the new wine. I have no doubt the garment alludes to one’s circumstances. You have in the types leprosy in a garment and leprosy in the skin. We have to be on our guard against these things. There the skin refers to profession, I think.
JJ Do you think the condition Luke gives is expressive of what would come in by Paul? “Straightway wishes for new”.
JT [p. 163] I think he says that to show the great strength of the old, so that you should be on your guard against it, and not ministering to it or providing for it. The old intrudes itself in many ways.
In our chapter we have the idea of fasting too, following out the suggestion that has been made, which I think is most helpful. Why did they not fast? Of course, fasting is right, but not till the bridegroom has left them. “Then shall they fast in those days”. Fasting is to reduce. There are to be fasting and prayer; the one shuts out the flesh, and the other brings in God.
JCS That would increase the strength of the bottle.
JT It would. It is a question for each as to how to be in the strength suggested in the new bottle. That is the point. We have had wonderful things handed down to us, but what about the containing vessels? As already remarked, we have the plural here, but the thought is to call attention to the strength required in what was to contain the new thing which was coming in from heaven. That, of course, is the assembly, and it is composed of the saints.
EJMcB I suppose that in the type the newer the bottle the stronger. So that, if we were fresher we should be stronger.
PL Would the expression, “A vessel ... meet for the master’s use” enter into it?
JT It would in the sense that it might be used for containing purposes. The stone waterpots were filled up to the brim.
JCS Would the idea of the bottle be seen in what the Lord said to the apostle when he was taken up, that he was to be a minister?
JT The apostle was equal to it morally. He says, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4: 7). He knew the value of the treasure, and the vessel was [p. 164] equal to it. God helped him in discipline to maintain the vessel in accord with the treasure that was in it. I think 2 Corinthians shows that after the first letter Paul could open up the idea of a vessel. He set it out in himself; “we have this treasure in earthen vessels”, but, in saying that, he deals with what he was personally, and he was a model for them.
HD'AC But you would not put the earthen vessel on the same line as the bottle, for the earthen vessel breaks.
JT I am referring to what Paul was morally as outlined in that chapter; that whilst God disciplined him, the life of Jesus was displayed in his body. He begins by speaking about renouncing the hidden things of darkness “by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every conscience of men before God” (verse 2), and he goes on to show that, “If also our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those that are lost” (verse 3). All about him was in keeping with the truth; he was equal to it. His body might be dissolved, or swallowed up of life, but that is another thing. While in the body he had the treasure.
HD'AC But where does the renewal of the man come in in that chapter? Is that allied to the vessel in any way?
JT I am sure it is. He is renewed day by day. Paul alluded to his body in speaking of the earthen vessel, but the moral thing underlay that. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels”.
HH Would the thought of enlargement come in in your way of looking at it? The skin would expand and allow for that when the wine was put into it. Is the vessel made suitable in that way?
JT Yes; its elasticity would enhance its strength.
HH “In pressure thou hast enlarged me” (Psalm 4: 1).
DLH And is there not a suggestion, in a way, of the expansive force of the wine that is put into [p. 165] the vessel, and the vessel which would be suited to hold this new force?
JT I think that leads to what was in one’s mind. The Lord said in His instructions when He sent Peter and John to prepare the passover, “He will shew you a large upper room” (Luke 22: 12). The Lord had in mind, I believe, in this instruction the great influx of persons that should result from the preaching of the gospel; then, too, in the first part of the Acts we read, “they were all together in one place”, and the Holy Spirit came. Now, they were not disconcerted in any way, they were not perturbed; the thing was expected, and they were ready for it. In contrast to that we find that when the Lord came in after He rose, they were not prepared for it. They were not as great then as they were at Pentecost. There is not the slightest indication of any perturbation or inconvenience when the Spirit came; indeed, what happened was that they began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. There was room for the Spirit to move even in regard of their articulating organs; all that shows the formation there was.
Ques Do you look on every believer, in receiving the Holy Spirit, as being a new skin — a new bottle?
JT Certainly. Potentially he is; but it is a question of how great I am morally. When the Holy Spirit came in, there were there one hundred and twenty as far as we can reckon. If you were to take the greatest men on earth at that time, selected out of Greece and Rome, what would they have done under such circumstances? But these men were prepared for it; they were great enough for it. Then, later on, the Holy Spirit says there were three thousand added. It is mentioned to show the great influx from the first sermon, and there is not the slightest evidence of any inconvenience.
HD'AC What do you mean by inconvenience?
JT Well, if we take the question of rooms, you [p. 166] say, where are they going to meet? Where did they meet? Who can tell? Three thousand persons added, it is quite a number, and yet there is not the slightest evidence of any inconvenience at all. They broke bread “in the house”, we read. They knew what to do.
EJMcB Was your thought that the Lord had actually secured in the first incident a bottle sufficiently strong to stand, speaking reverently, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and then, as the thing enlarged, its capacity stood the enlargement?
JT That is it, exactly. Here is the greatest thing come in from heaven — heaven’s maximum in the way of gift, for that is how the Lord puts it Himself. “How much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11: 13). The Holy Spirit Himself comes in and there is not the slightest evidence of any perturbation or excitement whatever.
EJMcB And in contrast to that, earlier they had actually been afraid when the Lord came in.
JT They were not equal to it then, but the forty days during which the Lord had been with them as risen had intervened.
WJH When the angel appeared to Manoah, he was afraid.
JT That illustrates it. But in a man like Abraham, you have one who was perfectly equal to a divine visitation. It is a question of moral greatness. See Genesis 18.
DLH But then that is a question of formation. Being sealed of the Holy Spirit is, of course, characteristic, properly speaking, of every christian, but is there not the idea of formation by the Spirit? That seems to me to be suggested rather in the thought of the skin — the bottle — that which the Spirit has actually formed by His operations in the soul, so that [p. 167] it is equal in the power of the Spirit to what God may do.
JT I think that is right, only you would admit, as our brother suggests, that any one sealed is potentially a bottle?
DLH Quite so.
RSS Do you see development brought about in those present on the day of Pentecost?
JT Certainly, development from what had marked them earlier, as we said; Luke 6. I think as you look at this chapter, you get the main features of the bottles. We cannot go into it now, only to mention it. The Lord shows that He made His selection after a whole night in prayer, which is an important thing to notice; Luke 6: 12. As remarked already, He sets an example of endurance in prayer; and then later He looks on His disciples as if recognising what they had become as under His influence and teaching.
RSS And then it says in Mark, “that they might be with him”. That would bring about a certain development in their souls, and then they would be acquainted with Him in resurrection and also in ascension, and thus further development be brought about which enabled them to carry themselves on the day of Pentecost in the way in which they did.
JT They were the subjects of His own handiwork, and they were formed by what they saw in Him. We were remarking this morning on the objective environment — what the Lord was as with them. At the baptism of John, He is seen praying as He is baptised, and then the Holy Spirit comes in a bodily form, and abode upon Him; and during all His ministry amongst them, the Holy Spirit was there and known to be there in Him. Well, the disciples had to be brought to that; they were to receive the Holy Spirit, and hence the qualities of [p. 168] Christ in the way of power had to be worked out in them, and I think, as you said, the education during the forty days greatly augmented them. His own first visit to them after He rose perturbed them greatly, but here is the Holy Spirit coming in from heaven, and there is not the slightest intimation that there is any perturbation at all, and they spoke as He gave them utterance. They were subject to the Spirit immediately. Supposing you have a great gift from the Lord and you are not formed, you will not speak as the Spirit gives you utterance. You will begin to study oratory. That is what people do who are not formed, and you can understand it, but what you find in these vessels is that they spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. They were prepared, as I said.
HH It is remarkable that men were there from every nation under heaven and they admitted they heard the wonderful things of God in their own language wherein they were born. The men who spoke had been formed by the Lord.
WCG Do you think Paul had the same thought of strengthening in mind when he said, “Admonishing every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, to the end that we may present every man perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1: 28).
JT Just so.
HFN Do you think that Peter, in the vision he had later on, was not wholly equal at that moment to the light that was coming in, and did the Lord’s dealings with him increase the strength of the bottle so that he could take in the light?
JT I think so, but at the very beginning as the numbers increased — we have it mentioned twice, three thousand and five thousand — they were ready for it, but then there was on the other side what came in from heaven. What comes in from heaven goes with that; I think they should run together, that is [p. 169] what comes in from heaven, and what comes in as the result of the testimony. There was steady increase and yet no inconvenience or anything uncomely. The bottles were marked by strength. I think that is the thing.
JCS So there is not a drop of wine lost here.
JBC-l Do you think the apostle Paul was concerned, when speaking to the elders at Ephesus as to the test that would come upon the saints in relation to the ministry they had received through him? One of the things he states is that he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God. He evidently felt that would be the test. Historically it comes out that it was so, because many apparently left him when he brought in the heavenly side of his ministry. It does not say they left the profession, but evidently they had not acquired a taste for the new, for they turned away from Paul. Is your exercise that the time may have come when the Lord will test brethren as to the ministry they have received?
JT I am sure that is true. His intent is that the saints should be morally equal to what they have received.
EJMcB Had you any thought in your mind that the Lord might add to us many of His people who are around us?
JT Do you think we are equal to it?
EJMcB I would like a ministry that would enable us to be.
JT Supposing the Lord brought in a distinguished gift in P — — — — . How would you feel about it?
EJMcB I think we would receive him with open arms, even if it displaces us.
JT Well, do you think it is so generally? Do think we would like our localities invaded by men who are our equals, or even our superiors?
EJMcB I believe what you raise is a very grave question, but I think the interests of Christ [p. 170] would become more real to us if vessels were raised up even above ourselves.
JT I hope so. I take the matter to myself, but it should be an exercise as to whether we are ready for what God may do in the way of gift and addition in every way.
HD'AC Were not these early disciples very specially prepared so that they could begin at once to do what they had to, whereas in these days perhaps it takes years with many of us before we are much equal to any service? Is it not so? Likewise with Paul, the apostle was ready at once for the service.
JT He was, but were the brethren ready for him?
HD'AC No, I do not think they were, but at Pentecost they were all ready.
JT If Paul had been brought in at Pentecost, they would have gladly received him, but the Lord had to go before to prepare the brethren to receive Paul at Damascus, and Barnabas had to introduce him at Jerusalem.
EJMcB That evidently touches on an interesting fact in regard of this line of exercise, that is, the different view of the position as seen in Acts 2 at the start and our present position today, for there it was pretty evident that the vessel was adequate to the occasion.
JT So I think if Paul had come in then, there would have been no question, and that is what one is exercised about. How much can we stand of that? If God brings in to your locality men or a man of greater calibre, are you equal to it? God is entitled to do that. He has “set certain in the assembly”, and He can do that. Still, am I equal to it? Then again, if God is pleased to work and bring in a large number in any locality, are we prepared to take account of that and house those people according to God?
DLH [p. 171] If we have got our hearts set on the assembly, surely we would thank God for every one He would send along who would help the saints or be a real blessing in that way. I mean, any thought of self is a perfect abomination in the assembly of God.
JT Well, it is, but then, while that is quite obvious, are we always in accord with it?
EJMcB Then that raises an interesting thought in relation to the remark you made in regard of the skins. While there is no doubt whatever the old bottles were skins, they were not skins capable of containing new wine. Very often, the opposition does not come from what is not skins, but from old skins.
WJH Barnabas seemed to be equal up to a point. At any rate, he went and brought Saul to Antioch, where God was adding. [p. 177] He was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit.
JT I think he came in where he was needed, and the apostles were also equal to the acquisition; it was for that reason that they surnamed him. You have to surname the man that comes in, that is, you have to make room for what God has wrought in him. Barnabas was a “son of consolation”. That requires discernment, which enables one to know what an incomer is capable of.
Ques Would our ability to answer to such a test be the place the Lord has with us individually? That is where we would be tested.
JT I am sure the brethren are tested all over the world on that very point. The test at any time is whether we can make room for what God is doing. I believe if there is little done it is because there is little room. On the one hand, there is generally but little expectation that God will act, and on the other, little preparation if He does act.
EJMcB Now, in regard of the cruse, was your [p. 172] thought as to it the basic principle on which this can operate?
JT I think so. I think that comes first.
EJMcB We have peace amongst ourselves as having the salt in us.
JT Yes, and you have things preserved. Thank God if our doctrine is pure and we are able to discriminate in regard of those whom we receive, and we seek to maintain holiness in God’s house. But look at the greatness of God and the greatness of the work of God! Think of what He may do if there is sufficient moral greatness for it! Hence Ephesians answers fully to what we are saying. The apostle’s prayers in that epistle have in view this very thing, that there should be first that expansion in the way of intelligence to take in the great things of God — to take in what is for Him, and then, secondly, to apprehend the greatness of the things into which we are brought.
HH It lies, as you were saying, in the thought of the large upper room furnished. We have to keep that before us.
JT I thought that would help, because the Lord provided in that for what should come in, and what you find in the three thousand added at once is that they merged with the others. It does not say the Lord added them in verse 41. The point there is not that; but that so many were added, and they were in keeping with that to which they were added; hence, it was a work of God. “They persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”. They were in keeping with the thing. In verse 47 it is stated that the Lord added.
FSM Would the thought of the new wine admit of the holy, pure, and heavenly joy in contradistinction to natural experience? How much that is associated with the thought of joy. If we were more truly happy, how the Lord might use [p. 173] that in attractiveness to those who are sad and without that joy.
JT What one finds is that one has more light than joy. I fear but little is known of the blessedness of the new wine. The wine is new in the sense of being young, fresh, and increasing; the bottles are new as different from what existed before; and strong, in the sense of being contrary to what is around religiously.
GWW Do you think the Spirit ever proposes anything to us for which He has not prepared us? Do you not think there is a work that goes on that renders one capable to receive what is proposed? The Spirit is always seeking to strengthen the vessel in view of a higher appreciation of this joy. But the strengthening of the vessel has to go on before it is capable of receiving a fresh accession of light, whether individually or in a company of saints.
JT Quite. I have no doubt that God came in when conditions at Jerusalem waned. The strength of the bottles, so to speak, had not been maintained. Barnabas coming in had that in view; it required that element of interest in what God was doing. The question was what God was doing now since Jerusalem was weakening. At Pentecost it was equal to what God was doing, but the later chapters show it was weakening. As an illustration or proof Peter was in prison, and it says that continual prayer was made by the assembly to God for him, and God answered. But when the answer came they were not ready for it. Rhoda comes in and says, Peter is knocking outside, that is, God is acting. No, they say, you must be mad. The bottle was not there; they were not equal to what God was doing, even in that. But then Peter continued knocking, for that is the way; God keeps at it. And then, sure enough, it was Peter, but the vessel was weakening. But now there was a Barnabas, and he was in touch with what [p. 174] God was doing outside. He heard about what had happened at Damascus, a long way off, and he brought Saul to the apostles at Jerusalem, and later on went to Tarsus to seek for him and brought him to Antioch. It says that he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit. He was a bottle in that sense, He represents the idea, I think, when Jerusalem was waning. He had no thought of himself at all, and it was necessary that there should be such a man as that, because God was going to bring in the greatest accession of light, and it was very important that there should be preparation for it, and Barnabas is the link for it.
RB So you refer to the new bottle as having regard to the assembly; new, as contrasted with Judaism, which was not capable of holding what God had to give.
JT Yes. I think the newness is in the strength of it.
ALO Why do you say the wine had to be kept in?
JT I think that means the mystery; the new bottle represents the ability in us to cherish the precious things of God, so that we do not profane them by bringing them down to the level of man’s mind. The thing is to be preserved in its integrity. But I think it is very beautiful to see how Barnabas meets the contingency that was arising. When he takes Paul and introduces him at Jerusalem, they gave to him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Then, I think, the bottle is developed at Antioch, and later at Ephesus. What you find is that Barnabas and Saul laboured; they laboured at Antioch in the assembly, and then it says that there were such and such in the assembly that was there — a number of gifted men — such men as were needed for the new development of the work of God. That is what [p. 175] you get.
EJMcB Would you say a word as to the twelve men at Ephesus?
JT I think what I said leads up to that. You have indicated, it seems to me, under the influence of Paul and Barnabas, the development of the bottle, of that which is great enough to take in the new thing that was coming in. Anyone can see that the basis henceforth is Antioch and not Jerusalem, although in the wisdom of God the link with Jerusalem was preserved. So Barnabas and Paul go out and there is a wonderful work of God — an extraordinary work of God. They come back to Antioch and relate what had been done, and things are quite normal. There is no evidence of anything abnormal. Antioch is quite in keeping with the new work — this great work of God through these men. I think that is how the thing is seen in the Acts. From chapter 11 to 15 everything is operating in relation to Antioch; after chapter 15 you have Europe, and all that God did through Paul in Europe, and I think that would link on with Ephesus — the great work in Asia.
Ques How do you account for the fact that Barnabas was not quite equal to that?
JT There again you have the bottle weakening. What he shines in at the beginning, he breaks down in at the end. There is a warning in that.
Rem We would not like to compare ourselves with such a man as Barnabas, but it is wholesome for us to consider the fact of his breakdown.
JT The thing is to be great enough morally for what God is doing — that you are able to take it in. There must be no natural feeling or rivalry.
GWW Do you think that in John 17 we have the Lord speaking to His Father in view of this new vessel?
JT I do, indeed. The position of the saints here in testimony is mainly in [p. 176] view there.
GWW Then one was thinking and connecting it with what you were saying about the work at Jerusalem, and then Antioch, and then Ephesus, and then Philadelphia, and finally the new Jerusalem. It is all on that line; the new bottle is there, and the comfort for us today is to be found in the fact that in Philadelphia you have the Spirit bringing about the present answer to Christ’s prayer.
HFN Do you see a link between the twelve apostles in Luke 12 and the twelve men at Ephesus?
JT It is “about twelve” at Ephesus, but I think twelve being mentioned has a spiritual meaning, and this underlies the great structure that Paul reared up. Twelve is a complete administrative idea. They received the Holy Spirit at one time by the laying on of the apostle’s hands, and this would greatly tend to unity and strength. In connection with this, you have the rearing up of the assembly at Ephesus. Acts 20 and the epistle to the Ephesians would show that this assembly expressed pre-eminently the strength of the new bottles.
Ques Would you say a word why the apostles select Barnabas to go to Antioch? When he goes there, he is struck again with the great light that God has sent, and he goes again and seeks out Paul. Why would you say the apostles sent him again?
JT I think they saw what God was doing. Barnabas is to be regarded as a special provision to meet a certain emergency. God is always doing these things, and the saints would do well to take note of them. They were great enough at Jerusalem to take note of it. They saw the link between the work among the Gentiles and Jerusalem, and the report of it reaching the ears of the assembly there, they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.
ASL Barnabas had salt in himself.
JT “He was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”. Thus he was peculiarly fitted to overcome any national feelings or prejudices that may have existed, so that unity was maintained in relation to the work of God, as it was then extending out among the nations.