GRACE AND SEPARATION; FEATURES OF THE DISPENSATION
[p. 309] GRACE AND SEPARATION; FEATURES OF THE DISPENSATION
Luke 4: 16 - 22; Matthew 12: 46 - 50; 13: 1 - 3
JT We see in the passage in Luke the grace which was intended to mark this time, seen in the Lord Jesus Christ as the vessel in whom that grace is set out; then in Matthew, how that involves separation from what had existed, and what had place and reputation as of God. I thought it would be of service to the brethren to look at the Lord as presented by these two evangelists in these aspects, so that we might understand on the one hand, the grace of the vessel, and on the other hand, that whilst this grace is maintained, it is maintained in separation from what is disqualified as being in the place of relationship with God.
Matthew 12: 43 - 45 brings out the state of things in Israel, ending up by reference to the unclean spirit. “But when the unclean spirit has gone out of the man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then he says, I will return to my house whence I came out; and having come, he finds it unoccupied, swept, and adorned. Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits worse than himself, and entering in, they dwell there; and the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. Thus shall it be to this wicked generation also”.
Dreadful announcement! “But while he was yet speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without”. This brings out that He recognises those as His mother and brethren who do the will of God.
Then He leaves the house in the next chapter. He went out from the house and sat by the sea; that is the separation, and then the dispensation begins in [p. 310] sowing. In Luke He does not separate in this way; He is in the synagogue, and having read the passage from Isaiah, it says, “he sat down”. That is, He sat down on that text, as it were, which announces the pure, unalloyed grace of God. Sitting down involves deliberation and a fixed state of things. The more we examine the passage, the more we shall value the continuance of the dispensation.
AH Is the dispensation set forth in this day?
JT Yes. It is perhaps wholesome to be reminded at the end of the dispensation of what marked it at its inauguration in the blessed vessels in whom it was set out. One great thought of God is that there should be correspondence at the end with that which was at the beginning, hence the question of the vessels by whom the preaching is to go on is raised — whether we correspond with this blessed Vessel. It is not only the message, the thing that is presented, but the manner in which it is presented. The Holy Spirit gives us the Lord’s manner here purposely; He gives it in detail because it is designed to be a model for us.
JHT When you speak of the preaching you include all the ministry.
JT Yes, certainly. All ministry should be on the principle of the anointing. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me”, the Lord says.
AH They wondered at the gracious words?
JT Yes, just so. How gracious they were! And they were coming out of His mouth. Attention is called to the Lord at the very beginning of Luke — to the manner of His ministry. “And all bore witness to him, and wondered at the words of grace which were coming out of his mouth”.
McM. What is the thought in the anointing?
JT The anointing is what God commits Himself to; it was the expression of God’s approval of Christ.
[p. 311] The ministry was to be carried on in the power of the Spirit. The Lord does not undertake to minister until He is anointed.
Ques Would you connect that in your mind with the previous chapter, when having been baptised the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and the voice came out of heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son”?
JT Yes. And both chapters 2 and 3 bring out the moral qualities of Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells on the Lord as a Boy, then as a Man. He dwells on Him as a Babe. We have Him in all three features, as a Babe, as a Boy, and as a Man in these chapters.
Ques ‘Why do you say dwells on Him’?
JT Luke opens out, and dwells on the theme; it was delightful to him as inspired to unveil and enlarge upon the moral qualities of Christ.
Ques Does the anointing mark Him off as God’s Man?
JT I think so. The psalmist says, “Against Jehovah and against his anointed” (Psalm 2: 2). We have the type of Christ in David, in the first book of Samuel. First there is Hannah’s desire to have a son; then the people’s desire to have a king, which was granted. God gave them a king such as they desired; He gives us sometimes what we seek; God even allows it to test us, to expose to us just what our desires are. He gave them a king in His anger, a terrible thing! Their hearts wished it; they looked around on the nations who had kings and they wanted to have a king. God gave them a king; He told them what he would be like, what he would do. He would take their sons and their daughters and make them men-servants and maid-servants. It would be a question of taking from them, no giving at all. They got that king. “I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath”.
But then there was the heart of God; Samuel brings out that. God raised up David to be their king,
and said, “I have found ... a man after mine own heart”. Outside of what is in our hearts, right or wrong, there is what is in God’s heart. “In thee I have found my delight”. The earlier chapters show the ground for this. It refers to the moral qualities in Christ.
Rem “Myrrh and aloes, cassia are all thy garments” (Psalm 45: 8).
JBE “Grace is poured into thy lips”. In Psalm 45 I thought you get a beautiful answer to this.
JT Quite so; it is not so much the king here, but it is the same Person. The thought is to bring before us the grace that should mark the vessel, the vessel of testimony. God is not going to be diverted from His thought. He may use us: He may use unanointed people even, even an ass, or a Balaam who was not converted at all. There are thousands of men preaching the gospel, but is the anointing there? Is the ministry carried on in the power of the anointing? That is what God looks for now; He does not change His mind; He intends His ministry to be set out in Christ, so He forms men after Christ.
JMcK “How shall they preach unless they have been sent?” (Romans 10: 15).
JT Quite: “and shod your feet with the preparation of the glad tidings of peace” (Ephesians 6: 15); you may go on for years, and then God may take you up. It is a question of hearts; Samuel was not right, he thought Eliab was the anointed; God says, “man looketh upon the outward appearance”. That was a sharp rebuke to Samuel. We have to see where the heart is before we commit ourselves.
Grace would seize opportunities; that is the principle of Luke, you do not ask people to come to you, you go to them. Paul in the Acts was marked by this. He goes into the synagogue at Antioch, he sits [p. 313] down, he waits his opportunity, then he gets it, for they asked him to speak and he spoke.
Ques What is the difference between the anointing of Saul and the anointing of David? Saul has his head anointed, and the word to him is, “Jehovah has anointed thee prince over his inheritance”. One was man’s choice. What have we to learn as to the difference between the two?
JT I think God undertook to make Saul as successful as it was possible. Seeing that the people would have a king, He would make him as successful as possible, but the detail of his course proved how lacking he was. Saul hid himself among the baggage; his father’s asses were lost, and not only that, but as he drew near to where Samuel, the seer, was, his servant knew more than he did. The servant said, “Behold now, a man of God is in this city ... Let us now go thither” (1 Samuel 9: 6). It did not interest Saul very much, but he said, “Well said;” as much as to say, that is a good remark. That is a poor thing. A man that is fit for the anointing ought to be able to make a good remark. Then he had nothing to bring to the man of God. He disqualifies himself at every step of the way; the servant had some money, Saul had none. The servant had what he could give to the prophet. Then as he draws near to the town there are some maidens coming out to draw water. They knew all about the prophet, they seemed to appreciate greatly the fact that he was in the town, and they told Saul where he would find him. They were further advanced in their souls, as we might say, than Saul was; they followed the movements of the man of God. But still, God would do all possible, and so Samuel acts for God, and takes Saul down, and gives him the best portion of meat at table. Then he anoints him, but in a private way — between themselves, as it were; there was nothing to correspond with the anointing of David; Samuel [p. 314] had a vial of oil and poured it upon his head; it was not a horn as he had with David. David, too, was anointed in the midst of his brethren. His beauty is called attention to by the Spirit of God — his lovely countenance and his beautiful appearance. What comes out is that he was the man after God’s heart. That is really the thing to have before us; it is a question of our hearts.
Ques How do you understand the anointing in Proverbs 8: 23? “Anointed from eternity”.
JT It would be the same as what we are dealing with. It is wisdom there. Satan was anointed too; according to Ezekiel, he was the anointed cherub that covered. We can understand how great a place wisdom had with God in all His operations. Luke, I think, is presenting the Vessel of grace more as a pattern for us; the moral qualities that underlie the anointing are emphasised. In 1 Corinthians you find a correspondence with this in Paul. What he is aiming at in his letter to the Corinthians is that there should be a vessel wherever the saints are found, characterised by the anointing, in which God would set out the service of testimony. This chapter in Luke is the type, the model, and Paul is marked by that in his ministry at Corinth; he led up to the thought of the anointing; and he himself was as one anointed, for the word was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
Ques When he says, “Now he that ... has anointed us, is God”, is he speaking of his calling simply?
JT He is speaking in an abstract way; it would include all who are anointed.
WD Is the thought of correspondence connected with the eyes of all being fastened on Him? Correspondence with the heart of God. The Spirit would always attract to Christ.
JT It does not appear that they were inwardly [p. 315] affected in the synagogue at Nazareth; that makes the manner of the Lord all the more emphatic. How expressive of grace it must have been, for even though unrepentant, they wondered at the words of grace. It comes home to one if one is ministering, whether there is that; whether, not only is the truth presented in the terms of it, but is it presented in such wise that it affects people, so that the vessel enhances the testimony rendered, rather than detracts from it.
WD I suppose in that way the Lord was in correspondence with the heart of God before He speaks?
JT Yes, chapters 2 and 3 show that the moral qualities were there. It says, “I have found my delight”. It showed what God had been looking for, and had found.
AH “Never man spake like this man”.
TE Do you think we should be exponents of all we say?
JT That is the thing; that God should have at the end something to correspond with Christ, even in ministry. The Lord used the Scriptures in such wise as to accredit them. He says, “To-day this scripture is fulfilled in your ears”. He had just read what was enough to cover the position that marked that moment.
Ques Is one feature of the anointing that God has been rightly represented in this world?
JT I think so; it is only thus that He can be. It involves committal to the person whom He has endowed with what is needed for the service to be rendered.
TE We have failed in not adorning the truth.
JT The thing may be presented in its terms, as it is by thousands of men in christendom, but is it enhanced by the vessel from whom it comes? Suppose you take the great example of Pentecost, Peter’s preaching. He showed how thoroughly he had [p. 316] learned to minister. In chapter 1 he is among the brethren; he stands up and speaks among the brethren, and brings in the scriptures that cover the position. In chapter 2 he stands up with the eleven, and announces the gospel, and in chapter 3 he, together with John, has gone up to the temple, and there he preaches again. Now I think if you look at those three chapters, and see how Peter served, you will see how one may learn how to be conformed to Christ in ministry, so that the ministry is enhanced by the vessel. God attaches great importance to the vessel.
RC What is in your mind as to the three ways in which Peter preached?
JT Take the first chapter. The names are given, there were a hundred and twenty names; and the Holy Spirit had not come, and there was a missing apostle. So Peter stands up among the brethren, it says — a very suggestive thing — and calls attention to the fact that Judas, having delivered up the Lord, had come to his bitter end, and there had to be another one appointed to take part of the ministry and apostleship; and he immediately quotes the Psalm that covers that position. He uses the Scriptures with spiritual intelligence even before the Holy Spirit came, showing that he was the product of the Lord’s personal instruction. He had selected him, as it says, “he goes up into the mountain, and calls whom he himself would, ... that they might be with him, and that he might send them to preach” (Mark 3: 13, 14). Matthew 10: 2 tells us that Peter was the first, and the Acts shows that he was first — morally first — that he was qualified to be it.
Peter quotes the Psalm and then he says, “It is necessary therefore, that of the men who have assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he [p. 317] was taken up from us, one of these should be a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1: 21, 22). That covered the whole period of the Lord’s ministry; and if there is to be an apostle appointed, he must have that experience. That shows what a man Peter was, what intelligence he had as to what was becoming in a minister.
In the second chapter he stands up with the eleven. It does not say the eleven stood up with him. The point is to show what Peter is doing; he stands up with the eleven, and preaches, and quotes the Psalms again; he quotes them to cover the position of the Spirit being here sent down from heaven. Then it says, “Those then that had accepted his word” (Acts 2: 41), the Holy Spirit thus emphasising Peter’s ministry — not ‘the word’ but “his word”. We have been given a divinely inspired account of “his word”, and it is a wonderful address. “Those then who had accepted word were baptised; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls”. The point is to show the result of Peter’s ministry. At the end of the chapter, the Lord added every day — “daily”, but that particular day there were added three thousand souls. That shows what a minister Peter was.
Then he advances on that in the next chapter. It says, “And Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, which is the ninth hour”. There is a lame man at the Beautiful gate; he looked on Peter and John and asked for alms, but Peter says, “Silver and gold I have not”, but “looking stedfastly on him with John, said, Look on us”. The Holy Spirit mentions all this; Peter does not write the Acts, it is the Holy Spirit who records it all. He is calling attention to Peter. Peter and John were to be looked at. You preach the gospel here every Sunday night; suppose investigation is made as to those who preach, what would be found? Look on us, Peter could say. How solemn a consideration [p. 318] this is in regard of those who preach, as to whether their lives, and ways, and associations are in accord with the anointing! It is that which puts us to the test.
God would call attention to this because He looks for the anointed vessel; He intends to have an anointed vessel for the preaching. So Peter says, “Silver and gold I have not”. He attached no importance to what christendom attaches all importance to; without money they can do nothing. Peter says, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaraean rise up and walk”. Then he takes the lame man by the right hand; he knew what to do. He takes him and raises him up. Then God acts with him, but Peter began the movement; “his feet and ankle bones were made strong. And leaping up he stood, and walked, ... praising God”.
All that is intended to confirm what we have here, that the ministers the Lord took up were formed after Himself. The Holy Spirit came down to them; God was putting forth the best He had.
WD It is remarkable that when Philip went down to Samaria, Peter and John had to go down there.
JT The divine intent was that these two men should stamp everything at the beginning. You find Peter in every chapter up to chapter 5.
MP Peter standing up with the eleven is a guide for preachers.
JT I think so. The assembly does not preach nor teach; the preaching is by those who have gift. It is not by the saints; it does not say he stood up with the saints, though I doubt not they were there. No one should preach unless he is sent; preaching depends on gift.
Ques Is not the anointing in view of doing something?
JT It is always in view of some service to [p. 319] be rendered. If it be preaching or teaching, it is in the form of gift that God qualifies a man to do it. So that you observe, in the early part of chapter 2, those who receive d the Holy Spirit spake about the great works of God; it does not say ‘preached’, nor is a word said about any conversions; they all talked about the things of God. But as Peter stands up with the eleven and preaches then you have conversions; those who heard were pricked in their hearts.
Ques Is it your thought that what came out in Peter is a continuation of what came out in the Lord in Luke 4?
JT That is the thing; and it ought to be continued in the anointed vessel today. Now in Matthew you have separation emphasised. If you were to take this passage in Luke by itself, you would say, we could go into the churches around and preach, but you have to take all Scripture. Matthew would teach you to separate from what is disqualified. Matthew 11 and 12 show what a condition of things there was in Israel, so bad that the Lord likens it to a wicked spirit going out of a man, and then coming back again, and finding it empty, swept, adorned, going and taking with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself. Christendom answers to the same description, swept and adorned by the gospel, and yet a wicked spirit comes back into it with seven others. Primarily it refers to Israel. While He was speaking His mother and His brethren came. Israel is still asserting its claims to the Messiah on the ground of nature, with this awful condition. The Lord disclaims it; He stretched forth His hand towards His disciples and said, “Behold my mother and my brethren;” His mother and His brethren are those who do the will of God.
Then He leaves the house; He goes out by the seaside and entered into a ship and sat down. That [p. 320] is the dispensation from another point of view. In Luke He sits down in the synagogue; it is a dispensation of grace. The dispensation according to Matthew is based upon separation from what is evil. He sits down by the seaside and great crowds being gathered He went on board ship and sat down and began to talk about sowing. The two things run together, the preaching of Christ and the sowing.
JHT So the position at the close of Matthew is Galilee, not Jerusalem.
JT Yes, the position in the end of Luke is Jerusalem.
McM. Would this indicate that their house was left to them at this point?
JT Yes, I think so; He goes out of the house and sits down by the sea. Later in the chapter we find that He goes into another house, where He unfolds the truth of the assembly to His disciples.
Ques Would doing “the will of my Father who is in the heavens” enable you to be separate?
JT That is the great word; if you are doing the will of God you cannot go on with evil. The dispensation is marked by these two things. You maintain grace, and act in grace towards every one, rich and poor. Matthew supports you, because you have the assembly before you, and you cannot arrive at the assembly except on the principle of separation.
Ques Do you get that in 2 Timothy — a vessel to honour, sanctified?
JT Yes.
Ques Why would He separate from His mother and His brethren?
JT The conditions existing in Israel are depicted in chapter 12. They said the Lord was operating by the power of Beelzebub.
GJE In preaching you want the eleven with you.
JT Yes, but the preaching is to be carried on by those who are fitted [p. 321] for it.
GJE You would stand up alone if you had a message. Is there not a principle set out in the beginning of the Acts?
JT We may not have the eleven to stand up with us now, but we hold the thing in our minds. Sometimes you hear of a certain brother having charge of the gospel; maybe he has not any gift at all. He should not be chosen for the gospel if he has not gift. The gospel is committed to men who have gift.
GJE He should be a preacher of the gospel himself.
JT That is it.
RC It is a privilege to be in fellowship with the gospel. The Philippians were in fellowship from the very beginning; it is a great encouragement to the one who preaches.
JT Certainly, you look for the support of the saints.
TE Would the eleven be able to judge as to the brother’s gift?
JT No doubt. These eleven men had been called by the Lord; they were taken up to the mountain with Him, so that they might be sent out to preach.
Ques Why is the test in the wilderness brought in between the anointing in Luke and the occasion when the Lord comes out in public testimony? Has that anything to do with the anointing?
JT One has to prove one’s power in dependence, one has to learn to meet satanic power. We shall have to meet satanic power and we must learn how to meet it. That is why the temptations are brought in. The temptation brought out what was there. It is remarkable the Lord does not go into the wilderness of Himself, He was led by the Spirit. No servant would seek out evil; no one should touch it unless by the direction of the Holy Spirit. If you [p. 322] have to deal with evil, the Holy Spirit will indicate it; but taking it up otherwise you are likely to be damaged. Very few men can meet the enemy in the way of attack. You must know what it is to overcome. It says of the young men in John’s epistle, “ye have overcome the wicked one”. One has to learn to do that. I think the Holy Spirit in Luke called special attention to the product of the Lord’s own work in these men — the apostles.
JHT The preparation of the heart is a necessity before you have the speaking of the mouth. Ezra prepared his heart.
MP Have we not to see the necessity for separation before we can either walk or talk?
JT I think so; you have to learn to divide the hoof. I have no doubt Luke is more the mouth, and Matthew more the feet — support. That is how the matter stands, the dispensation stands on those principles.
JHT In Luke He goes to them, in Matthew they come to Him.
JT Yes, just so. He leaves the house and enters into a ship; there is some water between Him and the people. The principle of separation is really maintained in the ship. When you draw near the truth of the assembly in chapter 16, it says that the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Him for a sign, and He said, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas. And he left them and went away” (Matthew 16: 4). It is not now the house that He left, but this particular people — the orthodox people of the day, and the modernists; He left them both. The disciples also went to the other side; they followed His example; they were in fellowship, as we speak. Then the Lord says to them, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (verse 11). You may separate outwardly and carry the leaven of [p. 323] the thing with you. He warns them against that in chapter 16. You may leave the people but bring their principles with you.
RC In the Lord, separation is maintained, and grace is not narrowed.
JT Keep the two together, and you will be balanced. A man who recognises Luke holds himself responsible to preach the gospel to all. Matthew would teach him to do it in separation.
RC While He was in the ship He spoke to the multitudes. Grace was not narrowed.
JT Separated from the multitudes you can still preach to them.