THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE
A.B.Parker
This verse has been read, not to pronounce woe, but because of the expression, "the key of knowledge". We have here the Lord's own words to the effect that there is a key of knowledge. My concern is that I may be helped of the Lord to say something that will enable the dear brethren to use the key of knowledge in searching the Scriptures. I do not claim to know much about it, but I seek help to impart certain impressions that I have concerning it. Peter, as about to put off his tabernacle, was concerned about leaving something with the saints so that after his departure they should have, at any time, in their power, to call to mind what he had ministered. And in my measure I would like to leave with you some impressions of how to use the key of knowledge.
The Lord Jesus said to the Jews: "Ye search the scriptures, for ye think that in them ye have life eternal and they it is which bear witness concerning me". That, probably, is one of the greatest impressions we can get of how to use the key of knowledge - that the Scriptures testify of Christ. Jesus referred to the Old Testament. Let us find where and how Christ is in mind in the Scriptures.
To proceed on simple lines with our subject, let us consider the Psalms, for instance. We do not get very far before we realise that, generally, the theme of the psalm is contained in the first few verses and the remainder flows out from that. That gives us a key to the understanding of the structure of the psalms. But let us consider more in detail the book from which we have read. How many of us know keys to the understanding of this gospel? It is a very affecting book which sets out, most remarkably, the operations of divine grace, as we know well. It is like the dew of heaven. It took seven years for the dew of heaven to soften down the proud heart and hardened, presumptuous spirit of Nebuchadnezzar (see Dan 5: 20). The grace of God set out in Luke's gospel is like the dew of heaven. It was written to "most excellent Theophilus" that he may know the certainty of those things in which he had been instructed. When Luke wrote his second book (Acts of the Apostles) he addressed Theophilus simply, O Theophilus. His gospel had wrought something in Theophilus. What indication of spiritual affinity there is in that title, O Theophilus! The 'most excellent' was gone; the dew of heaven had done its work and Theophilus emerges a product of divine grace.
History tells us that Luke probably wrote his gospel at Philippi where, it seems, he remained for some time after Paul and Silas left that locality in Acts 16. No wonder that Philippi is spoken of as being the practical counterpart of the heavenly truth Paul ministered at Ephesus! What an advantage to a locality to be bathed with the dew of heaven! What an influence Luke would have - one who did not think it burdensome to write twenty-four chapters to one man to confirm him in the faith. Would you not like to find a key to the teaching in that book?
In chapter 2 of his gospel Luke tells us that "there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was just and pious, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he should see the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and as the parents brought in the child Jesus ... he received him into his arms, and blessed God".
What would be his expectation as he waited to see the Lord's Christ? Would He be a matured Man? What must Simeon's thoughts have been? Whatever expectation there was, he discerned in that little Babe, probably less than two months old, the Lord's Christ. What spiritual perception! What priestly understanding! Where were the priests? No mention whatever is made of them. Why? Because heaven is engaged with this man Simeon who morally is the priest - not a son of Aaron, not of the tribe of Levi, but nevertheless a true priest. I feel sure that heaven would not allow that Babe to be in hands other than priestly hands. This I believe is a key to the understanding of one phase of the teaching of Luke's gospel - that the official priesthood which was in decline increased in its awfulness from the unbelief of Zacharias to the corrupt and murderous system which, later, demanded that Jesus be crucified. But it was being replaced with a moral priesthood which corresponds morally to the priestly features set out so perfectly in Jesus.
What priestliness there was with Simeon! He came in the Spirit into the temple; he received the Babe into his arms; he blessed God. What priestly dignity, and we may say, reverently, what a heave offering! What a spiritual vision opened up as Simeon blessed God! "Mine eyes have seen thy salvation... a light for revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel". Two dispensations open up to him - the day of grace and the millennium. Do you want vision? If so, be concerned to be priestly; seek to discern in some outwardly small presentation of Jesus the greatness and glory of His Person. Let your heart expand as you speak to God about Him. This is a key to the understanding of priesthood which is developed in Luke's gospel. Use this key to understand how it develops. Think of Jesus praying. Seven times Luke presents Him as praying. On one occasion the disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray. The priesthood was developing. And as we proceed through the gospel we see the terrible decline in the official priesthood but the development of true priestliness in the disciples, so that at the end of the gospel they are continually in the temple praising and blessing God. But before we leave Luke's gospel let us consider that scene at the cross. Luke tells us that two malefactors were crucified with Jesus, one on the right hand, the other on the left. That is a priestly touch. Mark tells us that the two robbers were crucified, one on His right hand and one on His left. That is a touch peculiar to Mark for, as a recovered person, everything relates to Christ, the One who did all things well. We are told, in the prophet Jonah, that in Nineveh there were a hundred and twenty thousand persons that could not discern between their right hand and their left hand. But we should know. Matthew tells us, as Luke does, that the malefactors were one on the right hand and one on the left, but Matthew gives us an administrative touch in his gospel. He is particularly concerned with the right hand, whereas Luke has in mind both the right hand and the left hand, for he tells us that the Lord Jesus laid His hands on the woman in Luke 13: 13. That is priestly balance - the right hand of power and the left hand of support; the right hand which does things, but the left hand which supports us while He does them.
But I want to speak about the malefactor who said to his fellow "Dost thou too not fear God, thou that art under the same judgment? and we indeed justly, for we receive the just recompense of what we have done; but this man has done nothing amiss". Think of those words; I believe we can say they were spoken by a converted man. God had wrought in him; he feared God. That, according to Proverbs 1: 7, is the beginning of knowledge. In a sense it is like the key of knowledge. That man had it; he said "this man has done nothing amiss". Pilate, weak administratively, scourged Jesus and delivered Him up to be crucified. The priests, in their clamour, persuaded him to do it, crying "Crucify, crucify him". Satan, the once covering cherub, whose reason for being created was to cover the divine Presence, was doing all in his power to malign, uncover and destroy that blessed Man. There He was, the true Ark of the covenant, about to take that journey across the Jordan, but where is the priest who, according to Numbers 4: 4-6, will take the veil of separation and the badgers' skins and the cloth of blue and cover the Ark preparatory to that journey in which the waters of Jordan were about to be driven back beyond the city Adam? God had His priest; the malefactor in whom divine grace had wrought comes forward, as it were, with the veil of separation (we indeed justly, but this Man has done nothing amiss); then the badgers' skins, the protective covering (nothing amiss) and then the cloth of blue (thy kingdom). Surely, the kingdom of which the malefactor spoke would be a heavenly kingdom. Thus the Ark is covered and ready to take that stupendous journey which has made the 'dry land' available for every one whose trust is in the finished work of Christ. The ark remained in the bed of Jordan until all the people had passed over. The priest, his work finished, is received into the holiest, in principle "with me in paradise".
We may now look at another very precious key of knowledge in Luke's gospel which has its very important application to our day, the day of small things. I refer to chapter 2 where the shepherds are referred to, persons who, when most of the world was asleep, were awake, with feelings of care for the flock. To them it was said "ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and lying in a manger". That Babe was the object of heaven's interest, and at the moment of His birth He became a sign, wrapped in swaddlingclothes, expressive of great human weakness, but also of the administration of protection and comfort provided by loving hands. That related to Christ personally but it is set out as a sign. Does it not speak of Christ formed in the saints, outwardly weak yet protected by mother feelings which characterise the assembly? And where is this found? In the most unlikely place - a manger. Let us not look for outward recognition. Our life is hid with Christ in God. We are not of the world, even as Christ is not of the world. Let us be marked by features which this sign suggests. The Lord has rebuked the aspiration for large meeting rooms. The assembly in the house is better known today than it had been for some time. The thing most precious to heaven (Christ formed in the saints), found in the most unlikely surroundings, is not to be despised.
Let us now turn to Matthew's gospel to see what key we can discover there. Usually we do not use a key to get out of a place but to get into it. And this is what we should have in mind, for the desire is to get more fully into the understanding and expression of the truth. Matthew, as we all would know, deals with administration. It has been called 'the assembly gospel'; therefore we should look for a key to assembly administration. We would acknowledge that there are assembly issues amongst us which, through various means, have assumed abnormal proportions and are much in the minds and prayers of the brethren. How we all long for these matters to be adjusted righteously. I trust that the Lord will help us to get impressions at this time which will be of help to us all, for I feel sure that it is the desire of all that matters be resolved according to God's mind.
First of all we may look at chapter 1: 18-21: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: His mother, Mary, that is, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit". That is the truth of the matter, but this was not fully known to Joseph. He assumed that matters were not right, but he was a righteous man and unwilling to expose. The footnote says 'being a man unwilling'. I believe an alternative reading would be that Joseph was a righteous, unwilling-to-expose man. Such persons are qualified to have part in administrative matters. He was unwilling to expose; he pondered over the matter for it seemed to him that righteousness demanded that Mary should be put away. But as he pondered, light came in from heaven. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The truth became fully known and the matter. was resolved. All this, I believe, is the key to right administration, for the next chapter opens with the words, "Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judaea". Bethlehem is an administrative city out of which the leader was to go forth who would shepherd God's people Israel. But this key can be carried forward to chapter 18 where administration in the assembly is specifically in mind. Persons who understand the bearing of verses 1 to 14 of that chapter become righteous, unwilling to expose people, knowing that it is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones should perish. Every means is taken not needlessly to expose, to use every means to save, and finally to use the assembly to preserve, if possible, the erring persons.
But let us follow the lead given in the key and consider what Bethlehem administration implies. Mr Taylor said much about the importance of the numeral twelve in administrative matters, that it suggests the manipulative operation of love. It was when Jacob was a little way from Ephrath, or Bethlehem, that Benjamin, his twelfth son, was born. When Joseph was born Rachel said "Jehovah will add to me another son". We have been taught that Joseph represents Christ objectively whereas Benjamin represents Christ formed subjectively in the saints. When Joseph was getting the brethren right he insisted that the matter could not be settled unless Benjamin was brought down to Egypt. There must be a subjective state in the saints which is equivalent to the objective standing "in Christ”. The birth of Benjamin caused the death of Rachel, showing that nature must be displaced. She called him son of my sorrow but Benjamin means son of my right hand. The right hand is the administrative hand. Jacob could now proceed to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem administration is set forth in the book of Ruth when a very difficult matter had to be resolved. Boaz took it to the gate. In principle he took it to the care meeting. He recognised the numeral twelve. He told the near kinsman to sit down; then he told ten of the elders to sit down; thus there were eleven present and he made the twelfth. The case before them was that of a Moabitess, a case which the lawyers could have made very difficult, based on Deuteronomy 23: 3, but Ruth was already in the family. It was a love matter; the numeral twelve was working. The near kinsman was prepared to say what he could not do and Boaz was ready, not only to redeem, but to purchase Ruth. It all led to the great thought of worship, Obed, which should be the great result of right administration.
Many years later, when the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem, David longed for a drink of water from the well that was in the gate of Bethlehem. Think of the kind of administration which yields perpetual freshness! David longed for a taste of that kind of refreshment. He longed to establish it for all Israel but, as rejected, he longed for an anticipative taste of it. Three mighties broke through the Philistine ranks and drew water from the well and brought it to David. However David would not drink it but poured it out to Jehovah, saying "is it not the blood of the men that went at the risk of their lives?". How the Lord appreciates such preparedness to sacrifice in order that there may be the refreshment of right administration! But to get back to Matthew, there was established in chapter 18 an administrative principle which I believe we see carried out later on by the Lord Jesus in His dealings with Peter: "If thy brother sin against thee, go, reprove him between thee and him alone. If he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother". Peter’s failure in chapter 26 came home to him when the cock crew, and he went out and wept bitterly. What he must have gone through during the time that Jesus was before the governor, and on the cross, and in the grave, would be indescribable - the hopelessness of being unable to speak to Jesus, the thought that he never again would see Him on earth; but because Jesus had prayed for him that his faith would not fail he came through. He did not take his life like Judas did. But his sorrow must have been indescribable. One of the first things that Jesus did on the day of His arising was to appear to Simon. Jesus went to see Peter alone. What did He say to him? I do not think anyone knows what Jesus said to Peter at that time. He 'gained' Peter. We sometimes confuse this with John 21, but there the Lord clears the matter of what Peter said in the presence of the disciples in chapter 26: 33: "If all shall be offended in thee, I will never be offended". That was said before all, and in John 21 it is adjusted before his fellow disciples; "Lovest thou me more than these?" How perfect and effective is right administration!
I believe it is right to say that administration in matters involving moral issues is intended to maintain righteousness, surely, but grace is reigning through righteousness, and the protection, preservation and revival of the work of God in the saints should be its aim. According to Matthew 18 only those who have been converted and have become as little children can enter into the kingdom of the heavens, and that would include having part in assembly administration. It is understood that there may be extreme cases such as the man in 1 Corinthians 5 with whom there was no repentance and whose state, "being such", the evil could only be separated from him by the extreme action of Satan. This is allowed for in verse 13 of Matthew 18 in that the man may not find the straying sheep, and also in verse 17 where the assembly must act judicially because it is not heard. But generally it is to be supposed that every effort will be made to fill out the will of our Father who is in the heavens that not one of the "little ones" may perish. Assembly actions should be such that they can be ratified in heaven, which means, I believe, that they are ratified by the Father.
May we be set for the preservation of the work of God in the saints, and may we understand better the use of the key of knowledge.
Substance of an address at
COUNCIL BLUFFS
14 October 1978
DIVISIONS IN JOHN'S GOSPEL
S.McCallum
John 7: 43, 44; 9; 13-16; 10: 16-19
It is very striking how divisions are referred to in John's gospel. There are three divisions referred to in the passages which I have read. We do not find this in the synoptic gospels. John's gospel is generally thought of as bearing on these last days, and we know, dear brethren, that we have not been wanting in divisions - a very solemn matter! I want to point out where these three divisions lie. It is very striking when you consider contextually what they refer to.
The first stands related to the Lord and the wonderful character of His speaking and what He is saying; as the officers say, "Never man spoke thus, as this man speaks" (v 46). And what is He speaking about? What has He been speaking about in the conflict? He has been speaking about the Spirit, as we notice in verses 37-39; "this he said concerning the Spirit, which they that believed on him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified". Now this is very significant, especially as bearing on the time we are in, that the division among the Jews was in relation to the way the Lord spoke and was speaking: "Never man spoke thus, as this man speaks". I think we should see how this division took place. It says "There was a division therefore in the crowd on account of him". His Person is referred to and where He comes from, and there is a challenge as to where He came from. These are two things that come in here: the great thought of the Spirit as flowing out of the belly of the believer as rivers of living water, and then where Christ came from.
We shall see, if we think back and think things over, and think of things currently, how the enemy uses this to bring about a divided state. That is what the enemy is after all the time. If he can he will divide us again and divide us again and divide us again. But the only thing that will hold us is that which he seeks to divide us about - the importance of the Spirit in the Christian dispensation. Mr Raven referred to this chapter as introducing the new dispensation, and what characterises the new dispensation is the presence and power of the Spirit. Oh! let us value the Spirit more and more. Let us see what it is to have the Spirit and to make use of the Spirit and to get the gain of the Spirit in this character in which He is presented, and be a resource of power and refreshment to all around us. Let us see the importance of the Spirit as spoken of by Christ, and also the importance of some saying "This is the Christ" and the challenge to that: "does then the Christ come out of Galilee?" (v 41).
How the enemy works on the precious truths as to the Person, presence and power of the Spirit as given by Christ, and as to the Person of Christ. It says "there was a division therefore in the crowd on account of him"; that is, on account of Christ. How sorrowful to see a state of things that these persons represent; they are so indefinite and so twisted in their knowledge of the truth. We want to see the importance of not being caught up in a division like this and stand by what is proper to the Spirit and to what our attention has been drawn to in relation to the last feature of recovery which meant so much to us - speaking to the Spirit. I believe that what has come into the present hour is a definite move of the enemy to challenge that feature of the truth which has been recovered and to spoil it for the gain of the saints.
Now the next scripture I read is a great challenge to us. If ever a chapter regales our spirits, this one should. Here was a man who was able to stand his ground against the greatest forces of opposition, the religious mind of the Pharisees. It says "They bring him who was before blind to the Pharisees. Now it was sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. The Pharisees therefore also again asked him how he received his sight. And he said to them, He put mud upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I see. Some of the Pharisees therefore said, This man is not of God, for he does not keep the sabbath. Others said, How can a sinful man perform such signs? And there was a division among them". Think of persons getting divided over Christ in this light as bringing in healing in the way of sight for a blind man. And the man was such an expression of the works of God that they could not put him down; they could not overthrow what he testified to, and the very presence of the man occasioned this division. The work of God was so virile in the man, and they were so upset because they could not overturn or spoil the effect of Christ's service to the man, that it says "there was a division among them". I think we want to know some of these things in our meetings and appreciate the presence and power of the Spirit, and also Christ's Person and what we have here, the works of God in a man. It is more than the enemy can stand, and he creates divisions, if he can by any means overthrow the testimony - something he will never be able to do. Let us take comfort and courage in that, that the truth and testimony are going through whatever the devil may do. The great thing is that we should appreciate the works of God in a man, in ourselves, and see how it expresses itself in standing against the tide of all arguments that the Pharisees would bring forward even to discredit Christ.
Now the next division is occasioned by the Lord's word as to the flock and as to the authority He has from the Father. You notice that, in speaking of His life, He says "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it again. I have received this commandment of my Father. There was a division again among the Jews on account of these words". He had been speaking earlier of the "other sheep which are not of this fold: those also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, one shepherd". We know how the enemy has assailed this from the outset, how he assailed it in 1848 and around that time, the one flock and one Shepherd, by Bethesda principles; and there has been a lot of Bethesda principles that have really assailed the truth of the one flock, one Shepherd. That is the way the recovery began, the one Head in heaven and one body on earth, and the enemy has been out to destroy that on every hand, and also the very fact of the Lord speaking of authority to lay down His life and authority to take it again. He was a man who moved under the authority He received from the Father. We have noticed the attempt there has been on every hand to disregard authority and to think we have the privilege to do as we like. How sad that is! So, as the Lord is speaking these glorious words in this chapter as to the sheep that hear His voice and follow Him (they will not follow a stranger) I have to look into my heart and see if I am following. As the Lord is indicating here, what element is there that has disturbed my link with Christ as the true Shepherd and formed it with the stranger? What a solemn thing that is, to follow the stranger! It says "there was a division again among the Jews on account of these words".
Well, it was just these thoughts that are peculiar to this gospel, the truth as asserted by John, division among the Jews; we want, dear brethren, to be free from this dividing character of things and appreciate the Spirit, appreciate Christ, follow Him and enjoy the wonderful characteristics of the flock, the sheep who hear His voice and follow Him.
GLASGOW
2 November 1972