THE EFFECT OF BEHOLDING THE LORD’S GLORY

R. Hibbert

Matthew 17: 1–7; Mark 9: 6–8; Luke 9: 28–30

What is in mind in reading these scriptures is the advantage of entering into surroundings of glory in company with Christ and the bearing of that on our testimonial activities. As we have been reminded, the service of God includes much more than we generally have in mind in speaking of it, that is, what engages us after the Lord comes in at the Supper. One’s suggestion is that we are qualified to have effective part in the testimony as we are formed by the experiences of being in the company of Christ in the area of glory.

So the Lord selected these great men, in view of their education. You might say, ‘Why did He not take the whole twelve?’. Well, that is an important matter. We learn everything from Christ, and why should He select three? Why should He not? He had a perfect right to select three. He selected these same three on three very important occasions. What are we to learn from that? We are to learn that the Lord has sovereign rights to select whom He will in His testimony. So we need to be warned against any idea of democracy in the assembly.

I think we are in danger of modifying the thought of selection. But the Lord has His rights to select certain persons in His testimony and to distinguish them. That is His right. He said, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will in my own affairs?”, Matthew 20: 15. It is not only a right but it is also for the good of the brethren. So we should be very thankful if we see the marks of the Lord’s selection in some of our beloved brethren because it is for the enrichment of the assembly and for the blessing of the saints. I just touch on that because I think it is a current matter that we need to be on our guard against a kind of levelling idea that has been brought in because of certain sorrowful matters in the past, but we must be balanced in that as in everything.

Matthew is the royal gospel, the King in His beauty—there is a book on that. If the young brethren want to read it, they will find it very enjoyable, very instructive (J.T., N.S. Vol. 11, p.250). Speaking to the young brethren I would say this—I remember that when I first used to come to the meetings the ministry was Greek to me. I did not know what the brethren were talking about. I used to think, ‘I do not think I will ever understand’; but I started to get interested and I started to read the ministry, and you know there is a saying that the appetite comes while eating, and that is very true in connection with ministry, that the more you read of it the more your taste for it will grow. Get into the habit of taking up the ministry and reading it constantly. The constancy of it is more important than the quantity. So there is no need to be afraid—that is a very fine word in this section, the Lord says, “Be not terrified”.

Here in Matthew’s gospel, when He is presented in all His royal majesty in circumstances of glory, it says, they were “greatly terrified. And Jesus coming to them touched them, and said, Rise up, and be not terrified”. Well, that is a fine thing in the presence of absolute authority. It is that which Matthew presents. It is the King in His beauty, but it is the King in His authority.

It has been pointed out that a characteristic word in Matthew is ‘go’. In the army an officer does not say, ‘Will you please do so-and-so’. He says, ‘You do that’. That is an order, and is what characterises Matthew’s gospel. ‘Go’, He says, there are no arguments. You do not argue with a king, it is a royal command. We need to be reminded too that divine principles are not flexible, they are not modified by circumstances. Persons sometimes bring in reasons why they should be modified and say there are ifs and buts, and sympathies, and so on. But divine principles are not changeable, or adaptable to any particular opinions or circumstances; ‘situational ethics’ have no place in the assembly.

I would recommend to the brethren who have not read it (I hope every one here has) that classic letter by Dr. Pavlik. What was of great help to me was that he said, in going over the histories of the divisions, that in spite of personalities, in spite of devoted men getting wrong, God always supported those who followed divine principles. I think that would be a great cue to us, that instead of getting confused by personal sympathies and details, we see what the principle is and then we say, ‘That is it; that is the divine commandment’. You say, Is that christianity? Yes, it is christianity, and just as true as it was in the Old Testament. It is not a question of legality, but it is a question of principles, and christianity is supported by principles, divine principles, that cannot be modified for anyone. That is Matthew’s line.

So in Matthew it is a question of the word. What is inflexible in this sense is that there is no modification of the word of God. The Scriptures are absolute. There is nothing else to compare with them. If you have got a scripture you may have to be careful about that too, because a lot of people wrongly claim scriptural ground, but Scripture understood in the power of the Spirit is to be obeyed, and obeyed without any question. So if we have a scripture that rightly governs a matter, that settles it for the spiritual mind and the subject mind. That is, there is no need for any more dispute or waiting. So the great thing is to find out what scripture applies.

Many have gone astray on this very point, but it is essential that we should learn this, that the Lord is in charge and if He says a certain thing, if He establishes a certain matter from the Scriptures, it is final. He says Himself that His words will in no wise pass away (Matthew 24: 35). There is no change in them; they are absolute.

That will simplify so much difficulty if we can see what is the divine principle that governs a matter. Then we need not be terrified. ‘Oh’, you may say, ‘how is that going to affect me?

How is it going to affect my relatives? What is it going to cost me?’. The principle of associations comes into these three scriptures in the references to His garments. How is that going to affect me? That is the way that we think humanly—what is it going to cost me? Can I afford to face up to the truth? It is very fine that in this gospel, where the Lord is in full command and in the full dignity of royalty, it says, “The disciples hearing it fell on their faces, and were greatly terrified. And Jesus coming to them touched them, and said, Rise up, and be not terrified”. It is very affecting that in His dignity and royalty there should be this element of compassion. That comes into Matthew, “Behold thy King cometh … meek, and mounted upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Matthew 21: 5). That is the kind of King we have: He is sympathetic and He is comforting and yet He is, none the less, the King.

Now in Mark there is a difference. The stress in Mark would be on ‘hear’, “Hear him”. I have often wondered why this is all God said on that occasion, “This is my beloved Son—hear him”. What is involved in that? Certainly it is not lengthy. Mark is a prophetic gospel. We do not want long sermons in prophetic meetings; we want short words that are pertinent and applicable. I have spoken about Matthew and there it says, “He cast out the spirits with a word” (Matthew 8: 16), just a word. That was all that was needed. He did not need to handle those persons, a word was enough. In fact one man said, “I am not fit that thou shouldest enter under my roof; but only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed”, Matthew.8: 8.

Just the word; authoritative ministry is really the Scripture applied in the power of the Spirit so that it is evidently a word from the Lord.

Mark’s gospel is marked not just by speaking, but by the Lord touching and handling persons. Of the leper it says He freely handled him (see note to Mark 1: 41), not just that He touched him. There is the deaf man, where He put His fingers to his ears (Mark 7: 32–35).

That is different from sending a message a long distance. In Mark He gets near to people and He handles persons, even a leper. He is able to handle him and then He takes the deaf man out and puts His fingers to his ears. Now what does that mean? think it is an instruction for us how to serve in prophetic meetings, how a prophet would serve. He would not simply send a word at a distance, he would get to know the conditions involved and get near sympathetically and form a kind of ‘rapport’ with his audience. I think the brethren will understand what I mean by that word. If you are speaking in a ministry meeting can you see you are effecting something? Samson, when he went to deal with those Philistines said to the lad that held him by the hand, “Suffer me to feel the pillars”, Judges 16: 26. Now in prophetic ministry you can do that. If you are with the Lord you can feel the pillars; you can feel what needs to be brought down, what needs to be removed, what needs to be effected, and that means establishing a rapport with your audience.

Prophetic ministry is directed to the conscience, and it is a great need at the present time.

There are current issues amongst us that authority is not quite enough to meet. You can point out the principle endlessly, but it may not make any difference; but can you get to the persons and affect them by contact? That is the thing with Mark. You remember the prophet Elisha when the dead boy’s mother went to him. He said, I will send my servant with my staff—and it did not do any good (2 Kings 4: 25–37). The authority did not effect anything; so he goes and lies upon the child to give warmth and impart what will effect something. That is what I think prophetic ministry is intended to do.

The sisters come into this. There are a good many here, thank God, and the sisters have a very great place. Scripture distinctly refers to sisters prophesying and refers to prophetesses.

It does not refer to priestesses, though sisters are priests. It refers to queens and it refers to prophetesses and to a shepherdess. So I think that in some of our local concerns the answer may be coming through the sisters, feeling sisters who are carrying things and who perhaps can wisely say a brief word in private. Now that is very important

for all. Prophetic words should be pointed and potent and brief—“Five words with my understanding”, 1 Corinthians 14: 19. Five words are better than ten thousand words. Think of listening to ten thousand words! That would be a test, would it not? I do not know how long that would take, but there would not be much room for a number two—or a number three, if necessary, which is sometimes doubtful.

Now we come to Luke. What is distinctive about Luke is that it says, “as he prayed”. You might say that Luke stresses the Lord’s knees. Matthew stresses His word, and Mark stresses His hands, he records, “Such works of power are done by his hands”, Mark 6: 2. You can see that involves more than words. But what can be done by prayer! The Lord, of course, is the example here. It says that “the fashion of his countenance became different”. What can happen to us in prayer! how you can be changed yourself in prayer, to begin with, how you can become different, come out differently. You go into God one way and you come out with some change. If you are really in contact with God there is going to be some change. But then what change can be effected in others by one as changed!

I think, beloved brethren, that there are matters among us that are causing universal concern that are only going to be settled through the greater exercise of urgent prayer, urgent crying to God. That is what Luke presents. You may say, Is that glorious? This is in the glory on the mount, and the true glory of manhood is dependence. That is what God delights to see in persons, dependence; not people who can quote a lot of precedents and pride themselves on their historical knowledge of things in the testimony. I do not know that God will get much out of that, but God loves to see a

dependent man. He loves to welcome into His presence a man who is marked by prayer. This was characteristic of the Lord. Luke is the only gospel where it says that in Gethsemane the Lord knelt down. Think of the Lord kneeling down, praying to God. And it says that “being in conflict he prayed more intently”, Luke 22: 44. What a way to pray when we are in conflict! Do we pray the more intently when in conflict? If you have some difficulty with someone, how do you try to meet that? We see how the Lord met the situation when He was in direct conflict with Satan. Satan was trying to impede His determination to carry out God’s will, and the Lord, speaking reverently, was there in weakness, human weakness. It says that an angel appeared from heaven strengthening Him.

This is a great encouragement because perhaps every time you stand up to serve the brethren your knees tremble. That is felt weakness, but we do not need to be afraid of that. Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am powerful”, 2 Corinthians 12: 10. So it is an advantage. It is far better to get up feeling very dependent than it would be to get up feeling quite independent.

You could not count on support on that line. So you could say that the knees are what characterised the Lord in Luke. He went to the mount of Olives “as was his custom”, that is, it was characteristic. It is not just turning to God when we are in a difficult spot. Think of the Lord praying all night. But it says, “as was his custom”. And in our scripture, “And as he prayed the fashion of his countenance became different and his raiment white and effulgent”.

Well, as the brethren know, there is nothing about the mount of transfiguration in John, except that you might say the whole book is that. But what I would say simply is this—the Lord is an example in these three instances on the mount, and He is an example in John, not in relation to His word exactly, not exactly in relation to His handling persons, and not exactly in relation to praying, but in relation to the bosom. That is what characterises John. That is the place that is alluded to, Christ is in the bosom of the Father, and then John in His bosom is the characteristic man in John’s gospel.

So that is the place where we can get help, where we can get revelations, where we can enjoy communion, and an area out of which we can come in power to meet things in the testimony.

Then He says, “I have given you an example that, as I have done to you, ye should do also”, John 13: 15. He had just been speaking about part with Him, and that is what my subject is, part with the Lord in the testimony, how we can carry on our area in the testimony in the spirit that the Lord did. Oh, you may say, I thought part with Him was in approaching the Father, and so it is, but it is quite evident from what the Lord has to say in that section that He has Peter especially in mind, and the others, in testimony here; He says, “I have given you an example that, as I have done to you, ye should do also”. And what is the example? The example is humility. I believe that if there is one issue more than any other that the Lord has had with us it is pride, it is lack of humility. So think of the Lord having to show them that.

Think of Him taking a wash-hand basin, getting down at the disciples’ feet, and He is saying, If you are not ready for this, well then, you are ruled out. Peter objected to it. It does not appeal to us much, but that is the way the Lord leaves the example. “I have given you an example that, as I have done to you, ye should do also”. He says to Peter, If you are not ready for that, then you cannot have part with Me.

We want to have part with Him, beloved brethren, in what we have had before us earlier in Psalm 45, in that glorious service, but we also want to have part with Him in this practical side of the service, in every area that has to do with the things of God, to have the Lord before us as an example and to be like Him and to be formed by the experiences that we enjoy as we are with Him in circumstances of glory, so that we can bring the effect of that, the formation that results from that, to circumstances down here that in themselves are not glorious, but that the glory can meet. May God bless the word.

Address at Redbridge
1 October 1977