“TOGETHER”
J. N. Grace
Acts 2: 1; 1 Corinthians 14: 23; 2 Thessalonians 2: 1
It seems that every feature of the assembly that comes in to the teaching of Scripture works out practically in our local companies, and this makes them important. So as we are together now it is not just simply that we have come to listen to someone speaking or to see the brethren; we come because in some way we are in the light and experience of what the assembly means. Why? Because the Spirit of God is here. That makes all the difference. It made the difference when He first came at Pentecost when they were “all together in one place”. What lit up the whole occasion was the fact that God came in in the Spirit. So Paul alludes to that in 1 Corinthians 14. We would like to see someone coming in, would we not? An unbeliever, a simple person, comes in and as he listens to what proceeds in the gathering he will do homage to God, “reporting that God is indeed amongst you”. You can see therefore the importance, the distinctiveness, shall I say the dignity, of our being together.
How glad we are to see one another, and to sit down and make way for the Spirit and thus make way for the Lord and whatever He might have to say to us, and how ready the Lord is to speak to us.
How He loves the assembly! We sang, ‘Oh, how precious Thine assembly is, Lord Jesus, in Thy sight’ (Hymn 359). What He has given to secure the assembly! This is not a picture on the wall, beloved brethren; it is literal. As we sit together like this we just need to remember how the Lord loves us. He loves the assembly and He has given everything for it, so we should be true to the assembly. Hence the importance of our being together as often as we can. In effect this is what Paul is saying in this epistle. He speaks of coming together in relation to the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 11: 20). He further says in chapter 14, “If therefore the whole assembly come together in one place”. Hence the importance of a meeting like this. Even if there are subdivisions (which we have not arrived at yet—maybe in the will of God we will), it still applies that we come together in one place in view of the ministry meeting and in view of the mid-week reading. We get the full gain of all that God has in the place taking character from the assembly. And I would say that particularly applies to the three-day meetings. We may think of that, that we should be together as often as we can, all together. What we have in our households is one thing. Thank God for it; they are clean places and we are apart from the world, and the Spirit of God is recognised; but when we come together I think the assembly is linked with what is holy, it is a holy place, hence the value and the protection of our being all together as often as we can, whether in the meetings or in the opportunity of sitting down together to partake of a meal, or something like that. I think the idea of the assembly enters into everything and the more we are together the better.
I had a simple impression that came home to me as we sang that hymn as to the way the assembly began, “all together in one place”, and the way that we are going out (1 Thessalonians 4: 17). We are going out together. What a victory that is for God! In the face of all the breakdown, in the face of all the scattering, is the enemy going to get the victory? No! The Spirit of God will have the victory and the whole of the assembly will gather together to meet the Lord in the air, and that will not only involve the living saints but those that have died. They are going to be raised first because we are not going to get any advantage over them. The dead in Christ shall rise first and then we shall be caught up together—a fine word! It should affect us in our affections and our love for one another, our love for the assembly, and our love for Christ. You cannot separate Christ from the assembly. May the Lord help us.
Word in meeting for ministry, Melbourne
17 May 1988