STABILITY

2 Timothy 2:1,14-26; Revelation 3:7-13

We were occupied in the reading with what is stable. What a need there is for stability! At Ephesus, things were in pristine conditions in the assembly there. It is obvious that these conditions are not existent now; breakdown has come in. Yet it is wonderful to consider that Paul was writing this epistle to Timothy from the standpoint of the purpose of God. He begins it by calling himself “Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will, according to promise of life, the life which is in Christ Jesus”, 2 Tim.1:1. All in Asia had left him, the truth in relation to the heavenly ministry and the assembly had been given up even at that early moment in the dispensation. Was Paul despondent? He is relating himself here to the purpose of God, he is breathing the atmosphere of heaven. In verse 9 of the first chapter, he speaks of “God; who has saved us, and has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time”. In the first epistle, Paul had related himself to the Saviour God; he was moving out in largeness of heart towards all men, and of course that is not given up in any way. In the second epistle, breakdown had come in, what had been committed into the hands of men had been given up and failure had come in. But one thing stands; the purpose of God has not changed, it is an unbroken chain. From the divine side there is no difference, nothing has changed. God does not have to begin again or alter anything; God has provided everything.

Paul writes “be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus”. The first thirteen verses relate to what is in Christ, and the second thirteen speak of what is in the Lord, and of the Lord. On one side it is privilege, and on the other side, responsibility. I would like to speak about responsibility in relation to stability: “the firm foundation of God stands”. Has it changed? It has not changed. Will it change? No, it will not change; “the firm foundation of God stands”. Some of us were reminded recently about the hammer of infidelity being broken on the anvil of the truth. Perhaps an easier analogy for the younger ones to understand is when you go to the shore on a stormy day, and see the waves coming in. It is like the raging waves of infidelity being dashed to spray on the rock of the truth. O beloved brethren, there is what stands in all its greatness; “the firm foundation of God stands”. Man has tried, the enemy has tried, to shake it, but “the firm foundation of God stands”; it is not even shaken. How wonderful that is. It has this seal; “The Lord knows those that are his”. How many believers are there in Dundee? We cannot possibly know that, but the Lord knows! I trust everyone here in this room is a believer, I trust that you are the Lord’s; “The Lord knows those that are his”.

It may be that other persons in this room think that you are the Lord’s, but you are not. I am not seeking to bring doubts into anyone’s mind, but the time is urgent; there is no time to be lost. God in His grace and in His goodness wants you to come to the Lord, He wants you to be saved for time and for eternity. What a work has been accomplished on the cross at Calvary, that all men may come into blessing. God desires that all men should be saved. Are you saved? Are you the Lord’s? “The Lord knows those that are his”. If there is anyone in this room who has not yet put his or her faith and trust in the Lord, I would desire, indeed all here would desire, that you would do so. Do not leave it for another moment because you may not have another moment. There are many here who are accustomed to going to school. In schools, there are occasional scuffles; these things happen every day. There is a court case in Aberdeen now because there was a scuffle, and one of the boys had a knife and he ended up killing the other boy. Think of the awfulness of it. I do not suppose that young lad knew initially what had happened; he died very quickly. There are those in this hall who are that age. What about you, dear friend; is your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus? There is not a moment to be lost. “The Lord knows those that are his”; how wonderful that we can leave that with the Lord. But what about you? Do not wait for another moment, have to do with the Lord Jesus where you are in your seat.

We cannot possibly know every believer, but I read something recently that was very interesting. In the early days, everyone would have known who a believer was; “the Lord added to the assembly daily those that were to be saved”, Acts 2:47. Everyone would have known who was a believer and who was not. It is not like that today, but we leave that with the Lord; it is an evidence of the breakdown, but there is a way through – a door has been opened. “The Lord knows those that are his; and, Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”; that is the door which has been opened. How wonderful it is that God, in His grace and in His goodness, has provided a way through. We are often reminded of this scripture being the believer’s charter in a broken day. “Let every one who names the name of the Lord”; that is what we profess to do. What does the Lord mean to us, to me? The Lord has died for me, but is He everything to me? He will be Lord of all, He will come to reign, everything will be subject to Him. There will be no doubt in that day, but what about now? What about my life – is He Lord over all to me? “Let every one who names the name of the Lord” is individual, it comes to us as individuals and that is what we profess. But then, am I consistent with what I profess, because we cannot go on with iniquity; “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”. If I am going on with what is iniquitous, I am attaching the name of the Lord to that, and that brings dishonour to the Lord. If I love the Lord, the last thing I would want to do is to bring dishonour to His name. Does love for the Lord govern us? Is He Lord? That means that I recognise His authority. It is not just a matter of knowing Jesus as Saviour, blessed and necessary as that is, but owning Him as Lord means that I recognise that He has rights over me, rights in relation to my whole life. If I am naming the Lord, I am speaking of the Lord as my Saviour.

You might ask, what is iniquity? Iniquity is bringing man’s mind into God’s things; that is iniquitous, that cannot be allowed. May we have love for the Lord, recognise what is due to Him and what His rights are, and recognise the honour that is due to Him so that we withdraw from iniquity, we leave things that we cannot go on with. You may say, There are true believers there. Yes, there are true believers, but “The Lord knows those that are his”; we leave that with the Lord. Paul uses this illustration of a great house. That is what Christendom has become. There are vessels in it, “gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour”. It is incumbent upon us to understand that there are things that we cannot go on with. We are not talking about a man being “taken in some fault” (Gal.6:1); that is not exactly what we have here. This is in relation to the mind of man in the things of God. We cannot put Christendom right, we leave that. It is like the parable of the man who was an enemy and planted the darnel (Matt.13:24-30). It is not that we think ourselves better than anyone else; that would not be right at all, but it is incumbent upon us to be true to the Lord if we are to prove stability and know the Lord’s presence.

These are very solemn matters, but I believe that they lead into what is Philadelphian. Those in Ephesus had left their first love (Rev.2:4); I think Philadelphia’s crown would be first love. But here in Timothy, we are seen moving as individuals. Perhaps you say, I have never gone anywhere else, but we need to know why we are where we are. Does love for the Lord govern us? Does love for the truth and love for the Scriptures govern us and govern our walk. All in Asia had left Paul; they had given up what was heavenly. Do all the Scriptures still apply today? Of course they do; “the firm foundation of God stands”. As we love the Lord and we love the truth, I believe that we would be helped to be on these lines, “sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work”. Think of being serviceable to the Lord; the Lord delights in that. “But youthful lusts flee”; there are certain things we need to leave behind. You might think that it is when you are young that you know what these things are, but it does not change as you get any older; “youthful lusts flee”. Get away from them; you need to be moving in self-judgment.

Then Paul writes “But youthful lusts flee, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”. There are four things that we are to pursue. I suppose that is why these four things are all put together with no ‘and’ between them. Righteousness is put first. We need to pursue righteousness; that is the leader. What a wonderful thing it is to pursue it; how active we have to be in relation to pursuing righteousness, faith, love, peace. It is not that you reach it and stop, but you are pursuing it; it is a line that you are on, you are doing it energetically and righteousness comes first. God is a righteous God and in all that is due to Him, beloved brethren, may we do what is right in every matter, may we be pursuing righteousness. This is firstly individual, but then it becomes collective, “with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”. We may have to be prepared to go on alone, but then how wonderful it is that the Lord provides others. You are not alone, it is “with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart” that you are pursuing righteousness, and you are pursuing faith, and you are pursuing love. How wonderful it is to have love, but it is not love at the expense of righteousness, and it is not righteousness without love. If we pursue righteousness without love, we would become like the Pharisees and things would just become legal. But we are pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”. Our faith is active. We need faith for every day, we need faith for every moment of our lives, so that we are moving in faith. Abraham moved in faith. We are pursuing that line; that means that we are maintained in dependence. How wonderful it is to be pursuing righteousness, pursuing faith in dependence, and pursuing love – love is wonderful. Then there is peace. The Lord does not cause agitation; any agitation we may feel is not caused by the Lord. There is what we enjoy together, and it is on these lines. These four things are put together, so that matters are settled as we are pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace.

Things are difficult; “in the last days difficult times shall be there”, 2 Tim.3:1. How evident that is, but we are to be on this positive line of pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, peace with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”. How encouraging it is to have brethren with whom we are able to walk; it is a divine provision. How much we are to value the work of God in one another. May we be helped not to do things in a legal way, but to consider for the Lord, in love for the Lord. That is what is motivating us. Think of all that the Lord has done for us. May we be helped in considering for Him in our pathway here. What wonderful stability there is in moving on these lines, because it really opens the door to what is Philadelphian. Philadelphia is not a position but a condition. It is known if it is known, and the way into it in our day is by way of 2 Timothy 2.

The Lord presents Himself in Revelation 3 as “the holy, the true”; it is what He is in Himself. These brethren in Philadelphia would have appreciated what being holy and true was, because I think in measure they would be characteristically that. How important it is to see what the Lord has done. He has opened the door; “he that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open”. He says “I know thy works”; He does not say what the works are. In relation to other assemblies, He speaks about their works, but He does not speak about the Philadelphian works. He goes on to say “I have set before thee an opened door”. Have we gone through that door? Do you know what it is to go through that door which has been opened and which no one can shut? There are three reasons given, because “thou hast a little power, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”.

The Lord gives these reasons; the first is “thou hast a little power”. Where does that power come from? It comes from the Spirit, and it also comes from the recognition of the rights of Christ. It comes from recognising Him as Lord, owning His lordship, being under His authority and sway; that is where the power comes from. Then “thou hast … kept my word”. Think of what the Lord would say. He would bring in touches of His love; that would affect our hearts so that we would be governed by it. There is what the Lord says as set out for us in Scripture, and then there is His current speaking. Do we know His current speaking? As we hear His current voice, do we answer to it? If we are answering to it then that is a reason, “because thou hast … kept my word”. They were keeping His word. What is the Lord saying to me today – am I going to keep that? Then, “hast not denied my name”. Those of Philadelphia were not denying the name of the Lord, they were naming “the name of the Lord”. That is our profession; not denying it, but being true to it. Are you true to the name of the Lord? The name implies that He is not here, He is absent. If the Lord came into this room corporeally, everyone would answer to Him; there would be no doubt about that. The whole world is going to recognise Him as Lord in a day to come. In the present time He is not here, He is absent, but His name is here and they were not denying His name. May we hold on to these things. What stability they bring, what stability the Lord brings, what stability His word brings. The Lord does not bring in agitation. His word would help in relation to what does bring in agitation. Beloved brethren, His word, His current speaking is available; what stability that brings. The Lord commends them; “thou hast a little power, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”.

He says that they of the synagogue of Satan “shall know that I have loved thee”, and “I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial”. Think of the Lord’s love for the assembly. It is not partial; the Lord loves the assembly and has delivered Himself up for it. What love the Lord displays in “the washing of water by the word”, Eph.5:26. He brings all that is necessary for His assembly. He will present her to Himself, so she will be preserved; “I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. I come quickly: hold fast what thou hast, that no one take thy crown”. Those in Ephesus had left their first love (Rev.2:4); Christ did not have the supreme place in their affections that He had once had. “First” does not relate to time, it relates to quality. How wonderful it is to consider that in days of breakdown, there is what is first in quality. To think of it otherwise would suggest that the Spirit has failed in His service and that what is of God has completely broken down. But there is an unbroken chain that goes all the way through. Beloved brethren, let us see it. Let us cleave to what is true, and be helped in relation to the Lord’s word at the present time so that His presence may be known.

The service of God was spoken of in the reading. How confirming it is that the Lord comes in and makes Himself known. The Lord delights to come to where there are conditions provided. That is a word to the one who overcomes; “him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God”. We would often think of a pillar as representing stability. What wonderful stability there is in those who overcome in Philadelphia. You may ask why overcoming is needed in Philadelphia. It is one thing to reach what is for God’s pleasure, but it needs to be maintained. There is only one way in which it can be maintained, and that is in the power of the Spirit and proving the headship and owning the lordship of Christ. That is the only way in which what is for God’s pleasure can be maintained.

Then, “him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God”. The footnote tells us that it is the inner shrine (note ‘a’); you are brought right in. Do we know what it is to be brought in? Perhaps we experience now what it is to go in, and what it is to come out, but there is a time coming when we will go in and will “go no more at all out”. That is a wonderful matter; how blessed it will be! The Lord is saying “him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God”; what stability! The one who overcomes in Philadelphia is a very stable person; “him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more at all out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God, and my new name”. He is not only stable but he is impressionable and he can be adorned.

What is described here will not only come out in a future day, it is seen now in what is being formed in all the stability of the purpose of God. “He that overcomes him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more at all out; and I will write upon him the name of my God”. Think of the revelation of God being written upon the believer. What wonderful stability there is in the way in which God has made Himself known, revealed Himself. “I will write upon him … the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem”. Think of what the assembly is to Christ, and what the assembly is to God. What is written upon the one who overcomes is glorious and expresses stability. This does not make those who overcome stable, they are stable, and these things are written upon them. They will be displayed, but this writing is taking place now as those who overcome are formed in these wonderful things that are put upon the believer, put upon those who overcome; “the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God, and my new name”. That is not a different name, I think it relates to the headship of Christ. Think of what is always fresh coming from Christ where He is, a glorified, ascended Man, Head of the body and all that flows from Him. Christ is writing; He is writing “my new name” on the one who overcomes. Every impulse is being put there.

These things are very attractive. You may say that the way into them sounds very difficult. Persons may be choosing easier paths; all in Asia forsook Paul (2 Tim.1:15). The greatest of truths, the truth in relation to the assembly, were committed to Paul. How wonderful they are, how stabilising they are. May we hold on to them, may we cleave to the purpose of God. That is what we need to do if we are to be stable amid what is unstable and will quickly end. We need to hold fast to what is true and right. We need to cleave to the purpose of God and then we come out and we can be adorned; Christ can write upon us. What stability there is in these things. May we be helped and encouraged, for His name’s sake.

Address at Dundee

5 March 2016

B.W. Lovie