BROOKLYN, N.Y., SEPTEMBER 20TH, 1909
BROOKLYN, N.Y., SEPTEMBER 20TH, 1909
Mr. P. R. Morford.
My Dear Brother, — Yours of the 8th inst. was read with very great interest, and I thank you for it. I am writing Mrs. M. so I shall confine myself to your remarks as to the difficulties I expressed regarding your article ‘In the Midst’.
I have thought of the matter a good deal since I wrote, and I am quite unable to see that you have Scripture for saying that the Lord is in the midst continuously; indeed I feel assured [p. 71] that in saying this, you are going beyond Scripture. Of course, the Lord is always with His people (that is, those who are walking in the truth and set for His interests), but this is another matter. He is with us as in service, individually or otherwise, or as seeking to help each other in readings and the like; and then He is in the assembly viewed as His body; and besides, as a divine Person, He dwells, by the Spirit, in the habitation of God here on earth — but in all this we have not the thought of “in the midst”, as presented in John 20. In this chapter it is a question of the out-of-the-world, heavenly position of the assembly, as risen with Christ, dignified by the presence of the Lord in the midst. To my mind, this is what is obscured by the article in question; and your further remarks, and those of D.L.H., which you quote, only confirm me that this is the tendency of the line of thought presented.
John’s line should be kept distinct, if we are to maintain the privilege side; Matthew has the maintenance of the testimony in view, and the structure, as that in which it is maintained, is set before us. In Matthew 16: 18 the Lord is not said to be in the midst, as you say, but “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. The invulnerability of the structure as built by Him is before us, rather than a company with Him in the midst. In chapter 18 the smallest number, when gathered together, have Him in the midst. As I said before, if we say He is in the midst all the time, the force of the latter scripture is lost entirely. But here, as I apprehend, it is not privilege exactly, but we are assured of the Lord’s presence in the way of support as engaged with His interests. And the Lord’s word at the close of the gospel is on the same line — He is with us always. This, of course, has a general application. In John 20 we have Christ’s brethren, and into the midst of these, as convened, He comes. This is unique, and shows the great end in view in John.
The fact is that I am altogether at a loss to see how the Lord could be said to be in the midst, as presented in this chapter, when the saints are separated, and following their individual vocations. To say that He is, to my mind, is confusing, and indeed, meaningless. But to look for the Lord to come into the midst of His people as gathered together, is a very proper and holy expectation.
As to state, I quite see, as I said in my last letter, that we have to distinguish between the work of the Spirit in the [p. 72] believer and his practical ways, or walk. My difficulty is that you connect “in the midst;” with the former by itself. According to John’s first epistle the two things are correlative. But then, Scripture also contemplates that a Christian, although a subject of God’s work may turn aside; the work of the Spirit would remain (for what God does is done forever), but the man’s practical ways would not correspond. Now according to your article “in the midst” would be true for this man although the practical state was wrong. It may be that I misunderstand you, but this is all I can make out of your remarks in this connection. And I feel therefore, that there is confusion; and besides, Open Brethren and independents generally would consider their position confirmed by the article. I think the distinction made in 1889 - 90 was between the believer’s state viewed as in Christ and his ‘mixed condition’, as in the body, here on earth; e.g. 2 Corinthians 12. Practical holiness was not so much in question. The most spiritual cannot avoid the mixed condition while in the body.
Affectionately yours in Christ,
James Taylor.