BROOKLYN, N.Y., SEPTEMBER 22ND, 1909
BROOKLYN, N.Y., SEPTEMBER 22ND, 1909
Mr. P. R. Morford.
My Dear Brother, — Yours of the 9th with enclosure — “In the Midst, No. 2” — has just come. I cannot say that it (No. 2) helps me at all, or removes the fears I expressed as to the ultimate result of the article. Indeed I shall be sorry to see it in Mutual Comfort, for it only forces home more fully a thought that I am assured is not founded in Scripture.
Many details commend themselves to me, but the bottom idea in the paper, that the Lord is in the midst of the saints whether convened or not, is not scriptural, I believe. Nor can I see anything in John 20 but what is strictly concrete. And I do not understand how the Lord could be in the midst of His people and they (I mean, at least some in the company) not know it; I say this because the Lord is known in us now in a spiritual way, and not outside of us, so to speak, as in John 20 and Luke 24. It is because of this that good spiritual state is so essential. In Revelation 2 He is in the midst of the churches, but as judging them; in the address to Laodicea He speaks of Himself as outside. Your remarks as to the eighth day in [p. 73] John 20 I agree with in the main; it is not clear, however, that the company into the midst of which the Lord came represents the Jewish remnant. Thomas clearly does. His attention alone is called to the Lord’s hands and side. It was historically ‘church gathering’.
Your remarks on Hebrews I cannot follow quite. Hebrews 2:12 is a quotation, and it is not introduced to show church privilege, but as showing the humanity of our Lord. Then chapter 8 does not support your thought for it sets forth the Lord on the right hand of the throne in heaven, and not in the midst of His own here on earth. The former is a wider thought. The bearing of Hebrews goes beyond the assembly. The teaching of the epistle in no way proves that the word “assembly” in chapter 2 does not necessarily mean a company of people gathered together.
To make the Lord in the midst answer to the Shekinah will not do either. The Shekinah answers rather to the presence of God in the church. This refers to Pentecost, and, of course, is continuous. The Lord is a divine Person, but in the midst of the assembly, as in Hebrews 2 for instance, He is viewed as Man, on our side.
In conclusion I would say that I think it would be well for you to consider as to how the Lord appears in the midst now. Although John 20 is pattern, yet the mode of the Lord’s appearance now is not as it was then. Then He appeared miraculously, and as I said, outside of, or separate from the disciples; their state could not hinder Him. Now His presence is entirely spiritual; He is known to our affections and not to our natural eyes. Hence the need for a state formed by the Spirit. How He can be said to be in our midst, leading our praises, etc., when we are separate from each other — perhaps engaged in toil or conflict — is entirely beyond me.
Affectionately yours in the Lord,
James Taylor.