BEHAVIOUR IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
[p. 166] BEHAVIOUR IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
1 Timothy 3: 14, 15; Ezekiel 40: 1 - 8; Ezekiel 43: 1 - 7; Ezekiel 46: 9, 10
In writing to Timothy, as you will observe, the apostle contemplated possible delay in going to him. As elsewhere, the apostle represents the Lord, and he has, therefore, a right to delay. “If I delay”, he says. It is in the time of the delay that we are put to the test as to whether we love Him or not. Our behaviour in the house of God will disclose whether we love the Lord or otherwise. As He says, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me”, John 14: 21. We are thus being put to the test at the present time, and our behaviour amongst the saints bears witness to our love for the Lord, or the opposite. Paul says, “These things write I unto thee ... but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth”.
Now I wish to enlarge on this, and in proceeding I would remark on the difference between the house as it is suggested to us in John, and as it is formally presented in Luke; we have to apprehend both evangelists in this respect, but we arrive at Luke through John.
We have in these chapters in Ezekiel eight steps in certain inner gates (see chapter 40: 28, 31, 34, 37), and seven in certain outer gates (see chapter 40: 20, 22). I have no doubt that John’s presentation involves eight steps, whereas Luke presents it, or the entrance into it, as having seven steps; and his presentation of the house is in relation to the public testimony of God. It stands in relation to the proclamation of the glad tidings, and one entering in has to take the [p. 167] lowest place. He is not to select the most honourable position, but to sit down in the lowest room, so that the good man of the house may have the opportunity of saying to him, according to his pleasure, “Friend, go up higher”. It is not a question there of my progress spiritually, but of the will and pleasure of him who is the master of the house. The parable which follows has in view a festive occasion — the great supper — to which all are invited. It is therefore an institution that belongs peculiarly to the dispensation in which we are, in which God sets out the bounteousness of His grace; in which, indeed, He celebrates righteousness, and where He delights in the point reached in Christ risen and exalted to heaven. As exalted into heaven, Luke would present to us all the wealth of heaven poured out so as to be available to men, who are invited through the gospel. That is Luke, and the house is to be filled.
But John contemplates what is wholly spiritual. With Luke, the elder brother of the prodigal hears what is going on inside; but not so with John. He contemplates the house as the sphere of the family, as that in which the family of God is found, not in the way of protection, but where the Father’s affections are known, and the Son’s affection, and the Son abiding in it for ever. There, where we know our immediate relation with the Father as the brethren of Christ, we can readily understand how that instead of seven steps, we have eight. I have no doubt that the scene in Bethany is a picture of millennial blessing, but when we come to chapter 20 we have something beyond, and it is possible that many of us never take the eighth step. The idea of the eighth step is that we begin anew, without limitations. Think of a beginning to which there are no limitations We think of Him who is said to be “the hind of the morning”, and we cannot impose limits on Christ as risen and exalted into heaven. Who can indicate to [p. 168] us what will be developed from the standpoint of Christ ascended? Mark you, it is not a question in John of His being received up, or carried up. These terms have reference to the will and pleasure of heaven in Him, upon earth; but as we think of Him ascending up, it is not now a question of heaven receiving Him, or honouring Him; it is He Himself entering His own domain: “I ascend”. Who can undertake to measure what He establishes there? So that as we take the eighth step, which refers to the inner gate according to Ezekiel, we have begun that to which there is no limit. The Lord would encourage us to take that step.
Now there is remarkable correspondence between Ezekiel and John. Ezekiel, as you will observe, dates this occurrence of being shown the house in the visions of God from the captivity, and it is John who gives us an account of our captivity — the captivity of the assembly. One need not go outside the writings of John for assembly history. If we understand his Apocalypse aright, we have opened up to us all assembly history; and not only assembly history, but also the history of Western Europe. We have first of all given to us in that remarkable unveiling, the history of the assembly from its decline and fall to its end on this earth.
We have had no part in the pristine history of the assembly; we have had to do only with the captivity. We shall never emerge into the full light of Ezekiel, as in these chapters, until we definitely accept that we have had to do with the captivity; indeed, the prophet begins his prophecy by telling us that he was among the captives. It is humiliating to be among the captives, far away from the land; but then it is worth while to take one’s place humbly among the captives to have the heavens opened to us. That was his experience; he had the heavens opened to him and he saw visions of God. What a [p. 169] contrast were the conditions in Jerusalem in his day to the heavens opened and visions of God! John not only had the heavens opened to him, but he was invited to come up into them. Nevertheless, there is a remarkable correspondence between the prophet Ezekiel and the prophet John. They both had to do with the captivity, and if we understand our prophet (that is, John), and we understand the history of the assembly, we begin to make our dates accordingly.
It is most humiliating to have to learn spiritually how to date our years from the captivity; not from the year of our Lord from this point of view, but from the given year of our captivity. In order to arrive at the dates spiritually, we have to analyse carefully chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation, and as we do so, we definitely arrive at the year. We shall then know the light that governs the position. There is a certain light governing every period of the history, and that light is conveyed in what the Lord Jesus Himself says to every assembly. Notwithstanding the captivity, He graciously speaks a word to every assembly, and the word to any given assembly is the light for the moment. If we are to enter into the understanding of the house, we must know the year, and then return in the light that governs that year. As we understand the light, then we see a way out. There is a way out. The Lord’s word to every assembly is virtually, “This is the way, walk ye in it”, Isaiah 30: 21.
Then the Spirit takes that up and enlarges it, and applies it so that it becomes intelligible, not only to those walking in the light of the assembly, but to every Christian; it is, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”. So that I get all the good, you may say, of what the Spirit says, and it is by the Spirit I am led out; and being led out of the captivity is to be led into the house practically. Ezekiel says here: “In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel”, Ezekiel 40: 1, 2. He is brought out of the land of captivity, into the land of Israel. He is now in the midst of the sphere of divine thoughts. I wonder if we understand what it is to be brought out of the darkness and misery of the captivity into the very sphere of divine thoughts and purposes — the land of Israel.
Then he says he saw the frame of a city on the south. The prophet was on a very high mountain. Many of us are content with partaking in an outward way of the symbols of fellowship, and we thus become very formal. As a matter of fact, the constant tendency with us is to drop to the level of ordinary religious custom. The name ‘Brethren’ and the outward form of fellowship in no wise guarantee that we are out of the captivity, for the captivity for us is spiritual. Ezekiel is not dealing with what is external, he is dealing with what is spiritual, what can be understood only by the Spirit. He is in the land of Israel on a mountain, and he sees the frame of a city. What relief of soul there is, what an atmosphere one can breathe on the altitude of a mountain in the midst of the land of Israel, and beholding the frame of a city towards the south! What thoughts enter the soul as one by the Spirit apprehends the sphere of divine thoughts and purposes and sees in the distance the city!
John lets us see the city; it comes down from God out of heaven. What a city! Well now, that is all spiritual, and it is a question of apprehension. It is well to seek, in dealing with souls, to find out by questioning whether there is any light as to another sphere, a sphere in which God’s thoughts, God’s purposes are developed, and whether the soul is on an altitude above what is merely religious. It is well to search into things to see where souls are.
Now I want you to note that there is a man there: “Behold, there was a man ... with a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate”. Whilst, in the apprehension of your soul, you are brought into an immense sphere, yet you are immediately brought down to measure it, and there is a man there who is not careless. There is a great deal of looseness and want of discernment and judgment in regard of those who are admitted amongst us. What you find here is, “a man whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a flax-cord in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate”. He represents certain features that are essential to be at the gate so that nothing extraneous should be admitted. His appearance is like brass. There is the symbol of righteous judgment of sin, and he has got a flax-cord in his hand. He would require, not only the judgment of sin, but an element of holiness. No one can be in the house rightly without holiness. This is not merely flax spread out on the roof (Joshua 2: 6), it is spun into a thread. It reminds one of the end of certain exercises, under the discipline of God, by which alone we reach holiness.
Then we find the man has a measuring reed; not that he is going to measure the one who enters, but he is to measure the entrance, “the gate that looketh toward the east”: and it is worthy of note that everything at the outset has the same measure. I know of no part of scripture that gives us such a variety of measurement as these chapters in Ezekiel, and yet the first entrance we are introduced to is marked by everything having the same measure. There is to be no independency of thought or way. What the brethren are, you are to be. The brethren [p. 172] are the subject and the product of the work of God, and you are to be that, otherwise you are not fit for the house. The threshold one reed; the porch one reed; each chamber one reed; what you are impressed with is this, that you must correspond with what is there. Much variety is found later, for there are differences and distinctions; but you must begin with the definite acceptance of uniformity. As the apostle says: “So ordain I in all churches [assemblies]”, 1 Corinthians 7: 17.
Well now, having said so much about the east gate, I add one other remark, that it is the gate through which Jehovah was to come; chapter 44: 1, 2. We cannot look for God to come in amongst us apart from uniformity, apart from “all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”, Ephesians 4: 2, 3. God looks for that; so, as I said, there is the uniformity of measure.
In chapter 43: 4 we have God Himself coming in. How different this is from anything we know of religiously in this world! There is no concern at all in the religious establishments in this world that there should be a door for God to come in, that there should be a divine gate. Think of a religious building being employed as a burying ground! Jehovah here abhors the idea of the carcases of their kings defiling His holy name; Ezekiel 43: 7 - 9. What is called a sanctuary being employed for the carcases of their kings is entirely opposed to God and to the house of God. The house of God is a living thing, replete with life, so even the carcases of the kings are refused. Thus there is no concern in these establishments for a door by which God can come in, by which Christ can come in; whereas Ezekiel shows that there is a gate exclusively for Jehovah and for the prince. How much do we consider for this, dear brethren?
[p. 173] It seems to me that we are in danger of thinking that we have reached the full idea of the assembly that we have it in all its various compartments, but we cannot compass the assembly in that way. What do we understand by the eighth step? If we think we understand the Lord’s day morning meeting, what do we understand by the eighth step? How many steps are there after the eighth? We are pulled up by these chapters. Here we have a wonderful establishment, opened up to us with inner courts and outer courts, with inner gates and outer gates, and cells and chambers and galleries. What do we know about all these things?
This passage, it seems to me, is intended to call a halt. In having to do with spiritual things, we cannot undertake to compass, and measure, and divide them up into chambers to suit ourselves. We have to do with what is holy and spiritual, and we have to learn to deal with these things in a humble way and say we know little about them. Here I have to stand alongside the man whose appearance was like brass, and with a measuring reed in his hand, and I have to listen to him. I go through chapter after chapter and say nothing. What could Ezekiel say about all these measurements? It was for him to listen attentively, and then he might say something. I venture to say there is not an architect that could draw this pattern correctly. It is beyond the range of the natural man, and it is intended to be beyond his range. We feel it as we stand beside him. Things are serious. What we have to do with is God’s house. Nevertheless there is to be no fear. If we are Christians, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts casts out fear. There is to be nothing light or trivial about us; we have to be sober, for we have to do with God and we have everything to learn.
The passage in Ezekiel shows that the prophet is first of all brought to the gate by which God comes in,
[p. 174] but he does not go in first; God comes in first. So in chapter 43 we read, “The glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose front was toward the east” (verse 4). Thus we have Jehovah coming in. It is a wonderful scene. He comes by the way of the east, and the earth shines with His glory. Wonderful vision, beloved, to get an apprehension of God coming into the house!
Now we have an additional feature as God is there. He says, “The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court”. The Spirit lifted me up! It is not now the man with the measuring line, although he is still there, but the Spirit. If I am to be in the inner court it is by the Spirit. It is the gate that leads to the inner court, whose ascent is by eight steps. I get in there by the Spirit; it is the Spirit that opens the heavenly door, and what is beyond that, no one can tell, nor could anyone undertake to tell. I know something about the love of Christ, thank God! but it passes knowledge; I know something about the fulness of God, but it is as a thimble in the ocean; I know something about the love of God, but to be filled even to all the fulness of God leads to eternity. I could not take in even the physical creation, neither could any man; one is lost in thinking of what is beyond that, and beyond that. We come back to the fact that the physical creation is bounded on the south and on the east, on the west and on the north by God, and we rest there, but what the Spirit conducts into in the inner court where the glory is, is boundless and eternal. What a wonderful thing to be where the glory is!
Then Ezekiel says, “I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man was standing by me”, not now to cause me to fear, but to sustain my heart. I have heard of people going to the assembly without their Bibles, as if God were not to speak in the assembly. “I heard one speaking unto me out of the house”. Are we not to look for these things? Yes. God speaks in the house. Then a man stands by; he sustains you. I have no doubt the man typifies the Lord in His priestly grace supporting us so that we should listen, that we should be able to stand and listen as the voice is heard. These are great things, beloved, for when God speaks they are great things, not ordinary things.
Now in conclusion I want to say a word about the north gate. If I know that God is in His house, then I am to be concerned as to how I am to go in. I see that in the east gate He requires unity. The people could come in by the north gate or by the south gate; chapter 46: 9. In its application to ourselves, we must go in by both. The south gate represents the favour of God and the north gate represents the discipline of God, and we can never be in the house without these two features. I enter into the house in the shining of God; all that God is is favourable to me. How that quickens the pace, so to speak, as I enter the south gate. I have no fear, “Perfect love casts out fear”. But then as I think of the flesh in me, as I think of what I am capable of, I know the necessity for the north gate. The north gate represents the discipline of God. The discipline of God is all for my good and I cannot be in the house unless I understand the hand of God in discipline in view of promoting holiness. I can come in by the north and go out by the south, or I can come in by the south, and go out by the north. The going in means that I have had an experience of the presence of the glory, and of the speaking. These two features have wrought in my soul and I go out not as I came in, for in the house one’s exercises are confirmed. What I have taken in of the light of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and what I have taken in through His discipline, all are confirmed there, and thus I have gained, and I go out different from what I went in.
[p. 176] So with these things in view, I think we can understand how we are to behave ourselves in the house of God. As the Lord is pleased to delay His coming, we are to be exercised so that we may know how to conduct ourselves rightly in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God.