HEAVEN REFLECTED IN THE BELIEVER'S RECEPTION IN THE ASSEMBLY

HEAVEN REFLECTED IN THE BELIEVER’S RECEPTION IN THE ASSEMBLY

Acts 9: 10 - 19; Acts 10: 19 - 27; Philemon 8 - 17

It is on my mind to seek to make clear from these scriptures that one divine thought in the assembly, as corresponding with heaven, is that it should represent heaven on earth, and particularly in the way of receiving into its bosom the results of the work of God.

The results of the work of God are extremely precious and in no way is their value higher than in heaven; even one repentant sinner occasions joy in heaven. We can judge, therefore, how valuable in heaven must one be who has run the whole course of faith. Were we to have access literally into heaven whilst here upon earth, we should understand the estimate that is held there of the work of God in saints, and would learn how to clothe each other from that point of view. Luke 15, to which I have alluded, and which is so well known to us, thank God, as a chapter presenting the gospel in a supreme way, not only indicates heaven’s estimate of the results of the work of God in that there is joy there over one sinner that repenteth, but it shows us also the magnificence of the reception that is accorded to those who return to God through the gospel. The reception of the returning erring one, as seen in that chapter, is not a picture of what we shall experience when we are caught up to be for ever with the Lord; but it is a picture of heaven’s reception in the house of God on earth of those who return to God through the gospel. And as God acts mediately now, what is seen there must find an answer in the house of God throughout the gospel period, otherwise those of us who have part in that house are remiss.

^[p. 22] The reception of Christ Himself in heaven is a subject of extreme interest and importance and, indeed, of pleasure to those who love Him. Luke enlarges on it; he speaks about the time having come of His being received up (Luke 9: 51), and then he tells us that He was carried up into heaven; Luke 24: 51. Following upon that, and confirming it, Paul, in writing to Timothy that he might know how one ought to behave oneself in the house of God, says that He “has been received up in glory”, 1 Timothy 3: 16. Such was the manner of His reception. And it is an element of the mystery of piety that He who was manifested in flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, believed on in the world, was received up in glory; it belongs to the mystery of piety, and no one is in the house of God aright, or as answering to heaven, save he who is in the secret of that mystery. By it he apprehends how heaven values what is morally excellent, for that is what Luke presents.

The passage in Timothy contemplates the Lord as here revealing God, and it includes the whole course of our Lord in that service, ending in heaven’s appreciation of His moral worth and excellency, so that He is received up in glory. What a lesson for us, what a lesson-book of the history of Christ on earth, culminating in that appreciation of heaven at the end in receiving Him up in glory! We learn thus how to receive according to heaven — as we are enjoined elsewhere to receive one another “as Christ also received us to the glory of God”, Romans 15: 7.

I want to show from the passages read how this heavenly principle appeared in the early days, for the Lord taught those who were in the house then how to receive, and He leaves that with us now. The house of God is a heavenly institution upon earth, and, as God acts mediately, He acts through it. He acts house-wise, and so in large measure heaven’s ^[p. 23] reception of returning prodigals now, is seen in those who understand how heaven receives.

I am not overlooking the fact that the Holy Spirit is here, and is acting as a divine Person upon earth. One of the greatest facts indeed is that He is here personally, as the Lord says, “another Comforter”, and we see throughout the Acts how He operated in a personal way — never independently, of course, for God is one, nevertheless He acted in a personal way. We have Him speaking to Philip in chapter 8, saying, “Go near, and join thyself to this chariot”. One sat in that chariot in whom heaven was interested, and whilst the angel had to do with Philip’s movements, yet the Spirit immediately directs him, and the eunuch comes into the house, as we may say, under the immediate guidance of the Spirit. But how perfectly Philip was in correspondence with the immediate promptings of the Spirit, in that he went down with the eunuch into the water when he was baptised; and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing.

May I not speak of the effect on the eunuch of the heavenly spirit in Philip? He would receive, not only an impression of Jesus from Philip’s preaching, and from the wonderful scripture from which he preached, but also an impression of Jesus from Philip himself, for Philip was entirely at the bidding of the Spirit. Hence we are told that as the eunuch went on his way rejoicing, the Spirit caught away Philip. Philip did not leave the eunuch; it is not put that way, but the Spirit caught him away. If we had had to do with that remarkable conversion, that remarkable work of God, many of us at least would have thought that he should have turned about his chariot and returned to Jerusalem to the apostles to be instructed. But no; he had received the light of Jesus into his soul, it was a question of a Man, and that Man could look after the eunuch in Abyssinia as in Jerusalem. He went on his way ^[p. 24] rejoicing. What impressions he had in his soul of Jesus!

But Philip is at the bidding of the Spirit — a most important point for us in our service. Philip stands out as the evangelist in Scripture, one who is ready to leave an interesting field of service to go into the desert. It is a great test to the preacher to go into the desert. There is nothing for the flesh there; there may be much for the flesh in an active field where the people of a whole city with one accord gave heed to the things spoken, but there is nothing in the wilderness, and so Philip is the model for us in such a service, that is to say, the work of the evangelist is to be at the bidding of the Spirit.

I will now refer to another incident in the Acts in which we see the Spirit acting personally. While Peter was at Joppa he had a vision, and while he thought on it the Spirit told him to go to Cornelius, and then as Peter is preaching at Caesarea, the Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. Peter was not actually the one to receive the returning Gentile; he had an intimate part in the wonderful transaction, for he announced the mind of God — the glad tidings — a most honoured part, surely, and one in keeping with his commission, for unto him had been given the keys of the kingdom. But one may use the keys to open the door without embracing the incomer. It was God Himself, by the Spirit, who received the returning Gentile. May we not learn thus from God how to receive? As Peter spoke, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. It was important that they should hear the word; the mind of God was opened up to them in the word, they were enlightened by it, and as having heard it they were embraced divinely. The Holy Spirit fell, it says, upon them. “Fell” is the same word, as we have often remarked, as is used in Luke 15; the father fell on the prodigal’s neck and kissed him. So here, the Holy Spirit acts ^[p. 25] as God, for He is God. He is a divine Person, and thus capable of expressing in every way what God is in His nature. We thus learn how to receive. Peter might turn the key and open the door without there being any falling on the neck and kissing, but that is not exactly the mind of heaven. Surely it is of great importance that we should be let in, but the magnificence of the reception is what the Holy Spirit would emphasise — what heaven is capable of in the way of reception.

Thus God would show us how to receive. We see in Ananias and in Peter a certain unreadiness for this great service; honoured disciples, indeed, honoured servants! nevertheless, wanting in ability to reflect fully the mind and spirit of heaven. Hence this disciple in Damascus is taken in hand by the Lord, for His great vessel is not to be received into the assembly unbecomingly; he is not to come in by the window or by the back door, so to speak. He is to be received into the bosom of the assembly, and that means into the bosom of heaven, for the assembly, as I remarked, is to be the reflection, and thus the representation, of heaven upon earth.

The Lord, therefore, having met this potentially great servant on the way, and having brought him down, would have him received here into the assembly according to heaven, and to this end the Lord appears to Ananias in a vision and says, “Go into the street which is called Straight”. It is very touching that the Lord Jesus, the Creator, He who has gone into heaven, angels and principalities and powers being subjected to Him, should know the names of the streets. May we not be assured that He knows the limitations of the cities as well as their streets?

This street, called Straight, was doubtless humanly named and well known in Damascus, but it was known to Jesus, and He knew that a convert was there. Ananias did not know, and even being told of the ^[p. 26] convert he was doubtful. He knew better than the Lord, forsooth, about Saul! How easily, through want of being near the Lord, we may fall into such an error as this, to have a different mind about one who is the subject of the work of God than He has! We thus see the extreme importance of being near the Lord in what He is doing, and of not being casual about what the Lord is doing. The angels in heaven are all most keenly interested in every convert; they know where he lives, they know his history, they are watching. How slothful we are! And yet the Lord is pleased to use us, not the angels, to help to further the work in His converts; they have to do with the bodies of the saints. The Lord could easily have arranged through angelic means for Saul, but He uses one of the assembly. And Ananias is put right to this end; the Lord puts him right. Thank God, he was capable of being put right, for although he was out of communion as to what the Lord was doing for the moment, he was not far away, and the Lord knew it. He says, “This man is an elect vessel to me”. And that was enough; Ananias went and received him as a brother; he identified himself with him.

There is no such thought in the house of God as patronage. In the government of God there may be different stations, but when we enter the house of God we must leave out our patronage. We do not condescend to any one; we cannot. Ananias laid his hands on him, signifying identification with him, and said, “Saul!” The last time Saul had heard that name, as far as the scripture narrative indicates, it had come from the lips of the Lord. May I not suggest that the accents were similar from the lips of Ananias: “Saul, brother”, he says, “the Lord has sent me, Jesus that appeared to thee in the way in which thou camest, that thou mightest see, and be filled with the Holy Spirit”. You see the perfect ^[p. 27] correlation between Jesus in heaven in His operations, and this disciple in the house of God on earth. The Lord saw to it that there was correspondence. Had Ananias been compelled to go with his previous feelings, how different; how it would have chilled the babe, as I may say, for he was but a babe! He needed warmth, and the Lord saw to it that Ananias received him with affection; that is the divine thought. And he is not to be an incubus in the house, he is to be in it as of it, and according to it, he is to be in it as filled with the Spirit. That is the thought in reception. Any other receptions are sure to be dead-weights and occasions of darkness; but those who are filled with the Spirit augment the house, they extend it, they advance it.

But I must proceed to the other scriptures, although one would fain linger longer on this fine scripture. It wears wonderfully; like other similar scriptures, the more you press it, the more it yields.

In chapter 10 we see the Gentiles were to be received, and there is therefore deliberation. Peter has to be hungry, an initial preparation, and then heaven is brought down to him, as it were, in the sheet — the mind of heaven. It is not that he is caught up into heaven, like Paul was later, to see what is there, but heaven is brought down, the mind of heaven is brought down to him. As he said, “It came even to me”; for if he is to have part in the reception of the Gentiles, he must reflect heaven, he must move in correspondence to heaven.

This reception is a very great transaction, one of the most interesting transactions in the whole of Scripture, and Peter is privileged to have part in it; but what we learn is that if he is to have part in it, it must be as being in accordance with the mind of heaven. So the sheet comes down thrice, and there is the voice from heaven a second time, and then Peter continued pondering. It is a matter of deliberation.

^[p. 28] First he is in doubt. It is well, if we are in doubt, to wait. “He that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28: 16), and if there is anything to occasion doubt, even if it be darkness in myself, it is well to wait, but not to be negligent. In having to act in the house of God, and desiring to act in the light and in the presence of heaven, and under the scrutiny of heaven, yea, in view of the judgment-seat of Christ, it is well to ponder and to weigh things; so Peter continued pondering over the vision and then the Spirit spoke. We see thus how light comes in, how the Holy Spirit comes in as we ponder things in subjection to heaven. It may be our own fault that we are so slow in understanding what to do; nevertheless, safety is in pondering. And so the Holy Spirit spoke and said to Peter, “Behold, three men seek thee; but rise up, go down, and go with them, nothing doubting, because I have sent them”. What definiteness there is in that, and definiteness is what should mark the house of God.

There are three days employed in this transaction, which fact only confirms what I have been saying. On the first day the vision comes down; on the second day they travel; and on the third day Peter preached. Need I suggest that there is a spiritual meaning in that. There was ample opportunity for assurance and confirmation in what he was doing; and, just to add one word more as to this fine vessel, it says that Cornelius worshipped Peter. How easily we become affected by flattery in the house! not indeed that anyone would assume to be a god, but how easily we bow to flattery. One knows what, the flesh is, and these things are recorded for our learning, so that we have to be on our guard when dealing with young believers, that we do not encourage flattery. Elihu says that he knew not how to flatter. “My Maker”, he says, “would soon take me away”, Job 32: 22. “A flattering mouth worketh ruin”, Proverbs 26: 28. So Peter made him rise, saying, “Rise up: I myself also am a man”. Now, undoubtedly, by saying that he meant he was only a man, that he was not a god; albeit it would come home to Cornelius that Peter was a man like himself, which would establish confidence at once in the heart of Cornelius that he was dealing with an equal, for they were both men. Peter is not a Jew here, although he speaks of that later; he was really a man.

And then he walked and talked with Cornelius. How fine the sight was! The great apostle Peter, as we know him, full of the light of heaven, the representative of Christ to the Gentiles, walking side by side with a Gentile soldier, and talking with him until together they entered into the house (verses 24 - 27). He formed thus a link with Cornelius, he established confidence, too, in his heart. It was in these circumstances, as Peter preached the gospel to the company assembled in the house of Cornelius, that the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word.

In Philemon we have another picture of reception, and here again this dear brother Philemon seems to be remiss on the point. He is called a beloved brother, and others with him are addressed in terms of affection by the apostle (verses 1, 2). He had an assembly in his house too. He was an honoured servant, surely, one who had a most prominent place in his locality, and yet he has to be taught how to receive the result of the work of God; and is it not, dear brethren, in order that we also may be taught this that these things are recorded? Surely it is. Is it not that we should be taught to be prepared to preach that the book of Jonah is written? Surely it is. We have to be prepared. What I may call the key-word of that prophet is the word ‘prepared’, and this preparing process is proceeding constantly; and happy it is for those who are the subjects of it,

^[p. 30] for heaven is ready and waiting to take us on if we offer ourselves. It is the time of sacrifice, of offering ourselves. Heaven accepts, where there is a genuine offer, and it prepares “a vessel ... meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”. If the Lord take you on, He knows how to break down all the incongruities to make you fit to be a vessel. Look at this man Saul! The Lord says he is an “elect vessel to me”. But how much preparation was needed!

Now Philemon, honoured and beloved brother as he was, was evidently remiss on this point; he had to be instructed how to receive Onesimus as a brother beloved; “That thou shouldest receive him for ever; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved”. Evidently what stood in the way, specially in his case, was that the person in question had been his slave; that had to be overcome. How one who, in the government of God, had a station much higher, should be able to receive the one in the lower grades of society, even into his own house, as a brother beloved, is the problem no doubt in the writing of this epistle, and with the skill of heaven the beloved apostle writes.

He is a bondman of Christ Jesus, he is such an one as Paul the aged; he is a sufferer for Christ and he has gained experience in the service; he is such an one as Paul the aged — not simply an old man. Age in itself is of no moral value, although we cannot but respect grey hairs in whomsoever we see them, if they are with God. But in such an one as Paul the aged we have a man who says, “Yet for love’s sake, I rather beseech thee”. He might have enjoined, had it been necessary, for he represented the Lord Jesus, as an apostle, but he preferred to exhort. One sees how considerate and how wise the great apostle was even in a service of this kind, to bring about in a beloved brother the ability to receive another beloved ^[p. 31] brother who had been in a much lower station in society than he occupied. In the grace of Christ how finely, how sensitively and considerately the beloved apostle speaks to Philemon! And is it not instruction for those who are old, how to use their experience, to teach those who are young and less experienced this great lesson of reception? If all of one generation passeth away and another cometh, how is it to be with the one that cometh? How much depends on the one that passeth away; it is for the one that is passing away to pass on all the gain of its experience to the generation that cometh.

The testimony is to proceed, and it is thus that it proceeds. The same sun shines on every generation, as it says in Ecclesiastes 1: 5, “The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose”, so that it should shine again, and the same sun shines on every generation; nevertheless the sun is one thing and the experience that you get under it is another thing. The experience that we get under the sun may be passed on, and should be passed on, to the coming generation. So the apostle here, being such an one as Paul the aged, has got a child, and he values him. He says, “my child Onesimus”. It was his particular child that he had begotten in his bonds; he would carry on to the coming generation something of his father; but he was already a brother beloved.

But more than that, if a brother beloved, the receiver of him would have him for ever. The idea of the family is continued; we never lose our brethren. The matter of time is of no account in that respect, because we shall all join presently; and what a reception! I suppose, perhaps, the most touching of all receptions will be that accorded to us by the Lord when He says, “And if I go ... I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also”. So I think the apostle ^[p. 32] suggests here that when that happens Philemon and Onesimus would be together for ever — brothers beloved, for they were both brothers beloved. Philemon had to be taught how to receive his runaway slave as a beloved brother.

And then Paul says further to him, Receive him if on no other account than a matter of partnership. If you regard me as a partner, receive him as myself, and if he owe anything to thee, put it to my account. There we see the great principle of taking on the obligations of others, so as to equalise things in the house of God. Onesimus would be set up in this circle of love, for such it was, as verses 1 and 2 show; he would be set up by this epistle in that circle in equality; he would be perfectly at home and without an incumbency. Paul had taken it on, and he would discharge it, for indeed Philemon owed him much more. There was an equalising principle, and the apostle desired that the beloved brother should be received in love and be at home in the circle.