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THE ASSEMBLY IN RELATION TO DIVINE ADMINISTRATION (1)

JT My exercise was in regard to the assembly as presented in this gospel. In these passages the necessity for the kingdom, as we know it, and for the assembly becomes apparent.

ENH I suppose in verse 25 of chapter 11, there is an emphasis on the words “At that time”.

JT It was a time occasioning disappointment, if such were possible, for the Lord, for those among whom He had ministered had proved utterly indifferent to what He ministered; so “At that time” points to the superiority that marked Him; in other words, the truth of the kingdom and the truth of the assembly are introduced by the Lord in complete superiority to the most adverse circumstances.

ENH When John the baptist was put to death, the Lord’s works and He Himself were rejected, but He had something better than what His previous testimony involved to bring in, that is, the revelation of the Father and of the assembly.

JT He first recognises the supremacy of the Father, and praises Him.

EM Why does He say, “Lord of heaven and earth” in addressing the Father?

JT To indicate ownership; so that He can dispense all at His pleasure. All was given into the hands of the Son, and He brings forward the assembly. I think His position is somewhat in the light of the preacher in Ecclesiastes. Matthew’s gospel is what you might call an assembling gospel. The word preacher signifies “former of assemblies”, one who by his preaching forms assemblies, and the necessity ^[p. 349] for this is brought out in a striking way in this gospel. The ministry of Christ from this point has special reference to the forming of the assembly.

EBMcB Was not Matthew specially qualified to present the Lord in that way?

JT It was he who received the Lord into his house and made a great entertainment for Him. He invited those into his house whom he knew would be agreeable to the Lord, and he is employed by the Spirit to present that feature of Christ’s ministry which specially forms the assembly as the vessel of administration here. I think that Ecclesiastes helps as to that. The preaching of the gospel according to Matthew would have in view the calling out of a company on earth which should have this place. It is not so many people congregated; the word congregation does not convey the thought although it is largely used in Scripture, but the word assembly which is also used in Scripture does, and has its own meaning. In the New Testament it implies that the saints are called out. Paul’s service at Corinth illustrates the position, because the saints in that city were to be specially taken up and recognised by the Spirit as “the assembly of God” there.

JMcF Would you say a word about the close of chapter 11?

JT The Lord rejoices in what the Father was doing; He speaks of the Father’s supremacy over the heavens and the earth, and that He had revealed certain things unto babes; then He speaks about the revelation. We are in the presence here of very great facts; the supremacy of the Father, and that He was hiding things from the wise and prudent and revealing them to babes. This was the line of His operations, and the knowledge of the Father and the Son was connected with it. We are here in presence of the most momentous facts in regard to the disposition of the heavens and the earth; and then we have ^[p. 350] a model presented in the Lord. It is an entirely new beginning, but a new beginning in view of administration. We have several beginnings in Scripture; Genesis 1:1, John 1, and 1 John 1, but this is a beginning in regard to administration.

ENH Do you connect that with the words, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father”; Christ having come to take up everything?

JT That is right; everything now is in the hands of the Son, so that John and Matthew touch each other here, only that Matthew brings out the thought as to outward administration, whereas John deals with life. Matthew deals with the public assembly, John with administration in regard to life.

Ques What do you mean by administration?

JT We have it indicated here. “All things are delivered unto me of my Father”. Then in the next chapter we have the Lord as supreme, breaking the bond with Israel, and emphasising that there was One there who was greater than Solomon and greater than Jonas; the greatness of His Person is emphasised. Then in chapter 13 it is what He produced by sowing; in chapter 14 He is administering; that is, showing the truth of it, so that His disciples might learn from Him. In chapter 16 is “my assembly” on the line of Paul’s administration, and in chapter 18 He refers to that vessel as something here on earth that should be authoritative, that should be heard.

RD What is the object of administration?

JT To make God known; and we can understand that from the Person who administers. The Son is the Administrator, and the teaching from this chapter to chapter 18 is to bring us into accord with Him.

RD The preacher in Ecclesiastes brings us to view the ruin, and then he turns to the wisdom of ^[p. 351] God.

JT He speaks with the greatest authority, because he had by God’s help investigated everything under the sun, and he was therefore in a position to speak with authority and, as you might say, to draw man out of the world; that is the effect of the book of Ecclesiastes. If all is vanity, we might as well give it up. The preacher was wise; he set in order many proverbs; these would be a means whereby the minds of the saints would be kept right, and, moreover, he says, “The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies”, so that the saints are regulated in their minds; then it adds “which are given from one shepherd”. So that all is under the Lord’s gracious administration.

RD From this point do we get the establishment of the assembly, that against which the gates of hell should not prevail?

JT Yes, beginning with the babes, and we have all to begin in that way. The epistle to the assembly at Corinth intimates that God was not specially taking up men of wealth or education. He began with what was despicable, weak things, as we have here; “and hast revealed them unto babes”. There is a beginning from the bottom. Judaism therefore did not furnish anything; the learning of the scribes contributed nothing to the assembly. Colossians contends against the principles of the world, so everything is put under Christ in Colossians. So here, the revelation is to babes, and then if there is one who labours or is heavy laden, he is to come to Christ who is the model, and all is to be formed after that pattern.

Ques Would you distinguish between the babes and those who might be weary and heavy laden?

JT I would. The expression babes refers to the disciples; they had a peculiar place in the Lord’s ^[p. 352] mind.

EM The babes set forth a moral state and the revelation is given to such.

JT You remain a babe as regards your taste for the word.”As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word”, but spiritually we are to advance to manhood. The word babes is here set over against the products of Judaism; it is not a question of family gradation in this scripture, but of what they were relatively as contrasted with “the wise and prudent”.

ENH The babe state as seen in the gospel is receptive.

JT I do not think it is a question of the babe in its relation to the family; it is the babe in contrast to the wise and prudent; it is what the disciples were as compared with the learned ones among the Jews. The Father had hid these things from the one and revealed them to the other.

In John Jesus cried, “If any man thirst” (John 7:37); here He calls, “all ye that labour and are heavy laden”. We know that the Jewish system involved heavy burdens, hence the import of the message here, “Come unto me”. He would give them rest, but He also becomes a model from whom they are to learn. “Learn from me”. The babes had already come under His influence, and in principle were already delivered, but others were also in His mind. The more pious a man is, the more he is burdened by a legal system, it is a burden hard to be borne. The word “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise”, (Matthew 21:16) in no way accredits the babe state; it is simply a question of what God does; as the Lord said, “If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out”. (Luke 19:40). It is what God can do. But then the assembly is not composed of babes; that is what we want to get on to; the vessel of administration is composed of grown men.

^[p. 353] Rem As regards the attitude you present to men, you do not assume to be among the men of rank of this world.

JT No. In Acts, the apostles were said to be ignorant and unlearned men, and yet they were taken up to be servants. “Such as I have give I thee”, Peter said (Acts 3:6). The twelfth chapter of Matthew is to call attention to the legal system; Christ was Lord of the sabbath, and had power to break the bond with Israel; He was greater than all that had preceded Him. Then He says, “How much then is a man better than a sheep?” That is another point; the man He spoke of had a withered hand, and it was about to be restored whole. By His instruction in the beginning of the chapter, the Lord breaks down the structure which had been erected before He begins to build the new structure, and He does it as one having authority, and not as the scribes. As Son of man, He was Lord of the sabbath. The model is a Man it the presence of God; (Matthew 11). He praises God in the hour of adversity; that is the model for Christians. He says, “I am meek and lowly in heart”, and that is set over against the pretentiousness of this world. We have the great facts set before us here that marked the dispensation in view of administration; the Father is seen in His ownership of heaven and earth, and revealing to babes; then the Lord gives the invitation to burdened ones to come to Him, so that you have in principle a perfect solution of everything. The world has become an utter breakdown morally, now here is a new beginning. Chapter 12 brings in the greatness and power of Christ to sustain the faith of the saints in the present time, hence He says, “If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”. That is a fact to be recognised; then chapter 13 is what He produces. It is an agricultural reference, so that the kingdom in its ^[p. 354] different phases is presented to us as the result of what Christ sowed; then His administration is seen in chapters 14 and 15. In referring to this dispensation it is well to bear in mind that the word administration refers to administration through the house of God. God administers house-wise. It is well to keep that in mind, because He shows how those who are to form the house are prepared, and the dispensation is to be in faith. Compare 1 Timothy 1:4.

Ques Does it support Paul’s system?

JT It does. I think Corinthians treats of the assembly in connection with the ways of God on the earth, so that it is said to be “the assembly of God which is at Corinth”. (1 Corinthians 1:2).

Rem The new thing involved the whole of the human race.

JT Yes; so it says, “How much then is a man better than a sheep?” It makes no difference whether he is a Jew or a Gentile; that is what the Lord had in His mind. The assembly would take the place of the Jewish Council, representing God on earth, so the Syrophenician woman comes in, in chapter 15 as helping to show that “my assembly” would be universal in its bearing, and not confined to the Jews; only that those of the Gentiles had to accept and own their governmental position as dogs. In chapter 13 the Lord sits down by the sea; the nations are in His mind in the sowing of the seed; the preaching goes out to all. The preacher in Ecclesiastes had the whole realm under the sun in his mind. In the Song of Songs 8:11, we have a further reference that may be helpful; “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon”. Baal-hamon signifying “place of a multitude”, refers to the fact that he was master of that place. The sowing of the seed in chapter 13 would bring in a multitude, but that multitude has to be regulated. The assembly ^[p. 355] is not simply a multitude, but companies regulated by divine principles, so that the expression “master of assemblies” would have in view the ordering of the assemblies, for the assembly was to take form in localities. All these assemblies were to be regulated by the same principles; they are all governed by one Shepherd, and that involves catholicity. In these companies you have right forms of expression too, “acceptable words”. These would be the legacy of the saints; we are not to import into the things of God words that are unsuited. The preacher was concerned that there should be a right form of words. These chapters in Matthew are, I believe, all intended by the “master of assemblies” to regulate the saints in regard to the assembly.

Ques Is it like having an outline of sound words?

JT I think it is very much like that. It is not that we make a man an offender for a word, but when you have a wrong system of words, then the offence is apparent, hence the importance of having the right form of words. The Lord had received everything from the Father, but then He in turn was to delegate this authority to others. This is a point that we must notice; the authority that the Lord exercised here was delegated. The Father had delivered everything into His hands, and now He in turn delegates His authority, and chapter 18 shows that it is delegated to the assembly. The sixteenth chapter shows the capability of the assembly to exercise this authority on account of what it is formed of. If you speak of exercising authority on the ground of what we get in chapter 18 and ignore what we get in chapter 16 you are sure to be wrong. The latter enables us to understand what the assembly is in regard of Christ. “On this rock I will build my assembly”. “Thou art Peter”; (Matthew 16:18) the material is thus pointed to. Chapter 18 speaks of administration, but that must not be divorced, as ^[p. 356] I have said, from chapter 16, otherwise you have a formal prerogative without inward power. The inward thing is Peter, that is the material. The assembly takes the place of the Jewish Sanhedrim; it is a place of deliberation. In Corinthians the expression is “the assembly of God”. (1 Corinthians 1:2). Matthew is occupied with what is called “the assembly”, something which should represent Christ and His authority here. There is what answers to the law of the house spoken of in the Old Testament, and where that law is recognised I think you get administration; it is carried on. Babes is an expression set over against the wise and prudent; but when you come to the spiritual side, they were to develop into manhood. “In malice be ye children, but in understanding be grown men”. (1 Corinthians 14:20). The apostle had in mind that the Corinthians should be men spiritually.

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