THE ASSEMBLY SUITED TO CHRIST

^[p. 44] THE ASSEMBLY SUITED TO CHRIST

1 Samuel 25: 1 - 3; Ephesians 5: 25 - 27

For a complete understanding of these Scriptures, it is essential that we should know something about the assembly. I have no doubt that the apostle Paul may be likened to David in his exercises: there was a point beyond which David’s prayers did not extend, and I assume that Paul’s prayers would end as he saw the assembly in heaven. It would be the great end of his exercises. What a man cherishes he desires, and what he desires he prays for, spiritually. Now David had a great conception of royalty and of rule. He is the man whom God took up to set forth that idea, and he had a great conception of it; his prayers were ended as he saw that Solomon had been provided by the Lord to be his successor, as he saw a man endued divinely with wisdom to occupy his throne, and as he saw that man in his throne fill it according to God, his prayers were ended. So that the great end of his exercises is seen in Solomon. I have no doubt, beloved friends, that the apostle Paul had such desires in regard to the assembly. In fact no one could read Ephesians without perceiving that. That was the great end, that the Lord Jesus who had appeared to him on the way to Damascus, the one man who filled his vision afterwards, should have a companion. It is the outcome of affection for Christ, that is the secret of all ministry. That Man became the controlling object of Paul’s life, and as he saw the assembly afterwards in its beauty, his reproaches were unmeasured that he ever persecuted it. He had been exceedingly mad against it, and would have obliterated it, member by member; afterwards as he saw all these members as members of Christ in their beauty, his reproaches against himself were unmeasured. Thus, beloved friends, he saw to it that it was the great aim of his life to bring in every member — to present every man perfect, that there should be nothing lacking; and I do not suppose that while the apostle was here he ever ^[p. 45] ceased praying for the members of Christ. That which, he says, comes upon me daily — the care of all the assemblies. Now that indicates somewhat what a vessel Paul was, and how the great aim of his life was to present the saints in heavenly glory to Christ. The assembly is presented as a suited companion to the Lord Jesus. So that in order to shine in our peculiar light we have to apprehend this, that there is a Man in heaven walking alone there. He has no link upon earth. That is what we see in Isaac. He walked alone in the field and the tent was desolate. Paul came upon the scene, as it were, then. He would fill that tent. He would bring in that companion in a heavenly garment so that she should grace the courts above. She should be perfectly at home there, and suited to the grandeur and glory of the scene. Now that was what was in the heart of Paul; that was the great burden of his life. What a mission that was! To bring in one great enough to occupy provisionally the tent of Sarah in testimony, and great enough to occupy and grace the courts on high. Well now, the Spirit of God foresaw all that and whilst you get in the Old Testament types of the Lord’s personal ministry on the earth, as for instance in Noah, Abraham, and Jacob, you also get types of the twelve and finally types of Paul’s service. They do not interfere with each other; they run in parallel lines in the Old Testament, and I need not say that Paul’s line is the special line. To begin with we have to understand the assembly’s position in regard of Christ in His varied connections.

Now the Spirit of God here shews us the Lord in type at the head of the creation. You will find that in every relation the Spirit considers for Him. That is what the Old Testament teaches us, and if the Old Testament considers for Christ we ought to consider for Christ. There is nothing we think less of than the desires of Christ. We all have our desires and we pray for them. But what about the Lord’s desires? He has got desires. One could cite passages where He solicits sympathy in his desires — He covets sympathy. As typified in David, He longed for the water, the water that was in Bethlehem, and there were ^[p. 46] those that entered into His longings, and satisfied His longings at the risk of their lives. At the cross He looked for sympathy. Nothing could be more touching to our hearts. He looked for it. Now what I want to shew you is that the Spirit of God in the Old Testament anticipates the desires of Christ. You have Him in view in Adam as the head of creation. Look at the dignity with which Adam appears. He stands out as obviously the Head. He gave names to each of the animals. Such was the intelligence in the Head, and the Lord is the great Antitype. He said to Peter, “Thou art Peter”, and the name described what Peter was, the name suggested the assembly. And so, when Eve appears, Adam says, ‘This is different’. Would that we could distinguish so that we could see the strong line of demarcation. He observes the difference. This time, he says, “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”. I alluded to that to shew you that the Spirit of God considers for Christ in that connection. He is not to be alone in that relation. The Spirit of God considered for Him, and so we have in the woman the helpmeet suited to Him in that relation. The assembly is intended to fill that place in regard of Christ in every possible relation, and she must understand Him. She is suited to Him now. She comes in on that line, she comes in in that relation and she is in every way suited to Him in that relation.

Now when you come to Rebecca you have another idea. It is not now Christ in regard of creation, it is Christ viewed as alone. He is walking alone in the field in Genesis 24. Now you will understand that if Christ appears as in Isaac He must fill the whole scene, and He does. In Genesis 21 Isaac is the great object of interest, but Abraham’s house does not extend to heaven. In chapter 22 he is the object of angelic interest from heaven. The angel calls to Abraham out of heaven. It was to remind Abraham that that young man was no longer limited to his sphere, that that young man was claimed in heaven — no longer limited to the sphere of Abraham. Abraham cannot compass all that Christ is. That young man was no longer limited to Abraham’s house. The heavenly beings were occupied ^[p. 47] with Christ in Isaac. It is well to remember that. Not only is it said that the angel called to Abraham, but that He called out of heaven. The fact of it was the Angel of Jehovah emphasises the heavenly position. Therefore directly Isaac appears as owned in heaven we get the genealogy of her who should be his companion. In other words, it is that the heavenly man now is dignified, and he must have a companion. She is brought in according to her genealogy. She is in every way suited to her glorious calling. Christ is a heavenly Man and He is alone there, and the Spirit of God in the Old Testament anticipates His desires in type and He provides a companion.

In Joseph you have the Lord, loved of His Father, hated by His brethren, but Head of the gentiles. He must have a companion. Moses, the deliverer of God’s people and orderer of the house of God, is another type of Christ. As deliverer of Israel He is rejected, but He has a companion when he is rejected. He has got a companion in the house of God. He has a right to marry whomsoever he will. Moses is a type of the Lord in His sovereign rights and therefore he chooses whom he would. It is a question of asserting his sovereign rights, and he or she who quarrelled with that right became leprous. Who dares to question the rights of the Lord? The great controversy with Paul was whether he should go out among the gentiles. This instance is no question of beauty. There would be no beauty in an Ethiopian woman. It is a question of asserting the sovereign rights of the Lord. Anything that goes with natural feelings is never right in the things of God. The sovereign grace of the Lord alone is right. You may depend upon it what He does is right. He is wise.

Now we come to Ruth and Boaz. You get rule there, you get the Lord typified in Boaz. What a Man of wealth He is! He is not to be alone in that. It is a great deal to have salvation and light, but these things do not satisfy affection. He secures a companion on the ground of redemption. Who can raise a question as to His rights over the assembly? See how the apostle Paul alludes to it in writing to the Ephesians.

^[p. 48] Now when we come to Abigail we see she is a worthy personage. She was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance. That is what the Lord is looking for. She is to become the wife of David. Now what you find in this passage is that the links with the old order are gone. Now my suspicion is that the defect with regard to the professing church lies there. Samuel died. Christendom disregards that. Every link between God and the old system is severed. Saul should have been the link as the anointed king. Alas, in Saul’s case there was no link. In Saul you get every form of religion but no divine answer, no divine work. Hence while Samuel lived the link was with him; he was the link between God and the people. It is of all moment to see that every link between God and organized religion is broken at Samuel’s death. Every link has been severed between all earthly organized religion and God. We have not to go far to find such religion. There is that all about us. Samuel died: now it is just there that the assembly appears in her beauty and intelligence. I believe the Lord would speak to us as regards these two points, intelligence and beauty. She is said to have been of good understanding. She embraces the light of all previous types. We have been singing that heavenly light makes all things bright. Everything seen in that light is seen in its true relation. We have to do with spiritual things, and spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Now we are told that God has given to us an understanding: it is a wonderful thing to have. If I did not have it I should ask for it. The courts above shall be thronged with people that have such an understanding. Do you think for a moment that God will people heaven with people that are ignorant below? That is the kind of people that shall be in heaven — a people in whose hearts God’s laws shall be. They shall be subject to God’s laws. The apostle said, “I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God”. The heavens shall be peopled with such persons. God has given us an understanding. Paul said to Timothy, “Consider what I say”, 2 Timothy 2: 7. It is to be considered as distinct from the understanding. As I said before, if ^[p. 49] you have not got it, ask for it. I believe we are extremely deficient in prayer. The Lord gives liberally. He does not upbraid; He loves. How much would a man require to go in for all that is represented in this town? You require an understanding for the divine order of things. Paul told Timothy to turn to the Lord. The Lord will give it to you. See how it altered the Ephesians. After Paul had taught them he prayed for them; and more than that in Ephesians 1, he prays that they might have the eyes of their understanding opened, and in chapter 3, that they might be strengthened in the inner man. In other words we have to be great enough to take this in. The ministry may enlighten you, but only God can build you up in your heart, inwardly, that you may know the love of Christ; and that which you are to know surpasses knowledge. You turn away from all organized religion and He gives you an understanding. He loves you then, He loves you for what He gives to you. He puts beauty upon you, and the beauty He puts upon you increases His affection. In Psalm 45 it says, “Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty”. The Lord is more attracted to you. In Abigail we have the two things combined. She has a good understanding, and she has a beautiful countenance. I do not suppose there is anything more attractive in the Lord’s creation than a beautiful countenance. These things are real. If there is a good understanding, it is produced in you; if you have a beautiful countenance, it is God’s work in you. Solomon says, “Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely”, Song of Songs 2: 14. Just contemplate that account for a moment. David was a spiritual man. I doubt if Abigail was ever appreciated until she met David. Nabal was a churl: David was a man of refined spiritual sensibilities. The Spirit of God tells us she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance. Who would appreciate that more than David? David had no equal in his day; how appreciatively he would contemplate Abigail! He would appreciate the good understanding and beautiful countenance. So, dear ^[p. 50] brethren, the Lord is looking for that now, and He is seeking to produce it. Let us not assume it is in us the moment we believe. A good understanding and a beautiful countenance are the fruit of divine work in you. If you are changed, you are changed only by the work of God; nature gives way to what is spiritual. The apostle could not leave the Ephesians without bringing in this beautiful subject. The Supper was to produce love. You do not find the Supper in Ephesians. They knew something about the love of Christ. The apostle placed them in the love of Christ. I wish I could make that clear. The Lord says afterwards, you have left the point which you reached. It was the point of departure from a position already reached. They had not left it when Paul wrote. So he could write about the love of Christ to the assembly. “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it”. In Galatians Christ gave Himself for you, but in Ephesians, Christ loved the assembly and gave Himself for it. She is in every way suited; the good understanding and the beautiful countenance, she is given all these things. The Lord gives them; He does it by the work of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has come down to produce all these things in us. He has got that which we need, and if we have not got it, the simplest thing is to ask for it. If we have not got it the Lord will have no pleasure in us. May the Lord lead us into it in our prayers.