THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THE GOSPEL
[p. 112] THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THE GOSPEL
JT My thought in suggesting this scripture was that we might get some idea of the conditions under which the gospel primarily was announced. Historically the apostolic preaching did not begin until the house was formed.
JP I suppose the character of God, the way in which He has been pleased to come out in Christ, was to be set forth in connection with the house?
JT That is the thought in the house.
JP The house of God is really very wonderful in that way.
JT Yes, and I think the assembly at Ephesus formed a good opportunity for the apostle to outline the conduct that was becoming to the saints viewed as the house; the saints there were formed according to God. Timothy was at Ephesus, and I think this gives a clue as to what gave rise to the epistle.
JP The state of things at Ephesus was such that God could take account of it and use it to bring out the truth of His house.
JT Exactly; the house was there really at Ephesus. Perhaps in the Acts the first great point is Jerusalem; then Antioch, and finally Ephesus. The ministry of the apostle had been so effectual at Ephesus that a company was formed of such a character as to enable the Spirit to regard it as the house of God. In this way I think it may be taken to represent the whole church.
JR The first gospel address really took the form of an explanation of what God had brought to pass through Christ, the Spirit here answering to His exaltation.
JT Yes, “the great things of God”. God had come to dwell among His people at Jerusalem, and [p. 113] the effect of this was apparent to the multitude. The saints were fully in accord with their great privilege, Acts 2.
JP It is like God to begin at the top; from the highest point. If we are going to look at the gospel all this invests it with a wonderful character.
JT If God is going to be represented down here, you would expect He would bring to pass in His assembly at Jerusalem, or Ephesus, or anywhere else, what would adequately set forth His character. The gospel is the revelation of God; the character of God is really what clothes it. Ephesus becomes a very important company, or assembly, in the Acts. The apostle Paul spent three years there, and he did not spend them there for nothing. God intended to form a company in that city that would adequately set forth His church as a whole; He was to be set forth in the church. When decline sets in, Revelation 2, Ephesus also stands for the whole church. You do not get the gospel presented in power in a declining church, but you do where the love of God is active. The apostle could say he had spent his time in announcing the kingdom of God from house to house with tears, and had not shunned to declare unto them all the counsel of God; and all this to the end that they might be perfectly qualified to represent God down here; and I think this epistle was to that end. His thought in sending Timothy to Ephesus was, that whatever was lacking he might supply.
RSS The first intimation of decline was also at Ephesus, Revelation 2.
JT God set up the assembly perfectly at Jerusalem and Ephesus. That is to say, you could take account of the assemblies in these cities as God’s handiwork, and in that point of view they were perfect; there was nothing lacking; everything was supplied. Now the apostle in leaving the saints at Ephesus committed it into the hands of men; he [p. 114] committed it to the elders. The result is what we see all around us — the ruin, but the witness to the gospel at the outset was in that which was divinely and perfectly set up.
Ques The church at Ephesus stood representatively at the beginning: does not Philadelphia stand representatively at the end?
JT Yes, I think so, but the point in Philadelphia is appreciation of Christ. Philadelphia is not the candlestick, but Ephesus was that representatively. I think Ephesus was set up more as God’s handiwork, to be the candlestick, and in that sense stands for the whole church.
JP. Philadelphia is the moral recovery of what was true at the beginning, in connection with appreciation of Christ, but not the candlestick.
Ques Does not Philadelphia really bring out in the end what is suited to the heart of Christ, descriptive of what the church really is?
JT Yes, what the church is to Christ. There is nothing public about it, but in Ephesus there was what was public. The whole of Asia heard the word of God through Ephesus: the assembly began with twelve men who received the Holy Ghost through Paul - The preaching was by the apostle, but he was of the assembly.
I think it is a great thing to be able to take account of what God established: there was nothing lacking in it when He established it.
Ques Is it not our privilege now, notwithstanding all the breakdown, to be in the light of it?
JT Yes, I think it is our privilege to be in the light of it, but you can never be it.
JP I think what we have set before us is most important, for in the minds of many the thought of the gospel has been entirely dissociated from that which God established in perfection in the beginning.
JT Yes, but if you will consider the principal [p. 115] gospel parables in Luke, you will find the existence of the house is supposed in them.
J.P. Mention one, please?
JT There is Luke 14; that is to say, the “great supper”, as we call it. You cannot have a great supper without a house in which to spread it. You must have a house with all the equipment necessary for the accommodation of the guests, and I do not think God would be behind in that way, so there it was. All things were ready. The parable begins with all things being ready, and at the end it is “that my house may be filled”. Luke 14: 23. It is so all through the great gospel parables of Luke. Chapter 7 is an exception, but there it is a question of forgiveness. Even the parable of the good Samaritan in a sense involves the house; that is to say, the “inn”. The idea is there at any rate.
RSS I suppose the thought you had in mind, is that the general idea is to connect the gospel with the individual?
JP The individual, as having needs and these being met, you mean?
RSS The individual who proclaims it.
JP It applies to both sides — the man that preaches it and those to whom it is preached. I do not think there has been the thought, in the minds of many of us, of the connection of the gospel with the house of God, and especially the house of God as established in divine perfection and beauty at the beginning. Do you not think the thought of the house of God is really what throws light on Ephesians 3?
JT Yes, I think so. “Filled to all the fulness of God”, which meant that they were to have the knowledge of God in love. They were to be filled to all the fulness of God in order to set forth God adequately — to represent God down here. You cannot conceive of anything else. God intended to [p. 116] have representatives down here, and those who were to be such were to be filled with His love.
I think the popular idea of the gospel is pretty much theoretic — very largely a question of doctrine: I should perhaps say a question of creed. I think we have a purer creed than others; still, with us it is very largely a question of creed, and I do not think a creed can be the gospel. The idea of the gospel is the attitude of God toward man in Christ, and the answer to it is what He had established down here in the power of the Spirit for man’s deliverance from the power of evil.
RSS That is, it is vital — a living thing.
JT And as such it is that which is brought within the reach of man, so the first gospel address we have is in regard to what is down here, in answer to Christ having gone to the right hand of God. The repentant Jews would receive the gift of the Spirit, who was already there in the house (Acts 2).
JP The Jews did not know what had happened when they heard the disciples speaking under the power of the Spirit of God, and some said they were drunk with new wine. Peter rises to the occasion, and tells them what had really come to pass in Jerusalem that day.
JT So it takes the character of an explanation; the effect produced by the presence of the Spirit in the saints led to enquiry on the part of the people. Hence the form of the gospel address. That is, what God established down here was perfectly capable of arresting the attention of men.
JP In 1 Corinthians 14 we get the order in God’s house: a simple person coming in would recognise by this that God was there.
JT The order of Solomon’s house greatly affected the Queen of Sheba.
JP Scripture says, “When the queen of Sheba [p. 117] had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built”, etc. 1 Kings 10: 4.
JT I should like to see the saints living according to God. I think we ought to be concerned about the gospel, but the first thing is to be formed according to God, so that we should be a testimony to it.
RSS I believe, in general, if what characterises the saints were analysed, you would find they are very largely formed by that which is not according to God. They go through an immense deal of exercise that is not really of the Spirit. I am sure that we may thank God that He, in the main, has set and maintained us on the right line, on the Spirit’s line, and this is most encouraging.
JT And the next thing is for us to get together in affection. If we are to be of any help at all to men, it must be as bound together by the Spirit.
RSS And then something vital comes out.
JT Preaching and building go together in the scriptures.
JP Do you not mean building and preaching?
JT Exactly — I did. The building precedes the preaching. Historically the preaching began after the building was formed by the descent of the Holy Ghost.
JP The order in Acts 9: 31 is very instructive viz., edification followed by increase, or multiplication.
JT I have no doubt the order of Scripture is right. In the case of Noah his preaching depended on his building. Building and preaching went on the same length of time. How did he condemn the world? By building. The building was accompanied by preaching, but if he was to condemn the world it was by the building.
JP In Hebrews 11 it says, “By the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith”. It was his preparing an ark. That was the point. “By faith” Noah prepared an ark. The ark, as prepared by Noah, was the condemnation of the world.
Rem In the case of Nehemiah it was the building of the wall.
JT It is wonderful to see how the building of the ark brings out the patience of God. As it is said in Peter, “The longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah”. 1 Peter 3: 20. It is a very comforting thing in a day like this, and in a country like this, where you see so little result from the testimony. In Noah’s case he built, and he preached, and apparently nobody was affected by his preaching, but then the patience of God came out. So it is, I think, if we are in the good of the building, we shall not be discouraged. If in any place you have a company of people bound together in love, it brings a testimony of God to the people of that community. No matter how it may be treated, the testimony of God is preserved; the longsuffering of God is demonstrated by it.
Nobody regarded the preaching in the days of Noah; nevertheless the ark was built, and completed; and I think God gained His point, in that His longsuffering came out.
Ques The building of the house of God is the condemnation of the world, is it not?
JT I think so. It indicates the overthrow of the world-system. That is what the gospel involves. If the gospel does not effect the overthrow of the world for us, it has not proved effectual with us.
The establishment of the house of God indicated the overthrow of the world-system. That is really, too, what the ark meant.
Salvation is not for heaven, but from this world. The salvation of the children of Israel involved the destruction of the Egyptians. Indeed, in the coming day salvation will mean the complete setting aside [p. 119] of the world-system, and the introduction of a new system.
JP He “gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world”, Galatians 1: 4.
JT The point now is water; that is, baptism.
Ques Is it not more Judaism in Galatians? Judaism was something God set up for a time, and people wanted to go on with it.
JT The world-system, as the Lord found it here, was in connection with Judaism. What gave it all its power was that it was set up by God. Now that is to be done away with, and something new is to take its place; and that is, I think, the reason why baptism is so prominent in the Acts.
Rem Please say a little more about the world-system. I believe people have a wrong idea with regard to the world-system. They look at it more in view of the lusts of the flesh.
JT Judaism was that which was established by God, and it was in that way it had all its power. I do not say that applies to the present world-system, although God has given the Gentile powers their authority; but the world-system of Scripture, that which the Lord had to deal with, was really set up by God, and it had Jerusalem as its centre. But it had fallen under the power of Satan, and was in direct opposition to God, as the sequel proved.
JP So in John’s gospel, the Jew morally is the world.
JT What we need to see is that the Lord came into things as He found them, came into what was here. He found a system of things established, which He owned and recognised. He did not disown it, but made the most of it, and if He could, would have used it; but He could riot do anything with it. Its true character came out, and as He could not use it, He established a system of His own. People do not see that, and hence do not understand the [p. 120] gospel. The gospel involves the idea of an entirely new system; it properly means the coming age, but the coming age took form in the church. Every element in the coming age must find an answer in the church. The church took the place, for the moment, of the new system.
JP The gospel was, and is, really a divine explanation of what God has brought to pass and established in Christ at His right hand, and in the Holy Ghost down here. Not only the old thing judged and destroyed morally, but the new thing established.
Rem When Noah came out of the ark, he came into a new scene.
JT Yes, and he brought every element of the new world out of the ark. When the Lord came into this scene He would have established His kingdom. But He was not received, so the whole thing was set aside: then the Lord began anew. He says, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate”. Matthew 23: 38. Consequent on this He brings in another house; a house of His own. I like to revert to that company of people whom the Lord left down here. Simple fishermen, who had escaped the corruption that is in the world. The world had not formed them at all; they were entirely formed by Christ. There was no connection in any shape or form between the world-system and what God set up. The glad tidings, the announcement of what the Lord had done, were to be in connection with this new system, of which Christ is the Head.
Rem The rich and mighty men in the world were not needed in God’s system at all, and on the other hand those in His system had no place in the world-system.
Rem In the case of Paul, all he had as in the world-system was nothing to him among [p. 121] the saints.
RSS All Paul had in connection with the world-system he calls “dung”.
JT It is remarkable that he went to tent-making afterwards. He did not seem to take advantage of his education at all. The thing to get hold of is what suits God; what He intends should represent Him down here. And then another thing comes out: all the elements of the coming age were to be carried through and preserved until the time arrives, just as in the case of Noah. The idea in the ark was not only salvation, but preservation. Eight souls were saved, but we read that Noah was “preserved” in the ark, and everything necessary for the establishment of a new world was also preserved.
JP It was a beautiful point our brother brought out when he said that when Noah stepped out of the ark he came into an entirely new scene; everything in it had been brought through in the ark. The first great thing after he got out was that wonderful burnt offering: all the substance for it had been carried through in the ark.
JT What would Noah have done otherwise? He could not have established a new world by himself. It requires a great many things to establish a world. Everything for the renewed earth was carried through in the ark. That illustrates what the church is.
Rem In the house of God everything is preserved for God.
JT Every element of the coming age is preserved in the house. Although the ship in which Paul sailed was actually wrecked, Acts 27, nevertheless all on board reached land safely.
Ques What answers to the ark now?
JT The ark is typical of Christ, but I think also of the church in a way, as I said; the idea is there at any rate. When the Lord was rejected, that was the judgment of the world morally. “Now is the judgment of this world”. John 12: 31. God never reverted to [p. 122] the world again. In the meantime, how is God going to preserve His thoughts and purposes? He had given expression to a good many blessed thoughts in Old Testament times. What was going to become of them? The Lord intended all these things to be taken up and preserved in the church until the time of the display of the new order arrives.
Rem All would not take account of the ark as you have spoken of it.
JT Any right minded person would admit the flood was a mercy, the only hope for the world. If you have a house polluted with every kind of disease, a thorough cleansing would be needed, otherwise everyone in it would die. That was the state of the world — polluted — and the only remedy was the flood. It was judgment, of course, but a mercy. Everything God does is in mercy; it is the outcome of His love. Any right minded person who reads Genesis 6 would say, What a mercy the flood was, the only means of salvation for Noah and his family from that terrible state of things. They were saved through water.
JP What must have been the feelings of Noah and his family when they came out of the ark into a new world! Saved from that old world (so horribly corrupted), by that which to the world was judgment.
JT And what an infinite mercy baptism is to a man who has a family. Look at the polluted system of things we have to deal with.
Ques Why do you say, “to a man who has a family”?
JT God takes account of your family. If I professed interest in you, you would not take much account of it if I did not interest myself in your family. God knows man’s heart. If a man has a wife, he loves his wife and children, and God not only saves you, but your house. That is the idea [p. 123] of baptism. Baptism is a mercy it means preservation from the present polluted system.
Ques Would you say salvation to you and your house is not soul salvation, but salvation from this present evil world?
JT Yes. The thought of salvation formerly referred to the state of the world; and every person taught of God wants to get out of the world. It is a polluted, corrupted system, and one cannot thrive in it; you want to get out of it. The Lord wondered there was no man, and so His own arm brought in salvation. He clothed Himself in armour, and brought judgment upon the world-system, Isaiah 59:17.
JP Romans 8 looks on to the deliverance of creation.
JT The creation is subject to the power of sin, and groans under it. As to our bodies, we have part in this, notwithstanding that we have the first-fruits of the Spirit, but we are saved in hope: we are looking on to final deliverance with the rest of creation.
While you await the salvation of your body, you get soul-salvation from the world-system in virtue of the presence of the Holy Ghost down here.
RSS Someone asked the question, What is the ark symbolical of? The general thought would be, It typified Christ. I was struck with your remark, that you thought it was also typical of the church.
JT I think in a certain sense that Noah is typical of Christ, in that he prepared an ark to the saving of his house. I do not think it can be denied that the church is that in which things are preserved in view of the judgment of the world.
RSS Something like the city of refuge.
JT In view of the destruction of Judaism the spared ones from among the Jews found refuge and preservation in the assembly, Acts 2: 47.
Rem Salvation is found in the Christian [p. 124] circle.
JT I cannot conceive how anybody can think of salvation being available to men without the church at the present time. By “present time”, I mean the time of the Lord’s absence from this world. The existence of the church as the vessel of the Holy Ghost here means salvation in a practical sense.
Rem A few Christians walking together in love are a great thing for the people in that vicinity.
JT We want to get the idea of salvation from Scripture. It means deliverance from the world-system. Of course Christ is the subject of the gospel, but Christ according to what He can do. What has He done? The gospel explains what He has done. Peter tells what has been brought to pass through Christ in Acts 2. He tells them that God has made both Lord and Christ that same Jesus whom they had crucified; and He “having therefore been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which ye behold and hear”. Acts 2:33. And so in chapter 4 Peter tells them that salvation is in none other than Christ.
Every Christian can tell how salvation came to him. Christ has effected it for him, but through what He has established down here.
JP Do not omit this portion: “Men and brethren, what shall we do? ... Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”. Acts 2: 37,38. Peter’s answer to the Jew’s question is gospel.
Rem It is an important thing to see that He set the gifts in the church.
JT I do not see how you can have the gospel without the church. Hence, considering the state of things today, one is greatly humbled in attempting to preach the gospel. Sometimes you hear people [p. 125] speak about evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc., as if we lived in the days of Ephesus, when things were in order and freshness. I think we should refer to things very humbly and soberly.
Rem Things are at such a low ebb you cannot find many evangelists and teachers.
JT You do not see very many according to God. You might find a good many taking that place, but those who are really formed according to God are not plentiful.
What is popularly called preaching the gospel today is really preaching a creed. I do not say there is not light connected with it, for there is, and people get more or less help. One would not deny it, but the true idea of the gospel was to bring people to God — into a sphere where they would be safe and at home.
Ques Do you mean by creed, the different ideas of the different sects?
JT I think any man with a fairly good mind and education, who can give a good address, can preach, but the question is: Has he the gospel to present? It is a great thing doubtless to be able to point to the work of Christ on the cross, and to His resurrection; through these a man gets a good conscience, but the world as dominated by Satan is still here, and unless he is brought morally into a sphere where righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost are found, he has no present salvation.
Take the parable in Luke 10. If the Samaritan had left the half-dead man by the roadside, after he had poured in the oil and wine, he would have still been exposed to the robbers; but the Samaritan did not leave him there.
Rem The man would not have been saved from his enemies if he had been left there, but he was brought to the inn. Where is the inn?
JT I fancy it must be among the saints. Where could the Lord find anybody to take care of His [p. 126] people? Could He go to the rulers of the world, or to the magistrates of the city? No, only to those who loved Him.
RSS Then there is the inn-keeper, which represents the Spirit of God. I suppose the two great things for us today are that Christ is glorified, and that the Spirit of God is here?
JT Yes, the Spirit here in the saints involves the “inn”, I believe.
Ques What is your thought in regard to the present moment? Does it not take the character of 2 Timothy, where the apostle exhorts Timothy to do the work of an evangelist? To be an evangelist at the present time, would you not really need to be in the light of the house of God?
JT Paul does not tell Timothy to be an evangelist, but to do the work of an evangelist. I think if we are to be of any help to men now we must have living water to offer. What is offered at the end of Revelation 22 is living water, and it is to “whosoever will”. The water of life is there, and I think the important thing is to locate it for people.
JP I think it very remarkable that that should come in at the end, and it is presented in the widest possible way. “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”. Revelation 22: 17.
JT You must locate it for him. I would not pay any attention to a man’s gospel if he does not locate what I need. Man is in need, and the person who preaches the gospel should locate what will relieve him. At the same time, although the Holy Ghost is not anywhere else on earth than in the saints, and in certain cases was received through the administration of man, Acts 8: 17; Acts 9: 17; Acts 19: 6, yet it would be wrong to imply that the church is the giver of living water. Christ is the Giver of living water, although what He gives is now here.
JP People say, We must go out for sinners.
[p. 127] You get a company in divine order; a few people together, built up in divine love, then God will begin to work, because that is His way, and you cannot make God change His way to suit you. That is the way He did in the beginning. He established the house, and then sinners came in afterwards.
You said a little while ago that a person could not be saved from the world-system apart from the saints. That is to say, God has established a sphere down here where we are to dwell together in love, apart from all evil, and superior to all the attacks of the enemy.
JT Every Christian would agree with that: we all know what an advantage it is to be in touch with those who are going on in the Spirit. You find protection there, and you find that which your heart longs for, and by these things you are saved and preserved. The Lord has put all these things here for you. If there is such a company in Chicago the Lord has put them there, and they are there for your good. Of course, Scripture furnishes examples of individuals enjoying salvation while actually isolated, such as Paul at Rome, and John in Patmos, but they were in the energy of the Spirit, and always in the church.
RSS What do you understand by “living water”, in the way you were speaking of it just now?
JP The Spirit is living water.
RSS How would you locate the Spirit? Where do you find it?
JP In the saints. Among the people of God, He was never sent to the world. He shall abide with you, and dwell in you.
JT How is living water, the Spirit, to be made available to the need of humanity? People cannot see the Spirit. You may talk about the Holy Ghost, and they have no idea of what is meant; but if they see people walking together in love there is something [p. 128] they can take account of, and one who is really under exercise takes hold of that at once, and says: That is what I need. In that way living water is available among the Lord’s people, but Christ is ever the Giver of it.
JP Of course this is a day of weakness, but with regard to all these things of which you have been speaking, you can see them demonstrated under your very eyes. Occasionally you see believers turning away from the saints: there is no salvation outside. So it is with regard to all you have spoken about. Living water, the Spirit, is made available for men in the saints. The Lord, of course, is ever the Giver.
RSS Coming out as you find in Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, Longsuffering, gentleness, goodness”, etc. Galatians 5: 22,23. Is that your thought?
JT Yes. The Lord spoke about the water He would give, John 4. I think the Lord felt greatly hampered when here, for in a sense He was dependent on Jacob’s well. It was there, and He was thirsty, and drank from it. When speaking to the woman, what was really in the Lord’s mind was a well of His own: He would dig a well. Really the woman herself was to be His well, in a sense.
JP It “shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life”. John 4: 14.
JT In chapter 7 you get rivers of water. The Lord Jesus put the living water down here, and I think the great exercise with us should be to make it evident that it is here. If we have the water then we can present the gospel.
RSS Your thought in connection with the gospel was, you not only present God’s attitude in the forgiveness of sins, but you would seek to bring the person into touch with that which is of God here in the world — that is, the people of God who are really expressing [p. 129] Christ.
JT Yes, you not only enlighten a person as to God’s attitude toward him, but you also enlighten him in regard to what God has put down here for his benefit — that is the living water. The tendency to separate Christ from the saints at the present time is very noteworthy. The church is Christ’s body — that through which He acts and is known, down here.
All the saints were to be formed according to God and to be in His house, as we said at the beginning. Ephesians 3 puts it “Filled even to all the fulness of God”. Such people would be evangelical — not evangelists exactly.
RSS Would you think Andrew illustrates what you were speaking of just now? He first found his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus. Of course, Christ personally is not here now, but in the faith of his soul he must come to Christ.
JT And it is important to get him as close as we can to spiritual people. You can enlighten him by presenting Christ glorified to him, but after he is enlightened and believes in Christ, the man has an aching heart that needs to be filled, and you want to bring him into touch with those who have hearts filled with the love of God.
RSS I was very thankful for your remarks just now in connection with living water being the Spirit. I think we have a very vague idea of it, except as we see it expressed in the people of God.
JT If you speak to a man of the Holy Ghost it is a mystery to him, but if he sees people prepared to give up what they have in this world for others, he says, That is not in nature; that is a new principle, and if God is at all working in him he will be affected and will get help.
RSS It is the same thing as to love, 1 Corinthians 13. Love is spoken of there in connection with man here on earth, and the way it comes out is, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind”, etc.
JT God knows man’s heart and has adapted Himself to man, and the living water is the Spirit as adapted to the needs of man’s heart.
RSS I suppose in the passage we read what really comes out is God’s attitude, and that expressed in the people of God down here. That is, God desires that all men should be saved, and it is also God’s will that prayer should be offered everywhere for all men.
Ques Would you connect with that Simeon’s prayer, when he held the child Jesus (”mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” Luke 2: 30 - 32) with this passage? It says, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” 1 Timothy 2: 4.
JT You mean as to salvation? Yes; Simeon saw in Christ God’s salvation, although he did not wish to wait for it: seeing it, he was content to depart.
Ques Does not the first epistle to Timothy, in the chapter we read, bring out what we should pray to God for, in order that we may live here according to God’s mind? Is that not the thought where he speaks of praying for kings, etc.?
JT He says, “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men; for kings and all that are in dignity, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity; for this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God, who desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For God is one, and the mediator of God and men one, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be rendered in its own times”. 1 Timothy 2: 1 - 6. Then Paul goes on to speak of himself as a herald and apostle, etc. All this is based [p. 131] on the attitude of God towards men. The prayer is based on that.
RSS Yes, that is a great thing to see; and I have rather thought that perhaps the first thing a soul apprehends, the first light he gets, is the sense of what God’s attitude is toward him. If a soul gets that, you may be quite sure a work of God is begun there.
JT It was a wonderful conception that God should have a company of people here descriptive of His heart: those who are filled full of love: and it seems to me a great point that such a company existed at Ephesus.
JP How important all this is for us at a moment like this! It turns us away from that which is merely external. It brings us back, I believe, to what is according to God, because it is now a question of a company that are really where there is the activity of the divine nature — where there is some testimony as to what God is.