FELLOWSHIP (2)
2 Timothy 2:1-6; 14-22; John 17:14-17; Hebrews 13:12-15
A.M.B. We have had several readings to enquire into the matter of fellowship. It would be well to remind ourselves of the truths that have come out in the readings so far. We have seen that fellowship according to God as it is set out in Scripture is at the standard of what He has done in His faithfulness and grace, which is to call us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor.1:9). That brings before us the dignity of fellowship according to God, and also the authority of Christ as our Lord which characterises it. This scripture clearly implies that there is only one fellowship according to God. There are not two or more, but one, and the dignified character of it is the fellowship of His Son.
We have also seen that Christian fellowship was known from the beginning and relates to the fellowship of the apostles. Brethren at the beginning persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers (Acts 2:42). And we have seen (1 Cor.10:16,17) that the matter of fellowship relates to the body and the blood of Christ, which refers to His death. So fellowship as God would have it, held in principle and in experience, is in the light of and according to the death of the Lord Jesus, crucified in this world. We are to be drawn into the fellowship of His death.
We have also seen that the scripture speaks of fellowship or communion of the Spirit (Phil.2:1-4). That involved the inward side of things, the sensitivity involved in giving place to the Lord and His interests. That leads on to the matter of worship.
It is very important to hold all of these thoughts in our minds, and to think about the scriptures which refer to them. The Scriptures have authority – the Holy Spirit uses them to speak to our hearts and minds. What has been set out are all characteristics of Christian fellowship according to scripture. These are what we speak about as divine principles, because God has set them out in the Scriptures for our instruction and for us to follow.
But the big question for us is, how do believers who love the Lord Jesus and want to be faithful to Him work out Christian fellowship now? That is the question that we would come to in this reading, as the Lord might help us. In the history of the church, departure has come in. This second epistle which Paul wrote to Timothy speaks of the departure which had already come in during the first century of the Christian era. He writes that all those in Asia had left him. There had been those on whom he had relied in Asia who had gone away (2 Tim.1:15), and it speaks here of Hymenӕus and Philetus who had left Paul. That is the position now publicly in Christendom. There are many who have left Paul. That is not to say that they are not Christians – far from it. They may well have the knowledge of their sins forgiven, but they may not give place to Paul’s ministry, they may not recognise its authority. That is sad, but it is also serious, because Paul’s authority is the authority of Scripture, and therefore of the Lord. So the question is, how do we work things out in such circumstances as believers? Paul gives Timothy guidance about that in these passages which we have read.
In the first passage there is help given about the moral qualifications that were needed – “faithful men, such as shall be competent to instruct others also”. But the meat of the matter is what we get in the second passage we read – as to the firm foundation of God standing and having a seal. We have to pay attention to that. That passage indicates that believers need to leave what is not right. Withdrawing from iniquity means leaving what is not right. But then as doing so, as ceasing to do evil and then learning to do well, purifying ourselves, and then pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace, we find that there are others doing the same thing. These are very important guiding principles for the experience of Christian fellowship.
G.A.B. You have spoken of one fellowship. In the early days after Pentecost, that was literally true, but conditions in Christendom have changed since then. It has been rightly said that the Lord allowed the breakdown to come in during the lifetime of the apostle Paul, so that we should have this instruction in Scripture to meet the conditions that have come in.
A.M.B. It is very important to recognise that we have this instruction, with the authority of Scripture and of the apostle, to help us in the present day. Paul refers with sorrow to those who had departed from him. He refers (Gal.2:4) to those who had come in surreptitiously to spy out the liberty that the brethren had. There were things publicly that were going wrong at that time; the condition of the church was being interfered with by people teaching according to human philosophies or wrong religious principles.
G.A.B. The Lord has graciously seen to it that we have not been left without guidance as to how to comport ourselves in current conditions.
A.M.B. If He had not left us that guidance, we might say that it would not be possible to work out divine principles of fellowship, but it is.
J.C.G. Are you thinking of the reference to separating, and pursuing righteousness, with those that call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart? That is really the gathering point in a day of public breakdown, is it?
A.M.B. I do not think there is any other way that the scripture can be read. That is the instruction that Paul gave to Timothy, and he also says that “the things that thou hast heard of me…these entrust to faithful men, such as shall be competent to instruct others also”. The apostle’s intention was that this should be passed on by Timothy, not only the doctrine of it, but the doing of it.
J.C.G. It is very noticeable that the chapter brings in the grace which is in Christ Jesus, and taking a share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, not entangling himself with the affairs of life. The references to Christ Jesus and Jesus Christ would help us about what would be normal. But when we come to verse 19, it is “The Lord knows those that are his” and “serviceable to the Master”, and then “a bondman of the Lord”. There is authority in relation to the need to clear ourselves from what is not suitable for the presence of God.
A.M.B. What you say is most instructive. All of us here who are believers in Jesus would, we trust, own Him as Lord, not just with our mouths – it is right to confess Him as Lord – but also by being subject to Him. It means that His word conveyed to us in the Scriptures is to have authority. One of the aspects of what is not right, which is what the word iniquity means, is that there are many who are no doubt true believers, but they do not follow the word of the Lord, because there are instructions in Scripture that they disagree with, so they do not practice them. That must not mark me as a believer.
D.S. What is involved in naming the name of the Lord?
A.M.B. It seems to be the true recognition of the authority of the Lord, and our alignment with Him as naming that name, wanting to be truly for Him and faithful to Him as our Lord and Master.
D.S. It seems to have a separating effect from everything else in this world. There are many who gather to the name of the Lord Jesus in many different religious groups, so how do we distinguish those who are naming the name of the Lord?
A.M.B. That is a big question. The matter of naming the name of the Lord is an individual matter – the apostle says, “Let every one”. So it is fundamentally a matter of deep personal exercise, that I want to be faithful and true to the Saviour who died for me, and to do what He wants me to do, to obey His commandments. He says “If ye love me, keep my commandments”, John 14:15. If someone is truly keeping His commandments, that would be one who is naming the name of the Lord. What this passage shows us is that if you genuinely have that exercise to name the name of the Lord, to be obedient and faithful to Him, to draw on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then you can look for the Lord to guide you into the way where there will be others doing the same thing. Paul does not exactly say ‘Here is the company, that is where to go’. He essentially says that you will find certain moral characteristics in yourself and in others, and you will want to be together with them, because these others who name the name of the Lord will have separated themselves to be vessels to honour, and they will be pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace. You will find them.
D.S. It is good that we all understand that what we are doing in naming the name of the Lord is individual, that there are to be moral characteristics in me which are in keeping with what you are bringing before us. This is not just something that is outward, but I am to be in keeping with the Lord Himself. You have been bringing before us the character of the Person who we remember, to whom we are seeking to be faithful here, and the purity and holiness of the Man that we love. There has to be a moral character in myself that is in keeping with that order of Man.
A.M.B. Your reference to moral characteristics in the believer is absolutely vital. Part of the reason that we read verses 1-6 is to show that the development of moral characteristics in the believer is not easy. This is not easy Christianity. It is blessed, but it not easy. It needs exercise; it means that we have to have some of the features of a soldier. We might end up in conflict, probably most of all in conflict with what is in ourselves, and perhaps also with what is around us, and we are going to have to be like those who contend in the games. It requires a lot of exercise to be any good at that. This requires deep moral exercise. We do not slide into Christianity, we do not slide into fellowship.
J.T.B. Are the moral characteristics seen in verse 1 where Paul says “be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus”? It is not an arbitrary matter. We are formed by divine feelings, by the blessed Man who has gone on high.
A.M.B. That is helpful. As we come to know the grace which is in Christ Jesus in the gospel, we know what conviction is and repentance and conversion, and we become believers in Him. Then something of His precious moral worth begins to be formed in us. We are interested in Him, we love Him, and then we find that we want to be with others who are of the same mind.
J.T.B. There is nothing arbitrary. We name the name of the Lord; we must insist on the maintenance of Christian principles, but we do it in the spirit of Christ. We remember a time when there was a hard spirit in and among us, but that is not the way that the truth is worked out according to the divine standard.
A.M.B. I agree. If God’s thought as to fellowship could be worked out by rules, it would be easy. It could be written down, and everyone would stick to it, and if anyone was not prepared to stick to it, they would go. But it is not like that. It is the grace of Christ; the principles are there in a blessed Man. And we want to adhere to the principles because that is His instruction to us, and we love Him.
A.L. Would it be right to say that one expression of that love is that we remember the Lord?
A.M.B. Remembering the Lord is the greatest expression of fellowship. It is a blessed privilege, but it is also a big responsibility, because we have to prove ourselves. It is said that we can sometimes take account of persons, mainly young people, who are really in fellowship before they break bread. So that they are joining in with the brethren in spirit before they put their hands to the emblems. That would be normal. But remembering the Lord in the breaking of bread is not a formal entitlement. It must be a love matter which involves committal on my part to Him.
A.L. Would the name stand for the Person being absent? That is why it draws out our affection for Him.
A.M.B. That is helpful in relation to what was asked about as to naming the name of the Lord. It is the time of His absence, and He looks for His own to be faithful to Him.
A.M.W. You said that it is not easy. Why is it not easy, and if it is not, why should we persevere?
A.M.B. I find that it is not easy. What we are speaking about is maintaining divine principles in love. If we are going to do that rightly, it requires what we speak of as exercise. I wish there was another word that we could use, because that word can become hackneyed. It means that I have to judge myself all the time. I do not find that easy. I have come across the situation where something happens, and a thought comes up in my mind which I know is not right, so I have to judge that. Or I get to bedtime and I know I should read the Bible, or a bit of ministry, and I would rather just close my eyes and go to sleep. I do not want to do that, I want to commit myself, and that is not easy. But then as to persevering; in the beginning of the Acts, they “persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles”, Acts 2:42. If it had been easy, they would have not needed to persevere.
A.M.W. I have not found it easy, and I still do not, but what I have found is that it is the only way we will find the joy that Christians enjoy, the only way we can find true satisfaction. So if it is the only way, we need to persevere in it.
A.M.B. It is fine to hear you say that, and I agree with you.
J.C.G. Chapter 1 speaks of suffering evil along with the glad tidings, involving reproach. Contending with those who may be opposed to Paul’s ministry involves reproach and suffering. I was thinking too of what has been said about naming the name of the Lord involving the Lord’s supper. The apostle uses the word “the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread”, 1 Cor.11:23. He also says that “no one can say Lord Jesus, unless in the power of the Holy Spirit”, 1 Cor.12:3. It is incompatible that I would confess the name of the Lord Jesus publicly, and yet go on with iniquity – the two do not agree with each other. We have to see that iniquity involves a wide range of things that are unrighteous and are out of keeping with what the Holy Spirit brings in. For example, the ministry of a pastor in a church denies the presence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore it involves iniquity.
A.M.B. I agree with that. It has been helpfully pointed out in ministry that iniquity means what is not right, what is not according to God, what cannot be justified from the Scriptures. We are speaking about holy things, in relation to which God has given us instruction in the Scriptures. Paul addresses himself to intelligent persons. We are responsible to read and understand the instruction that is given in the Scriptures, and to hold to that. The instruction we are given is very clear, that we have to depart from what is not right. That would include what is gross – there are religious systems where what goes on is clearly not right. But there are other religious organisations where very genuine believers may be involved, but if there is a one man ministry, a pastorate, how can that be reconciled with the scripture which says that “whenever ye come together, each of you has”, 1 Cor.14:26? We have to ask ourselves that; the answer is that it cannot.
P.E.H. Is one of the features of a good soldier that he knows where he is positionally? The soldier is someone who is in the ranks, and his position is relative to the person next to him. We walk in step with each other. Also the good soldier would keep hold of the objective. As has been mentioned, it is not easy, but what makes it easier is if you know what the objective is.
A.M.B. One absolute requirement of a soldier is that he does what he is told. A good soldier of Jesus Christ does what Christ tells him because he loves Him. But then you find yourself walking next to someone who feels the same; they want to do what Christ tells them. So we find ourselves walking in step for that reason. We do not walk in step because we are adhering to rules. We walk in step because we have one Object, and we follow after Him. As pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace, we find those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. That is the rank you are referring to. We find such persons if we are morally exercised; the Lord will not leave us to walk alone. There have been saints in the past who were prepared to walk alone, and because they were so prepared, the Lord showed them others with whom they could walk in the light of this scripture.
J.A.B. The divine standard of holiness is set out in John 17. The argument is often advanced that what Paul is speaking about as iniquity in this scripture in 2 Timothy refers to people like Hymenæus and Philetus, “men who as to the truth have gone astray, saying that the resurrection has taken place already”. Paul refers to their word spreading “as a gangrene” – they were clearly perverted as to the truth. But there are many Christians who are not, so it is sometimes said – surely you would not use the word iniquity about them. I think that what you have said is very helpful, that the word means what is not right, and the standard of what is not right is the holiness of God. So in our associations, we have to remember what the divine standard is. The Lord speaks about that in His prayer to the Father – it is the holiness of God that we have to keep in our hearts.
A.M.B. In the scripture in John 17, the Lord emphasises separation from the world, because of the origin and characteristics of His own disciples. They derived from Him; He was not of the world, and consequently they were not morally of the world. They were in it – He did not ask the Father to take them out of it – but they were not of it. They were entirely morally separate from the world which was rejecting Him and was about to crucify Him. That is to be true of us. Then the scripture we read in Hebrews 13 relates to the system, or the camp, of religious organisations. We do not belong to a religious organisation, we belong to the body of Christ, as do all true believers. We seek to work out the truth of fellowship according to God’s standard with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. We wish that there were many others that we could walk with.
A.S.P. Is calling on the Lord a reward? It was said that this can be a difficult path. We know that for ourselves, but calling on the Lord brings a reward. If we are faithful, He will come to us, will He not?
A.M.B. There is a moral order to everything that we find in God’s world, in Christianity. The prophet says in Isaiah “cease to do evil, learn to do well”, Isa.1.17. We do not learn to do well first, and then cease to do evil afterwards. There is a moral sequence, and we learn to do well by naming the name of the Lord, and calling upon Him. The reward is the sense of the Lord coming to us.
A.S.P. I was thinking of what it says in John 6 “This word is hard”, John 6:60. Many went away. The Lord challenges His disciples “Will ye also go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal”, John 6:67,68. He is the One we have to be faithful to.
A.M.B. The Lord is the standard in everything, but He is also, as you rightly say, the reward. He is the One who makes this live, the One who draws out the affections, the committal, the loyalty of His own. He has a wonderful unifying effect. Where two or more desire to gather together to His name, He promises to come to them and to bless them with His presence. It is very important that we claim nothing, but I need to be exercised to provide moral conditions suitable to Him, and I would have confidence that you would want to do the same, so that when we come together, the Lord might grant us a sense of His presence. We are not saying that the Lord is not with this or that company. The exercise for me is to provide conditions in my heart personally, so that if I am gathered with others with similar desires, the Lord can come there.
A.D.M. Although this chapter in 2 Timothy appears to be in a military setting, you get the references “that he may please him who has enlisted him”. Do you think that behind it all is the pleasure of God? Following on the reference to what is military, there is a wonderful verse that speaks about how the “men of war, keeping rank in battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel”, 1 Chron.12:38. We walk in step with one another, not because someone is telling us to keep in step, but because of the Man who is the great point of attraction. The soldier has the desire to please Him who has enlisted him, the man who contends in the games has the objective to finish the race, and the husbandman is looking towards the fruit. He has to work to get there, but there is a divine objective – really the beauty and glory of Jesus.
A.M.B. That is what makes it all possible. If it was not for the fact that Christ is our living Head in heaven, it would not be possible to work out divine thoughts practically. But He is, and so it is possible. And the Holy Spirit gives us help, both to have the desire to walk in the way you are describing, and then the power to be maintained in it.
A.D.M. So in the verse you have read in Hebrews 13, it is going forth to Him “without the camp”. There are the separative exercises which cost a lot, but there is a wonderful prize. We need to keep that in our hearts all the time.
A.M.B. The word reward has been used; this is a blessed positive matter. Some of us who are older possibly regard 2 Timothy 2 as rather negative, and it does involve deep moral exercises that have to be gone through in the good of the grace which is in Christ Jesus, but these exercises should never cause fear or dread. They have in view that I should separate myself from what is not right, so that I can find others who are prepared to go on with what is right, with the Lord in view. You could not get anything more positive than that.
G.A.B. We have been noticing in our readings in Exodus that the point came when Moses pitched a tent far from the camp, and “called it the Tent of meeting. And it came to pass that every one who sought Jehovah went out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp”, Exod.33:7. There were others who stood in their tent doors and worshipped; these would represent believers who have not gone out. The real reward that we are speaking of is in what is collective, where saints have gone out to the tent of meeting, where we can enjoy things together according to divine principles, and not on our own.
A.M.B. Every one who sought Jehovah went out to the tent of meeting; it was an intensively individual matter. Every moral exercise has to be worked out individually, but it is with a view to the enjoyment of what is spiritual. As you say, the greatest enjoyment is what we enjoy together, because then we benefit from one another’s personal communion, spiritual thoughts are in circulation, and what is due to the Lord and to the Father is given expression to by the Spirit. There is liberty for divine Persons to begin to use what is of the assembly for the purpose for which it was intended. What has been said about the positive end in view, and the reward, and what you have just said, are vital. I think that true assembly conditions according to God among the saints cannot be enjoyed except in the way that we are speaking about.
G.A.B. The tent that Moses pitched was not anything grand, it was not the tabernacle, which had yet to be constructed, but it is dignified; it is the tent of meeting. That suggests that we can enjoy every assembly privilege at the highest level as we move in separation?
A.V.W. Does what we are speaking about as to fellowship involve moving forward? You could not think of the soldier going back, or those in the games going back. Is the prize in view as we go forward?
A.M.B. That would link up with what has been said as to perseverance – it requires moral and spiritual effort in order to advance. What we advance in is our knowledge and experience of the Lord Jesus, and of all the divine things of which He is the centre. What you say emphasises that we are on a path which implies movement and constant exercise. It would be better for us to think about the need to keep on the right path rather than to keep in the right position. Christianity is not static; it is a matter of constant moral exercise and movement. We might think that provided that we stay in the place that our parents were in, and do not do anything wrong, we will be all right. But that is not what the Lord has in mind. He has in mind that each one of us should face moral exercises ourselves, and come to a deep conviction about the matters we have been reading about in the second chapter of 2 Timothy.
A.V.W. I was thinking that there is the encouragement of going along with one another, but there needs to be faithful men. In verse 13, it says “if we are unfaithful, he abides faithful”. Most of us have been brought up in a Christian household; thank God for that, but it is not automatic.
A.M.B. It is far from automatic, but it is wonderfully attractive. The Saviour is the Centre of it. There is no substitute for our own conviction, our own moral exercises in working things out with the Lord.
M.D.B. You might say that “with those that call upon the Lord” would have been enough, but it goes on to say “with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”.
A.M.B. I would connect it with verse 21 “If therefore one shall have purified himself”. That is really the person to whom Paul is addressing himself, that “he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work”. Such a person will flee certain things, and pursue other things, and then he will find others. There is an implied promise that such a person will find others who are calling upon the Lord out of a pure heart. These are persons who have purified themselves by separating themselves from these vessels to dishonour.
M.D.B. I was wondering if we could bring the truth in here. The Lord asks the Father to “Sanctify them by the truth: thy word is truth”, John 17:17. We should encourage everyone, especially young believers, to read the Scriptures daily. Purification is available through the Scriptures – the Lord said that the truth will set you free.
A.M.B. We need to be able to find the justification for everything that we do, everything that we hold in Christianity, in God’s Word. If we cannot, we should seek help about that; we will find that others are able to open things up to us if we ask questions in genuine enquiry. The truth has a sanctifying effect. Some may wonder what we mean by that: if we go to fellowship meetings or three day meetings, at the end of them, do we feel a bit different from how we did at the beginning? If we admit that we do, we have known something of the sanctifying power of the truth. We might not have managed to take in a great deal of it, but we will have taken in some, and its effect is to sanctify.
P.A.G. The Lord says “A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another”, John 13:34. I wondered if the Lord’s love is the standard of a pure heart. It was without selfish motive, always in relation to the will of His Father.
A.M.B. His love for us is wonderful, so much flows from it. That standard is the divine standard of love – complete selflessness. It was that love which led Him to give Himself on the cross, and His love is no less now. We have to love one another as He loved us. That love is towards all believers. We might not be able to express our full love for other believers, if they are going on with things that we know are not right according to Scripture, but we should have affection for all those that truly love the Lord Jesus. However, we are blessed in being called into the practical experience of the Christian circle, where our affection for one another is not constrained at all.
P.A.G. We spoke about it not being easy. One of the hardest things is to separate from people you truly love. But “God commends his love to us, in that, we being still sinners, Christ has died for us” (Rom.5:8), so God’s love was towards us while we were yet sinners. It could not rest complacently on us because of what we were. So surely we can afford to have our heart expanded, as Paul says, towards those who are truly believers, having in mind that the Lord went to the cross for them.
A.M.B. That is very helpful. We should take a genuine interest in all believers. We should be interested in the welfare of those who suffer because they are believers – we know from the prayers in the prayer meeting that the brethren do that. We need to bear in mind what God’s thought is in all of this – one fellowship and one body. We have to work that out practically, but we also need to bear in mind that God’s heart is towards all.
D.S. Were Mary’s affections rewarded in John 20? She stood at the tomb, weeping without – her affections were in the right place, she was feeling the absence of her Lord in the world which had just crucified Him. He shows her something special. Is there something to be learnt from that, from one individual who had deep desire for her Lord and she was prepared to stand alone?
A.M.B. These early brethren were self evidently where they were because they loved the Lord individually. Because the number of those who loved the Lord at the beginning was so small, they could all be together in the upper room in Jerusalem. They were there because each of them loved the Lord, and then they discovered that they had wonderful links together, and that the Lord could come in and manifest Himself to them, and then later the Spirit came down. That must have been a wonderful experience for all of them, but each had their own links with the Lord for themselves.
D.A.B. Sometimes we speak as though the breakdown had only occurred in the past 100 years, but it was there in 2 Timothy days. The Lord has not changed, and the Holy Spirit is here. What we have been saying about having pure hearts and seeking to be sanctified by the truth – if we are on that line, we will find others. Is that how the fellowship operates, in true hearts that seek to be faithful to Christ and make way for the Holy Spirit, so that there is liberty amongst us? That completely sets aside one man ministry – it is clear that what we have by way of liberty is through the blessedness of the Holy Spirit, and as acknowledging Christ’s headship.
A.M.B. If someone asked me why I have fellowship with those I walk with, one part of the answer would be that Scripture truth is observed there, that Christ is acknowledged as Head and the Spirit is given liberty. That is all according to divine principles; they have not changed and we must adhere to them, bearing in mind what we said that that involves moral exercise, and it is not easy. But the other part of the answer would be that personally I enjoy spiritual things among those I walk with. That provides an inward and Spirit-taught witness to the rightness of what we seek to go on with. We must be very careful not to claim anything – Mr Coates, for example, was very clear about the wrongness of claiming anything – but I seek to maintain moral conditions in myself so that these privileges that we enjoy might be continued. That means that we do not say that the Lord does not come to others, because that is absolutely not for us to say. We seek to provide conditions where the Lord can come and be free, where the Spirit can be free, and we desire that others would come and enjoy these conditions too.
Grangemouth
22 January 2012
KEY TO INITIALS (Grangemouth unless otherwise stated)
A.M.B. Alistair Brown
D.A.B David Brown
G.A.B. Allan Brown
J.T.B. Jim Brown
J.A.B. John Brown
M.D.B. Martin Brown
J.C.G. John Gray
P.A.G. Paul Gray
P.E.H. Philip Hogan
A,L. Anders Lidbeck Gothenburg Sweden
A.D.M. Alan Munro
A.S.P. Alistair Pittman
D.S. David Spinks
A.M.W. Andrew Walkinshaw
A.V.W. Andy Wraighte Gillingham