THE ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY
[p. 260] THE ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY
2 Corinthians 11:28; Leviticus 6:24 - 26; Leviticus 10:16 - 20
What remarks I may make have in view the acceptance of responsibility in regard to the things of God by the people of God. The non-acceptance of responsibility in regard to the things of God in connection with His people is very objectionable to Him, and fraught with loss to the testimony in regard to men, and in regard to service towards Himself. This non-acceptance of responsibility implies that much is neglected, and that there are many loose ends in regard of the service of God, and, consequently, opportunity to the enemy to attack and do damage, affecting the public testimony and the service of God. This responsibility applies to all, and anyone formally refusing it is disqualifying himself or herself for the fellowship. Not that such a one among us is not an object of care (as the weak brother in Romans 14), but he is incapable of service. But anyone formally rejecting responsibility disqualifies himself for reception into fellowship. The weak brother is to be received, for the assembly of God, normally, is quite equal to taking on a charge. But where responsibility is denied and not accepted, there is no material for the assembly.
So I feel encouraged to call attention to the acceptance of responsibility, not only for oneself, but also for others. The apostle Paul, in the widest way, accepts responsibility for all the assemblies. No one else that I know of, except the Lord, accepts such wide responsibility. He comes very near the Lord. The high priest of old had all the names of the children of Israel on his heart and on both shoulders. The saints are so precious in the eyes of Christ that all His strength — both shoulders — is for them, and it is subservient to His love. It was in this love that He [p. 261] went into death for them, even referring to their very sins, saying, “They are more than the hairs of my head” Psalm 40:12, a wonderful thing, showing how the Lord accepts our responsibility — not that we do not take them on in the way of contrition, but that He has done so in the way of removing them from before God.
So Paul in this eleventh chapter of his second epistle to the Corinthians, presenting himself as one to be followed, comes nearest to the Lord, in taking on the burden of all the assemblies, saying: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I burn not?” (verse 29). He presents himself as a model. Similarly, to the Thessalonians (young believers), he says, “Ye became followers of us, and of the Lord”, 1 Thessalonians 1:6. Well now, you see how he takes on this wide responsibility. What his prayers must have taken in! He said that he combated in prayer for the Colossians and for “as many as have not seen my face in flesh”, Colossians 2:1. And to the Ephesians he said: “For this cause I bow my knees”, Ephesians 3:14. This does not mean kneeling at a comfortable couch, which may not involve much sacrifice, but intense exercise. So with Elijah; he “put his face between his knees”, 1 Kings 18:42. Think of what exercise this involved! There is hardly a service more valuable or more fruitful than agonising in prayer — and in our prayers we enlarge our horizon as we pray for those whom we have never seen. The Lord, in John 17, said, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” John 17:20. He came right down to our own times. He “lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father” John 17:1.
So Paul said to the Corinthians, “Besides those things that are without, the crowd of cares pressing on me daily, the burden of all the assemblies”. One feels ashamed in reading it, but Paul recorded it for their sakes. He represented the Lord in a peculiar way. Their state was low, but nevertheless they were in his heart’s affections. He felt it if any were stumbled or went astray. Their state had come to him, both by common report and by what was shown to him by faithful persons, by “those of the house of Chloe”, 1 Corinthians 1:11. So in our own day a faithful person will not fail to note what is hindering the brethren. Often, in what is told, the real cause of the trouble is left out, but those of the house of Chloe showed it faithfully. Thus, through such a vessel as Paul, the matter is dealt with, and that effectively. So today, as our consciences are reached by ministry, it is the word of God to us. Although, through the first epistle, the main thing had been dealt with, yet there were still those who belittled the apostle, and hence this second letter. They were envious of this great apostle. Thus we see how he served the assembly at Corinth in these two letters.
Now in the Old Testament, in Leviticus, those that offered the sin-offering were to eat it (verse 26). We often think of the eating of the sin-offering as something irksome, but it was food. While it was the acceptance of responsibility, it was good food — most holy. Hence no priest is at a loss, but is nourished and strengthened by it, and learns daily how to judge sin. Later on the trespass-offering is said to be food for “every male among the priests”, Leviticus 7:6, whether they offered it or not. So there is food in dealing with any sorrowful matter. The Lord Jesus identified Himself with the sin, and it is thus that the priests eat.
There was the sin-offering that was not to be eaten, but burnt outside the camp (Leviticus 6:30, and see Leviticus 4:12). Christ was “made sin for us”. 2 Corinthians 5:21. Awful thought! But this sin-offering that was to be eaten refers to His taking the responsibility for and bearing the consequences of our sins. He did this in love. He gives us to know that He has taken up all the responsibility for them and borne the cost.
[p. 263] This eating of the sin-offering is seen, as far as it can be seen in a creature, in the apostle Paul. How he had agonised over that sinful man being allowed to remain among them. He says, in effect, You are not feeling it, nor taking it home to yourselves. They were not eating the sin-offering. Had they been, they might have saved the man. So Paul takes it on himself, and writes to them, and then they take it up thoroughly, and deal with the matter.
Now in Leviticus 10, Aaron is challenged as to why the sin-offering had not been eaten. The whole position was falsified. And so if we do not eat the sin-offering, the whole position is falsified. Moses said that the blood had not been “brought in within the sanctuary” (verse 18). Where was the sin-offering? Jehovah had taken note of this. Moses diligently sought it. Where was it? It had been burnt up — in utter disregard of the law. And now, dear brethren, what about this matter that has not been dealt with? Where is the sin-offering? The Lord looks for it. Is there utter neglect of it? Moses shows that it should have been eaten, but found that that had been disregarded — it had been burnt up. So the Lord says: Where is it? You are not humbled about it. This refers to some current matter — to a sin-offering that has to be eaten — not to the one that had to be burnt. Well, Aaron says: “Such things have befallen me” (verse 19). So we say: ‘We have so many things to attend to’, and so on. Well, Moses accepted Aaron’s excuse. The Lord is very gracious, but no true priest would speak like that.
Think of the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane. He did not make little of anything. He felt everything. He did not say, “Such things have befallen me”. He went through everything and omitted nothing. He endured the buffeting of the soldiers, He prayed, “Father, forgive them”. Luke 23:34. He spoke to the repentant thief. Earlier He had turned round and [p. 264] looked at Peter (Luke 22:61). What a marvellous contrast to poor mortal man, who says: “Such things have befallen me”. No one ever endured what Jesus endured, yet think of Him at that time commending His mother to John (John 19:27). Nothing omitted, not one thing left undone. Every item in that awful position was met by Him, every scripture fulfilled. He said: “I thirst”, that the scripture might be fulfilled John 19:28. There is the One who carried out everything, fulfilled every responsibility.
So God has pleasure in any one coming forward to accept responsibility. If there is something to be done, and someone comes forward and says, ‘I will do it’, that pleases the Lord. Thus it may come down to any single one of us, in taking up responsibility, to see that things are carried out. Paul says, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel”, 1 Corinthians 9:16. Why should not we take up responsibility like that — in that spirit? As we do so the Lord would say, ‘I am with you, as you are with Me’. (See 2 Chronicles 15:2.)