THE LORD AND THE BOND
C.Hammond
One impression that I have received at this time is, that in spite of the unfaithfulness that has marked the assembly publicly, the Lord has not repudiated the bond. He did not repudiate the Corinthians though their state was low, but through the apostle, whilst insisting on His rights, on His side He did not repudiate the bond. Our presence here is evidence of that; we need not look abroad at the general course of Christendom and the profession, but at the history of brethren as we know it, and one outstanding fact is that through it all, we can say the Lord has not repudiated the bond with the assembly. That gives great encouragement, because it implies that His authority is still owned by some. It supposes, as in this very letter, that lordship in Christ is insisted upon; and the authority that belongs to Him by that designation is not arduous. It has been said that God has placed authority where it is most attractive - it is in our Lord Jesus. Paul insists on that in this epistle, that the Lord was to be affectionately known in the assembly as "the Lord Jesus", a title, I believe, that is peculiar to the assembly and can be understood by those who in any sense know what the Lord's thoughts are for the assembly; authority combined with affection, the affection of a Man, a real Man.
So there is not only the recognition of the Lord's rights, the Lord Himself, but there is a sphere in which those rights are owned. Both thoughts are in this verse I have read. "So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord". Are we engaged in the work of the Lord? That is a challenge. Not are we just attending meetings, are we relieved to have escaped the things that have occurred; but are we engaged in the work of the Lord? We are to abound in it, Paul says; not apologising for our existence, not saying we are a feeble few; but we are to be abounding always in the work of the Lord. Whence does that abounding come? From the sense that the Lord is still amongst His people and He has an area in which His lordship and rights are owned, and a sphere which characteristically is "in (the) Lord", as it says, "Your toil is not in vain in (the) Lord".
As to our brother and sister, the apostle has a word for them. There was the sister to whom Paul referred in chapter 7 of this letter; "she is free to be married to whom she will, only in (the) Lord" (v.39). What a thing it is that there is an area which can be thus designated as in (the) Lord; it is to be entered into, and we can take up the relationships of life in it. As indeed, in a day to come, those who carry on the testimony will have said of them, "Blessed the dead who die in (the) Lord", Rev 14: 13. So the thing is carried through, even beyond our dispensation there will be a sphere in which the Lord's rights are owned.
I believe we can say of our brother and sister - what we know of our brother certainly, and our sister by report - they are those who have sought to addict themselves to "the work of the Lord". Well, let them abound in it. Let this marriage not be in any sense a hindrance in the work of the Lord, but rather a combining, as Mr Raven said, 'The coming together of two persons in marriage should be for edification and encouragement'. There are tests and trials, as we all well know, there are sorrows that have to be faced; but through it all, the pattern is seen in the faithfulness of Christ to the assembly, that He has not repudiated the bond. So the word here is "So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in (the) Lord". I say again, what a privilege it is to touch a sphere where these things are known; not merely to know that Person who has supreme rights, but to experience a sphere in which those rights are owned, in which we can work out the truth together.
I think I have observed, as many others will have done, that where 'lordship' is in evidence, that is lordship in Obrist, not in men, things and persons find their level. How important if the maturity of which we have heard comes to light even through the exercises and concerns of local assemblies. Think of what has been accomplished since last year. We trust that will continue. Numbers reduced, but I trust, abounding always in the work of the Lord increased. There is so much to be done; the work is great and the labourers few, "supplicate therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth workmen unto his harvest", Matt 9: 38. So, dear brethren, we are going to get through and the Lord is going to be with us, "knowing that your toil is not in vain in (the) Lord".
So our brother and sister are setting up a household - in one sense it already exists but it has been added to - may that addition be for the strengthening of what the Lord has, not only in this part of the city, but in the city as a whole, an addition to the maturity of which we have heard. Paul speaks in this epistle of maturity. What does he say in the next chapter, verse 13? "Be vigilant; stand fast in the faith". We are to stand fast in the faith, dear brethren, and what has been committed to us is to be received on the principle of faith. Do we believe that we belong to a faith system, or is it still a sight system? If it is a faith system, then we are to stand fast in the faith. We shall stand for it if that is the case. "Quit yourselves like men". What is required, dear brethren, is manhood according to God. "Quit you selves like men ... Let all things ye do be done in love". You can be militant and still have affection! That is the marvel of Christianity. In the affairs of men, when militancy occurs it is anything but being done in love. Political motive and intrigue, and personal, vested interest, on every hand; but not in the Christian company. "Quit yourselves like men; be strong. Let all things ye do be done in love" .
So, dear brethren, let us be encouraged. The Lord has not repudiated the bond. In Exodus 18 where the father-in-law of Moses is mentioned several times, although there had been weakness, nevertheless the legal position is insisted, on, as Mr Taylor has ministered. So, dear brethren, we can say for one another's encouragement, the Lord has not repudiated the bond with the assembly, and we are not going to be unfaithful to that. We are going to give some answer to that faithful love, that in spite of all that has transpired, even since the recovery, the Lord is going on with His own thoughts. Our brother has reminded us of that remarkable prophecy of a man who said what he did not want to say: Balaam. That is how God can overrule things. Balaam set out to discredit the people of God, but God says I have my own view, and the Lord has His view of what is in these cities, what is in that small gathering up at Alnwick. How much history that recalls, when you think of it! It stirs up memories of one of the conflicts for the truth. The Lord has a handful, but He still says, I am not repudiating the bond. May we be encouraged, dear brethren, and go forward, "abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that our toil is not in vain in (the) Lord".
On the occasion of a marriage
LONDON
10 March 1973