THE SERVICE OF GOD
[p. 365] THE SERVICE OF GOD
Exodus 28:1,2; Exodus 28:40-43; 1 Chronicles 24:1 - 6
JT I was thinking that we might consider with profit the service of God as ordered under Moses, and as ordered under David — the one having to do with direct commandments and the other with headship. In the New Testament, what corresponds with these would be Romans and Corinthians with Moses, and Colossians and Ephesians with David. These two features of service run on together, the first involving limitations beyond which we cannot go, beyond which it would be disobedient to go in the service of God; the other — that is, headship — affording great spiritual latitude, in which spiritual stature comes into evidence, and in which the Lord is free, suitable spiritual stature being seen, to develop what answers fully to the mind of God in us as the sons of God.
JMcM What was in your mind with regard to the limitations in Romans and Corinthians?
JT Anyone professing to be a prophet or spiritual would recognise that the things that Paul had written were the commandments of the Lord. Whatever the circumstances, God has established limits in the midst of which we are to move, and in which His work develops what is pleasing to Him.
ELM Would it be the different spheres in which they would operate?
JT Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are typical books related with Corinthians. They give commandments and establish limits, so that man’s will is shut out altogether. Within those limits there is a sphere for God’s will, hence you have in Ephesians the “good pleasure of his will”, Ephesians 1:5 “the mystery of his will”, Ephesians 1:9 and “the counsel of his own will”. Ephesians 1:11.
[p. 366] Rem Would you say that we must come under the first order of service, in the first instance?
JT The service applies to all believers. It is “Aaron thy brother and his sons”. Two of them — Nadab and Abihu — fell out under the judgment of God. A very solemn consideration! But the service, as I have said, applies to all believers; so does Romans and 1 Corinthians. All believers are brought into the service, whatever their stature. The Corinthians were but babes in Christ; they could not be said to be men in Christ in the sense of growth, nevertheless they were to have part in the service.
WAS Would obedience to the commandments bring about adjustment?
JT Yes; to shut out our wills and bring us into subjection. The Lord can do nothing with us unless we are subject. The assembly is subjected to Christ. That is the mind of God as to her, but it has to be brought about practically, hence the emphasis in the typical books on what the Lord said to Moses.
Rem The beginning of service must be subjection to Christ.
JT Well, that is what I thought, so that Luke, who develops this great subject in a peculiar way, brings in subjection. In his gospel we get the subject of the work of God to represent subjection, which is the great thing in the mind of God. The angel Gabriel in announcing the birth of John, speaks of him in the most remarkable way as qualified to serve; but Zacharias was unbelieving. Then Mary comes in, the Lord’s mother, saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”. Luke 1:38. She is subject, and represents that principle, so that, as the mother of our Lord, she comes into wonderful experience with Him. The women who appeared at the tomb in Luke and heard what the two men said, went and told the eleven (who represented the Lord’s authority) and the rest, meaning that they were [p. 367] subject, and knew where to place the light they had received. And so the two who were restored from Emmaus found the eleven, and those who were with them, gathered together, showing that they too were subject.
JMcM Would not that be seen in Paul at the start, when he said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Acts 22:10.
JT Well, that is the same thing. The command might have come through vessels whom he despised, hence the Lord says to him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”, Acts 9:6. Great though he was, he had to learn from obscure christians.
Ques Did not the Lord Himself accept limitations in His service here?
JT What had you in your mind?
Rem He said He was straitened, but He accepted the position under the hand of God.
JT He was entirely subject. It shows the great principle of subjection. In the end it is said that He delivers up the kingdom to God, and that then the Son Himself shall be subject to Him that put all things under Him; thus we get a most exalted example of subjection in Christ. With us it is, in the main, that our wills should be broken and restrained. The assembly is subjected to Christ; that is what it will ever be. The work of subjugation goes on now. In that subjection, headship is worked out.
WL In referring to the epistles to the Romans and Corinthians, had you in mind that the Lord, in the first, addresses Himself to us as individuals in His service, and in the second collectively, to produce subjection?
JT Yes; in Romans Paul brings out at once that he himself served God in his spirit in the glad tidings of His Son. That shows how thoroughly he was in it. The gospel that he preached thus was [p. 368] for the obedience of faith among all nations, and the Romans had “obeyed from the heart the form of teaching”. Romans 6:17. Bearing that in mind, he speaks of service in his spirit, and in chapter 12 you have “intelligent service” Romans 12:1; then in Corinthians it is subjection in a collective sense. He was aiming in his epistles to them at their obedience being fulfilled.
JHT In the last chapter of Romans, the expression “in the Lord” is used seven times. That would be a marked evidence of subjection.
EG Would the garments of glory and beauty, as applied to us, suggest moral features which are produced as a result of being subject?
JT Yes; the believer is taken account of as a priest, so that priestly garments should be put on; they appear on us as we are subject; we thus learn and practise righteousness.
WSS Would you enlarge on it, as to how it works out in our case?
JT Exodus develops the subject of service in the most copious way, in that it begins in chapter 1 with persons who saved the males alive — disinterested persons, professional persons. Then God made them houses, showing His approval of that instinctive feature of preserving the males alive. Immediately after that, you get one of those male children born, his father being of the house of Levi, whose wife was of the daughters of Levi. It says that the mother saw the child was “goodly”, and so she hid him. Then he is put carefully into the water, as if there was, under God, an instinct of what was needed for the future of the child. The ark was daubed, so as to be immune from the judgment of God — the water of the river. Then it is said that, as drawn out, the child wept; that is, there was a corresponding feeling in the child. It is a very simple statement, but spiritually the matter was of great importance. There are always circumstances to feel; Paul said to Timothy, “remembering thy tears”. 2 Timothy 1:4. The child is drawn out, cared for, and handed back to his mother. The story is well known, but it is important to notice these features. And so, as Moses is installed in his service eighty years later, the name of the father is given, and the name of the mother; they are unnamed at the beginning, but named as the servant is installed. Aaron’s birth is not mentioned at all, but he comes forward when he was advanced in age — eighty-three years old — and he is called “the Levite”, showing that the principle of the service of God entered into his life — a hidden or secret life, but well known to God. God says, “Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well”. Exodus 4:14. We cannot but see that this father and mother had in their houses the principles governing Levi; it was a family now answering to the mind of God — children born, not of one father and four mothers, as in the case of Jacob’s family, but children born of the same parents. What is in view in Exodus is that the service of God is in those who are thus nurtured by the same parents — the father and mother both of Levi, so that the eldest son is known as a levite; he is “the” levite.
WSS It would help if you would tell us the import of the children being of the same parents, and what the mother particularly sets forth.
JT Well, it is Christ and the assembly. Christendom has one Father, thank God! God is owned more or less in all the orthodox organisations, hence there is light. Most of us would never have had any light, if there had been none there; but there is no light in regard to the mother, so that the service of God cannot be developed there according to God. There are mothers, but they are not “Jerusalem above, which is our mother”. Galatians 4:26.
JH Would you give that a present application to those localities where mothers are recognised?
[p. 370] JT That ought to run right through. If the service is to be according to God, you must have God in Christ and the assembly. The principle is Jerusalem above, the heavenly city. That must enter into the working out of the assembly in localities, so that there can be only one church in a city, and in that is reflected the maternal idea locally; there is but one mother of us all, and that is Jerusalem above.
JH Babylon is spoken of as being the “mother of abominations”. Revelation 17:5. That would stand in contrast, would it not?
JT It would, whereas in the epistles we have Jerusalem above, our mother; Paul mentions it in Galatians. From Paul’s point of view the heavenly city is not something to be reached in result by the work of God, but something that from the outset is already present in His mind. The apostle presents it in an abstract way; she is not yet above literally, but she is above in the mind and purpose of God, and we are said to have come to “the city of the living God”. Hebrews 12:22. John presents her in a concrete way. All service is to be in the light of Christ and the assembly; the organisations around us, since apostolic times, have lost the idea of the service of God.
ETS How does all this fit in with the limitations you spoke of?
JT I was seeking to show the character of service in Exodus as compared with Genesis. The tribes are in Genesis as much as they are in Exodus, but they have four mothers. In Exodus the thing is brought down to the same parents. The family that is to serve is of the same parents, and these are mentioned first without names, but as the servants are in commission, the names are given. In Exodus 6 the sons of Israel are spoken of until Levi is reached; then it speaks of Amram, whose wife Jochebed was his aunt. The line is pursued through Aaron to Phinehas, the one in whom the priesthood is secured for ever; Numbers 25:13.
[p. 371] Then in Exodus 6:26 it says, “These are that Aaron and Moses”, so that there is no question as to who they are. They have come through that channel. They have the same parents, and that prefigures christianity.
ETS Would you say that the thought of the assembly would bring us into the truth of Corinthians, and of being subject?
JT Corinthians brings in subjection so as to make room for headship. God is the head of Christ, Christ of the man, and the man of the woman; that is the order in Corinthians. God had headship in mind but those at Corinth were not equal to it. First Corinthians and Romans go together to bring christians into line with the service of God; but if you transgress that line, you are lawless.
Ques Would Corinthians correspond to the thought of the mother?
JT It makes way for her; the mother is Ephesians. It is a question of what is above. There ought to be the reflection of it in every christian company; but you cannot speak of the assembly on earth as the mother; it is in heaven. It is a great thought that God has..
JMcM Does the recognition of the mother produce unity and prepare the way for headship?
JT I think it does, but we are shut out of all this unless we are subject to Christ, so that the apostle says, after he introduces the question of headship, “But if anyone think to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God”. 1 Corinthians 11:16. There is no room in the assemblies of God for contention, but, on the contrary, for subjection to the commandments of God.
JTS Is the great principle of unity that we have in Corinthians in view of the service of God?
JT Yes, it is. Things are brought out in a very elementary way. The figure of the human body is [p. 372] employed; then you have that God has set certain in the assembly — that is gift. Then love is brought in, as the “more excellent way” 1 Corinthians 12:31 in the assembly, then prophecy, then the spirit and understanding — that is my own spirit. I sing with the spirit, and I pray with the spirit.
ELM Would you see an analogy between the end of 1 Corinthians and Aaron’s sons in priests’ garments?
JT I am sure that is right: The priests’ garments are there; the two epistles would clothe us with priestly garments.
ELM “Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who has been made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption”. 1 Corinthians 1:30. Would that answer to the same? You spoke of the assembly being our mother, referring not to what is on the earth, but to what is in heaven. Have we not often had suggested to us the assembly being our mother, but really in rather a local setting?
JT It is the reflection of what is in heaven. The mother is in heaven; that is the way the scripture presents it, so that christianity begins properly with Ephesians. God has given Christ to be Head over all things to the assembly, which is “his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all”. Ephesians 1:23. There you have the divine setting, referring back to Adam and Eve. It was a mystery, but it was in the mind of God; that is how the truth stands. Hence He has “raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus”. Ephesians 2:6. That is what underlies what is stated of Jerusalem above, “which is the mother of us all”. Galatians 4:26.
Ques Is it the assembly of the first-born ones, according to Hebrews 12?
JT That is an enforcement of the thought. We have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; that is the first statement. Then it goes [p. 373] on to say that we have come to the assembly of the first-born ones enregistered in heaven. The assembly is composed of first-borns, showing its dignity; they are all first-born. You cannot get all the children first-born in a natural family, but in God’s family it is so.
JHT Are not maternal instincts seen in the house of Stephanas, who devoted themselves to serve the saints?
JT You see the thing working out practically there; Jerusalem above is not on the earth, but you look for a reflection of it here. The clothing of Aaron’s sons corresponds with what was lacking among the Corinthians; see verse 42: “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach”. The Corinthians did not really have them, hence the fleshly activities there. There was no power of the linen garments shutting in those fleshly feelings; that was the state at Corinth. Linen refers to what produces sobriety, and instead of exciting the flesh, restrains it in the service of God.
ELM Any expression of lawlessness on my part would indicate that I had neglected that principle?
JT It would. The apostle shows that they did not have the linen garments; they were measuring themselves with themselves. They were inflated with a sense of their own importance in the service of God.
Ques Why were the linen trousers to be made from the loins even to the hips? What is the thought there?
JT It is all to restrain the lower affections of the man. If you sing with the spirit and with the understanding, you are not governed by natural feeling or sentiment. The Corinthians were worse than that; they were indulging the flesh.
JMcM Would the garments of glory and beauty [p. 374] on us correspond to what is inside, what David saw in the sanctuary?
JT That is right; the priest corresponds with what is there.
Now if we look at Chronicles, we can see the same family for service, but under David we get development — spiritual stature. “There were more headmen found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar”, verse 4. Now it is a question of stature, of spiritual development. There is nothing about head-men in Exodus. Exodus is in view of subjection, hence the commandments; but in David you have head-men — some more and some less. This refers to growth.
Ques Would this spiritual stature be developed as we come under the lordship of Christ?
JT You get it in Colossians and Ephesians particularly. He was able to speak to them as to ‘perfect’, which he could not do to the Corinthians; so that David institutes the principle of headship. What Moses introduced is included; it is a double ministry, as you might say, twenty-four rather than twelve. We never lose sight of the commandments, or that all who have the Spirit are priests. The Corinthians had the Spirit, but then there is the growth, involving the ‘head-men’.
JHT Is it that whilst in a general way the thing was lost, there was the state for service at Colosse and Ephesus?
JT Yes. You get in Colosse particularly the power of prayer — men qualifying in that way.
Ques Is the spiritual element present in Romans?
JT The germ of everything is in Romans, particularly what we are dealing with — the service of God. But we want head-men now; if we are to have the headship of Christ and the wisdom of God developed, we want men of spiritual stature. In chapter 12 of this book when David was at Hebron,
[p. 375] we get multitudes of the people coming to him; but of those who came there the names of two only are given: “Jehoiada, the prince of Aaron” and “Zadok, a valiant young man”. 1 Chronicles 12:27,28. Typically these are spiritual men — priests. Such are what is wanted — men who can hold things spiritually. It is not a question of gift, but of spiritual power.
JMcM Had there been formation? Is it not under Christ as Head that we are formed?
JT Yes. That is what comes out under David. Although Saul destroyed the priests at Nob, yet in David the priesthood developed wonderfully; in fact, David was the leader of it as he danced before the ark.
TT What is the thought of the twenty-four courses?
JT It is the carrying forward of what existed previously; Moses’ ministry is included in David’s. It was, typically, the intensification of love. Love must underlie ‘twelve’. If we are to be under the Lord’s hand, there must be love, so that He can use us as He pleases. We do not pull away the shoulder; we are ready to serve; the number twelve is divisible by itself, also by two, three, four, and six. The ability to serve with others is a great feature; we serve effectively, without rivalry.
Ques Is that the thought in “thy brother”?
JT That is where it begins. The twenty-four courses would have in view that that existed, so that the Lord can use us freely without fear of our being jealous one of another.
JTS Does Paul recognise the principle of it in connection with Timothy?
JT I think he does.
Ques Does the thought of mutuality come in?
JT Yes, it is mutuality. We are all on the same footing as before God as regards our being in the family. When the “lot” (verse 5) is cast, it means that there is room for God to come [p. 376] in.
WD Would you say the thought of the lot involves the sovereign rights of God?
JT I think it does. This question of the lot is very interesting (verse 5). You see what we are dealing with here, and that God has a free hand. They are princes, but there is “one with another”. I believe God would delight to bring about and maintain in us the ability to work together, one with another, for thus He has a free hand to distribute as He pleases. As you and I take our places one with another, God indicates what He wishes, and there is a distribution according to His will.
ELM In the following chapter there is a word emphasised once or twice — ‘under’. I thought if you had the sovereignty of God in the lot, you would have subjection in the ‘under’.
JT That is so. “All these were under the direction of their fathers ... for song in the house of Jehovah”, 1 Chronicles 25:6 showing there is no room for will. It is a spiritual state of things, where the Lord has a free hand to show what He can do.
TT Do we see this principle in “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”? Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5.
JT He was One entirely at the Father’s disposal. It is very beautiful, and I have no doubt that is where the principle of singing is seen fully. The Son was available in that way to the Father. “Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years old”. Luke 3:23. He was under His eye, and so He expresses His delight in Him.
Ques Would the lot tend to eliminate rivalry?
JT It is what God does. So it is not he that commends himself, but whom the Lord commends.
JP You have the lot in Acts 1. Has that any present application?
JT It fitted in with Old Testament times. The whole ministry of Christ did, and so with the breakdown in Judas, it is a question of what they will do.
[p. 377] The Lord could have appointed an apostle, of course, but He left it, and the intelligence with which the others acted is striking; they were very careful as to the persons who were to be put forward and nominated by them; they were “of the men who have assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us”. Acts 1:21. They had all had experience. Then they put these two forward. Things are thus put into His hands, and the lot fell on Matthias.
JP The apostles would recognise the outward qualifications, but the Lord knows the heart.
JT The Lord appeared to the twelve, so in that way He confirmed what they had done.
JP What a contrast this is to the principle of election in the world; popular election is the great principle, but the lot brings God in.
WL Do the princes represent those who are spiritually qualified to represent God?
JT I thought that. So as we make room for this principle in any locality, we make room for God.
We are not tied up, but we make room for God; He gives intelligence to His people, as to what to do. Hence you get the very best. But then it comes in on certain lines, and this principle makes room for it.