THE SERVICE OF GOD (1)
[p. 61] THE SERVICE OF GOD (1)
Romans 1:9; Romans 7:6,25; Romans 12:1
JT I have been thinking of the service of God, and in considering the subject, I thought it would be wise to look at Romans first, as conveying the initial idea concerning it, and then, perhaps, later we may look at it in a deeper sense as presented elsewhere, in connection with priesthood. The epistle to the Romans deals with the subject rather extensively in an initial way, reminding us that the service of God belonged primarily to Israel; the apostle, in chapter 9, tells us that the service belonged to them.
These passages in Romans show how christians come into the service of God in a practical way. The apostle, at the beginning, tells us that God was his witness whom he served in his spirit in the glad tidings of His Son, showing that it works out from the inner man. Service as in the hands of christians does not consist in mere outward forms; we begin with our spirits.
Then in chapter 7 we see how it is to be “in newness of spirit”, and also that in the service we recognise God’s law; then finally, in chapter 12, it is carried on in an intelligent way — “which is your intelligent service”. We know what we are doing.
HH “Israel is my son, my firstborn .... Let my son go, that he may serve me” Exodus 4:22,23; would that come into line with what you have before you?
JT Well, it does; it presents the mind of God as to the kind of persons who are to serve. Romans, I think, prepares us, as leading us into sonship, for that service. I thought that we might take it up from that point of view in our next reading — that is, that it is based really on sonship. The apostle, I suppose, illustrates that truth more than any other [p. 62] did, in that he served God in the glad tidings of His Son in his spirit. Galatians opens up to us the truth of sonship as apprehended by Paul, and prepares us for this great service, which I hope we may be able to look at later from Leviticus.
Ques What is the difference between “my spirit” and “newness of spirit”?
JT “My spirit” would be the man himself. “Newness of spirit” is that I serve in a new way — in the spirit of the service in contrast with the letter of it; “not in the oldness of the letter”.
Rem “The old” was what he had been engaged in previously.
JT Exactly. The first thing is to see to it that we are in the thing ourselves, because a man’s spirit is the man himself, especially in all that he is in relation to God. The spirit belongs to God; it is oneself, one’s most inner consciousness. So the apostle in saying, “whom I serve in my spirit” was wholly in the thing; he was in the thing in his most inner consciousness and motives; his service was not perfunctory in any way.
Ques Is that the thought in the end of chapter 7, “with the mind I myself serve”?
JT That is right, “I myself”, only there it is “the mind”, leading up to the intelligent side. The mind is that which can be employed by the inner self. “I myself” is the inner consciousness in relation to God. The mind is something different. “We have the mind”, we are told, “of Christ”. 1 Corinthians 2:16.
JJ Is the mind a faculty?
JT Yes, it is. It is available like a member, so that it has to be kept under control.
Ques Is “I myself” the inner man?
JT The “inner man” involves a little more than that. The man is the whole being with all his intelligent faculties. The spirit is the innermost part, so that it goes to be with the Lord, as the Lord Himself said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” Luke 23:46; and Stephen committed his to the Lord. The “inner man” is not only the person’s consciousness, but intelligently so in the faculties by which a man is expressed.
Ques Is there any link between this and John 4, “the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit”? John 4:23.
JT That corresponds with Romans 7:6, that is to say, the service of God does not comprise merely outward form, it involves the spirit so that one’s whole being is in it. A man’s spirit is the means by which God can put Himself in touch with him. The conscience is that through which God speaks on the responsible side, but I think the spirit refers to God, as it were, normally; we have received it from God, and it is that by which He has direct access to us.
Ques Is that why it says, “God is my witness”?
JT Just so. The apostle is quite conscious of his relations with God, and that God knew his motives; whether he were speaking or ministering there was always the consciousness that he was serving God in his spirit; it was always so.
HH God claims that from all who serve, would you say?
JT I think so; your whole being is to be in the thing, so that you can refer to God as your witness in the path: “For God is my witness”. One in that state has peculiar power in his ministry.
JJ Would you say a word as to the service itself — the service in general?
JT I thought we should have to reserve that, because it will come out on the priestly side. The apostle is occupying us with the initial ideas here, that is to say, we are directed to our spirits. The point is not so much as to what are the glad tidings of God’s Son, but rather as to where we are in our spirits in relation to the service of God. With the [p. 64] apostle it is not so much that he was serving God in the glad tidings of His Son, but that he served God in his spirit. As regards “newness of spirit”, with one coming out of the current religious organisations the tendency would be to carry with him their methods and practices. This verse in chapter 7 is to save one from that; the service is to be in “newness of spirit”; the inner texture of the thing is new. We are very much coloured by that in which we have been brought up, that is, “the oldness of the letter”.
JJ I suppose “newness of life” in chapter 6 would go with that.
JT It is the same, only that it is applied to life; it applies to your everyday, practical life. Whereas chapter 12 introduces the idea of service, we are in marital relation with Christ in chapter 7, “in order that we might bear fruit to God”. Romans 7:4.
Ques Would preaching Christ of contention be the contrast of that?
JT The contrast is really current religious methods, whether in the so-called ‘worship’ of God, or in service in any way. In that day they were Jewish methods, in ours, that which represents Judaism. We have to be on our guard. We need what is new, that is to say, what is of God, new from God.
ESH Our spirits need to be liberated in view of this.
JT Quite. We are really on advanced ground here in that we have “been made dead to the law by the body of Christ” to be to another “who has been raised up from among the dead”, Romans 7:4 and then in verse 6 we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of the letter. As having our attention called thereto, I think we shall all recognise the danger of carrying on with current religious ways in the service of God.
Rem Saul was told to go into the city and it [p. 65] should be told him there what he must do, as if there were not a single thing he could do rightly.
JT Quite so.
HH In regard of the service in chapter 1, it requires “newness of spirit” for one who has been brought up in a school.
JT Indeed, and in no one more than the apostle himself, as one who had been brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel” Acts 22:3, and who “according to the strictest sect” of his religion, had lived a Pharisee; Acts 26:5. So, as it has been remarked, he said to the Lord, “What shall I do, Lord?” Acts 22:10 — a very fine question — and the Lord said, “Rise up, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which it is appointed thee to do”. The Lord, of course, could have told him everything that he should do, but he had to learn it in the assembly, and hence he goes to the city and is among the brethren for certain days and learns from them. He would never forget that in all his ministry; however much he shone more than they later, however much greater his gift than that of any of them, he would never forget, nor would the Lord have him to forget that he began by receiving instruction from the brethren. That was where the new thing was; the Holy Spirit was among them, and so the point was to arise and get baptised and have his sins washed away that he might receive the Spirit. He speaks of some “who were also in Christ before me” Romans 16:7, that is, those particular brothers had, in the mind of the apostle, that distinction over him.
HH According to that chapter there were many worthy ones in his mind.
JT Yes; there were many whom he could salute as worthy, and it is of all moment to recognise in coming into contact with God in our spirits that the new order of service is among the saints who are [p. 66] walking in the light. We do not get it directly at the outset from the Lord, we get it among the brethren. This is a humiliating process, but a wholesome and necessary one; so we may not assume that we get everything from the Lord. The Lord would say, It is there, and you must get it where I have placed it. It comes from the Lord, but it was already there at Damascus among a despised few, but it was there and Paul had to learn it there. “Go into the city, and it shall be told thee”, Acts 9:6.
Rem That is very interesting, because according to Galatians 1:2 he received nothing of man.
JT He makes a point of that in Galatians, referring to the ministry special to him, but as a young christian he had to begin by recognising what was already there. We cannot get past that, we must recognise what is already amongst the saints and placed there by the Lord. Antioch presents the full thought. There were those there who ministered to the Lord and “fasted and prayed” Acts 13:3; they had the full sense of the danger of the flesh in it. It is of great importance that you recognise at the outset what God has set here; you must begin with that, God will not let you go past it. Indeed, the apostle had to be rebuked by Ananias. Ananias had announced wonderful things to him as to what was in the mind of God about him, that he should know His will, and see the just One, and hear words from His mouth. That was a most remarkable distinction that Paul had; but whilst listening to all that, he was not moving. He was listening to the mind of God about him, which would in a measure exalt him, but he was not moving on lines that denoted a humble spirit, so that Ananias says, “Why lingerest thou? Arise and get baptised, and have thy sins washed away”. Acts 22:16. He had to go through that process. That would bring the Lord in, and would set aside all that he might glory in, because the mind of God [p. 67] attaching to him, and all his old dignity attaching to him at the same time would be a most sorrowful state.
Rem It was a most humbling thing for a Jew to be baptised.
JT Yes. He recognised that he had to go to the very bottom, to start there in the midst of the brethren. Supposing you have been a religious man, and you become converted, the light is sweet to you at the start; but then after a little you may not be letting the things go that distinguished you here; you may have listened to the mind of God opened up in the gospel about you, and yet be retaining your personal dignity. Now that is a state of things that is very damaging both to yourself and to others.
JJ Does chapter 7 indicate what Paul went through at that time?
JT No doubt it leads up to what we are dealing with: with the mind he served the law of God. Paul would never forget that he had to be rebuked (for it amounted to that) by this humble brother, as evidently Ananias was, for we do not hear much of him in the testimony. Ananias said, so to speak, Why are you retaining all this, why are you not being baptised to wash away your sins — the whole past history — calling on the name of the Lord? You are to recognise another name now, and to acknowledge that your name is gone. Philippians 3 shows how fully Paul came to this later.
JJ Does chapter 1:4, “resurrection of the dead”, Romans 1:4 refer to the new power recognised?
JT Jesus Christ our Lord, “marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead”; note it is said, “marked out”.
Rem It is to be “in newness of spirit”.
JT Yes. Christ is in heaven. He appeared to Saul upon earth, speaking kindly to him, but what He reminded Saul of was what was among the saints,
“Why persecutest thou me?” Acts 22:7, Acts 26:14. He was not persecuting Christ personally in heaven, what he was persecuting was the Spirit of Christ in the saints, and he had to learn what that was in Damascus, which he did. We have to learn that what is in heaven is placed down here. You have to get things where the Lord has placed them, and that may mean that you have to humble yourself before some person whom you have hitherto despised. This particularly applies to anyone in distinction, religious or otherwise. It is all very well to say, The Lord spoke to me, and I am the Lord’s servant, but the Lord has placed everything of Himself here, and we have to get it where it is.
Rem Where He is pleased to put His name.
JT Well, quite. His name was in Damascus and Paul is told to arise and go into the city, and then he had to be led there.
Rem Grace amongst the saints would help us to go down.
JT Quite. Like trees “that be planted in the house of the Lord” Psalm 92:13; you begin there, and you grow up there, so that your roots are not outside in the religious world, or in the world of literature, or in the commercial world; your roots are not in these things; you come down to the very bottom and you begin as a little child. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”, Matthew 18:3. You grow up in a new environment altogether, you are “rooted and grounded in love” Ephesians 3:17; and that is where the Holy Spirit is.
Ques Do you mean that we learn things in the local assembly?
JT yes. I think you begin in your local meeting. If I am converted as a man having some distinction in the locality, am I equal to identifying myself with the company there and learning from [p. 69] them? I cannot carry anything in there, I cannot in any way add to that company, I have to get everything there, because the new thing is there. God has brought in what is wholly new, and I am to grow up in that.
Rem I was wondering if Matthew 11 would come in here, “Learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart”. Matthew 11:29. These features are seen amongst the saints.
JT Exactly; but then you see there the Father’s will, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes”. Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21. The things were already there revealed to the babes, and all the subsequent chapters in Matthew develop these new things that the Father had revealed to them. The law of Christ was to govern everything, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart”. Matthew 11:29. He is not the Teacher there, but the Model; but then the “things” are all there in the babes.
Rem We learn as being together in a way that we could not otherwise.
JT So Colossians would show what there was here. They had received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, and were to walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him; they were not to be led away through philosophy and vain deceit. So the point is to hold rigidly to what is new, and not to allow the old in any way, however dignified it may appear.
JJ In Philippians 3 Paul goes over what he was as a man, including persecuting the assembly.
JT Yes. He had everything which could distinguish him as a religious man, but what things were gain to him he counted loss for Christ.
Ques Does the thought of behaviour come in, “That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God”? 1 Timothy 3:15.
JT Yes: we have to behave ourselves in [p. 70] the house of God; it is a dignified place. The book of Psalms is intended to help us as to the dignity and spiritual character of the house of God. God has set everything there in a practical sense; it is the sphere of the blessed Spirit of God, and all that is heavenly and new is brought in there. Everyone, even if it were a Caesar, a Herod or a Herod’s foster-brother, whoever it might be, would have to learn there, and to grow up there; that sphere was more dignified than any sphere in the world.
Ques Do you see the Lord growing up in His place in Luke? (Zechariah 6:13).
JT Yes; I think that is very beautiful.
HH Is it not because the things of which you have been speaking have been overlooked by us that so much difficulty creeps in among the Lord’s people? If we had a right appreciation of the kingdom of God and of the truth of the assembly as being here, would not that keep us in proper relation to the maintenance of right order?
JT Quite. The apostle begins by saying, What shall I do, Lord? That is the acknowledgment of the Lord’s authority. The answer states where the Lord has put the instruction, where the new thing is. The Lord had reminded him that He had met him in his persecuting career; that He had met him when he was dragging off both men and women and delivering them up to prison. But now he has met Christ in His people, and that involved what was new. So it says that he was with the disciples certain days before he began to preach; in those days he would be learning the new thing, learning to serve in “newness of spirit”.
Rem In Ananias and Barnabas he had two good models at the outset.
JT Yes.
Rem Ananias was prepared to receive him; he says, Saul, brother! and Barnabas is quite prepared [p. 71] to introduce him to the brethren; that is a spirit that would make room for all that is of God.
JT I suppose Ananias would represent the local brother, what is in the local company, because he is not mentioned as distinguished by gift, but he was godly, and that is a great point in a local brother. There was moral power in the man. He was a pious man and held in regard by the Jews even (Acts 22:12); that is what ought to make up an elder in any local company. He says, “Saul, brother” Acts 9:17; there is the spirit of the brother; and that is what Saul came into contact with at Damascus; there was nothing repelling in that. The Lord had prepared Ananias really for, the service, so that there should be nothing repellent in him, and that the future apostle might be rightly impressed with christianity as in its local setting. But then he had to do later with a Barnabas who was a gifted man. How the brethren regard you locally is one thing; how those gifted may regard you is another; you have to contend with the gifted brothers, they have their own distinctions. But Barnabas is an excellent example as to how a gifted brother receives a younger brother who has gift. Do you regard him as Barnabas regarded Saul, according to God? It is as if he were to say, This young man can serve here to the best advantage. It was a great opportunity for Barnabas to serve at Antioch, but he went to Tarsus to seek out Saul; he went after him and brought him there, and then they laboured together. The greatest test is among the gifted brethren. The Spirit of Christ was prominent in Barnabas.
CH “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined forth”; would not what you have been saying in regard of Ananias and Barnabas answer to that? Psalm 50:2 I think so; the shining out of Zion is seen in these touches in regard of the service of God.
[p. 72] The epistle to the Romans is divine shining, in so far as it goes, and certainly the apostle was like a precious stone, he reflected the light, in that he was serving God in his spirit, in the glad tidings of His Son.
JJ Would you say a little as to the difference between the spirit, the mind, and the intelligence?
JT The component parts of a man are spirit, soul, and body; the mind is more the faculty that may be employed; “with the mind I serve”. The spirit is yourself. If I can get in through that mind and that body of yours, I should get yourself inside. No doubt it is expressed in you, but there may be that which hides the real self. I may hide my real self by certain manipulations, by cleverness and the like, but if I am simple, myself is manifest in my actions and words; the body is light.
Rem So that the believer has to be renewed in the spirit of his mind.
JT The mind is the intelligent faculty, and so we have here, “with the mind I myself serve the law of God”. The thing is new; it is “newness of spirit”; we cannot ignore that there are principles or laws governing the service of God.
JJ So the spirit is the man and the mind is the faculty of the man.
JT Yes; it is the intelligent feature. By it he is able to distinguish the law and serve it; mark, it is not simply the ten commandments, but the law of God.
JJ Do you connect “your intelligent service” with the mind or the spirit?
JT With the mind, “renewed in the spirit of your mind” Ephesians 4:23, and “the spirit of wisdom”, Ephesians 1:17. Now when I come to the law, I see it is all new; but there is the law of God governing service, and the intelligent christian recognises that; he serves the law of God in his mind; therefore I would take it to include the principles that govern [p. 73] the service of God. So that although the thing is new, we are not without law; we are in an order of things that is governed by law as much as any other; hence the apostle says, “If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”, 1 Corinthians 14:37. In being born again you are born throughout, that is to say, born from the top; every part of you is affected by the work of God, so that in my spirit I am affected. Mary says, “my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” Luke 1:47; she was intelligent then in regard of God.
Ques Would you say these chapters introduce us into the divine system?
JT I think so far as they go you are in a new order of things; you bow to the law of God. And then chapter 12 is a direct appeal to us for our intelligent service; it is a question of intelligent service in the presenting of our bodies a living sacrifice.
Rem Your body comes under the control of what you are.
JT Quite.
JJ Would that involve the headship of Christ?
JT I suppose Romans gives the germ of everything, so when you come to intelligence you begin to apprehend what is in Christ. What has He done with His body? The Lord’s supper brings to our intelligence how He used His body. He has led the way for us. His body was the vessel in which He glorified God, that in which He served God, and it was that in which He showed His love to God, and to us: “This is my body which is given for you”, Luke 22:19. With the Lord there was utter unselfishness in the use of His body, and this epistle prepares us for that service; I begin with my body, it is available to God; it is presented a living sacrifice on the principle of a vow which is never recalled. I place it on the altar of God — not a dead [p. 74] thing, but a living thing, made living by the presence of the Spirit.
JJ Directly the law of God was stated the Hebrew servant comes to light.
JT That is very beautiful; when the law of God is introduced it is exemplified at once; it is not a mere abstract code, it is exemplified in the Hebrew servant on the principle of love. He had his body and he used it. He went to the door-post to have his ear bored through; the ear really is the man in his intelligence. The use I make of my body is to be intelligent; I am to know what I am doing. The monk or the nun may use their bodies to deny themselves, but that is not intelligent; it is a question of intelligent service, of a living sacrifice. What has been remarked about Matthew 11 fits in here, “Learn from me”. Matthew 11:29. The Lord leads the way for us in everything.
JJ Do you think the bringing in of “the Son” seven times in the first eight chapters of Romans would refer to affection being behind all this service?
JT Paul’s gospel particularly was intended to appeal to the affections of men: “God, who ... called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me” Galatians 1:15,16, that is to say, One whom I love. There is the greatest difference between presenting Christ doctrinally, and presenting Him as loving Him. I believe that Paul in his gospel addresses would greatly affect hearts. He says, “The Son of God, Jesus Christ, he who has been preached by us among you, by me and Silvanus and Timotheus” 2 Corinthians 1:19 — a threefold testimony. They all loved the Lord, and they presented Him among the Corinthians in their ministry, all to the end that their hearts might be attracted to that Person — the Son of God.
The compassions of God all came out in Christ. When the dead man, the only son of his mother, was being brought out of the city of Nain, it says, The Lord had compassion on her. And the young man [p. 75] was raised up and the testimony was, “that God hath visited his people”; God was there; Luke 7:11 - 16.
ESH Would the tenth leper returning be an example to us? He had been the object of compassion, but he came to the feet of the Lord Jesus; and he glorified God; Luke 17:15.
JT Quite. One sees the great importance of our bodies in this connection. Corinthians enlarges on the necessity of sanctification, our bodies being the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19); and in 1 Thessalonians 4:4 every one is to know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour. Romans is yielding the body a living sacrifice.
Rem The apostle speaks of bearing in his body the brands of the Lord Jesus; Galatians 6: 17.
JT Certain marks were forbidden in the Old Testament; see Deuteronomy 14:1; Leviticus 19:28. They were not to disfigure their bodies; but Paul’s ‘brands’ were those of the Lord Jesus.
Rem Evidently his body was presented a living sacrifice.
JT It is very beautiful to see in his history how he used his body. In Acts 14:19 he is stoned and left for dead; but the brethren encircled him, and he rose up and entered into the city, that is, he was living; it was a living state of things. Martyrdom is the opposition of the enemy to render the body a dead thing. The bodies of the two witnesses in Revelation remain in the street of the great city three days. What a triumph, apparently, for the enemy! But they rose up; there was a testimony to life; they arose up and went up to heaven in life. God has great regard for the bodies of His people. Moses, alluding to men generally, speaks about God carrying them away as with a flood (Psalm 90:5); the millions of people that pass away annually are regarded en masse, “as with a flood”;
[p. 76] but when it comes to the saints, it is not so. A Moses is buried by God, an Enoch and an Elijah go up to heaven individually, and so the Thessalonians are told that “God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus”. 1 Thessalonians 4:14. The saints are taken care of individually by God in regard of their bodies and all with a view to the testimony of life. The two witnesses go up in life, “the spirit of life from God” Revelation 11:11 — that is the idea. Already, in a provisional way — although our bodies remain mortal — this epistle teaches us that our bodies are living; and then they will be quickened finally on account of God’s Spirit that dwells in us, not as taken out of the grave, but as alive here. Already, as the Holy Spirit has His place with us, our bodies are available — a living sacrifice.
Rem “Many bodies of the saints which slept arose”, Matthew 27:52. May we have a word as to that?
JT That is different. It might easily have been said, ‘Many of the saints’; but it is “many bodies of the saints”. God pays great attention to our bodies, and we should do so.
JJ Epaphroditus was an example of one who used his body as a living sacrifice; Philippians 2:25.
HH “A body hast thou prepared me” Hebrews 10:5; does not that give the initial idea?
JT The Lord gives the lead in everything — certainly as to our bodies. He held His body too in regard of the law of God! As has been remarked, when the law was unfolded, the Hebrew servant with his body is available, ready to go to the limit of suffering on account of love. There was ascending love, there was collateral love, and there was descending love: “I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free”. Exodus 21:5. His body was available in all these connections.
Rem The apostle Paul was very anxious regarding Timothy’s body; he said, “Use a little wine for ... thine often infirmities”, 1 Timothy 5:23. We can be concerned for one another in this way.
JT It is important that our bodies should be in a right condition if we are to be used in the service of God, because we cannot serve without bodies.
Rem He will quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit.
JT Yes, but you want to recognise that the Holy Spirit dwells in your body now, and it is that really which makes it living. If the Holy Spirit uses my body, it is obvious that I am a living person.
Ques “The light of the body is the eye”; Matthew 6:22. What does the Lord refer to there?
JT The eye is the organ that takes in light; the point is, if it is ‘single’, or simple, the whole body is luminous; it is an organ in relation to the whole body.
Ques How does the soul stand in relation to these things?
JT The soul is that in which you are in touch with men more; the compassions of God are expressed in your soul. The spirit is that in which you are in relation with God, but in your soul you are more in relation with men. “Thy whole body will be light”; that is a remarkable statement. One may say, This brother has light; but is his whole body light? Every part of his body is to emit light.
Rem “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection”, 1 Corinthians 9:27.
JT That means that he did not give rein to his natural desires. In chapter 8 of this epistle he says, “If Christ be in you, the body is dead”. Romans 8:10. All the natural propensities that expressed themselves in your body, in your unconverted days, are mortified, that is, if Christ is in you. The body must become dead first before it is alive; it is alive in that it is free from the working of sin, as a vessel for the Spirit.