“THE LAMB’S WIFE”
We have been speaking already of the assembly as the counterpart of the heavenly Man. I would seek grace that we may get some help at this time as to how she is also the counterpart of the Lamb. The assembly has its origin in the death of Jesus. You will remember that in Solomon’s temple there were certain vessels that were cast in the clay-ground of the Jordan, see 1 Kings 7: 46. You see there divine workmanship in its perfection in these vessels but their origin was in those banks of the Jordan. That is where we have begun dear brethren, that is where things have been worked out. I think that the way the assembly has gone through in suffering will be a feature of admiration of every family; the bride, the Lamb’s wife, conveys some impression about that. Israel broke down but the assembly has not broken down, it has gone through in suffering. That is the way by which you can always get through things. So that man in John 9 was cast out, he had not a hope; where was he going? He found a way through because he suffered. That is the way Jesus has gone. Paul says to these Philippians, “let this mind be in you”, let it be in you. That would refer to our attitude, dear brethren. How are these heavenly features going to be preserved and enjoyed? By suffering outwardly. “Let this mind be in you”: not a mind to stand for its rights, not a mind to prove its point, not a mind to be justified today, but a mind to go down. The One who supremely had a right to be obeyed became obedient; the One who had a right to be setting forth His own qualities came into a condition where He expressed this mind: “I am in the midst of you as the one that serves”, Luke 22: 27. What an answer to the ambition and aspirations of those around Him! He took water and washed their feet; that was the bent of His mind. So Paul says let that be in you. He is writing here to a company that was very far on in the light of the assembly, we may say, a very happy company at Philippi. He says, “If then there be any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit”, and, “Let this mind be in you”. The glory of that heavenly Man and of that heavenly vessel that we have spoken of will be maintained as this mind, this attitude, is in us. Paul says, Let it be in you. The Lord has set it on; the Spirit is here to further it. As Peter says, He has left you a model, “that ye should follow in his steps”, 1 Pet 2: 21. Think of what Peter says about the Lord: “who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who, when reviled, reviled not again; when suffering, threatened not; but gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”, vv 22, 23. That was Peter’s impression as he looked back on the pathway of Jesus: “when suffering, threatened not”. Beloved, that is how the truth of the assembly is going to be worked out, that is how the joy of the assembly is going to be preserved in our localities, that there are persons who have this attitude of mind that would rather suffer than lose the enjoyment of divine things. So “let this mind be in you”. The inference is that it is there in measure, but let it be displayed. There may be local exercises and we hardly know how they can be resolved: “Let this mind be in you”, let this come to the front. O, you say, it is this or that principle that should come to the front. No, beloved, this is the principle that comes to the front in local difficulties: “Let this mind be in you”. I think Mr Taylor said that if both go down the matter is settled. Even if one goes down the matter is almost settled; for you it is settled if you are prepared to go this way. It is how Jesus settled the great issue that stood out between God and men; He suffered. Those who addressed God in Acts 4 say twice “thy holy servant Jesus”, vv 27, 30. There is an allusion to His sufferings there, the way He has capacity to absorb the sufferings. With us it begins with this mind being in us that was in Jesus. Think how often He could have delivered Himself, how often He could have taken another way, rightly so; but this mind was in Him. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”. Maybe as a creature of God you think you have rights to many things; are you prepared to forego them? Many have, beloved. That is how the light of the assembly has come down to be worked out in our day. Many who have gone before have been prepared to forego certain pleasures they could have rightly had, certain comforts they could even have had, so that the truth may come through at the true level of the glory of the assembly.
So He “emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form”; there is a way out, beloved; what a way out, to take a bondman’s form! Jesus went through the suffering; the One who was on the cross, as Mr Darby said, the Man who was there was God, but it was a Man that died. Had He asserted His deity then, the matter would never have been resolved, in one sense, but He “emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form”, He took a condition in which He could die voluntarily. We are in a condition to which death attaches to us that we can never get out of. But there was One who in the love of His soul took a condition so that He could die to resolve the issues that stood out against us; “emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form”. He upon whom death had no claim submitted Himself in a bondman’s form to death, “taking his place in the likeness of men”. So it says that “God highly exalted him”. The suffering time, beloved, is limited. God in His infinite wisdom has measured the suffering time. When it will cease I do not know, but the sufferings that anyone passes through are measured. He bore it in the way that no creature shall ever taste it, but the suffering time is going to give way to the glory. It is what happened in Jesus: “Wherefore also God highly exalted him” a fine word that! It is as if He found infinite delight in exalting a Man like that. His own voluntary movements led Him to death, “and that the death of the cross”, such a death, suffering in such a way. The answer was, “Wherefore also God highly exalted him”. Beloved, God is, I may say, bound to honour the sufferings of the saints. He has honoured the sufferings of Jesus like this. What a comfort! He “gave himself over into the hands of him who judges righteously”, 1 Pet 2: 23. The answer is that “God highly exalted him”. What could that seal of the Roman governor on the stone do? As Jesus lay in death, Satan’s power was shown up in tremendous weakness: “Wherefore also God highly exalted him”. Beloved, the suffering is passing. It is past for Jesus, He is given a name that is above every name. What a name He has been given, what a name of excellence attaches to Him, the One who suffered, the One who died, the One who went that way. “Wherefore also God highly exalted him”. That is how God is going to answer things. He answers things by His own glory as there is a preparedness to suffer.
Paul would encourage us in that; he says “momentary”. What a word! He refers to what is passing in the way of suffering and says it is momentary. We are not now speaking of a divine Person, we are speaking of a man like ourselves. It is seen in its beauty and excellence in Jesus, but here is a man like ourselves speaking at an age that some in this room would be, and he looks back, he has just recounted some sufferings that we have never known, but he says it is momentary. In some of these things Paul must have thought, Will it ever pass? The sky was black at times, the waves restless, the very ship breaking up; he must have thought at times, Will we ever get this resolved, will this exercise ever pass? He says, it was momentary. He says elsewhere that some things took many days; here he says it was “momentary and light affliction”. Beloved, this is what we say about things as we get a touch of the glory. Do not things take a different shape as we are together in assembly? Have you never felt the pressure of days, maybe even the pressure of assembly sorrows, and had a different view as we have been in assembly? Have you never had a different impression as the Lord comes in? These things vanish, beloved. Be it in your private exercises, or be it in assembly matters; as the Lord comes in, Mr Stoney says, the issue is settled. Once we have some sense of the Lord in the matter we can say, as Paul says, it is momentary and light affliction, but what it works is eternal. The suffering time will pass, the pressures of the way will soon be gone; what will remain will be an eternal weight of glory. Paul is conveying something that words can hardly define. Who could define an eternal weight of glory? How many pounds was it, how many tons was it? How long would it last? Those sufferings are all measured, beloved. Let us lay hold of that that the suffering time is measured in days, a period of time, but what is worked out through the sufferings is immeasurable, an eternal weight of glory. “While we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen”. It is another privilege as in assembly to look at the things that are not seen. Some of us may find it a bit difficult in our private ways to look at things that are not seen. We can all do it in measure, we all have faith, but especially as together we get the benefit, I think, of looking at things that are not seen and they are eternal. These things help us to appreciate the company of the brethren, because in suffering, Peter says, there is a brotherhood (see 1 Pet 5: 9), there is an affinity, you are not alone in your sufferings. You may often have felt that nobody else had these burdens to bear. Not so, beloved, it is in the brotherhood, there are others going through them; at the same time the whole thing is working an eternal weight of glory. The weight of glory each shall bear, but the whole thing will be fused to be seen in a vessel that is described as the Lamb’s wife.
Well, Paul would encourage these Corinthians. He says, I have been through all this. As they read it, they must have felt guilty, reigning as kings, and here was somebody suffering. Reigning as kings produced local difficulties, it produced exercises that were displeasing to God, and here was a man who was suffering. Paul, the great vessel of the testimony, the great administrator of the mystery; here he was suffering and they were reigning. What was the result? On the one hand there was a man who was enjoying the light, and the experience of the assembly, while all the time they were struggling with local difficulties.
Beloved, there is a way through in suffering. The assembly, the personnel of the assembly, has been given a capacity to suffer that no other family has. It is commensurate with the glory. These two things are balanced. Peter speaks about “the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these” 1 Pet 1: 11. In measure it is true of the assembly, that that family has a capacity to suffer. She does not cry for vengeance on her enemies: “when suffering, threatened not”. In the Psalms we see Israelites crying for vengeance on their enemies. It is not now the time for it, it is the time for suffering—and “threatened not”. It is the time for suffering making way for glory. May this attitude of mind lay hold of us more, may the preparedness to take it on in view of the eternal weight of glory attract us more. Paul had a right to speak like this. I feel how little I have a right to speak like this, but he says that it is momentary and light and it is working an eternal weight of glory. May we be helped to look at the things that are not seen; nobody has ever yet compassed them. We have great wealth of ministry but I do not think it has yet compassed the things that are not seen. He says again elsewhere “Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man’s heart, which God has prepared for them that love him”, 1 Cor 2: 9. Would you not like to explore those things? Would not that be one of the objects of our assembling together, that we might explore more the things that God has prepared for those that love Him? There is suffering in the outside position, there should not be suffering among the brethren; as we come together it is a time for exploring the things that God has prepared. The more we are prepared for the suffering the quicker we will get into the flow of what the Spirit is saying in the assembly.
I just refer to the man in John 9. Here is a man that found his way into the assembly. It was a broken day, when all the religious profession was against him. It says, “Jesus heard that they had cast him out”. I think that is an affecting expression—“Jesus heard”. This man, as we speak of it in our language, mentioned assembly principles and, as he walked in the light of the assembly, they started to accuse him, they started to bombard him with questions. He just says, I do not know. He is prepared to suffer in his family and in his circumstances; he says, I do not understand these things. The answer was that “Jesus heard that they had cast him out”. Who told the Lord? Beloved, we are connected with a wonderful system. I think the Father told Him that there was a man, a seeking soul, that had affection for Him and that the system had cast him out. The Lord made His way to where he was; it says, “having found him”. He did not find the Lord, the Lord found him; “Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him”. I think this is the way we would come into assembly experience, if we are prepared to take our share in suffering, if we are prepared to let the light regulate us. We may not understand it all, but let the light come into our hearts; and, beloved, what a wealth there is of the light of the assembly in beloved Mr Taylor’s ministry. How much do we read it? How much do you give your time to read the ministry that has been given to us so fully, the light of the assembly? It is to be known in experience. If you read these books you get an impression of the light of the assembly and, as you seek to walk in it, Jesus will find you. The man did not have to ask anybody for directions; who was he going to ask? Many of our fathers came into the joy of the assembly this way, that Jesus found them; they were cast out, from their own relatives maybe; we know persons like that, but Jesus found them. Thank God for His activities in His searching love. Jesus found him and He says, “Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God?”.
Now there is one other thing I would like to remark on and that is the power of prayer. Suffering and prayer, I think, are two things that go alongside of the light of the assembly. They are two things that marked Jesus pre-eminently. You read Luke’s gospel and see Him there time after time in prayer. It says even in that chapter that speaks of His glory that “He went up into a mountain”; to be transfigured? No, “He went up into a mountain to pray”, Luke 9: 28. Peter in Acts 10 “went up ... to pray” (v 9) and he received the light of the assembly as a heavenly vessel. I think these two things in a pre-eminent way make way for the operations of the Spirit of God to work out in us and to bring us into the joy of the light of the assembly. So assembly features are worked out in this man. You say the assembly was not yet. “He said, I believe, Lord: and he did him homage”. If that is not the assembly formally it is the assembly in practice. In the very next chapter the Lord alludes to the assembly but He saw it, you may say, in that man cast out, a man prepared to suffer and to deny himself that he may come into the blessedness of the companionship of the Son of God. That is what these men in suffering in Daniel experienced, was it not? They experienced the companionship of the Son of God.
Finally, in Revelation, it is not only that she is the bride but she is the Lamb’s wife, a companion to that holy Sufferer. I think that Israel and every family will look admiringly on the bride, the lamb’s wife. The bride is the side of beauty but the moral foundation of that beauty is the Lamb’s wife. Glory does not rest on just anything; glory has a substantial background. In the types in Exodus what bore the gold was the acacia wood, that ark in its beauty outwardly, covered with gold within and without and with a border of gold. As you looked on that system you saw a great display of splendour. Beneath the gold was the wood, that capacity to endure. So here it is the Lamb’s wife. She is not only the bride, she is the Lamb’s wife. What impressed me in this section was that she has certain things. They are not only conferred. Glory in large measure is conferred; the glory that we will enjoy, from one point of view, is a conferred glory. That does not make it any less substantial because the one on whom it is conferred is worthy because she has suffered. So it says, “having”; he “shewed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God”. It is her own glory worked out here in the suffering time. Then it says “Her shining”; she is shining. O, what an answer to the sufferings! There will be the shining—“her shining”. Israel will shine, but here is a vessel that shines having suffered, and it says “Her shining was like a most precious stone”, another allusion, I suppose, to the secret, formative work of the Spirit of God. May we be, beloved brethren, more pliable in His hand. As we suffer we will be so. We would like to escape it, but I think Mr Raven said there was something very insipid about a person that had not been through sufferings and discipline. The sufferings form features that are companionable, features that give us affinities in the brotherhood features that take on the glory. Her shining: it is not just the idea of the sun and the moon and reflection· it is her shining, as if the substantiality of this vessel is impressed upon John. Then it says, “having a great and high wall”. She has these things in the glory and dignity of her own person.
May we be encouraged, beloved, that these things can be worked out today, if we are prepared for the suffering. “The sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories” (plural) “the glories after these”. The glory time is just ahead and in spirit it is even now as we are together. May we be watchful that our times of coming together in assembly are times when the Lord is free, when the brethren can be free. May we not be together in bondage, may we not be bringing things with us that would put one another in bondage, but may there be a preparedness for suffering on the outside that as we are together there is a quick, ready upsurge among the saints to answer to the heart of Christ. That is how she is described—“the bride”, that is Ephesians; “the Lamb’s wife”, that is the thing worked out through local exercises. May we be set, dear brethren, that the Lamb’s wife may be as precious to us as the idea of the bride. They are both together. John sees them both mentioned in the one sentence at the one time: “the bride the Lamb’s wife”. Then she has foundations, the wall of the city has foundations. What a history is going to come into display! These sufferings that you are enduring at the moment may be small, in one sense, but they are all going to find their answer in this city. There is nothing in the ways of God haphazard, it is all working out something that is going to find its climax in this city “having the glory of God”. May this mind be in us; may we be set in our attitude to go this way so that the glory that is soon to be revealed, the glory that is soon to be substantially seen, is enjoyed in our hearts now. For His Name’s sake.