"ALL THE SAINTS'

David Hutson

Numbers 23: 13, 16, 18-23; Ephesians 5: 25 ("Christ also ...") - 27

I was encouraged by the hymn and our brother's prayer to bring forward an impression that I have been carrying for a little while. I have thought of this word of Balak's, "thou shalt see only the extremity of them and shalt not see them all". I suppose it is like the time in which we are, that we see only the extremity of what the Lord has on earth at the present time. Indeed, to take it further, we see only the extremity of the assembly as we take account of the dead in Christ, the thousands that have gone before, and those that are alive at the present time - how few we know. But, "The Lord knows those that are his", 2 Tim 2: 19, and I believe the enemy would occupy us with the extremity, that is, occupy us with the weakness and the scattering, and our own failure in responsibility which has led to the reductions under the Lord's hand. Let us remind ourselves that what has come in, though not to absolve ourselves from responsibility in relation to it, has all been allowed under the Lord's hand in view of securing something of a pure character for Himself; that is itself a challenge to us as to what there is of the character that answers to His heart.

But it does not alter the fact of what God has on earth at the present time and what He has in view as He looks at the assembly. It says, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen wrong in Israel". We speak of what is abstract in a day like this, but one has been thinking of the nearness of the Lord's return, the imminence of the Lord Jesus coming to receive the assembly to Himself, and there is that here on earth which He will be able to take immediately and "present ... to himself glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things". Do we believe that? Do I believe that, that it is here at the present time? There might be much which is otherwise related to it. We speak of the "great house", and how many of our brethren in this city, thousands of them, are not available to us, but in them is the indestructible work of God and, because it is God's work, it is pure, it is not capable of failure. As John, writing, as we say for these days, said as to the one who "has been begotten of God", "his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin", 1 John 3: 9. These are wonderful things, but I think we should be reminded of them and we should hold them and they would, I would suggest, be of the character of the word that the Lord Jesus would bring to us.

And so it says there, He "has delivered himself up for it", and, as we are reminded, the tense involves that that committal, which was seen in an absolute way in His death, continues, and He is still committed to the assembly. What He sees is what is of Himself, of Him and like Him and for Him, and He is active in relation to it, Himself and by the Spirit, "purifying it by the washing of water by the word". We have often been reminded that that is a preventative service. It is preventative because the assembly in itself is pure. The Holy Spirit could not dwell in the assembly if it were not pure, for He does not attach Himself to the flesh, to the failings, the breakdown, the weakness, but He attaches Himself to that which is pure. Wonderful grace that He goes on with what is otherwise! We have to acknowledge that in ourselves, but the Lord Jesus is acting in this preventative way and I believe the character of the word for purifying would be to keep before us what the assembly is to Himself. We sang of "Precious things to Christ belonging" (hymn 351). There is what is peculiar to Himself, His own glory, which the Holy Spirit would bring to us: "He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you", John 16: 14, but one of the precious things that belongs to Him, beloved, is the assembly, and I believe He would keep before us what it is for Him, and this in itself would have a purifying effect because we would seek the help of the Holy Spirit that we might be kept in accord with it. Soon He is going to "present the assembly to himself glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things; but that it might be holy and blameless". I just was impressed with the fact, as we speak of the imminence of the Lord's return - do we believe that He might come today? - that there is that here which He can take immediately and present to Himself glorious, fruit of His death, fruit of His own service, fruit of the patient service of the Holy Spirit, and all that is extraneous will be left behind? As far as the dead in Christ are concerned, it is already left behind, responsible history ended, and what is with Christ is what is after Himself, but there is also that in each one of us which is after Himself, and it is that which He will take and together all will form that glorious vessel which He will present to Himself "having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things". So let us, as I say, lift our eyes from the extremity of things as they are in their weakness and smallness publicly and let us see what God has committed Himself to. That is what Balaam had to come to that God had committed Himself. He has committed Himself now in relation to the assembly. Our brother referred in prayer to His purpose from which He cannot be turned aside. Let us keep our eye on it! And so it says, "At this time it shall be said" - "At this time". If the Lord were to come immediately now, it would immediately be manifest there would be that which Christ can present to Himself glorious.

We speak of these things as abstract, but they are real. The work of God is real; it is substantial; it is pure. There is much of which we have to speak sorrowfully in the mixed condition. None of us would absolve ourselves from it, but let us keep this view before us, let us keep Christ's view before us, His nourishing and cherishing the assembly in view of the time so soon when He will present it to Himself glorious. May He encourage us in it for His Name's sake!

LONDON

4 June 1996