SUCCESSFUL SERVICE
[p. 186] SUCCESSFUL SERVICE
1 Corinthians 9:24 - 27; 2 Kings 13:14 - 21.
I have read from 1 Corinthians 9, to refer to servants; that is to say, to those who preach. The idea of preaching is announced in the chapter; we have spoken of it today, and Paul, the writer, speaks of himself, as well as others; he speaks about the rights he had. Others had them too, for when we come to the Levites, they have certain rules governing them which apply to all. There were three families of Levites and each family had a certain work to do; but still in principle they were one family and they were governed by rules. So Paul is among the Levites in this chapter, as indeed we all are in a sense, we are all Levites as christians; “to each one of us has been given grace”, we are told, “according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”; Ephesians 4:7. So that we may all be aspiring to do something, for all are under obligation to do something for the Lord. In Ecclesiastes we are told, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might”, Ecclesiastes 9:10; and again, in a solemn sense, “Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently”, Jeremiah 48:10. A very solemn matter. If we do anything, let us grace the thing we are doing, as being something valuable, something worth while. However menial it may appear, we are to regard it from a heavenly point of view. So we are all in the service. The Levites were taken on, as you know, from a month old and upward, but they were only actually in the service as they reached twenty-five. Later on, in the days of David, the age limit was put down to twenty, showing how elastic in a sense the divine principles are, how they may be governed by circumstances. A babe of a month old spiritually, of course, does not do anything in the way of service, but still there is plenty of work to do for all who [p. 187] can do it. This chapter contemplates, as I said, levitical service; Paul was among the Levites. It is well to bring the great servants down to our own level, or might I say, to bring ourselves up to their level, sometimes more needed than coming down to a low level. The hyssop that grows out of the wall is not of much value; to be small in that sense is not of much value. There is a certain dignity that belongs to what is of heaven, and the Levites belong to heaven. They were set around the tabernacle, as you will remember; they served in it indeed. They were united to Aaron, they were given to him, they were very dignified in that sense; and we would never forget that, if we are serving at all, what we are doing is to be regarded in the light of heaven.
If we were as accustomed to going to heaven as we are to moving about on the earth, we would see that activity marks heaven. We should see how the Lord Jesus influenced heaven; when He went up all was aglow in holy reverence and acclaim, and that continues; there is no change; there is no deterioration in that sense. Things are kept on heavenly ground there. So that when the Lord went in all was aglow, for He was the King of glory, the King of glory had come in. “Lift up your heads, ye gates; yea, lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in”, Psalm 24:9. It was a great day for heaven, and that day remains; one of heaven’s days, as it were; the present time, one of the days of the ordering of heaven here below. Heaven has had a wonderful time. God extended the expanse; you will remember, that the heaven spoken of in the second day is not the heaven of the first verse of Genesis 1:1, “the heavens”, “the earth”, which God made in the beginning. The expanse as such is really an addition, pointing to the present time, the expansion of heaven; that is really what it is. We may talk about the atmospheric heavens, and so on, but the point is, that heaven is expanded, for God has great use for the heavens; they [p. 188] have come into great usage in the christian dispensation; indeed it is said that we are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”, Ephesians 1:3.
So the Lord went up to the heavens; the cloud receiving Him out of their sight, but “they beholding him”, Acts 1:9. It was a remarkable movement that perhaps heaven had not seen before. According to what is recorded in the book of the Acts, Jesus, having said certain things to His disciples, went up, “they beholding him”. Acts 1:9. It was a movement belonging to that sphere, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. The faith period had begun, and this is the faith period. Faith understands and apprehends that the Lord Jesus has gone up and He is remaining there, according to what we are told, until the restoration of all things. The heavens must receive Him till then, however long; we have already experienced 1900 years of it, and I would say that the brethren who know it are not tired of it. It is a special time in the history of the universe, and, as I said, the expanse refers to the extension of it, the extension of heaven. We read of the “heaven of heavens”, Deuteronomy 10:14, and the “third heaven”; 2 Corinthians 12:2, we have to apply our minds to this, to understand what these mean. But I am speaking of the way in which heaven is treated of in Scripture, and the fact that we belong to it; we are celestial. The book of the Revelation contemplates the celestials. The assembly is viewed there as coming out of heaven from God, as if it had always been there. I may say that there is no allusion to its not being there; as coming out, it is from God, out of heaven. You may say it had to go up there, but that is not the point, the epistle to the Ephesians does not say that, it says, we are made to “sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus”, Ephesians 2:6, already. So that we should become accustomed to the matter.
Now having said so much, I return to my chapter; that is, to the Levites’ position and how they disclaim rights; rights which they have legally they disclaim.
[p. 189] Paul says, I have used none of these; although he is not saying but that every Levite should live of the gospel. Preachers and Levites should live of the gospel; that is to say, the apostle lays down the rule for Levites, because they could not all say what he said; they were not all so great as he was. Morally he was able to lay aside all rights as a man, even legitimate rights; that is to say, that the brethren should support him. He says that they who preach the gospel should live of it, but he says, I did not work on this line, and of course he is endeavouring to bring out what he did not do, what he avoided to claim, although he had a right to. He is not shutting out others from their rights, but he is denying himself of his rights. You may say, he had no wife, no family to support. True. It does say that Peter had a wife, and indeed we might assume from what is said that all the apostles had. Therefore Paul was not attempting to exclude them from the rights that belonged to them, but he says, I did not claim the rights, because he wanted to make the gospel costless. That is a word that should be kept in mind.
We have already accepted the idea of ministry being rendered costless to the brethren; that is written ministry. It has been the aim of those who are responsible for the circulation of the written ministry to make the ministry almost costless; at least to render it at cost price, and that is in love for the brethren. That is exactly what Paul says, to make the gospel costless as far as he was concerned. You may say, I am diverting, but I think it well to add that there is such a principle among the brethren as rendering everything as costless as possible, not to be trading with the word of God, but to make it a purely heavenly matter where self has no place at all. It is not, of course, that Paul did not receive from the brethren; we know he did, but he is writing here from a certain point of view; that he had rights is exactly what he says, but he did not use his rights. In effect what he says is, I have not used these rights at all; others may and have,
[p. 190] they are entitled to do so, but he says, I have not. So he is going beyond the ordinary levitical way, following the Lord his Master, who is never said to possess money. When He had to pay the taxes, He told Peter to “go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when thou hast opened its mouth thou wilt find a stater”; that which was needed for the tax, Matthew 17:27. That was paid and that matter was settled quickly. There is no need of a treasury as far as the Lord is concerned, nor is there any treasury relating to money supposed in the assembly. Let there be some in it who take care of things, but the assembly is above the idea of a treasury, it is a heavenly institution.
Paul said, when he came down to the actual facts of the case, I have to attend to my body, not because it is hungry, but because I want to keep it from being inflated. I am speaking now of Levites; the need is a great one, that all of us who are seeking to do anything for the Lord, should make little of ourselves; we are to learn how to reduce; to avoid inflation in any sense; whatever I do, let me avoid making much of it. So the Lord would say, You are an unprofitable servant, and I am sure every one of us here would say “Amen” to that. We have the very best, we have cost the Lord more than we have ever made for Him. The overhead is much greater than the remuneration that the Lord receives from each of us. Yet He would say to us encouragingly, knowing “that your toil is not in vain in the Lord”. 1 Corinthians 15:58. That is an encouragement for the Levites, that their work is not in vain. The little thing you have thought very little of, and rightly, yet it is not in vain. So, as I said, it is a matter of reduction, as I believe was the main thought in the passover, to which the feast of unleavened bread was added. “For also our passover, Christ, has been sacrificed”. 1 Corinthians 5:7. But the feast of unleavened bread was added to it, and the idea in it is reduction. So that there should be no inflation or self-praise; no making much of what one [p. 191] does, or thinks he does, or what others say of him, but learning to eat unleavened bread. The Israelites were never to be without it.
The apostle here says, “I buffet my body”. 1 Corinthians 9:27. Now I quite recognise, as no doubt all do, that he is referring to an athletic figure. It is a question of running a race, and he says, “they who run in the race-course run all, but one receives the prize”. 1 Corinthians 9:24. There are other competitors for the prize, and it is a humbling thing to think that christendom has its contests; such contests where men claim to do things and so receive the prize, indeed aim at receiving the prize. But the apostle says, It is a question of whether you will be accepted. The word castaway would be an allusion to the race, but it is a very real thing to be a castaway. I know what may be said, what the Wesleyans would say, and what we would say in opposition to that, but nevertheless, the word means really a castaway, so that we should be on the keen lookout for anything in the shape of self-praise. On the contrary keep using what reduces and deflates, what keeps us small; so that there might be no possibility of ever being a castaway, for the Lord would never have us, as real christians, to have in our mind the possibility of being castaways. He would have us in the joy of our salvation always. Error often causes us to be downcast, but we must have the truth before us, that we may preach it to others, and not to be ourselves castaways.
Now preaching, of course, has a great attraction for many, especially young men. The platform is the goal, alas, if one may speak of it experimentally. The Levites work is beyond the range of the platform, so that the thing is not to make too much of preaching; I mean to say of the prominence it gives. It does give prominence, and hence we have books kept, you know, commitments made, running into months; and rightly too, perhaps. The chapter read is full of the idea of preaching, and it says, Those who preach the gospel should live of it;
[p. 192] it covers them; we do not finish there, but with what I have read; that is, a preacher who may be a castaway, and the remedy is near at hand. He says, I keep my body under. That is the remedy. The athletic figure is pursued in verse 25, it says, “Every one that contends for a prize is temperate in all things”. 1 Corinthians 9:25. He is not prohibitive of wholesome food, but he is “temperate in all things”; that is one of the remedies. Then he says, “I therefore thus run, as not uncertainly”, 1 Corinthians 9:26, meaning, that I am always in my soul sure of my position, I can never be unsettled; in the most successful preaching or ministry I can never be stopped over, I am running with certainty, a certainty which christianity affords to those who belong to it. “As not uncertainly”, the apostle says, “so I combat, as not beating the air”. 1 Corinthians 9:26. That is to say, and there again it is a figure, you are aiming at something.
In these meetings the thing is to aim at something; even in our ordinary meetings, our ordinary reading meetings, as we call them, let us aim at something. It is not simply that we are reading through a certain book, a certain chapter in it, and certain verses, but aiming at something. There is something there that the Spirit would fasten on our souls, and be sure you get it. What is needed in any way, be sure you present it, that you are certain in what you are doing, for christianity is a system of certainty. The devil would make it otherwise; certain persons in christendom are uncertain all the time, the devil has made them so; their doctrine has made them so. Thank God we have the Spirit of God, and He guides us into all the truth. Then moreover there is a certainty, there is a point in the doctrine, for every week is distinctive. Every week at the Bible readings, there is something fresh for us, because we are dealing with infinite things; what is inspired by the Spirit of God; what the Spirit is operating in the gifts, whoever they may be, the Spirit is operating in them so as to accomplish something. Hence christianity is an institution of [p. 193] accomplishments. The Lord Jesus has gone up into heaven, angels and principalities being made subject to Him. The way is clear, nothing can hinder it, and He is operating down here, not in regard to the nations, but in regard to the assembly. The whole period of the dispensation is marked by accomplishments. I have no doubt that the middle ages were different; I believe there was something done however; and since the Reformation and onward, the Spirit of God has become free among the saints and there are accomplishments day by day, and these accomplishments require skill, they need ability, and hence the importance of young men acquiring skill. In the days of Jeremiah the skilled labourers were captured by Babylon; Jeremiah 24:1 and Jeremiah 29:2. We cannot get on without the skilled labourers, and it is for each one of us to be skilled, to learn how to do things, so that some end is reached in all our meetings.
Now I must go on to my scripture in 2 Kings 13. It is a remarkable passage, I have used it before many times; I mean I have used it for my own education and enjoyment and comfort. In a day of dark things, we get the greatest things, and even in a sick man, in a weak man, we get great accomplishments. “Elisha fell sick”, 2 Kings 13:14, we are told, “of his sickness in which he died”. It was a weak situation, but God was there. God was still God, Israel was still Israel and the Scriptures were still the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit was the Holy Spirit and He was there, operating there in Elisha. All the prophets had the Spirit; I mean to say, they had Him in the sense of using Him for their ministry, not in the sense that we have Him, because we are indwelt by the Spirit; that is another matter. David said, “take not the spirit of thy holiness from me”, Psalm 51:11. That means that it could happen, but it would not happen in any of us now, for we are sealed for evermore. He that “has anointed us, is God, who also has sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”. 2 Corinthians 1:21,22. And there is no change with [p. 194] God, His gifts and calling are without repentance, Romans 11:29. We are on sure ground as having the Spirit. So we have here a suggestion of a weak state of things among the people of God, and how often it happens; not generally, but here and there in localities. It was a peculiar situation of weakness. Of course Elisha was a prophet, but still he was sick. So in David’s day. David was a king, but still he was very weak on certain points, and the devil got the advantage of it. He allowed Absalom to come back, for instance, which he should not have allowed, for he was a murderer, and we are told that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. David ignored that. But Elisha had no discrepancy; he was sick, it was the sickness whereof he died. That is a matter for God. If a brother dies, the most distinguished brother, it is a matter for God. Aaron died, he went up to die, a remarkable thing; Moses went up with him and Eleazar. What a scene above under the eye of God when Aaron died! Well, that was God’s will; a saint dies by the will of God, we need have no fear as to that. It is a question of the will of God, and to die by God’s will is quite glorious. If a few more years pass we shall not die, but for the moment the will of God prevails and even unto death. The sickness of Elisha came on and he died.
I am going to show you how grace is prevailing, and it is prevailing this very day, in spite of our weakness and the great devastations that exist which are depressing us. In spite of all that, God is with us, and we might say Elisha is with us, the Spirit of God is with us, it may be in weak men, in sick men, but God is taking up weak men and using them. So the point is to be subject to the will of God. There are times of encouragement in these circumstances, and I believe the present is a time of encouragement. You will observe that Elisha “fell sick of his sickness in which he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof”! 2 Kings 13:14. Those are fine words. It is a great thing to have words at this time in the mouth of a king, a man who has power and influence, whatever he may be historically. Joash has good words. Elisha was there, used by the Spirit, but he was sick. But the Scriptures are there and the Scriptures really pointed to what Joash the king of Israel said to Elisha, “My father, my father!, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof”! 2 Kings 13:14.
There is no need of anxiety, dear brethren. These words are good words, and Elisha valued them, he had used them himself. He might have said to the king, You have just copied me, you are repeating what I have said, but they are good words; it was respectful that the king should say, “My father, my father”! 2 Kings 13:14, to Elisha, for he was a great prophet. Elisha had said it to Elijah himself, and Elijah recognised it. Moreover it was at that time Elisha asked Elijah to give him a double portion of his spirit. Why did not the king of Israel ask that? “Ask and, ye shall receive”, John 16:24, it says, but he did not; he did not even go as far as Elisha intended him to go in the use of the bow; he did not go all the way. The word to us is, “Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you”, Matthew 7:7. So it says of the king that he “wept over his face”; 2 Kings 13:14, that was quite seemly; it showed that he had right feelings, and that is what I would seek to press, dear brethren, that we have right feelings in these matters, however weak we may be, even sick. He said, “My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof”! 2 Kings 13:14. In the light of these words no one need fear. It is valuable, as indeed was the word of old to Joshua, “be strong and very courageous”. Joshua 1:7. These words inspire strength, they inspire courage, and there is a great need of courage at such a time as this, in view of all that has happened.
It is now a time of regaining strength that is available, and we are to have it, and to know how to use it. Joash [p. 196] was told to use the bow and arrows, and he did, and the prophet put his hand on his hand. That is very beautiful, and very applicable in this hour, in these parts and generally; applicable to us as acknowledging our weakness, although in the place of power, having gift and the like, and knowing indeed that we have the Scripture and the writings and so on. But we are in a state of weakness and the grace of God is extended to us to strengthen us. Elisha put his hand on the king’s hand; it says, “he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands”. 2 Kings 13:16. That is, the action is to be Elisha’s. The Lord says, “behold, I am with you all the days”, Matthew 28:20, however weak we may be. The Lord, as it were, puts His hands on ours; He says, You are to do the thing. It is an important matter in our care meetings. You are to do the thing, but He will help you to do it; it is in keeping with the moment. So it says, he “put his hands upon the king’s hands, and said, Open the window eastward”. 2 Kings 13:16,17. You may think that I am stressing the detail, but the points of the compass are to be noted. I have spoken of the expanse already, the points of the compass are there; God is operating according to the points of the compass. He has made them, as He made everything, and He is operating for His own ends in the saints at the present time, and He is saying to us, ‘If you want to do anything I will help you to do it’. It may be a weak situation, but “Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands, and said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. And Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot”; 2 Kings 13:16,17, he did what he was told. And then it is said, “An arrow of Jehovah’s deliverance”. 2 Kings 13:17. The work is the Lord’s, and His hand is not shortened. We are not to let our hands be slack. It is a question now of faith, and of recognising what God is ready to do at any time. Elisha acted for God and the king is amenable; whatever he may have been historically, he is helpful to the state of the prophet for the moment.
We can accomplish great things on these lines, and it is said, “An arrow of Jehovah’s deliverance, even an arrow of deliverance from the Syrians”. 2 Kings 13:17. That is to say, Syria would be overthrown. The king was obedient up to a point. So the arrow is shot, and it was the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, “an arrow of deliverance from the Syrians; and thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou hast consumed them”. 2 Kings 13:17. Well, the sequel shows that he failed, for his faith did not go as far as that, but he did not fail to shoot. The lesson for us is, the acceptance of objective truth, and of our continuing in that, but not limiting ourselves to it. It is to be held rightly in its place, but the matter of smiting on the ground, as one has often said, is a question of power in us, inward power to smite ourselves; that is to say, you keep your body under, so as to be available to the power of God. You are not inflated with your achievements, whatever they may be, but available for the power of God, which is infinite. So Elisha said, Smite on the ground, and he smote thrice and stayed, and the man of God was wrath with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times. We have to learn to count in these matters — five or six times. It is remarkable that it is not seven times; that would be more Solomonic, for the idea of seven entered into his regime; but this is a question of six, the power of God operating within creature limitations; but however limited, we are to do the work, whatever God directs. Faith would recognise the word of God and act accordingly, and the result is sure, and so it says, “Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then wouldest thou have smitten the Syrians till thou hadst consumed them; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice”. 2 Kings 13:19. The victory would be an incomplete matter. As to ourselves we are not aiming at an incomplete end, we are aiming at an end according to God in everlasting life, the end essential for heaven; the end for God is sure. But let us not forget the subjective side as well as the objective side. The objective is in the arrow shot eastward, but the [p. 198] arrow smiting on the ground refers to myself. Am I taking care of my body? I am to keep my body under, dealing with it definitely, not allowing its aspirations and pride. The failure with Joash meant that he would only secure three victories, and that is not enough. Christianity implies complete victory. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory by our Lord Jesus Christ”, 1 Corinthians 15:57. So the addresses to the assemblies are always to the overcomer. The overcomer is a victor; not three times, but five or six, a complete end reached.
Well, I have come to the end in this service, too; indeed I hope I have really reached it, and I think I have. I hope the dear brethren will see the importance of keeping the body under in the holy service of God. There is a great need for young and old to pay attention to the body, to keep it under, not trying to assert their rights, but giving them up. The Lord would see it, and make full recompense, if you learn to decline your rights for personal purposes.