PAUL'S MINISTRY AND THE SERVICE OF GOD (1)
PAUL’S MINISTRY AND THE SERVICE OF GOD (1)
JT In proposing Ephesians for these readings it is with the thought in mind that the imprisonments of the apostle were intended of God to enable him to write the epistles which are outstanding, as indicating the completeness of the dispensation; that is to say, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians with other minor epistles. It is thought that God graciously ordered it that His servant should go through these experiences of imprisonment, affording certain advantages for writing and meditation, and facilities for the Holy Spirit to use him in inspiration, which was needed, so that the full thought of the dispensation should be completed in ministry and carried down historically, but in the power of the Spirit in view of the completion of the assembly; that it too should be completed, according to the level of Ephesians 4 which contemplates the assembly, the full thought of it, reached through ministry. What will come before us first is rather the objective side, involving the purpose of God, but the ministry is properly seen in chapter 4.
Ques Do you link with Paul’s sufferings in the prison, his sufferings also in Jerusalem at the hands of the Jews? He seems to have been allowed to participate in the sufferings of Christ Himself in a special way.
JT Well, I was thinking rather of the quiet involved in the prolonged imprisonment at Rome, and earlier in Caesarea. These, of course, involved sufferings as also at Jerusalem, but there is great need in ministry, and without doubt, especially in inspiration, for quiet, for lying [p. 257] fallow, as it were; for keeping sabbaths; so that the influence of heaven should have full sway with us and fit us for whatever service may be needed. It is assumed that the apostle leads in all this, his sufferings being very extended, more than any of the apostles, as far as we can judge.
Ques Does it involve on our side power to be abstracted from ordinary things, even while engaged in them?
JT That is what I was thinking, among other things. The power of abstraction is difficult to arrive at in our times, but where such difficulty exists our wisdom is to face it, and overcome it by the Lord’s help, because if it is divinely intended God will support us in maintaining it.
AJG In that connection is it significant that we get the surpassingness of God’s power brought in in this epistle? That power is available to the saints, is it not?
JT Just so; the power that worketh in us.
PL So that the land lying fallow, it was refreshed with the sun and with the rain from heaven; refreshment being connected with the sabbath. Would the oft visits of Onesiphorus to the prison bring that in. Paul says, “he has often refreshed me”. 2 Timothy 1:16.
JT Very good. Mercy would be granted to him on account of that. One wonders, I expect most of us do, that the apostle should attach such value to such a visit as that, a looking-up visit, as if the apostle was neglected.
FJF Paul’s evangelical energy had not ceased because of this imprisonment, as we see, in that he secured Onesimus in his bonds.
JT I do not suppose it ever did wane, only, that toward the close he stressed the word of God, the preaching of the word of God.
Ques Would that cover the ministry in its fulness as well as the earlier evangelical activity?
JT Well, I would think so, the word of God being a [p. 258] wide term. Paul himself speaks of completing it, but evidently toward the end of his service it is more stressed than the gospel itself. “Proclaim the word”, he said to Timothy; 2 Timothy 4:2.
PHH Do you see any connection between this quiet and the ecstasy which came upon Peter? Paul says on another occasion, “whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God”. 2 Corinthians 5:13. Could you open up a little more this thought of abstraction?
JT Well, it is important, but it is a question whether ecstasy is understood. In Peter’s case he took advantage of the time of a meal, which would be a comparatively short time, but he would use it, going to the housetop to pray, and then the ecstasy comes; and the Spirit of God would help us on those lines. The sabbath keeping is essential to wholesome ministry, not that we could expect to have as much time available for sabbath keeping as is indicated in the types, for that would mean, that as in Israel, well nigh a quarter of the time available in ordinary life would be spent in sabbath keeping. We can learn, no doubt from God Himself, who is the first to be spoken of as keeping sabbath — resting on the seventh day, and being refreshed. It is not only the ease that accrues, the comfort, or rest, but the refreshment, for we are apt to grow weary in one line of thought, and refreshment helps us and fits us for continuance in service.
Ques Is it also seen in Paul, in Acts 20? Before he sent for the elders of Ephesus he sent excellent brethren on ship together, and was minded to go on foot himself.
JT Quite so. No doubt the journey on foot would afford certain relief of mind, which is something to be remembered with the end in view that we may not run unduly on one line of thought, but keep ourselves in freshness, and fit for the service.
WC In Mark 6:31, the Lord called the apostles aside, saying, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a little”.
JT That agrees with what has been said as to the extended imprisonment of the apostle which afforded much that fitted him peculiarly for the great service of writing these epistles. In this epistle, Ephesians, it is a question of the counsels of God, and the love of God in these counsels, for the first chapter is a question of love at home as we might say, love in its own sphere, and the apostle was ready for that.
Ques Why were the rigorous conditions of prison necessary for the apostle? The housetop seems to afford conditions of abstraction for Peter, and the isle of Patmos for John.
JT Well, the rigorous side was not in mind so much, but, of course, we have to recognise it, but there was a time of quiet. God undoubtedly afforded the apostle alleviation, for it was his own hired house where he dwelt in Rome; thus the position was mitigated, I would think. This afforded him the time for such ease, or rest of mind, and body, as were needed for the great service of writing such an epistle as Ephesians, and what thought was needed!
LPM Do you think that the uniqueness of Paul’s ministry required special circumstances such as these?
JT That is what I was thinking. We have to think of God’s care for His vessels; the Lord said of Paul, he is “an elect vessel to me”; Acts 9:15; so that in view of the very much writing, inspired writing, undoubtedly he needed such relief of mind. We are only speaking of that now in order to make a certain transfer of thought to ourselves, that we may not be absorbed unduly in our service. It is a very exacting time for persons in business and the like, and especially for brothers who may have gift, and are called upon to serve in ministry. The Lord would make allowance for all this, and provide needed repose in quiet, so that our minds should be released; for sometimes we are absorbed in our service.
AJG Would you say that as the work of God in the [p. 260] saints progresses there is increasing demand for spirituality on the part of those who serve?
JT Well, I find that very definitely, and the strain becomes onerous at times, so that the person becomes perhaps unfit for the more exalted service of ministry. Spirituality is a prime thought with God in the ministry, and hence 1 Corinthians 2:15 enlarges on the spiritual; “the spiritual discerns all things, and he is discerned of no one”. In 1 Timothy 5: 23, there is a suggestion of stimulation, in view of certain demands made on Timothy. Paul says that he was not to partake in other’s sins. The sins of some go before, and of others follow after, and in between these remarks, he makes the suggestion of the need of stimulation. Paul says “use a little wine”. 1 Timothy 5:23. I am not saying this in any sense to encourage the use of wine, but only to bring out how thoughtful God is, in view of his service, and how we have to think of the character of the service, so as not to attempt what we are unequal to, because of want of time and rest. We should seek to make time, so that we may be more available for the higher levels of service.
FAH Would the abstraction you speak of provide opportunity for the affections to be impressed by thoughts that have been conceived in love’s own sphere?
JT We are in love’s own sphere now. This chapter is just that as the verses following the second will show, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; according as he has chosen us in him before the world’s foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love”. Ephesians 1:3,4. Before Him in love. Think of the exaltation of that, and what God has in mind for us.
SMcC Would we have an analogy, in principle, to what you are saying, in the final phases of the testimony in Genesis; as in Joseph, where the generations stop at [p. 261] him as the loved one, and then the great activities connected with his life and the accessions of light that came through the dreams?
JT Well, imprisonment came soon to him, so that we may regard him in that light. Some of us have been comparing him with Isaac. Isaac was a man of leisure; Joseph was a man of toil, a man of affairs, and we have to learn from both.
PL Do we get this thought in Jeremiah 33:1 - 3? “the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith Jehovah the doer of it, Jehovah that formeth it to establish it, Jehovah is his name: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I will shew thee great and hidden things, which thou knowest not”. The hidden things were shown in the prison.
JT He was available and ready for such service to him, and the same thing may be seen in these epistles, especially the one we are engaged with now. What a home love has! The next chapter will show how it operates in opposition, but in this chapter it is at home. Love is at home, as it were. We see what it was in the recesses of the divine counsels, and in the working out of those counsels, and in the persons to whom they refer, including ourselves.
Ques Does “before him in love”, Ephesians 1:4, refer to the present time as well as the full thought which waits its consummation?
JT Quite so. The Lord would lead us into these things on the first day of the week.
Ques At the commencement of Paul’s introduction into the christian circle, the Lord said that he was “an elect vessel to me”. Acts 9:15.
JT Quite so. We have remarked on the recesses of love, and what a place Paul had in them, especially in the later years of his service. He tells us, for instance, about his elevation to the third heaven, and what he [p. 262] heard there, keeping it in his mind for fourteen years. May we not think of what it was to him, what enjoyment it afforded to him, as he would ruminate in quiet on what he had heard. Although we have no record of what he heard, yet he heard things said and they were intended to affect him.
Ques Do you think, that what he speaks of in Ephesians 1 as the counsels of God, may have been in substance what he heard?
JT I would think that. What a life his was! It was comparatively short, as far as one can judge, but how full it was; not only of suffering, and travailing, but of quiet waiting in God’s presence, and entering into these counsels of love; what formation there was in that for him!
PHH Do you gather that these impressions are to come out into some expression in the service of God? I was thinking of the way that Paul begins, “Blessed be the God and Father”. Ephesians 1:3. Does that show that all is gathered up at the present time to be available for service in the assembly?
JT I would say that, fully; and it would require time, too. The imprisonment, although suffering was involved, included times of quiet too; restfulness was involved; this is seen in the fact that in the mercy of God, he had his own hired house, and possibly an attendant. That shows what the mercy of God extends to His servants.
FJF Did God, in his providence, overrule all that this might be brought about, for it seems to be the result of a little failure perhaps in Paul’s going up to Jerusalem?
JT Well, the failure, or whatever it may have been, would be swallowed up in what God was to him, and in the comfort which the Lord ministered to him in saying “Be of good courage; for as thou has testified the things concerning me at Jerusalem, so thou must bear witness at Rome also”; Acts [p. 263] 23:11.
The time would be afforded to him to do it.
PL So that circumstantial limitations are to work for spiritual expansion. Ezekiel 1:1 says, “as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God”.
JT One has often thought of that and what he saw, especially what is recorded in chapter 10; and indeed throughout. There is what he had to endure too, but what he saw, and as we transfer the principles of these things to ourselves, we learn that we should not be unduly absorbed with secular things; that we should seek what is divinely indicated and is available; seek what is needed in the way of lying fallow, and of rest, so as to be more fitted for the elevated services that come to us, because the days are severe. We read in chapter 5, “redeeming the time, because the days are evil”. Ephesians 5:16. God is the maker of time and was the first to use it, and it is remarkable that He rested on the sabbath, and we learn years afterwards in Exodus 31 that He was refreshed in doing so.
JHT Referring to Philippians 3:8, “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”. Does that reflect the intimacy that Paul enjoyed whilst he was receiving these communications?
JT Quite so. “The excellency of the knowledge”. Philippians 3:8. You just wonder what effect it had on the apostle immediately, the excellency of the knowledge.
Ques Is it possible to serve effectively in the ministry unless one has an appreciation of the operations of God in the counsels of His love?
JT I think that is so. We cannot go on all the time without keeping our sabbaths. God knows our frame, and would consider us, but He would consider Himself, and consider what is needed in the ministry, as Paul says, “that the ministry be not blamed”. 2 Corinthians 6:3. We should see to it that as far as we are concerned it is not blamed; as far [p. 264] as your physical condition is involved the ministry is not blamed.
Ques Is that why Joseph in Egypt received such favour at the hands of the jailor?
JT God wrought for him, until the time of release came; “until the time that his word came about: the word of Jehovah tried him”, Psalm 105:19. The trial had to go on, until the time came for his word, when his ministry would come. These are indications of how God is working with every one of us, especially with those who are in the service, so as to fit us for it. We may have to endure for a time, but as soon as our word comes; that is, the time of our ministry comes, then we shall be ready for it. For instance, Philip went down to Samaria, we are told in Acts 8:5,8 and he “preached the Christ to them”, “And there was great joy in that city”; but the converts did not get the Holy Spirit through his service, and besides that, Simon Magus was undiscerned by Philip. This would indicate that he was not ready for the great service that he had taken on, but presently he is, for the Spirit takes him on; first the angel directs him and sends him to a desert place; no doubt he needed that experience in view of the service that was still ahead of him, but later the Spirit spoke to him as he was in the desert, and said to him “Approach and join this chariot”. Acts 8:29. He was a lone brother there in the desert, and Philip was directed so that the eunuch should be served, and evangelised. Can we doubt that the Spirit of God was using all these incidents to fit Philip for the great service of evangelising the eunuch, so that he should be properly served. The eunuch suggested to Philip to come up and sit in the chariot. God ordered that for him, so that the great service should be done well, and it was done well, and then the Spirit of God raptured him. We are not told anything more about his service; he has done his bit, so to speak, and done it well. Later we learn that he had four daughters, virgins which [p. 265] did prophesy, Acts 21. He affected the state of things in his house so that it contributed to the ministry, to the testimony, in his four daughters who prophesied. After the Spirit raptured him in Acts 8, he is found at Azotus, and worked thence till he came to Caesarea. All that, I think, indicates that God is ordering everything for His servants, and especially to fit them for the service that He has ordered for them, because it is a question of our being sent into the service; “how shall they preach unless they have been sent”? we are told, in Romans 10:15. Philip was not sent at first, as far as the record goes.
Ques Referring to Joseph, is what is said in the Psalm significant, “He sent a man before them”. Psalm 105:17. Is manhood needed in the service?
JT Very good. God sent a man; and too He “sent”, “Moses, Aaron, and Miriam”, Micah 6:4. All these cases illustrate what we are saying because although Moses and Aaron and Miriam were old people, they needed further fitting for the service that God intended them to render.
JGM Philip eventually gets to Caesarea, but in chapter 10 where Cornelius comes to light, it is not Philip but Peter that serves him. Do you think that Philip was not ready for that great service?
JT I do not think he was, but, of course, he was not equipped, because he did not have the key. Peter had the key of administration to open the kingdom to the gentiles, but still Philip did not evangelise in Caesarea as far as we are told.
Rem The Spirit told Philip to approach the chariot, and it says that he ran. Philip is obedient to the call, and he ran so that he arrived just when the eunuch was reading that particular scripture from which Philip preached.
JT Very good. He is now sent, he is now under commission to preach. As far as we can see, when he went down to Samaria he was only under commission as a deacon, but he undertook more in going to Samaria,
[p. 266] and in due time he succeeded. When he went to Samaria he did not discern Simon Magus, and that was a serious matter, and if we do not discern such people we may think that they are converted when they are not.
Ques Do you find that the liberty you have in service is often indicated in liberty in prayer? I was thinking of this prayer in Ephesians 1, as on the same level as the ministry. I had in mind, that prayer indicates one’s link with God, and such a prayer as this must have come out of profound meditation.
JT Your suggestion is that the liberty one has in prayer at any given time is an indication that God is helping as to what He is going to do in the service. Clearly the prayer here is to fit the Ephesians for further service.
SMcC Why does the apostle open up the epistle by enlarging on the truth in relation to sonship and the counsels of God, and not the truth of Christ and the assembly which is brought out later in the epistle?
JT I think he was directed in writing the epistle. The epistle was ordered in its construction, even as the Lord dealt with John, in relation to the book of Revelation. The Lord, in chapter 1:11 and 19, indicated how the book was to be written, and I would say that in principle He would indicate similarly to us. If we are to give an address, for instance, or to help in a reading, the Lord would indicate the course of the thing, the order in which it is to be presented. This chapter, as the whole epistle, is, of course, inspired, but as to the plan of it, I would say that the Lord would use the same methods with Paul as He did with John. He told John what No. 1 was to be, and No. 2 and so on, and so I would think that the Lord would open up the ministry to His servants. This epistle contains the most exalted ministry, so that the love side is put first. It is love at home, and we are loved, we are to be “holy and blameless before him in love”. Ephesians 1:4. If the Ephesian saints were to be at [p. 267] the full level of the ministry, they are to understand, that they are to be before God in love. They needed this, because they were short of love later, as John writes “thou art fallen”, “thou hast left thy first love”; Revelation 2:4,5, they needed more love, and no doubt that is the way the Lord would work with us. You might say to a brother, ‘What is your stock of love? How much love have you?’ Well, if we have not enough, we had better get more. Let us get more among the saints, and expend our affections on them, and it will be reflected in our ministry. We may have to fall back on words, or maybe eloquence, or something like that, whereas it is love we need. In the first epistle to Corinth, Paul is pointing out that there was a shortage of love in that assembly, and in chapter 13 he portrays love, having in mind to make up the shortage. And I think that is really the point in this chapter, Ephesians 1; it is a love chapter, and a corresponding chapter to Acts 20. It is full of love at the beginning, and full of love in the middle, and full of love at the end, and especially in the enfolding of the boy, who had fallen “and was taken up dead”. “But Paul descending fell upon him, and enfolding him in his arms, said, Be not troubled, for his life is in him”. Acts 20:9,10. Paul proved it because he had love, he could hardly resuscitate that boy if he did not have love.
EuR Are there two levels of love? sonship at the beginning, and Christ and the assembly at the end, equally high?
JT Well, that will come up later in these readings, and we shall need to differentiate where we are to place the assembly in the service of God, where we are to place sonship in the service of God, and where we are to place the Lord’s brethren in the service of God. We are now in the chapter that deals with sonship, and the saints being before God in sonship, but in love; that is to say, the title, or designation of sonship is to be entered into by love.
LPM [p. 268] Is this thought a special feature for this dispensation only; the special place in love that the saints have as set out in this chapter?
JT Well, they have. They are the ones that are suited for such a dispensation as the one that is before us, this dispensation that involves love. The millennial dispensation will also, for love will be there, but not to be compared with what this dispensation has. This dispensation is the most exalted one, it involves in blessing what is nearest to the Deity; what is nearest to God Himself, to the Godhead. God would insist that love must envelop where He is; He dwells in light unapproachable, but that implies that love is there, because love and light go together.
Rem “He that abides in love abides in God”. 1 John 4:16.
JT Just so, “for God is love”. 1 John 4:8.
WmH Would this develop personality and dignity with us individually, as having a place in love?
JT I would think so, and personality especially in view of sonship. It is not the assembly yet we are dealing with, but the individual side of things; that is, sonship as before God in love; “that we should be holy and blameless before him in love; having marked us out beforehand for adoption” (sonship) “through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has taken us into favour in the Beloved”. Ephesians 1:4 - 6. It is marvellous the place love has in this chapter.
AJG So that love is not merely presented in the absoluteness of it, so to speak, as having its source in God, but there is an object of that love, “the Beloved”. Is that the idea?
JT Just so, you might say David, that was David’s name, it means beloved.
Ques Would what you have said earlier as to lying fallow, and what you have just remarked on love, be suggested in Psalm 127:2? “It is vain for you to rise up early, to lie down late, to eat the bread of sorrows: so to his beloved one he giveth sleep”. You were referring to God’s gracious consideration for the vessel.
JT Very nice that. Many of us are glad of rest, if only in brief periods. How applicable that Psalm would be as the Lord lay there on that cushion in the boat. As the storm arose, He was asleep but they waked Him. How the Father would give His Beloved sleep there. It only illustrates what we are saying, how considerate God is of us in His service.
PHH Would it be the apprehension of sonship in the servant here that enables him to speak so fully of God’s good pleasure; “according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself”; Ephesians 1:9; although he was himself in limitation. He is somewhat like Moses in the backside of the desert, who spoke of “the good will of him that dwelt in the bush”? Deuteronomy 33:16.
JT It is now the good pleasure of His will, and what He purposed in Himself; the pleasure He has in the carrying out of His own thoughts.
PHH Paul is not merely a man displaying his gift, but in his ministry fully in line with God in love. Is that so?
JT Quite so. So that it is said of Enoch before his translation, “he had this testimony, that he pleased God”. Hebrews 11:5. We are on the eve of translation, but before it the point is to be for the pleasure of God, for the good pleasure of His will. In the order of the testimony in Genesis, Enoch was for God’s pleasure before his translation, but Noah in the ark, I would say, was for God’s good pleasure in the carrying out of His will through the deluge. We might say it was judgment, but still it was His will; God had pleasure in Noah.
Ques Does the first reference to love in Scripture, Genesis 22, indicate that love finds its full answer in this relationship [p. 270] of sonship?
JT Well, and the good pleasure of love, of God’s will, for Isaac submitted himself wholly, he went the whole course of sacrifice. So that love was there rightly, it was the time of love really, the time of the working out of love in the great thoughts relating to Isaac and Rebecca, all issuing forth from Abraham.
SMcC In the employment of this word us, “he has chosen us”, “and marked us out beforehand”, Ephesians 1:4,5, do you take account of your own individuality and personality in relation to sonship in that sense, or do you regard it just as a collective thought?
JT Well, each one has his own identity even in the divine scheme. I would say personal identity remains; love would follow up each one.
Ques Would that be involved in the expression “the glory of his inheritance in the saints”? Ephesians 1:18.
JT Quite so; what He has in the saints, the glory of His inheritance in them. What an expression! Then we have an inheritance too, each one of us, because it is said that, 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. What we have now is the earnest; love is in our hearts, by the Spirit. God gives us an inheritance, the Spirit is the earnest of it; it is in our hearts; that is to say, the identity of each person is followed up by God, whether we are His inheritance, or He affords us an inheritance, the same love follows us up.
PL The identity of Moses and Elias on the mount confirms that.
JT Just so. There will be individuality in the sons and in the brethren, but there will be unity, and there will be union in the assembly. But the persons will be known in each case.
Ques Do you think that David typically brings in the spirit of this in 2 Samuel 7:11? He had proposed to build God a house, but God says: “Jehovah will make thee a house”. As David sits before God in the peace and [p. 271] dignity of sonship, he pours out his heart to God, addressing Him by seven distinctive tiles culminating in, “Thou art the Same”.
JT Very beautiful, David said, “thou art that God”. 2 Samuel 7:28.
WW Would you say that the apostle had these great thoughts in his mind when he wrote to the Galatians, “ye are all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus”? Galatians 3:26.
JT Quite so. The Galatians were all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus; showing that it is the time of sonship; we are all God’s sons, it is a question of light. But then God is not satisfied with the light only, nor are we, but we need the Spirit of adoption, crying Abba, Father. We identify our Father in the use of the double thought of Father, showing that He is securing His thought in us. We are identifying our Father, but He identifies us, because we are all sons, it is not simply a body of sons but many sons brought to glory.
WSS Does the apostle speak here in the spirit of a son, as the result of what he had passed through; he learned the Lord in that way and could speak of Him as “the Beloved”?
JT Quite so, think of the pleasure God had in him, taking him to the third heaven, and then into paradise; he was at home there in the Spirit of sonship. He did not know whether he was in the body or out of it, but he was conscious of where he was, he had reached the third heaven, and had entered into paradise. He could identify things in those circumstances. All that only emphasises what has been remarked, as to the Spirit of sonship in Paul. He says, “God”, “was pleased to reveal his Son in me”. Galatians 1:15,16. The Father revealed the Son to Peter, but Paul is on the greatest level in these matters, and God revealed His Son in Paul; and that is what runs through these epistles.
WSS Do you think Paul’s imprisonment of which you have been speaking and which was evidently God’s mind for him would be used to endear the Lord to his [p. 272] heart and give him a fuller impression of what Christ was as “the Beloved”?
JT Endear is a good word, and it is supported by the word of Paul in Galatians, “the Son of God who has loved me and given himself for me”. Galatians 2:20. The Lord Jesus loved him individually, and gave Himself for him.
AJG Does the expression “the Beloved” in that absolute way, cover the antitype of both David and of Solomon?
JT I was thinking of that. David’s name means Beloved, and then Nathan is sent to name Solomon Jedidiah, which means, that Jehovah loved him. That is a remarkable distinction; there is no other babe except Jesus, that is so regarded, as far as I know. It is not said that the father loved the son as he was born, but that Jehovah loved him; it was a prophetic matter that Nathan was able to utter. Jehovah loved Solomon, and he is called Jedidiah.
GHM Would it be right to link the thought of adoption with Genesis 48 when Jacob took Ephraim and Manasseh into the position of firstborn ones on account of what Joseph was to his heart.
JT Well, exactly, Joseph is clearly the leading thought in Jacob’s mind. He made him a vest of many colours, he loved him more than all his sons, he was the son of his old age, and so the blessing of Joseph exceeded that of all others, the blessing of “him that was separated from his brethren”. Genesis 49:26. Joseph’s sons came in for adoption, and were elevated to the full tribal level of Reuben and Simeon, which involves sonship. So it is, that the assembly is spoken of as “the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven”. Hebrews 12:23. All this shows how God is thinking of love, as John says, “See what love the Father has given to us”. 1 John 3:1. How it is stressed in the divine realm and in the divine vocabulary, and surely we should all become conversant with it, so that we love one another, and regard each other as [p. 273] firstborn ones; that is to say, in dignity, that love might prevail amongst us.
Ques Do you see that also in Solomon. You have spoken of the prophetic side as regards Jedidiah, but did not God test Solomon as to what he loved, and he asks for an understanding heart to judge “this Thy numerous people”, and it says “and the word pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing”. 1 Kings 3:9,10.
JT It would greatly enhance Solomon in God’s mind because he was, you might say, the son of the father’s love.
PHH Such a view of the saints and their individuality allows for the thought of measure in each, does it? Whereas if we think of the assembly we think of just one vessel. Would the thought of measure come in peculiarly with Paul. He was able to take in the great thoughts of God and therefore they largely coloured his ministry. We may understand them in general, but they shine but feebly in our service.
JT We shall see that perhaps in chapter 3 where we come to measure. The apostle prayed that we may know the breadth and length and depth and height. These are creature thoughts, limited thoughts, but then we are “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge; that ye may be filled even to all the fulness of God”. Ephesians 3:19. So that we are in the divine realm, and in fixity as in it.
Ques Is that not infinitude?
JT Well, that is what it is, just so, but we are in a fixed position.
Ques Do we see that in what is said of John the baptist; “he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit”? Luke 1:15.
JT And then before he is born he leaps in the womb of his mother, showing that he was early moved in love and admiration for the Lord Jesus. It is a very striking thing in John the baptist, and how suitable he was to be the forerunner of Christ.