THE TIME OF SONSHIP
[p. 442] THE TIME OF SONSHIP
Galatians 3:21 - 29; Galatians 4:1 - 31
JT The hope is that we will reach in our consideration of these scriptures the thought of sonship as set out perhaps more plainly here than elsewhere, and what is hoped too is that we may see that sonship depends on time, as it is said here “the period fixed by the father”; Galatians 4:2; the father being a figurative thought, meaning that God had fixed the period of sonship, and that it was as Christ came. The word is, “So that the law has been our tutor up to Christ, that we might be justified on the principle of faith”, Galatians 3:24. There is, therefore, the inference that sonship began as Christ became Man. It was there even before He died, for the gospel of Matthew intimates in the Lord’s own words in chapter 17, that the sons of the present period are exempt from what would be a tax ordinarily, and the Lord Himself secured the means of exemption by the fish which He directed Peter to catch. It was to be used to liberate, to pay the supposed tax both for the Lord and for Peter, but, in paying it, the Lord makes it plain that He and Peter were free. “Then are the sons free”. Matthew 17:26. It is hoped that we shall arrive at some clarity as to these points and thus understand the Spirit of sonship, that it is an added thought; sonship being one thought and the Spirit of sonship being another.
WW I do not know that I have quite got your thought as to the distinction.
JT It is stated in Galatians 4, after the remarks made in chapter 3 to which allusion has been made, that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, come of woman, come under law, that he might redeem those under law, that we might receive sonship. But because ye are Sons, God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father”. Galatians 4:4 - 6. That is,
[p. 443] the spirit of His Son is sent into our hearts, because we are sons. That would mean light as to it, the light affording the relationship in the principle of it, and then the Spirit affording the spirit of the relationship, namely the Spirit of sonship. The two things have to be regarded in their own settings — sonship and the spirit of it.
Ques Is the first presented as a matter of faith in chapter 3?
JT That is what I thought, and even before faith the thing is there, although not apprehended; the thing is there as the mind of God according to Galatians 3:24,25, “faith having come”, “ye are all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus”. But then what precedes that is light as to sonship; that is, the time fixed of the Father. The order would be therefore, the time fixed of the Father, and then faith, and then the Spirit of adoption. It seems to me that we need perhaps to be more accurate in these matters, because the incarnation of the Son of God involved sonship; although not immediately available to others, yet it was there, and is set out in Matthew 17, as has been remarked. I rather think it means that. The time fixed of the Father would synchronise of course with faith no doubt as to application; at the same time, the idea of the Father’s fixing, and the time of tutorship, and then the time of the arrival of faith and then the use of faith; the actual use of it, in appropriating the light, and then the Spirit of sonship.
PL Would the expression, “In that hour” in Matthew 18:1, immediately following the word, “give it to them for me and thee”, Matthew 17:27, mean that it is the hour of sonship?
JT I would say that is the principle. Sonship had arrived in the incarnation, for it is not simply redemption, but up to Christ. Galatians 3:22 - 26, reads, “the scripture has shut up all things under sin, that the promise, on the principle of faith of Jesus Christ, should be given to those that believe. But before faith came, we were guarded [p. 444] under law, shut up to faith which was about to be revealed. So that the law has been our tutor up to Christ”, (that is up to the incarnation), “that we might be justified on the principle of faith. But, faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor; for ye are all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus”. The meaning of “faith having come”, however, has to be laid hold of, in addition to the thought of light which was there in the presence of the Son in the fulness of time, so that chapter 4 amplifies this and says, “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son”, “that we might receive sonship”. Galatians 4:4,5.
Ques Having the Spirit of sonship would bring us into the reality of it.
JT Yes, it would affect us inwardly, but light as to the mind of God precedes that, it came in through the incarnation which terminated the period of bondmanship or bondage. It is a question of an era come in according to God in the advent of Christ, and all that I think is intended to throw light on the dispensation and to help souls in laying hold of sonship. The principle applies at all times, but as soon as one has faith it is appropriated.
Ques You mean it is included in the gospel?
JT I would say that. It is to lift our souls in the illumination that belongs to our dispensation, because time enters into it. Matthew 18 brings in the assembly in its authoritative function, and the idea is, that as believing in Christ and the gospel there should be liberty of soul in view of whatever may follow in that chapter. All our transactions should be in liberty, that the principle of sonship may be there, even although we may fail in the spirit of sonship.
Ques Is that why Paul begins the epistle to the Romans with “the glad tidings of his Son” Romans 1:9 — is that the light of it?
JT I suppose that is [p. 445] the idea.
WW I notice that Galatians 3:22 says, “the scripture has shut up all things under sin, that the promise, on the principle of faith of Jesus Christ, should be given to those that believe”; then, in Galatians 3:26, “ye are all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus”. In the first case it is in connection with “Jesus Christ” and the second with “Christ Jesus”. What is the significance of that?
JT Well, Jesus Christ is the order of man, I would say; Christ Jesus is the anointed Man, it is Jesus anointed.
We have to make room for the order of man in Christ, and then that that Man is anointed. Although we may not, perhaps, be sensible of the Spirit of adoption, we have light which affords help to us though we may not have the consciousness; in fact it helps us into the consciousness of sonship; that is to say, the thing is there for the pleasure of God. The testimony has emerged from the period of bondage into the period of sonship.
FJF Is it suggestive that the Lord brought up a fish that was not bound by any dispensation when it was a question of paying the tax?
JT I suppose we may think of that; He was the Creator. All these things enter into the wonderful period we are in, and it ought to help young people although they may not be conscious of sonship, to see that we are in the period of sonship. So the Lord specified as to the fish, that Peter should take the money and pay the tax. The Creator was there and was acting. The light was there and intended to affect Peter and all others who came into touch with the Lord, that it was the period of sonship.
Ques Would the Spirit of sonship suggest that the soul was in the enjoyment of sonship?
JT Well, in the measure in which one was suitable for it. There are certain qualifications for the reception of the Spirit which the rights of God require, and when the Spirit comes in it is not simply that the person believes he has the Spirit, but he is affected immediately [p. 446] by the Spirit. The best illustration I can furnish at the moment is the company in Cornelius’ house. Much had happened; Cornelius was the subject of the work of God before, and he had built up a memorial for himself in heaven, yet he had not received the Spirit. Peter came and Cornelius said, “We are all present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God”. Acts 10:33, A goodly number evidently had gathered in his house, and Peter began to preach, and, as he spoke, we are told, “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were hearing the word”; Acts 10:44;not ‘all those who believed’, but “all those who were hearing the word”; that is to say, the period of sonship had come, and now the Holy Spirit Himself came in, but the period of sonship was there already.
ECM Would that link up with Galatians 2:2, where the apostle says, “I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who has loved me, and given himself for me”?
JT That is saying a good deal, of course. The faith of the Son of God is a characteristic statement, and then the love of the Son of God for Paul in giving Himself for Paul. All that goes very far into christianity, almost to the limit of it, you might say, but to understand the fact that we are in the era of sonship is the thing that may help us now.
Ques Are you stressing the fact of sonship in Christ which means that God is not operating on a lower level?
JT Yes.
Ques So in Matthew 2:15, it says, “Out of Egypt have I called my son”; then at the baptism He is declared to be the Son. Would that set forth what marked the fulness of the time?
JT Yes, the Spirit came in at the baptism, but sonship was there before. “That holy thing”, Gabriel says, “which shall be born shall be called Son of God”, Luke 1:35. Then the Spirit came down on that man in the form of a dove, so that John the baptist says, “I saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of God”, John 1:34.
[p. 447] The full thought of sonship was in Him, but then the light of it was there for others, not yet entered into, but Matthew 17 would show that the thing was there.
GCS Was this high level also in mind at Damascus when Paul began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God?
JT Just so.
CG Do I understand that the light of sonship was there when Christ came, but on our part faith is necessary as we receive the glad tidings?
JT The fact that the light of sonship was there is important for we are in the environment of it. Time will bring in the full thought, but we are in the environment of it and so is every person in whom God is working.
CG We receive sonship as we believe what is presented in the glad tidings with faith on our part.
JT Well, faith is necessary, but at the same time we are constituted equal to further thoughts than they had in the Old Testament, sonship having come in in Christ. It required redemption, of course, but there was something there which heaven had brought out as regards man, and that was sonship. The presence of Christ effected something beyond what was in the Old Testament. There was a gradual coming into the full thought of christianity and the presence of Christ involved that He was a Son. The remarks made as to Matthew 17 showed it was in the Lord’s mind and would enter into His conversation with the disciples to fit them for the great matters that were in hand. When He went to heaven all would be consummated, but there was something more than was current at that time, for sonship had come in in Christ.
Rem And it was an advance on the previous dispensation; for then the time had not arrived which the Father had fixed.
RD Had the Father given Peter the light of [p. 448] sonship?
JT As far as he could take it in, and Peter was capable of taking in things. The Lord had to reprove them in Mark 16, but immediately He says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to all the creation”. Mark 16:15.
FB Has sonship in mind the thought of liberty as in contrast to the bondage that had gone before?
JT Surely that liberty was there in the disciples. It was more than ever David had.
Rem What David did is brought in as an example of the liberty they had when they went into the corn fields.
JT Yes. The Lord went into the corn fields, the disciples went further, showing that they were taking things in. The idea of sonship is there. John says, “I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God”. John 1:34. The light of sonship was there; whoever came into touch with it, it was there, and so it is now even before young people get the Spirit; it is a great matter that they should know that it is a time of sonship, and it ought to help them even before they get the Spirit.
PL “Let my son go, that he may serve me”. Exodus 4:23. Was that liberating light with persons?
JT Yes. That was a national thought, of course. How many of the Israelites laid hold of it, is a question, but still it was there. But the Son was here Himself and imparting the liberty and joy of sonship, for it was in Himself. It ought to have affected everybody who came into contact with Christ.
HFN How does that link on with “If the Son”, “shall set you free, ye shall be really free”? John 8:36.
JT Well, that chapter announces what we are speaking of; sonship as a truth would set them free and it was doing it even then. So even now before people get the Spirit this great fact of sonship as a principle ought to help them, that it is the period of it, there is nothing less in the mind of God for us than that.
HFN Would you raise with people the question as to whether they have received the Spirit? Paul raised it [p. 449] with the Ephesians, when bringing in the great light of the dispensation.
JT I would say that. “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye had believed?” Acts 19:2 But then, if these men had followed John’s ministry they would have understood that the Messiah was the Son of God, and that His presence implied that sonship was available. They were not ready, they did not even know the Spirit had come, but then Apollos did not say that; it is said of him “knowing only the baptism of John”, Acts 18:25. He was ready for more, and Aquila and Priscilla were able to give him more. These facts are intended to liberate young people as they apprehend that they are in the time of sonship. God had fixed it, and the Spirit is here too for them and the Lord is here for them. The fixity of the time, and the presence of the Spirit are two things, but they synchronise. The fixed time of sonship had come before the Spirit was given.
FB Would the incident at the end of Luke 15 illustrate the thought of sonship in God’s mind? “This my son was dead and has come to life, was lost and has been found”. Luke 15:24.
JT Quite so, I would go with that fully.
BB Would you say this era closes with the rapture?
JT I would think so; the rapture finishes it, and then it becomes a question of sight, for Thomas said he would not believe unless he saw, and I believe the period of sight will immediately come with the introduction of the millennium. The thing will be there; it is a question of time.
Ques This would be the greatest era, would it?
JT It is indeed the greatest era.
FJF Do you think where it says in Acts 20 that many lights were burning, that would be an allusion to persons there in the spirit of sonship?
JT Well, they were in the upper chamber. The persons who were there accompanying Paul would be [p. 450] representative of the idea. Paul was there and had a great deal to say; he had much to say, I believe, about the Lord’s supper, for they had come together to partake of that and Paul discoursed at length. I have no doubt what he had in his mind was that there was much to be learnt about the Lord’s supper. No doubt sonship would need more attention too.
Ques Is it a question of following the light?
JT Just so, I would say that, the light that is shining. John says, “The true light already shines”; 1 John 2:8; that is a comprehensive word.
Rem That does not depend on our apprehension of it.
JT No. What young people need is to be awakened to the character of the dispensation so that they should be ready for the very greatest things. Presently, as the millennium comes in, the line of truth will be lowered, but now we are dealing with heavenly things.
GWB Would the three divisions of time in Matthew 1, concluding with the “carrying away of Babylon unto the Christ” Matthew 1:17, bear on what you have in mind?
JT I would think so. It was from Abraham to Christ. I think it is well to bring that up, for it is a question of what was possible as that period from Abraham to Christ was reached, for Joseph, the last of the line up to Christ, is there called “son of David”. But the Christ was personally there and things attaching to Him were there and it was a question of understanding what was there. So time has to do with all these things — the end of the dispensation, as it says.
JTr Would the word in Ephesians help, “Arise, shine, for thy light is come”? Isaiah 60:1 Yes.
FJF Could you present the light of sonship in the glad tidings?
JT By all means; it is very important we should do so. In Romans Christ is declared to be Son of God with [p. 451] power by resurrection of the dead, and the beginning of that epistle has all this in mind. “Paul, bondman of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated to God’s glad tidings (which he had before promised by his prophets in holy writings) concerning his Son (come of David’s seed according to flesh, marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead) Jesus Christ our Lord: by whom we have received grace and apostleship in behalf of his name, for obedience of faith among all the nations, among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ”. Romans 1:1 - 6.
JCT There is nothing less in mind than that we should be conformed to the image of His Son.
JT I think that is the thing to keep in mind in speaking to young souls; we might say we are speaking in the time of sonship and sonship is for you. I have known it for long and it has supported me always; one would say I would like to know more of that and the glad tidings would teach us more.
Ques Is it the antidote to apostasy?
JT Just so.
ECM Paul preached in the synagogue that Jesus was the Son of God; it was the light to govern the dispensation.
JT Just so. Paul said, “it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen”, Galatians 1:15,16, and that was the first thing he did.
Rem Our part being as sons of the free woman.
JT Yes, and that is a metropolitan idea. That is to say, we have come into the light of a system in heaven, for that is what the free woman means. “Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother”. Galatians 4:26. It is a great illuminating thought and it belongs to christianity and especially enters into this epistle.
FJF So would we have the liberty of God’s house as [p. 452] we understand that? I have noticed a son coming into a house, he just sits anywhere, if he wants to.
JT Yes, so the Lord’s remark, “Then are the sons free”; Matthew 17:26; they belong to the house.
Ques The Lord says in John 17:22, “the glory which thou hast given me I have given them”. Does that go further than what you have in mind?
JT Yes, that is verse 22; then read verse 24.
Rem “As to those whom thou hast given me, I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world”. John 17:24.
JT So that verse 22 is the glory of sonship; that, of course, involves the Spirit, but the Lord says He had given the glory to the disciples.
Rem I wanted to be clear whether you would say it involves the Spirit, or if it was the communication of light.
JT As to verse 22, I think the glory the Lord had given them was the glory of sonship; it belonged to Him and He gave it to them. That would involve the Spirit, of course, but that chapter is dealing with things as including abstractly the whole of christianity.
FJF And the Lord is speaking anticipatively.
JT Yes. John 17 was the last of His great discourses and was the unfolding abstractly or anticipatively of the whole of christianity?
Ques Are we inclined to pay too much attention to the functioning side of sonship, and not to think enough of the constitutional side?
JT That is good. The constitutional side is the thing. So it says, “we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father, full of grace and truth”. John 1:14. We come into it in that way according to John; he had already said that as many as received Christ had the right, or title, to be children of God, which is another matter, but it is a collateral matter. They are entitled to [p. 453] take the place of children, and I believe it is in keeping with John, for it is a question of what is brought out here in testimony. With Paul it is a question of what is brought into heaven. Paul places us in heaven; but John brings out everything here in testimony. So in John we have the right to take the place of children, hence he says, “See what love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God”, 1 John 3:1, instead of saying it is the glory of sonship, it speaks of children, of the glory of children, what we are down here before men.
Ques Did not F.E.R. say that in John’s ministry sonship was in Christ? That is in keeping with what you have said, that John’s ministry presents sonship as seen in Christ, and we are in the children’s place. But in Paul we come into sonship by adoption.
JT That is good, so Paul’s ministry is to take us to heaven.
CSM Which is greater, the thought of children or sons?
JT Sons. Children is a more limited thought; it is more what we are down here, “Now are we children of God, and what we shall be has not yet been manifested”. 1 John 3:2.
PL Does children suggest a need with us, and sons more a need with God?
JT Yes. Children is a question of the care and love of the Father bestowed on us — I need all that down here; but sonship is a heavenly thought.
FJF As children our derivation is of God.
JT Yes — born of God; whereas as sons we are adopted.
AM What is the difference between sons and heirs?
JT I think heirship is a question of dignity too; it is to add to our position here. We have the Spirit, the earnest of it. We have not the full thought yet, but we are heirs, the instrumentality of God Himself is in it, for He constitutes us heirs. It is a wide thought, for it extends back to the creation; we being heirs of God. He [p. 454] has constituted us that, and we are heirs because we are sons. We are heirs of God; it is a matter of title, then the earnest of the Spirit is the support of the title; the earnest is the income by which you carry on till the full thought comes.
The Lord’s portion is His people; we are His inheritance. We are the inheritance of God ourselves, but that is another thing from our getting the inheritance. God Himself is the One who has made us heirs — “through God”.
AM Does not God impress us with the immensity of the wealth that is at the disposal of the sons?
JT I think that is what is meant. It is to give us strength in our souls for what is presented to us.
So, coming on now to Galatians 4, we end up with the free woman; that is to say, the great metropolitan idea. It begins with the allegory of which we have read, but first the apostle says, “Be as I am”, Galatians 4:12, meaning that he was no more a son than they were. He would be as to enjoyment, but as to fact he is no more than they are. So he says, “Be as I am, for I also am as ye, brethren”. Galatians 4:12. Then he gives us the allegory, and says, “these are two covenants” — not ‘the two covenants’, for there are others, but “two covenants”, “one from mount Sinai, gendering to bondage, which is Hagar. For Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which is now, for she is in bondage with her children”. Galatians 4:24,25. That is the state of the Jews now; “but the Jerusalem above is free”, Galatians 4:26, and that refers to christianity. It is a great metropolitan idea, but it is presently to come out in glory, coming down out of heaven having the glory of God. That is intended to affect all of us now, and we are to understand that we are all Sons.
PL Is there a mutual respect in that expression, “Be as I am, for I also am as ye”, Galatians 4:12, flowing from this holy and common dignity?
JT So that you can say to any person of whom you [p. 455] are assured that he is a subject of the work of God, ‘You are as I am; you are a son and I am a son’; that is really what is implied. A person who is a subject of the work of God, is a son, “by faith in Christ Jesus”; Galatians 3:26; he is in the age of sonship and it applies to him. It is just a question of his receiving the Spirit, for the Spirit has to be received; sonship is a matter of light, but the Spirit is a divine Person.
PL So “Ye are sons of Jehovah your God”, Deuteronomy 14:1, is a challenge for holy separation.
JT Just so. It links on with what we have been saying in measure, showing how certain things in the Old Testament run into the New and can be applied too.
HW S. Would you say the consciousness of sonship is connected with presence of the Holy Spirit?
JT Sonship, as we have been speaking of it, is a great principle or fact; it is a question of God’s mind at the present time for any person in whom He is working; but the light would hardly hold, it could hardly continue, without the presence of the Holy Spirit, the dispensation could not continue without it. However great the light we must have the Spirit in us for the full realisation of the light.
Rem You mean that sonship is one of the great objective facts of christianity.
JT That is just what I am saying; whereas “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye had believed”, Acts 19:2, refers not to a principle, but to a Person. The reception of the Spirit is bound to have a far greater effect than the light of sonship, which would die out if we did not have the Holy Spirit. Hence the great importance of giving place to the Holy Spirit.
Ques What are the conditions that lead to the reception of the Spirit?
JT Well, if we take the facts in Acts 19, Paul preached the gospel to those twelve men and one might say, Did they get the Spirit? They did not. Paul laid his hands on [p. 456] them and then they got the Spirit, showing how accurate we have to be with the truth, especially with the application of it. So Paul laid his hands on these twelve men and then they got the Spirit.
Rem You have the idea of personal contact in mind.
JT Personal contact with divine Persons and contact with the saints too, for Paul had to make contact with these men and then they got the Spirit. Christianity involves the assembly, the great system we come into, the Spirit operating in it, and we get the Spirit, but what we get is already here. He does not come down from heaven on each of us; He is here, but here as a divine Person, and the contact is in those who have Him.
ECM One who had received the light of sonship would be moved, as the Lord suggests in Luke 11 to ask the Father that He would give the Holy Spirit. Would such an one ask?
JT I would say so, hence that chapter is so full. It is where the Lord is seen praying, and one says to Him, “Lord teach us to pray”, Luke 11:1, not me, but “teach us”; it is thus that the light of christianity spreads, it is not only for individuals. The Lord immediately teaches them and He goes on to say, “how much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him”? Luke 11:13. If we were as desirous of this as we are of other things, we would ask the Father and He would give the Spirit. There could be nothing greater than this.
GI Is that why John says, “our fellowship is indeed with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ”? 1 John 1:3.
JT Just so, showing that John’s epistle contemplates the idea of contact; “that which we contemplated, and our hands handled”. 1 John 1:1. The idea of contact is in that verse, in the sense of fellowship. Fellowship means a common part in something, and we have common part with one another, but the principle in John’s epistle is first that the apostles had fellowship with the Father and the Son. The apostles had a fellowship of their own,
John says, “our fellowship is indeed with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ”. 1 John 1:3. That is not ordinary christian fellowship, it is apostolic fellowship.
Ques Do you think the time of enjoyment of this fellowship in its fullest sense is at the Supper?
JT Well, quite so. I would say that the Lord’s supper is subjectively the centre of things. That is what we come into; it is in our hands, so to speak, to be administered.
FB The Lord says, “he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you”, John 16:14, — does that involve sonship?
JT I suppose so; it is a question of the office and ministry of the Spirit, what He does for us; how great, how extensive, the ministry of the Spirit is. “He shall guide you into all the truth”. John 16:13.
Ques Were you going to say any more about the motherhood of Jerusalem above?
JT Only to bring out the greatness of the thought of God, what we are coming into. “Jerusalem above”, “our mother”. Galatians 4:26. She is coming down from God out of heaven, showing what a system we are occupied with and what we shall have part in, for it is said that the assembly is growing “to a holy temple in the Lord”. Ephesians 2:21. Not that it is that, it is growing to that, meaning that the consummation is in the millennium. It contemplates the assembly as coming down from God out of heaven and that she has the glory of God. I am speaking of the presentation as we get it in Revelation 21. The second verse speaks of “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”, Revelation 21:2, but from verse 9 it speaks of the holy city coming down to illuminate all, and presenting the great thought of the administration. The idea of administration is conveyed constantly in the second part of the chapter. The beginning of the chapter refers to the end of the millennium, after its completion.
[p. 458] The assembly has all the light of God with her and serves in communicating and imparting it, spreading it abroad, to make things plain to the universe.
Rem That is to be known now during the whole present period.
PL Promoting the unity of the faith in regard to the truth, and constitutionally we move in the light and power of sonship.
JT I think we see that in the words, “If any one think to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God”, 1 Corinthians 11:16. The assemblies of God have the light and they have no sympathy with contention. The order of the light is seen there, for Paul set up the order of the assembly, the mystery was committed to him; not one assembly on earth but assemblies, and they begin with Acts 14 where Paul and Barnabas set up elders in each assembly, who would look after the order of the local assemblies.
LPM What about the expression “free woman”?
JT The full thought of the assembly is there under a female figure.
Ques Could we have a word on the injunction, “Cast out the maid servant”. Galatians 4:30. Is that an injunction on us to do something?
JT Yes, this illustrates how the Old Testament can be used; it is a quotation from Sarah, whose words are quoted, but it is a feminine thought, and the word was “Hearken unto Sarah thy wife” and, by extension, it is for us to hearken to the assembly, and if a man does not, he is not fit for fellowship.
Ques Does sonship go through to eternity?
JT It does. God is bringing many sons to glory, He is bringing them there for Himself. The greatest light is with the assembly, and all the previous dispensations merge into ours. We begin with the twelve apostles. Christianity begins with them, so the converts “persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles”, Acts 2:42,
[p. 459] not David, nor Moses, nor Abraham, but the twelve apostles. That is the beginning of christianity; then the apostle Paul comes in as an elect vessel bringing out the great secrets or inwardness of things for us.
AM Would rejoicing or exultation be more in evidence if we were in the good of sonship? I was thinking of the Lord speaking of Abraham rejoicing to see His day, and Isaiah 54 says, “Exult, thou barren”. Paul and Silas in prison were singing. Were they not in the gain of sonship there though in bondage?
JT Yes, that is most interesting; to think of what they were suffering, yet in prayer they sang praises to God and the prisoners heard; that showed the superiority and power of christianity over all opposition, even the most intense suffering.
Ques Referring to our brother’s question as to whether sonship goes through to eternity, John says in his epistle, “What we shall be has not yet been manifested”. 1 John 3:2. Would you help as to that?
JT It goes on to say, “we know that if it is manifested we shall be like him”. 1 John 3:2. Now if we look at Philippians 3 there is a good connection as to it. “Our commonwealth”, that is, living associations, as the note says, the associations of life, “has its existence in the heavens, from which also we await the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, who shall transform our body of humiliation into conformity to his body of glory”; Philippians 3:20,21; that is not His body of resurrection. His body was raised, of course, and was seen, according to Acts 1, on earth for forty days before the Lord went up to heaven; but we have an added thought, His body of glory, not His raised body, but His body of glory, and you could hardly think of anything greater than that; it goes into the eternal state.
Ques Does it link with John saying, “we shall see him as he is”? 1 John 3:2.
JT Yes, so John links up with Paul in that respect. Paul says, “his body of glory”. Philippians 3:21. It is not simply His [p. 460] body that was here for forty days after He rose, but His body of glory; that is Christ’s body of glory.
Rem So the fulness of sonship involves what is in a glorified Christ.
JT Yes, so how great it is and how glorious!
BB When Paul says, “He appeared to me also”, 1 Corinthians 15:8, in what form would that have been?
JT I should think it would be His body of glory.