THE WAY OF GOD
[p. 147] THE WAY OF GOD
Acts 18: 24 - 28; Matthew 21: 8 - 11; Genesis 24: 27
I wish to speak about the way of God, and begin with the passage in Acts 18, because there we have persons spoken of as in that way. Apollos was not altogether in it, so that he may be referred to as being in it in a defective sense. Aquila and Priscilla come before us in the chapter; a man and his wife, who evidently were well matched, being of one mind in the things of God, and no doubt, also, in the ordinary affairs of life. They are peculiarly distinguished, being mentioned some six times in the Scriptures. Sometimes Aquila is mentioned first, and sometimes his wife, indicating that the Spirit of God had pleasure in them as workers together; indeed, they are called by the apostle Paul fellow-workers, who staked their neck for him. They were of one mind in that too, evidently; jeopardising their lives for the great servant Paul. Such husbands and wives are of great value in the things of God, and so marital relations ought to be held in view of this. Engagements and marriages are divinely appointed and holy, and not intended to be the subjects of mere table talk, but held in relation to the service of God, and the testimony of God. Aquila and Priscilla are seen here acting together according to this. Apollos is partially in the way, knowing only the baptism of John, that is, his knowledge of christianity was defective.
The next chapter speaks of twelve men similarly instructed although not acting in service, and evidently not as well instructed as Apollos, but the whole section indicates how persons may be partially in the way, but not wholly in it. Apollos was not in any human organisation, as many christians are today. When viewing things in connection with [p. 148] the truth of christianity from the standpoint of a particular denomination, we are apt to be defective. Associations of that kind are sinful, being condemned by Scripture (1 Corinthians 1: 11 - 13). However much this remark might jar on some ears, the fact remains that human construction, and arrangement, and organisation, in the things of God are highly repugnant to the Spirit of God. However far removed it may be from the ways of these human organisations, yet it retains the character of lawlessness, and any christians so linked are pretty certain to be defective in their knowledge of the truth. In fact, many are devoid of the Spirit of God because of such defective instruction. What precedes the sealing by the Spirit is properly the reception of the gospel, and in connection with the gospel the word of the truth, the gospel indeed including the word of the truth (Ephesians 1: 13). Truth is regulating. Christ is said to be the truth, and the Holy Spirit is also said to be the truth, so that the sealing of a believer requires the reception of the truth. Any partial refusal of the truth jeopardises the person, for the Holy Spirit cannot be at liberty to seal him, that is, to fall upon him, or enter into him, whatever form that may take. Hence, many at the present time are at a great disadvantage, and hardly in the way, certainly needing to be shown it more exactly. The fellowship of God’s Son, the fellowship of His death, and of the Spirit, embodies the idea of the way of God at the present time. The word implies that the saints are bound up together in relation to the Son of God, the fellowship of God’s Son, in relation to His death, which is very exclusive. This is a word which no christian need be afraid of, for the death of Christ is very exclusive; it excludes all that is contrary to God. We have also the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, and this is rigidly exclusive of all that is of man. The fellowship [p. 149] spoken of in the epistle to the Corinthians embraces the way of God, and it is the way for us amidst the labyrinth of the ways of this world, religious and otherwise combined.
There is another thought in the fellowship, namely, that it includes fellowship with one another, that is, christians normally, so that the matter becomes very practical, and I am sure that what I am saying will appeal to every exercised person in this hall. The way of God is a singular thought. There are, of course, plural thoughts, such as “His ways past finding out”, which is another thing, but this is one thought. Now Paul, who himself was in the way, calls these two — Aquila and Priscilla — fellow-workmen; this man and his wife would thus be linked on, in Paul’s mind, with Matthew 21. In that chapter Matthew contemplates the way; it is not said to be the way of God there, but it enters into the teaching of it, as the context shows; it is the way on which Christ trod. Now it is the way into which the truth directs, so that those on the way should reach finality. Here the Lord is on His way to Jerusalem, which was the point to be reached — in that sense finality.
In Matthew, as you will observe, Christ is on the way. He is set on the ass and the colt, that is the old and the young are used, and the disciples put their clothes on them. I am now linking on my remarks with Aquila and Priscilla, and with all of us here, who would in any way seek to help others in the way, for that is how they are presented. If we are on the way, and seek to get others into it, we would labour to get them to stay in it. Mark says a certain man ran into the way, and left it again. That is a dangerous matter. Some are impelled to enter on it, but do not remain. The man in Mark 10 kneeled to the Lord Jesus, being reverential, but later left the way, and many have done [p. 150] that. If we run into the way we are likely to run out. Entering into the way is a matter for deliberation.
The disciples here are used of the Lord. They are used in getting the ass and the colt, procuring them for Christ, and now they put their clothes on them, and He sat on them. According to the verse I read, (verse 8) “a very great crowd strewed their own garments on the way, and others kept cutting down branches from the trees and strewing them on the way”. That is what they were doing, it is a question of the way and those in it. Here Christ is moving on in the way to a definite or final end, He is moving towards Jerusalem, which, spiritually, is where the way leads. All those who receive the gospel are brought into the idea of Jerusalem. If this be so, persons who are leading and directing in the way will have something of “Jerusalem above” about them, such as garments, speaking figuratively; they will not be conformed to this world in their habiliments and appearances, but they will be transformed by the renewing of the mind. They will be marked by something of Jerusalem above, what is morally elevated — not of this world. “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12: 2). It must be by the renewing of the mind.
The branches here strewed in the way alongside the garments are fresh branches, not branches blown off by the wind; they are just cut down, which suggests freshness; the people keep on cutting them down, and keep on strewing their garments on the way. The branches are from living trees, and the way is strewn with them. The established church service, for instance, is about three hundred years old, and as such you could not consider it as fresh; it does not indicate the way that Christ is on; neither do all the [p. 151] other things borrowed to any extent from judaism. In making these remarks I am not attacking anything, but mention these facts to show what “the way” means. It is a fresh matter, and the thought comes home to one’s soul in connection with the guiding of people’s feet into the way. In Luke 1 Zacharias and Elizabeth are spoken of. They are both growing old, and when old we are inclined to be old in our ways, and also spiritually; these two were not ready for the answers to their prayers. One of the most important things is, not only to pray, but to be ready for answers. Zacharias was not ready for the answer to his prayers, and therefore he was made dumb for a period, but when his mouth was opened he praised God. He was a priest and had often taken part: indeed, we are told that he was offering incense, but did he ever speak with freshness before? Now he blesses God in spiritual energy. It is a beautiful passage. The first thing he does when his tongue is loosed is to bless God. He speaks about our feet being guided into the way of peace. He was not doing that when he was not ready for answers to his prayers. The son — John — was about to come, and he was not ready for him, but now he can talk about divine manifestations and the dayspring from on high; what freshness! This is a very great service, surely, and it runs through Luke. Here in Matthew it is no antiquated religious ritual that is in mind in these branches being cut down. Ritual and all the paraphernalia that goes with it would never draw me to Christ, or into the way of God. The divine thought includes freshness. The branches were cut from growing trees, and they are strewn in the way. You see, dear brethren, if we look at the figure, for it is that, it is a question of freshness and keeping on with it, so that the whole way is strewn with suggestions of life. These branches would not be used again; if the Lord went [p. 152] that way again, there would be another cutting down, that is the principle.
I think, therefore, that Aquila and Priscilla had in mind that Apollos, who is showing such excellent signs of becoming a great servant, should come into their circumstances. It is not a meeting-room matter although it was in the synagogue where he spoke, but Scripture does not say that they talked to him in the synagogue; that, indeed, would be an antiquated place, evidently it was in their house; they “took him to them”. That is a principle in the chapter, it is what the chapter begins with. They were not ‘society’ people according to the world’s estimation, for they were tent-makers. They had travelled, however. Aquila came from the east; he had been to Rome, which place he was compelled to leave because the Emperor directed that all Jews should leave Rome. He was still regarded as a Jew, although a christian. It is remarkable that these two persons are said to have had an assembly in their house in Rome, and they also had an assembly in their house elsewhere, no doubt at Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16: 19). They were that kind of persons. You could look into their circumstances. If you had an assembly in your house you could not have novels and other such worldly things lying around on the tables and shelves, because that would be utterly incongruous in a house where saints met in holy assembly.
I refer to this because one’s house is like one’s garments, it is near to one and thus suggestive of our circumstances. My house should certainly be “in the way”, and should attract others into the way. They “took him to them”. It is not a matter of standing at the door of the synagogue as the people are coming out, to talk to him about the way more exactly. It was most important that he should get into the right atmosphere if he should learn the way [p. 153] of God more exactly. You can understand how important this service was to Apollos, about to become a very great servant. These two people took him to them and talked to him about the way of God. He would be impressed not only by what they said, but by their way of living, their lodgings or house; they would not put on appearances, being outwardly ordinary persons making tents. Paul had lived with them. How one would love to hear them telling how they and Paul conversed together in that lodging place at Corinth; and possibly they went regularly together to make tents. What would be their conversation? Whatever it was, you may be sure that Paul predominated, and Apollos, coming into contact with Aquila and Priscilla, would come into the gain of that. So that Apollos would be impressed not only by what they said, but by their immediate circumstances, and the accuracy with which they spoke to him of the things of God. He was an accurate man, Luke says of him, “an eloquent man, who was mighty in the scriptures, arrived at Ephesus. He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in his spirit, he spoke and taught exactly” (Acts 18: 24, 25). We are reminded of what a man Apollos was; a potential servant in dealing with the things of God so far as he went in an accurate way. Then we come to this brother and his wife — I think it is well for sisters to notice Priscilla, how thoroughly she was equal to her responsibilities and privileges. She certainly would not intrude or interfere with what was being said by Aquila to this brother, but she would in a subject way add to it. What a conversation it must have been!
I want to convey how necessary are these branches, spoken of in Matthew 21; they speak of freshness; one great need of the moment is getting souls into the way of God; to do this things must be [p. 154] fresh. I do not believe anything is more effective on exercised souls than the truth ministered in freshness. There is always plenty of staleness and doctrine, but what is needed is freshness, not in speculation, but given with spiritual accuracy. That is what comes out in this passage, the accurate way in which Aquila and Priscilla instruct this brother, who is a man of gift. It is a question of their moral character, and ability to instruct him in the way of God more exactly; they took him to them. There was nothing about them that would in any way discredit the things they brought to the attention of Apollos; we see him thus set on the way, a needed man at the time, no doubt. Verse 27 says, “And when he purposed to go into Achaia, the brethren wrote to the disciples engaging them to receive him, who, being come, contributed much to those who believed through grace”. That is, they were people of faith, and Apollos was able to help them much. I think the word here is to be noted, as it indicates that persons to be helped, in this sense, must believe.
I want now to dwell further on this cutting down of branches. I have enjoyed the thought, and hope it will be enjoyed by all of us, as it indicates what is fresh. They kept on cutting them down, and the Lord Jesus rode triumphantly, in these circumstances, into Jerusalem, and the question is, “Who is this?” not who are the people cutting down the branches, but who is this glorious Person who is before us? It is a question of who Christ is, and one thing that the Lord would stress is the inexhaustible resources, the unsearchable riches of Christ. “The prophet ... from Nazareth” was not all, but there was truth in the designation. What a beautiful note, “Hosanna to the Son of David”. The blind man began the note and it is carried through under these circumstances (verse 9); the children take it up (verse 15)
and the Lord says, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise” (verse 16).
The passage in Genesis is to show how the assembly is to be reached as the bride of Christ; not here as the mother. It is one of the most interesting sections in Scripture, that is, as presenting the assembly, typically, as the object of Christ’s affections. I read that one verse because it shows how the servant of Abraham brings in the idea of the way. “I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master’s brethren” (verse 27). “I being in the way”. If we refer back in the chapter, we shall see what an exalted man he was. He is under oath to his master Abraham for one thing, to secure a wife for his son, from Abraham’s family, and that he was not to take Isaac out of the land. It is a heavenly matter, one of the most exalted subjects you can treat of. The servant is thoroughly with his master, and I may say that if we are to reach the thought of the bride of Christ — what the assembly is to Christ as the object of His affections — we do well to look into the way of this servant. He takes ten camels of his master’s. The servant is over everything that Abraham had, suggestive of the resources available to us in a spiritual sense as on this line. The resources are abundant, ten camels of his master’s were enough. I want to show that the way is the way of prayer; how beautifully he prayed to God about this great matter.
There is no time to go into details, although all is worthy of looking into. How he prayed and told Jehovah the whole matter, and Jehovah answered him exactly according to the desire of his heart. He is entirely free from personal consideration, entirely free for the will of his master. And when the prayer is answered, he bowed down and said, “Blessed be Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his [p. 156] faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my masters brethren” (verse 27). Three times in the one verse appears the word “master”. It is a very beautiful passage and is intended to help us to reach this refined and glorious end, the assembly, the bride of Christ; the object of Christ’s supreme affections. Is it not attractive? Is there here any who would not wish to reach this, and get the idea into his soul? The servant says, “I being in the way”, and this is to be noted. Ten camels indicate power enough, but the camels alone will not do, prayer is essential to this matter, and the prayer secures an answer and he finds her whom he sought. He had his ideal for Isaac: one who would be suitable for Isaac — for we must learn the assembly from our knowledge of Christ and what is suitable to Christ. The gospel brings Christ to me, and Christ seen in the gospel must have a counterpart, and I must learn what she is to be from what Christ is. This is the line on which the servant of Abraham finds Rebecca. It is “the way”, hence he could say, “I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master’s brethren”.
It is the way of diligent prayers, and answers to them. It is one of the most remarkable passages of Scripture. Abraham did not say anything of the age Isaac’s wife must be; he named only the family, but the servant thinks of the person and what she should be like. He has the ideal, he gets his answer, and he is “astonished at her” (verse 21). Some may read this verse without realising what a work this was for Rebecca — to provide sufficient water for ten camels; for a girl to undertake the work and to succeed, without exhausting her agility, for it says she ran to her brother. Think of the energy! It points to what should, in this sense, mark the assembly.
The assembly involves Christ’s brethren. The servant says, “my master’s brethren” — that is the point. It shuts out sectarianism. It is a question of Christ’s brethren, not persons known religiously as ‘brethren’. In that connection there is no moral value to be attached to the designation, because it has become a religious term; it is only of value as held in faith and spiritual power. It is a question of “my master’s brethren”. As to these, each gospel gives us a clue: Matthew and Mark, those who do the will of God, and in Luke those who keep the word of God. Brethren are marked by doing the will of God, and keeping the word of God. In John the Lord says, “Go to my brethren;” that is the Master speaking, and we want to be amongst His brethren. This is no mere religious designation, it is a heavenly eternal thought, and that is what in type the servant is alluding to here: “I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master’s brethren”. Surely this is attractive to every christian here. Much could be said about it as developed in Joseph’s history, but it is urgent today that the Lord’s people should understand the significance of the word “brethren”. Jehovah led him to the house of his master’s brethren, where she was who was to be Isaac’s bride. It is as apprehending the brethren, you apprehend the bride.
I would urge the thought of being in the way; it is marked by prayer. The servant of Abraham, as consciously in it, exults as knowing that it led to the house of his master’s brethren, where he finds Rebecca.