THE TESTIMONY AS HAVING PRIORITY TO THE TRANSLATION
[p. 93] THE TESTIMONY AS HAVING PRIORITY TO THE TRANSLATION
John 20: 19 - 23; Genesis 24: 61 - 67
These scriptures are often read, but they are read now to show that the testimony of God is going on and that in the current order of things it takes priority to the translation into heaven. The translation to heaven is a fixed matter as to time with God and will happen according to 1 Thessalonians, but in the order of things the testimony has first place, as I may say, the priority. In saying this it is with the hope that all may be moved to have part in it. Luke 15 may be cited as illustrative of heaven’s mind in view of gospel testimony, in view of gathering, and in view of saints being brought into the assembly. That is to say, great activity is contemplated, great industry in the sense of effecting things such as are indicated in the gospel by Luke, and indeed in all the gospels, but particularly those by Luke and John. So that we have the shepherd seeking his sheep, the woman sweeping her house for something lost, and the father waiting for his son so as to have him robed and fitted for the house. All this has priority to the actual translation to heaven. That will happen, as we have said, and the saints are to be comforted by this happening. It is said, “Encourage one another with these words”. “These words” would be the reference to the actual translation of the saints to heaven.
Now John 20 has often been used and is still being used among the Lord’s people to lead us into heavenly associations and enjoyments and privileges. But what is in mind now is to show that these, although there, culminate in testimony here and that that testimony is ordered by God as the testimony of Christ was ordered. “As the Father sent me forth”, the Lord says, “I also send you”. It says further in verse 22, “And having said this, he breathed into them, and says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”; and then finally, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained”. That is to say, the saints, who are viewed earlier in the chapter as being fitted for heavenly associations and privileges and enjoyments, are now seen as sent by the Son as the Son was sent by the Father. And moreover they are seen as breathed into by the Lord Jesus. Breathed into! Clearly so as to fit them for this service — the service indicated — so that it might be rendered with power and with the right spirit — no less a spirit than the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus.
What is now in mind is to show that the Spirit of Christ, or the Spirit of Jesus, is to dominate and fill all those who are sent. As the Father sent the Son, so the disciples are sent by the Son, with proper equipment, and particularly with such a Spirit involving such power as is suitable for the commission that He had just spoken of.
Now I speak thus because it is in my mind that although we have spoken much and rightly of the advantages and privileges and enjoyments that belong to the heavenly people, those who form the assembly, yet what is more immediate is the service or commission that is involved in these verses. So that at the present time we have heaven occupied with, relatively, a very few people. We have a goodly number here, for instance, but relatively there are only a few here, although we value them — every one. It is a time of values — what such and such a one is worth, not only here among the brethren, but in heaven, because heaven has its valuations and it passes over none who have the Spirit. Everyone who has the Spirit has a wonderful valuation in heaven. And so the idea of valuation must come into our meetings. The brothers have liberty to speak;
[p. 95] some with ability, but above all some who have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus. They are thus qualified and are to be noted because of not only having the Spirit of Jesus, but gift accompanying it. The Holy Spirit is a gift, to be sure — the greatest of gifts — but at the same time there is what is called gift in the sense of power and efficiency in service and the evidences are seen in such, so that the work of God is to go on in meetings such as these. Thank God such meetings are more frequent than they used to be, and fuller, too. Some of us know of places where they are fuller than they are here — very much more so. Not that we belittle what we have here. Far otherwise! We value what there is. God has wonderful resources here below. One speaks thus to stimulate our hearts because we have part in what there is. It belongs to the Father; it belongs to the Son; and it belongs to the Holy Spirit; and in a sense, relatively, it belongs to the assembly.
The assembly is the greatest thing outside of divine Persons, and God is going on with it, forming it, fitting it, so that it is growing every day. It began with a few, but according to Acts 2 the Lord added to the assembly daily such as should be saved. What a time it was! What work went on! What values were to be seen! You get three thousand added in one day. And then five thousand men are referred to, and then you get exceptional, outstanding persons. Barnabas is one of these. There were many others like him. We shall see them all in heaven, and be with them, and share their joys.
Well, as I have said, the work of God goes on. One of the greatest things one knows of at the present time is the work of God. Think of what a real saint is, and then the aggregate of all in the assembly. Persons organized, spiritually, and fitted and compacted into one great thing called the assembly. The greatest name of a thing in the whole universe is [p. 96] the assembly. And so we glory in it. Indeed the word is found in the wonderful epistle to the Ephesians, “To him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”. Think of that phraseology dear brethren, and think of yourself — of ourselves — belonging to it! It is intended to stimulate us and cause joy to come into our hearts to think of the greatness of what we are connected with, so that we are not overwhelmed by the miserableness of this poor world or its attractiveness and blandishments, or its wickedness. I speak thus for our encouragement for John’s writings are calculated to fit us for this very thing and to set us up in life. The great point in John is life, “In him was life”. That was the word about the Lord Jesus, “and the life was the light of men”. So the point to be dwelt upon for the moment is life. And the service is to be carried on in life according to these verses in John and according to the typical verses in Genesis that have been read.
And so our passage contemplates the disciples in a certain position, in a certain place. And importance is attached to the fact that they were there — “where the disciples were”. That is the idea. And so we have to think of what is going on; what is current! what is being done in the way of formation, and calculate that it is a question of the persons we are dealing with. Our position in this hall, for instance, is just incidental, nothing more. It has no spiritual value save that it houses us for the moment. Heaven regards it in that light, but otherwise it is nothing. There is nothing attached to it in a spiritual sense. And so it is with our meeting rooms, of which there are some good and some poor (and the Lord is putting it upon us to have suitable meeting rooms) but their importance is that they house or afford facilities for the brethren to meet in. We do not want to embellish them. All we need is comfort. The Lord [p. 97] comes in amongst us in these very places, and, of course, while He is there they are wonderfully augmented — we need not deny that — for the Lord does come.
And so here, according to what I have read, “When therefore it was evening on that day, which was the first day of the week, and the doors shut where the disciples were, through fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace be to you”. Now you notice what I have already remarked, and am now stressing, that it is a question of where the disciples were, and that they were in danger of being affected by some intrusions. If these intrusions are effected mentally, of course, the enemy can use them and does, alas! But the saints are not indifferent to that. We are not told who shut the doors, but we are told that they were shut for fear of the Jews. And that gives us some inkling as to how these physical matters stand in relation to the service of God. But the main thought, as I have said, is where the disciples were. If it was in a tent, well, it was where they were. If in a room — an upper room — it is where they were. They dominate the matter. The importance of the persons and what they are engaged with, dominates the matter. The Lord says, according to Matthew’s report: “For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”. Notice, it is them, alluding to the persons. That is, it is in the midst of them, whatever it may be that surrounds them or houses or shelters them. It is a question of these persons and that the Lord is there. He is there to help them in whatever they do. They are doing it but He is there to help them, and who can help like Him! We can count on that day in and day out — some of us, at least — and the Lord proves how true He is.
[p. 98] Well now, the next thing is to bring in how He changes or affects them. It may be a cold day, or a hot day, or a day of trouble, a day of calamity. Whatever it may be, think of how the Lord may act for us! Here the word is, as He comes in, “Peace be to you”. It is as though He would say, That is the state you are to be in; I am not coming in simply to see and hear and then go, I want to affect you; I have something for you to do, I have a commission for you and I want to affect you so that you will be fitted to do what is in My mind that you should do. And so He says, “Peace”. “Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace be to you. And having said this, he shewed to them his hands and his side”. So that you can see how the Lord is concerned about us, dear brethren, ministering peace to us. And it was no empty thought or proposal. It was a real thing, and it had a real effect upon them: “Peace be to you”. It is not simply peace in the house or in the room, but “Peace be to you”. Well, the word is that they were glad because they saw the Lord. But then other things happen, too. He said “Peace be unto you”. He intended that their hearts should be touched by it, be filled by it. And then they were glad because they saw the Lord. Think of how their hearts were affected! It was the Lord Himself, not simply that He came there spiritually, it was His very self — the Lord Himself, and they were affected according to that. It was the real presence of a real living Person, and they were glad. It was a felicitating time — a wonderful time — no such time in the whole universe as it was at that moment. There were only a few of them, but they were all affected. And then again He says, “Peace”, as much as to say, I want you to continue in peace, that it may not be simply a matter for the moment but a continued matter while I am here. I want you to be filled with peace, and undoubtedly [p. 99] they were, for there is not a single discrepancy in the account of this chapter. All is perfect. It is a very encouraging thing to have something perfect brought to us. And that perfection can be brought about in ourselves. It is one of the things that belong to us, that we are capable of, to be full of peace: “Peace be to you”. And it says, further, “He shewed to them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced therefore, having seen the Lord. Jesus said therefore again to them, Peace be to you: as the Father sent me forth, I also send you. And having said this, he breathed into them, and says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”. Now you will understand, dear brethren, that the question of the Spirit comes up. It is not exactly what we get in Acts 2, for the Lord had not yet ascended, but yet it was the Spirit of Christ, the Son of God. God Himself was there and so the breathing was of the Lord — the same One who breathed into Adam was now breathing into His disciples another life — indeed to us. We cannot say much beyond the fact that it was physical life that was breathed into Adam, but here it is spiritual life, and therefore how wonderful the position is, dear brethren: “He breathed into them, and says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”. So it is not simply a question of saying that we have the Holy Spirit, but whether we have received the Holy Spirit. The Lord says, “Receive the Holy Spirit”, but He had already done the breathing. So that there is some action on our part and that action is an appreciative action, that we are glad to get the wonderful Gift that the Lord is giving, and that is the Holy Spirit, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. It is a question of each one of us challenging his heart as to whether he has received the Holy Spirit, and if he has, whether his conduct is according to it, that he is expressing the Spirit of Jesus and nothing else.
And now the next thing is “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained”. You can see now how very full and practical all this is, dear brethren. I am now referring to the forgiveness of sins and as to whether we are all in possession of the forgiveness of sins — that precious possession that we have, that we know we are forgiven and that we know this very thing from the Holy Spirit; that is to say, from the saints by the Spirit, because the point here is that “whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained”. It is a question of what the saints can do for us, and how the Lord equips us and qualifies us to carry out the commission that He has put upon us; namely, the continuance of the work of God in the power of the Spirit in the sense of the forgiveness or remission of sins, and the retention of sins — that the saints have power to do both. You say, That is extraordinary! I never heard that before, that the saints can forgive my sins! Well, it has to be understood, I am speaking exactly as the scripture says in this chapter. And it is for each of us to understand what it means to be forgiven in this sense; that amongst the Lord’s people we can realise what it means to have the forgiveness of sins, or on the other hand, sorrowful to say, that our sins may be retained, that we have not judged ourselves, that we are going on in some way that the Lord would reprehend, that we are not allowed to be free with the brethren and not allowed to have a place among them. Why is it the brethren do not forgive us our sins? Why others and not us? Well, it is a question of the state we are in, the conduct we pursue. The saints cannot lay their hands on us; our conduct is not suitable to the assembly.
Now I turn to Genesis 24. I just want to say a word about Isaac and Rebecca so as to amplify [p. 101] John 20. From verse 61 to the end of the chapter, a long chapter, we have this matter that I have in mind to speak of just for a moment. First, as to Rebecca herself; how she followed the man, I am speaking of her now as the type of a characteristic sister, on a high level, characteristic of the assembly. And it says that she followed the man. That was the order. The servant of Abraham, the greatest servant of the house, was in charge. He is a type of the Holy Spirit as in charge of us here, today, so to speak. He is in charge, and so it says that Rebecca followed the man, “The servant took Rebecca and went away. And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was dwelling in the south country. And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields towards the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming”. My theme is not simply that Isaac is a type of Christ and that Rebecca is a type of the assembly, but that both Rebecca and Isaac are also types of saints. And it is now a question of how the masculine side is to fit and how the feminine side is to fit. I have spoken about Rebecca following the man, which is a good feature. She was subject. But then Isaac is occupied with the Holy Spirit. He is returning from Beer-lahai-roi which first came to notice at the time of Abraham, when Hagar was seen as a type of an unruly sister. She was not subject to her mistress. But the Spirit of God is seen as having to do with her at the well Beer-lahai-roi. That is to say, that well is a type of the Spirit as dealing with such a person as Hagar. The sisters may become unruly and misbehave, but Hagar, in the grace of God, becomes subject and returns to her mistress. And this well is first seen in connection with her, which is a very important point. But still, her son was a wild ass of a man. She was a poor mother. Although she had a son who was a son of Abraham, she was a poor [p. 102] mother. She did not bring up her children rightly. She did not properly nourish them, and many a child suffers because of the failure of the mother in nursing her children. But my point now is to show that Isaac is occupied with this well. It is available to every person; it was available to Hagar, and now Isaac is coming to it and going to it, and while he is doing that Rebecca comes. Now both Isaac and Rebecca afford us examples of suitable conduct and occupation. Isaac was a man of leisure, not like Joseph, who was a man of great affairs. Isaac was a man of leisure and able to meditate and to ruminate, and he sees Rebecca coming, and he is thinking of what is carrying her. She is coming to the meeting. How is she coming to the meeting? How is she attired? Is she occupied with ordinary things on the way? No, the facts show that she is in every way right, so that she takes her veil as soon as she sees Isaac. But Isaac saw the camels — the things that carried Rebecca. And so it becomes a question of how we are carried in dealing with the things of God. What carries us? And then another thing is that it was a time of mourning in the house. Isaac’s mother had died. It was a time of death. We have just heard that a brother has died. We cannot but feel that. And it is a question of how we behave in a time of death. We read of its being better to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting. That is important to bear in mind, for there is such a thing as mourning. It is wholesome to think of it even if it is for a person who has not been walking with us, but who once did. And we are going to bury him, although he died out of fellowship. We should be rightly affected by such an occurrence. It is like God to bring about contrition in such a case. We have had such deaths and we have been grieved by them, and it is wholesome to be grieved by them, but at the same time to be with God about them and [p. 103] to recognize that burial is suitable for such a one. Ananias and Sapphira were buried, and Stephen was buried. The brethren made great lamentation over Stephen. You can understand how the death of a man like Stephen would affect the saints. They made great lamentation over him, and it is quite right to do so. We have had that experience. But I must come back to Isaac, and then I will finish. Isaac was grieved about his mother, but he was comforted. That is to say the state of things was changed in his house by Rebecca, I want you to notice that. Someone has asked, How long did Isaac and Rebecca live in Sarah’s tent? I cannot tell you that, I would say a very short time. To confirm that, it is said that Rebecca had a house, and there was fine clothing in that house and she used some of that clothing with which to clothe Jacob. It was a house, not a tent, which confirms my remark that the period in which Isaac and Rebecca resided in Sarah’s tent must have been fairly short, because a house had come in and was occupied by a suitable person, and that person was Rebecca. She became a good wife. She ruled the house. She guided the house, and the house is to be guided by the wife. It is quite clear from the facts mentioned that she guided the house. In fact, in later life she shone better than her husband, and that may have application to assembly history, because Isaac is not always a type of Christ, nor is Rebecca always a type of the assembly. That phase of her history came to an end. And we have to bear in mind here that she was led into Sarah’s tent; that is to be noted — led into it — which I suppose would show what her place was to be, that she was not to lead, she was to be led and Isaac did the leading. He led his wife into his mother’s tent and she adorned it. She was glorious in the house. She knew what to do and what to say on many occasions.
[p. 104] Now that is about all that I have to say, dear brethren, but I think that it is instruction that ought to stay with us, for the idea of being commissioned attaches to us. It is a matter that we should be very humbled in speaking of at all, because we are in the time of small things and therefore we cannot assume to have much in the sense of commission. At the same time there is such a thing as having a commission. It would be a poor thing if there was not such a thing attaching to our position, but there is. And Isaac and Rebecca are in that position. They are in Sarah’s tent, set there to carry out the behest of Jehovah. And they do so.
In chapter 25 it is mentioned again that Isaac was at the well Beer-lahai-roi. It is as much as to say he was constantly going to that well, meaning that we must keep our eye on the Spirit, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall no way fulfil flesh’s lust”. So that we carry on, dear brethren, in a simple way in the sense of commission. As the Lord Jesus was sent of His Father so we have a commission to carry out as having to do for men in the sense of remission of sins; and having received the Spirit we should walk in the Spirit and so promote the work and pleasure of God.
May God bless the word to us.