THE ASSEMBLY

Matthew 13:44-46; Psalm 45:8-15; Acts 20:25-28

It will be evident from the scriptures read that what is in mind is to speak of the assembly. We have to understand that the assembly is God’s masterpiece at this present time. What we have had already today about the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly One, is truth of the highest order. I believe that it is a principle with God that, when He introduces something that is precious, He also provides with that precious truth a sphere in which it may be enjoyed. God did so with Adam and with Israel, but God has set up a living sphere in which the greatest truth of all, which teaches us about Christ and the assembly, can not only be known, but understood and appreciated by those to whom it is given.

I read in Matthew first of all because Matthew begins with the truth of the kingdom. It is often said that the truth of the kingdom makes way for the truth of the assembly, and we see in the early chapters of Matthew how the Lord Jesus sets out His thoughts as to the kingdom. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 particularly bring out these truths, but what we find is that, as they were rejected by Israel, so the Lord Jesus in His thoughts and teaching turned away, so to speak, from Israel. So In chapter 11, where He speaks about His rejection, He says, “I praise thee Father, Lord of the heaven and the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to babes”, Matt.11:25. We, beloved brethren, are among the babes; we are among those whom the Lord had in mind for these great truths of which we speak.

So Jesus speaks here in chapter 13 about the kingdom, but what in fact shines out is the truth of the assembly. We have had already today the need to commit ourselves to what is of God as made known in Christ. Everything that God has done from the beginning was patterned on Christ, because it says that Adam was a figure of Him that is to come (Rom.5:14). As we are occupied with our Lord Jesus, what comes into expression in the saints are features of Christ, and that is what constitutes the assembly. We cannot overlook the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, for He forms those features in us, because the assembly is made up of persons who are formed like Christ. I repeat that God greatly values the assembly; indeed it is His. The last scripture brings that out; God has purchased the assembly, it is His, and hence He values it. It is important to see how valuable the assembly is. When you look round, what do you see? A few saints gathered from various localities, many small. But remember that man of old, Daniel, who prayed three times a day towards Jerusalem. Publicly, Jerusalem was a ruin. We might look at the assembly outwardly and say, Where is it? But what Daniel was looking at was not man’s idea; he was looking at God’s thoughts about Jerusalem. If we are going to be maintained in the light of God’s thoughts, we have to view things from His side.

Where we read in Matthew, it speaks of a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, but it does not say that he found one. It says that he found “one pearl of great value”. What I understand from that is that the merchant found something at last that exactly suited him and met his desires. You will remember that, in the garden, Adam “found no helpmate, his like” (Gen.2:20), but at last, God brought to him the woman, and Adam said, “This time …”. That is the language of satisfied affection. I am saying this to appeal especially to our younger brethren. The assembly is not a scattering of a few meetings here and there; it is a grand concept in the divine mind which God greatly values. I would add that the truth and the light of the assembly can be worked out in a very small conditions; the “two or three” of Matthew 18. It is interesting that in the epistle to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the all-various wisdom of God being made known through the assembly (Eph.3:10). When God made the creation, according to Proverbs 8, it says “then I was by him, his nursling” (v.30); wisdom was there. But the full flowering of God’s matchless wisdom shone out when the assembly was brought into being, and in the way in which the assembly is maintained now through her glorious living Head. Be assured that God has not given up His thoughts in any degree about Christ and the assembly. You may see small meetings, and exercises among the saints, some of long standing. What is it for? It has in mind that the all-various wisdom of God should be worked out in a practical way, and seen not so much by men around, but that the testimony to it has heavenly families, heavenly beings, in mind.

In Psalm 45, we see not now so much the work of Christ, although of course, we must not minimise the work of Christ in any sense, because He says in Matthew 16 that “on this rock I will build my assembly” (v.18). But I have the impression that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is something which we also need to think more about. I say that not as criticising, but as feeling my own lack. What we see in this section that we read is a reference to the queen, and there are references to her clothing which I want to speak about. In verse 9, it speaks of the queen in gold of Ophir, in verse 13 it speaks of her clothing being of wrought gold, and in verse 14 it speaks of raiment of embroidery. I believe that all of these things were types of what is seen now in the assembly. Let me stress again that although we are in a broken day, yet it is possible to see assembly features in the gatherings of the saints. They come into expression substantially. It is the work of the Spirit which brings out these beauties in the assembly, but it is also the work of the Spirit that causes the saints to appreciate what they see of God’s work.

It speaks first of all about the queen in gold of Ophir; I think that would suggest her fitness for the presence of the king. Then it refers to wrought gold; that is gold which has been worked with. Gold can be worked into very thin, fine pieces of wire. In fact, it says in regard of the priests’ clothing that it included woven cords of gold (Ex.39:17). I suggest that the exercises through which the saints pass have something of this in mind. Many are passing through quite severe exercises, some of long duration. But it is important to see that the exercises through which God passes the saints have a definite end in view. In men’s affairs, things are often started, but then it does not work out for various reasons. God does nothing without a purpose. The Lord Jesus, when He was here, never ever uttered an idle word or performed an idle action. And so in relation to the experiences of the saints, I would say this to the younger brethren – remember the scripture that says that “whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever”, Eccles.3:14. That conveys to me that what God is doing in your soul will stand the test of eternity; it is not only for time. Sometimes, we get an impression of Christ, then we might forget it, but then we find that the Spirt of God brings that up again in your soul when you need it.

The third reference here is to raiment of embroidery. I think that this was to appeal to the eye of the one who was looking on. I would ask a question, and not only of the younger brethren: do you have any sense when you gather with the saints, especially at the Supper, that the Lord is pleased with you? You may say, I did not do well last week. If there is something on your mind or heart, put it right. When you come to the Supper, you see the loaf, speaking of the perfect Man, perfectly obedient, flawless. Then you look at the cup, and you might think, I will never be up to the level of that Man. But what does God say to us in the cup? One of the things that He says is, “their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more”, Heb.10:17. That is the new covenant, and the scripture comes in as a reassuring touch from God Himself.

To go on to our third scripture, we have spoken of Christ’s assembly, and of how the Holy Spirit operates in the assembly, but now we see that it is God’s assembly. I want to appeal on this ground: if you have an impression in your heart of Christ and the assembly – who gave it to you? You might say, I read it in the scriptures. But others read the scriptures and might not get that impression. What I am trying to convey is that, if you have an impression, God gave it to you, and He does it because He loves you. We must not underestimate the work of God. We are sinners, of course, we know that, but do not underestimate what God has done in your soul. When this hall, this town, and this country are all left behind, what is in your soul will remain, and God will clothe it with a body of glory, a body that is suited to His work in your soul. That is worth remembering. And the assembly is God’s, it is for God. I am not setting aside the fact that it is Christ’s assembly, but God’s final thought in making man was man and woman, in type, Christ and the assembly. What is the assembly to God? It is a dwelling place – have you ever thought of that? God will dwell eternally in the assembly. It is a vessel of praise; the Lord Jesus said that prophetically, “in the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises”, Heb.2:12.

Let us remember these things when we are together on Lord’s day morning. For two thousand years, God has preserved the Supper, the loaf and the cup. Not only has He preserved the institution, He has preserved persons in relation to it so that its significance should be protected. It is your privilege and mine to have part in these things. It is a great matter to have the sense that God has an interest in each one of us, and has called us, but remember that you had an identity in the divine mind before the world was created. God thought of you; He has “chosen us in him before the world’s foundation”, Eph.1:4. That includes you and me.

May we have a greater sense of what the assembly means to Christ and to God, for His name’s sake.

Address at Bad Endbach, Germany

14 May 2010

R. Gray