THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US (3)
[p. 375] THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US (3)
JT We pursued our subject yesterday in the early verses of chapter 3. The new covenant came before us, and it necessarily enters into these chapters 3 and 4, because we have the ark of the covenant mentioned so frequently, some seven times in chapter 3. In these chapters perhaps more than anywhere we see the ark of the covenant active, so to say, functioning. So that what is to be considered, I think, is Christ in that relation.
Paul speaks about himself and others, as has often been noted, as “competent, as ministers of the new covenant; not of letter, but of spirit” (2 Corinthians 3: 6). The obvious reason for his dealing with it in this way, is to make its application to those of us who form the assembly. The letter of the new covenant will have force; it is quoted twice in Hebrews without any reference to the spirit of it. It seems therefore that we ought to keep it in mind in that way. In 2 Corinthians 3 it is the spirit of it particularly in Christ; for the apostle goes on to say immediately in verse 17 (making allowance for the parenthesis), “the Lord is the Spirit”. In other words, the spirit of the new covenant, that is Jeremiah 31, which the Lord Himself alludes to, is to be learned in Christ. How He would convey it to us! It will evidently be made effective in Israel, but the letter of it more — the full spiritual significance of the letter of it. In Hebrews 10 the Holy Spirit is said to be a witness to us of it. Then we have the actual terms of it quoted, but the actual terms of it are not given in the references to it in the gospels, nor in 1 and 2 Corinthians. It is first a question of Christ’s blood, 1 Corinthians 11; and then a question of the Spirit of the Lord as ministering it, as the Spirit of it, in [p. 376] 2 Corinthians. So that we get the term “the ark of the covenant” some seven times in Joshua 3; and in connection with it, as we were remarking, a tentative state of things in which we are reminded of what is about to happen; first the victuals, and then that Jehovah was going to do wonders. If we bear in mind that what is before us is assembly service, we shall see how these promised things, or announced things, are preparatory, and are calculated to arouse us and bring us into what is current in assembly service. The magnifying of Joshua is announced; it was to be the result of the crossing of Jordan. Then in verse 9 of chapter 3 Joshua says, “Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God ... Hereby shall ye know that the living God is in your midst”.
Following that we have the further provision, that there were to be twelve men: “And now take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe” (verse 12). They are to be out of the tribes; one man for each tribe; without saying what they are to do; they are to be ready; it is a preparatory provision. We are to expect great things, and we are to be ready. Then the statement in verse 13 is, “it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, the waters flowing down from above, shall be cut off, and shall stand up in a heap”.
This is preparatory, and, applying it to ourselves, it refers to impressions received into our minds; what the stature of each is as in assembly, and what each is capable of. All that is of God is to be available, not dormant — all is to be active, in readiness and expectancy; and then we have the great final thought as to power: “And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan,
[p. 377] that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people; and when they that bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (and the Jordan is full over all its banks throughout the days of harvest), the waters which flowed down from above stood and rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho. And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan” (verses 14 - 17).
It seems to me that, applying this to assembly service, it alludes to the calling into action of what is in us, so that there is readiness to pass over. It is not the local position now; it is a question of the whole nation, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah the Lord of all the earth. It is a universal thought.
PL Would John 13 to 17, and the allusion by the Lord to men in chapter 17, bear on the reference here? Then would the descent down into the Jordan be seen in chapter 19? Chapters 13 to 17 of John being calculated to call out these features?
JT That is what they are intended for, I think. The Lord reminds us in what He said to Peter, that He must have to do with each of us in view of all He had to say. “If I wash thee not” (John 13: 8); it is His matter in that sense, whatever we may do in self-judgment. It is His matter, and room must be made for His service, if we are to be equal to what He has in mind in these wonderful chapters.
MWB Reference has been made to the new and [p. 378] living way in Hebrews 10: though the truth is different, is there a kind of analogy in the truth presented, in passing over Jordan, and the new and living way?
JT I think so: not the blood of Jesus so much as the new and living way. I think that is right.
LOL You alluded to Martha yesterday; would Martha and Mary, knowing the Lord as the resurrection and the life, have a bearing on this in view of John 12?
JT I think so; Martha represents one who has come under the influence and teaching of the Lord — the new and living way — as we have just been suggesting. The idea of service was with her from the beginning, only it was accompanied by much self-occupation and criticism of others. John introduces her to us as loved by the Lord, one whom He would bring all the way. He loved the three — Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. As He arrives at Bethany, Martha meets Him, and He remains where she met Him. The conversation that ensued between Martha and the Lord led her to make a confession of faith. The Lord said, “Believest thou this?” (John 11: 26). It is a question of faith. She says, “Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world” (John 11: 27). We are left with that. She goes to her sister and says: “The teacher is come and calls thee”. We see here that she is on the collective line; she is not making anything of the distinction afforded to her in meeting the Lord first. Yet she needed a little adjustment as to Lazarus. She had already said that she believed that her brother would rise at the resurrection: the Lord adjusted her as to that, telling her that He Himself is the resurrection and the life. Then she makes a confession of faith, but she questioned it in her mind, saying that Lazarus was already four [p. 379] days dead and stinks. She has to learn that the power of Christ affects not only those recently dead, but all the dead. He is, “marked out Son of God in power ... by resurrection of the dead” (Romans 1: 4). It is persons in that state, whoever they are and whenever they died. She is then seen as serving, in John 12: 2: “Martha served”, and it was on a great occasion. All this wonderful light as to the Son of God enters into it, for the testimony to who He was and to His power was there at the table in one of those who sat at table with Jesus; Martha is able to serve on such an occasion as that. It points to the assembly, and we are tested by it, as to whether we are able to serve in an ordered state of things that attaches to the Lord’s supper. There is an order attaching to it: it is seen in what Christ did; but there is no order attaching to Martha’s service in John 12. She did what was needful; she was able to do it.
AMH Are you connecting that with Joshua 3: 9, which, as was said, corresponded with a word in the morning meeting? Then there is this expectancy of a further movement, and the Lord, as the ark of the covenant, presenting Himself to us, this resulting in a collective movement — “all Israel”.
JT That is the setting — the ark of the covenant. The twelve men called into the thing ought to be noted; they are there, and all the saints are in mind.
Ques Speaking of the covenant, you bring it forward in relation to the ark, do you not?
JT In the order of the Supper the covenant comes in. It is spoken of in the cup — it is Christ’s blood. The ark is not mentioned. It is “the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22: 20). That is where the covenant itself comes before us; but then the ark of the covenant goes on further, and we have to [p. 380] carry the thought through; for in entering, the new covenant has a great deal to do with our state of soul. It is a question of liberty.
FI Are we to infer that a word would be necessary before we are to pass over?
JT It is very remarkable here that Joshua said, “Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God”. That is an important matter. Am I ready to hear anything that God may say? Then he says further, “Hereby shall ye know that the living God is in your midst”. God is now before us — the living God.
JHT Would the last verse of 2 Corinthians have anything to do with the passing over? “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13: 14). Is that the passing over? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, speaking of the covenant; and then in the communion of the Holy Spirit, did he have the collective position in view?
JT It will be observed that what is called attention to involves qualities; it is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. These are qualities, and have to do with our position in assembly; particularly, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God. We have, moreover, not only the qualities, but the Persons themselves in assembly service.
EJMcB Is it not an important matter here, that we apprehend the ark as going into Jordan, and the effect of that on the Jordan? The people have a way made for them to move over, till all are over. Is that not the great thought?
JT It is. It is a question here of the effect these great facts have on our souls. We are keeping to that point because it is so necessary just now. They [p. 381] should have force with each of us always, with each individually, but what force have they as we are sitting together in assembly? We learn to sit together in silence in the partaking of the Lord’s supper. The scene at Bethany seems to be a little beyond, intervening between what transpires at the Lord’s supper, which John does not mention, and what we have in John 20. Chapter 12 precedes what we have in chapter 20, and the Lord’s lengthy instruction in chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are entered into fully in the interim, between the service as it stands related to the Lord’s supper, and the final thought; that is, the ground on to which we are brought, not only through the resurrection of Christ, but through His ascension.
NKMcC Is what we have in John 12 preparatory to the men in chapter 17, in view of the passage of Jordan? I thought manhood was in mind.
JT That is what is in the Lord’s mind. After all that He had said to the disciples, He said of them, “the men whom thou gavest me” (John 17: 6). He has men. Chapter 12 contemplates spiritual power in silence; we are to be silent as the emblems and the box are passed round, but what follows upon that is where the defect and difficulty lies. The ability to be silent in power, that is, in “the power that worketh in us;” not simply a matter of what ought to be, but what is; “the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3: 20). In John 12 we have a scene marked by resurrection, and all is perfect. There is not a word spoken by anyone until Judas interferes. It is a wonderful scene! It alludes to the power by which we can be silent in enjoyment, and this wonderful testimony to the power of the Lord presented in the ark, enters into that. It is as Colossians says, we are “raised with him through faith of the working of God who raised him from among the dead” (Colossians 2: 12). It is a faith state, but,
[p. 382] nevertheless, a real state, for in the presence of the Spirit in us, the power is there.
Ques Is this power expressed by the priests standing firm on dry ground until all the people have gone over?
JT Well, they are bearing the ark. I suppose they have to be viewed as accessory to the ark as filling out the type. Power and holiness are suggested in the priests; all that has to be viewed as objective in this position. The ark has always to be viewed as objective. Christ is seen as in the midst; He is there to be spoken to and to be regarded. You could not have the type without the priests, but this matter of power refers to the people; that is to say, to ourselves, as sitting in assembly, and being in the faith of the resurrection — that we are risen by faith, the faith of the power of God that is seen typically operating in the ark as the priests bear it. The priests’ feet, touching the edge of the waters, caused the waters to go back; they are not the saints as such; they are all necessary to the type. The power of God operated for the overthrow of death, through the priests’ feet touching the waters of Jordan, making a way for the people to go over. The ark actually touched death; it had to do with death, typically; even as Christ actually touched death; He had to do with the article of death. We are not having to do with it in assembly — we are having to do with life. So the position is, that power has intervened on the part of God to overthrow death. It is not abolished outwardly yet; the waters of Jordan came back to their position. Death remains externally what it was, so that it is a faith position in assembly; we are risen by faith of the operation of God, who raised Christ; and thus the saints are held in that faith by the power of the Spirit. The power that worketh in us is the power that wrought in Christ.
MWB [p. 383] The priests are to be viewed as one with the ark; the twelve men and the people are more a type of the saints in their various experiences.
JT That is the idea; the twelve men are just mentioned.
JJ Why is not anything said as to the further movement of the priests? When their feet touched the brim of the waters, the waters went back; but then the priests stood in the midst of the Jordan.
JT We have to take the Spirit’s record that it was the midst. We have enough for the spiritual thought: that is the thing to get hold of. The Lord Jesus went into death, and met it in all its power. The exceeding greatness of the power of God is seen in Him, and that power is working in us. That is the thing to get hold of; the realisation of all this power coming into our souls on the principle of faith, but nevertheless real, for it is the power of God.
HPW You spoke of a period of silence in power after the emblems of the Lord’s supper are partaken of; is that connected with Joshua being magnified in our eyes? Would the Lord come before us in all His glory, His blessedness and beauty in that silence?
JT There is this further thought that Joshua is to be magnified. Joshua is really, you might say, to merge in the ark. The ark is one idea; it is Christ in the exercise of almighty power in dealing with death. It is a matter of faith to us, but realised in the power that worketh in us. Alongside of that you have Joshua, who represents Christ spiritually understood in us, functioning now in the assembly. The Joshua characteristic of Christ, beginning at Rephidim, is known in the believer’s soul for forty years. In assembly He is becoming greater and greater.
EuR [p. 384] Is there a transition at this point from the glory of the Mediator to the glory of the Head?
JT I think so. We are occupied really, in this chapter, with power, and it is a question of the brethren realising the power and being quiet and restful in it, so that Joshua may be magnified. We are beginning to see Christ as He is. Then these twelve men are there. We think of all the saints; they are all to be there in our minds. The twelve men are there, though not doing anything; but they are doing something in the next chapter. The ministry, as suggested in chapter 3: 9 that may come to us, would therefore be intended to draw out the latent power.
Rem Whilst the twelve men are there, Joshua arranges the twelve stones in the river.
JT That is chapter 4; we have not come to that yet. We are dealing with chapter 3, which is more tentative than chapter 4. There, it is what has been done. The end of chapter 3 tells us of the actual overthrow of death. These twelve men are there; we are alive as to all the saints, and have them in our affections. The twelve men would allude to this, and they are usable. The Lord wants the men whom He can use.
GCG What bearing has Hebrews 2: 14 on this matter? — “Since therefore the children partake of blood and flesh, he also, in like manner, took part in the same, that through death he might annul him who has the might of death, that is, the devil”. I am referring to the word “has the might of death”.
JT It refers to the public position, I think; that Jordan has come back into its place publicly. Publicly, the devil has the might of death, but for faith, he has not got it; for death is ours. Death does not belong to this poor world; it is still under the power [p. 385] of death.
JHT Is the magnifying of Joshua seen in Colossians 1, and what answers to the twelve men seen in the expression in chapter 2, “rejoicing and seeing your order”? In chapter 3, speaking of the saints, Paul says, “let the peace of Christ preside in your hearts, to which also ye have been called in one body, and be thankful”. And then, “teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God”. Is it order in chapter 2 and then the brethren functioning in chapter 3?
JT Chapter 1 is clearly Christ magnified; and chapter 2 is the overthrow of death; then chapter 3 brings in the new man which I think has place in what we are speaking of. It is a question of freshness in the new man, who is “renewed into full knowledge according to the image of him that has created him” (verse 10). The new man is renewed in knowledge; he is fresh as being recent: for that is what should mark us at the juncture of assembly service of which we are speaking. Then he is renewed in knowledge, that word does not indicate freshness, but that there is nothing like it; it is a wholly different knowledge, and it is “according to the image of him that has created him”. That kind of knowledge enters into the position; there is nothing like it abroad in the religious world; nothing at all like it. This chapter goes on to say: “there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is everything, and in all” (verse 11). What a state of things comes about thus, as the teaching of Joshua 4 — Colossians being the antitype — has place in our souls, and is contributory in our souls, as we are together in assembly!
WSS With regard to what you said about power, verse 10 seems to bring that very beautifully before us: “And the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished [p. 386] that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hasted and passed over”.
JT It is a question of Christ holding back the power of death until we pass over. Death remains publicly, but faith enables us to pass over, and in a real way, too, on to the heavenly ground.
Ques Do I understand that the magnifying of Joshua is always in our souls?
JT Well, you feel that; how He grows in us in such circumstances. As the doors are shut — the doors of our hearts — so that the Jewish element is not admitted, how Christ is magnified! So that when He comes in John 20, they were glad to see Him. “Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” (verse 20).
Ques Does this bear on the question as to whether the Lord should be addressed after the Supper?
JT Well it does. It is the ark of the covenant still, in all this tentative state of things — the process of passing over. It is a question of Christ at the Supper; firstly, it is a dominical thought; it is His authority, but now, it is the Person Himself; the Ark of the covenant — He is still related to the covenant and the almighty power He has exercised; not only is the love of God known in our hearts, but He has exercised power, in order that we should be in the new position, on heavenly ground.
Ques Did I understand by a remark made that we never pass over without a word being given?
JT I do not think we should understand it that way. I should not like to say that we cannot go over without it, but Joshua’s remark shows that it has a great place in bringing the living God before us.
Ques What form would that word take?
JT Joshua says, “Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God” (chapter 3: 9). We are called upon to draw near to hear what God has to say. I think that as Christ is being magnified in our midst, we are ready. The twelve men give the idea of readiness for administrative purposes; they are to be usable, and any one of them may be capable of receiving a communication from God. In Luke, as the Babe is brought into the temple, Simeon receives Him into his arms and says wonderful things about Him. He gets a word for the moment. It is no question of the exercise of gift, but of words. Simeon’s words are very extensive in their bearing, but it is simply a question of what he said, not of teaching, but words about the Babe he held in his arms. These twelve men suggest that idea of readiness for whatever may be needed to be done: and if a word is to be given, somebody is there who can do it, and it is important that we draw near to hear.
I think it is very important, what has been brought up now, as to the words of God, and a divine communication in the period of assembly service that we are contemplating. So that we know, as Joshua says, “Hereby shall ye know that the living God is in your midst, and that he will without fail dispossess from before you the Canaanites”, and so forth. All that hindered would be moved out of the way. God in our midst, and our minds being affected by the words of Jehovah, the intelligence that is now contemplated as being in us is after the image of Him that created us; we can think like Christ, and take in divine things. Thus helped and illuminated we are available for what He has in mind. We are all ready.
FCH Is that why Joshua gathers the men in chapter 3 and in chapter 4 Jehovah speaks to Joshua saying, “Take you twelve men out of the [p. 388] people, one man out of every tribe” (verse 2). Did God take those men on?
JT They are used in chapter 4, and we are trying to get the thought of being usable. These twelve men speak of usable persons. When we come to chapter 4 we see what they are to do.
APT In John 2: 5, Mary the mother of Jesus says to the servants, “Whatever he may say to you, do”. Would that bear on the necessity, or otherwise, of a word?
JT Yes; whatever He may say. Mary had been adjusted immediately, which is another important thing. She introduced a natural influence into the spiritual realm, which the Lord rebukes, and she is adjusted immediately. She says, “Whatever he may say to you, do”. The servants are available now — they had what was required.
AJG Would you say how far the thought of the covenant in this connection goes? It is the ark of the covenant as it comes up out of Jordan, and as it is taken into Solomon’s temple.
JT Solomon’s temple really links on with what we are saying. We have been speaking earlier of the sanctuary, and what it is. It was remarked that as regards the assembly, whether viewed as the tabernacle in the wilderness, or the temple in the land, it is a question of the sanctuary. Joshua does not deal with the sanctuary of God, or the service of God, but our effort now is to see how the power of God enters into the matter of assembly service; the power that wrought in Christ when He was raised from among the dead. The knowledge of that is to affect us severally as we are together. So that the juncture of assembly service we are now dealing with really leads us to the sanctuary in the land — “the Sanctuary, Lord, that thy hands have prepared” (Exodus 15: 17). It is the sanctuary as typically seen in Solomon’s [p. 389] building.
JJ In Psalm 114: 2, where the Jordan is referred to as going back, we read that, “Judah was his sanctuary, Israel his dominion”. Would you connect with that what you are saying as to the power that takes us in?
JT That is a very remarkable passage in the Psalms, and I suppose the thought is the ultimateness that is in mind in Exodus 15 — the great end being finality as to the sanctuary. It is not the tabernacle, but the temple that is in mind; and Judah is everything in that connection; for there it is a question of David and Solomon. Faith goes right on to the ultimate thought.
JJ You connect the sanctuary with both the wilderness and the land. Do you allow for getting beyond the sanctuary?
JT We do not get beyond the sanctuary, as far as I know; the idea goes right through.
JJ You do not think of the Father’s house in John 14 as going beyond that?
JT That is a future thought, not the idea of what we enter into now. I was saying last evening, Pharez is the beginning of the genealogy in view of David (see Ruth 4: 18 - 22). It is more a matter of light and subjection in Exodus, but Pharez refers to innate power. He is the head of the line of the sanctuary, that is, of David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. He is the progenitor of Obed, through Ruth to Jesse and David. It is with David that all this is connected in the types.
SJBC Referring to the magnifying of Joshua, does it grow in the souls of the saints as we progress spiritually? We are told, “This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel” (chapter 3: 7). That is before they pass over. And then, after they passed over, we are told the Lord did magnify Joshua; and afterwards his fame went out throughout all the land. We do not get it all at once, do [p. 390] we?
JT Quite so, bearing in mind what Joshua represents; it is Christ apprehended inwardly, operating inwardly; so that He increases in greatness in our eyes. This matter of the sanctuary, however, ought to be made clear; we should see that it runs right through whilst we are down here. The types bear on our position down here.
MWB Would you link the breaking forth, that you refer to, with this passing over into the new, living circle, where the sanctuary would be experienced in the new way; possibly answering to the many sons linked with glory?
JT I should certainly. It is therefore a question now of God’s inheritance. Joshua gives us our inheritance, how we come into it. David and Solomon bring out God’s inheritance — the saints in that setting and what God obtains from us in our assembly service.
We should bear in mind that Moses is Christ in authority in a public way, and that Christ is viewed in that relation at the Lord’s supper, but Joshua is Christ in a hidden way apprehended in each of our souls, beginning as in Romans 7, the types beginning with Joshua at Rephidim (Exodus 17). He is then apprehended in assembly; it is a question of the place He has with each of us in this sense. It is Christ, but in that peculiar way in which He is introduced to us in Exodus 17, as dealing with our inward condition at Rephidim. He is seen as leading against the enemy’s power in each of us. We have to follow that line, if we are to understand the book of Joshua. It is Christ in us giving us positive possession of the land. Thus we have it, not merely as a matter of light, but we are consciously in the land.
JWCB Is reaching the heavenlies a further thought than what you were saying yesterday as to the holiest?
JT The heavenlies are in mind; the holiest [p. 391] is simply how God is apprehended in Christ and how Christ is before Him in relation to the assembly; that is, it is God — God in Christ, and Christ before Him. Everything is secured in Christ; that is the idea there. It is the initial thought, but Ephesians goes beyond that and brings in the idea of elevation; that is, God has raised us up together — not that He will do it, but He has done that — “raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2: 6). This is a matter of faith for us; but still, it is said to be done. Colossians says that we are raised with Christ “through faith of the working of God who raised him from among the dead”, and then that we are quickened together with Him; this brings us consciously into the position.
Ques How does the angel with the drawn sword come in?
JT That is ahead of us; it is military. We are now dealing with assembly service, and how we are brought into it in power, so that Christ has material for the great service to God that He has in mind.
Ques It says in Psalm 96: 6, “strength and beauty are in his sanctuary”. Would that refer to inward power?
JT Exactly.
HWS As to this matter of the sanctuary in the land, do you look upon it as a necessity while we are here — the holy environment in which everything heavenly should be entered upon?
JT Yes, it is whilst we are down here. Our actual condition in flesh and blood necessitates the idea of the sanctuary. As in glorified bodies we shall not need it. There is the possibility, in spite of our present condition, of entering on heavenly things.
‘And see! the Spirit’s power
Has ope’d the heav’nly door’. (74:5)
[p. 392] It is a question of our state of soul and of our being usable for the Lord.
JCMW The highest point is reached when the voice of the people is one in 2 Chronicles 5, and then the house of Jehovah was filled with a cloud of glory. Is that God taking possession?
JT I think that marks the end of what we are speaking of. It is the glory coming in there. The furniture of the sanctuary, that is, the temple, denoting our heavenly manhood, so to speak; that He that sanctifies, and those sanctified are all of one. It is as thus being partakers of the manhood of Christ as He is now; our reaching that, even but for a moment, that we are conscious in abstraction of the realm of glory where God is. The manhood in which we have part is not that which He took upon Him in order to die, but the present manhood of Christ. “Both he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all of one” (Hebrews 2: 11).
MWB You speak of “risen ... through the faith of the operation of God” in connection with chapter 3, and then the further thought of quickening. Would you link that in any way with the movements of the twelve men taking up the stones?
JT Yes; the twelve men are now moving. You can understand it is a movement, as you might say, that belongs to the other side, to Canaan. They are exercising power, you will observe. “And Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe; and Joshua said to them, Pass before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and lift up each of you a stone and put it upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel”. You see these men are moving under Joshua, suggesting Christ in authority, but as in us.
SJBC Would that be something like: “always [p. 393] bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4: 10)?
JT Here it is bringing us on to resurrection ground.
Ques Do you mean that whatever may be in our souls inwardly, we need a fresh touch from the Lord every time?
JT That is right. We are in a spiritual state of things now. Joshua is Christ viewed in a spiritual way; how we know Him in assembly today. It is a real thing; He moves us. These men are usable, and are now being used. It is no longer a wilderness position; we have come up with Christ out of death; we are of His order. These men are usable in that light. You can see how living and spiritual the circumstances are.
PL Would “the crowd of names” in Acts 1 illustrate that point — these persons being usable? The mention of them follows on the forty days with Christ after He rose.
JT It is important to add that; it is not simply what they were on the first day of the week after He rose; they needed adjustment then, but now they are adjusted, each is distinguishable. The crowd of names would mean that each has a spiritual distinction. In our chapter these twelve men convey power and administrative service. Something is to be made plain; that we have come up with Christ out of death. It is not a wilderness thought any more, but what we are as risen with Christ, and that we partake of His humanity.
LOL Is that the basis of all administration?
JT I think so. The number twelve contemplates the whole — all the saints, as it were, under the hand of Christ, to be usable in relation to one another in love. And then the great fact that we are risen with Christ is seen [p. 394] here.
EG Do you think this would be a fresh word from the Lord?
JT This action of the twelve men shows the power now present, characteristic of Christ being in us. It is a question of power, the power of God being used, and these men are moving in that connection. The twelve stones testify to the effectiveness of this power to place the whole assembly on heavenly ground.
HOE Would you connect the twelve men, before they move, with John in Patmos, in the Spirit on the Lord’s day; and so available and ready to receive divine communications?
JT Yes. He was in the Spirit, and so outside of ordinary circumstances in flesh and blood. We are now dealing with the assembly convened, and how far Christ’s place with us as in assembly is realised. So far we have got to the twelve stones in Gilgal, that is, the fixed state of the saints viewed collectively as risen with Christ; and that is a great point to reach.
WCG Does the title Son of God apply here?
JT I think so; a living state of things — Christ is declared Son of God in that way. To sum up what is in mind; the ark of the covenant being so prominent here, as entering upon our assembly service, it is imperative that full scope should be given to the Lord as viewed in this way — what He is as in the assembly is in this connection.
FSM When in assembly at this stage, the Lord engaging our hearts, would there be any moment when it would be inappropriate to address Him in a worshipping spirit?
JT There is full liberty to address Him until we have reached the Father in the Spirit of adoption; spiritual understanding would then lead us to move on this line. The Spirit as the anointing has to be understood as we sit down together; and then the Spirit of the Lord: “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3: 17). And then the Spirit of adoption. You can connect the Spirit in this last sense with the Lord as our Leader. It is not a question of authority, it is family relationship. In addition to the designations of the Spirit mentioned, we have the Father’s Spirit. What a thought that is! The realm where the Father’s Spirit is operating!
FW The holy place in Solomon’s temple is covered with cypress, fir, whereas the most holy with cedar. Would the one suggest resurrection, and the other sonship?
JT The cedar represents the dignity of the saints; but the cypress suggests more the thought of life. The cedar usually speaks of dignity in the types.
Ques You have remarked as to what Christ is to us as the Ark of the covenant. Would you say a word as to the marital relation between Christ and the assembly in that connection?
JT I think it ought to have a place. If the spirit of John the baptist is with us we hear the voice of the Bridegroom. Where do we hear it more loudly than at the Lord’s supper? Why not give full scope to the Lord to draw out the affections of His people? Romans 7 formally states that we are “to be to another, who has been raised up from among the dead”, and “to serve in newness of spirit”. Why not give full scope to all that? Many hymns we have cover it and should be used. As scope in this respect is given, the more enrichment there is as to our affections. As with the Lord, not only in power, but in holy sentiment and affection, answering to Him as the Bridegroom, you can understand what richness enters into what follows. And we must consider Christ’s affections, too, at such a time — all culminating in what is in His heart, namely, worshippers of the Father and worshippers [p. 396] of God.
NKMcC Is the worship of the Father and the worship of God connected with His service as the Minister of the sanctuary?
JT Certainly. We shall have to look into this a little more.