ASSEMBLY PRIVILEGE
[p. 232] ASSEMBLY PRIVILEGE
Matthew 18: 19, 20; 1 Corinthians 1: 2; 1 Corinthians 3: 16,17; 1 Corinthians 12:12,13; 1 Corinthians 12:28-31
It is on my mind to take up the challenge sometimes thrown out to write a page of note-paper on the subject of the church. What I have to say is little in amount and simple in character, as the scriptures I have read will show you. The first epistle to the Corinthians does not profess to go beyond what is fundamental. “As a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation”, chapter 3: 10. The apostle says in chapter 2, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect”, etc.; but in this epistle we get the church, not in the full light of the thought and counsel of God as in Ephesians, but in a very elementary way, though very important to us here.
It is just that which I wanted to touch upon this evening. The position of saints as gathered to the Lord’s name; and then the privileges that are proper to them; and how we may recognise where the truth of the church is — a very important point in this day.
The essence of what I have to say is this: there are two results of the Spirit’s presence here, as I understand it, whether looked at in the individual or in the assembly: He excludes and He introduces. The Spirit in the individual is exclusive of the flesh, and on the other hand He introduces Christ. I think the same thing is true in the assembly. The Spirit is here on the one hand to exclude man as to his mind, and on the other hand to bring in Christ; and in this light both chapters 3 and 12 are very interesting. In chapter 12 we have the anointed One, “So also is the Christ”. The church, as anointed of the Spirit, is the body of Christ, and thus the vessel for the display and exercise here of all that is of God.
[p. 233] I just say a word in taking up this subject as to the ground of gathering. Collectively, as I understand it, saints are gathered to a name, and to all the import of that name. Sometimes we talk of being gathered on the ground of the one body. I know what it signifies — unsectarian ground — all right as far as it goes, but it does not mean anything very distinctive in the present day. The fact that you are gathered to a name is important.
That leads me to a remark in connection with the gospel of Matthew. As has been often noticed, it alone brings in the truth of the kingdom of heaven. Luke gives us the truth of the kingdom of God. I think you will find that the truth of the kingdom of heaven centres round the Person of the exalted Christ, who has been rejected here; the truth of the kingdom of God in its present aspect centres round the Spirit given. If you bear that in mind it will help you to the force of the expression, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. The kingdom of heaven centres, as I said, round the great fact of the exalted Man. The One who is in heaven is exalted to bear sway over the earth. If you study Matthew attentively, you will find all the first part of the gospel goes on the ground of the presentation of Christ after the flesh to His people here; from chapter 16 and onwards all goes on the ground of His exaltation. I do not think you will understand any of the similitudes of the kingdom in the latter part of the gospel if you do not bear that in mind. The marriage supper (chapter 22) is on the ground of the exalted Man. The ten virgins who go forth to meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25) also. The Bridegroom is the One who has rights in relation to the earth according to God, rejected here but glorified above, and He it is who is to bear sway in the kingdom — and the virgins go forth to meet Him. The economy of the kingdom of heaven is to be found in Matthew 18.
[p. 234] People have made a mistake in going to that chapter for instruction as to the church. I quite admit it is introduced there, and also the point of gathering, “Where two or three are gathered together unto my name”. It is the One who, rejected on earth, is glorified in heaven. It is to His name that saints are gathered. If you examine Christendom, as to all that is under that name there, it will not help you a bit. Though they use the words of Matthew 18, I do not think it enters into their mind that they are gathered to the name of the One who is rejected on earth and glorified in heaven. But it is the very name to which saints are properly gathered, and to which every saint ought to be true.
In going forth to meet the bridegroom the virgins left everything here — the religious associations in which men were found on earth. The awakening cry is, “Behold, the bridegroom!” A great thought is connected with it — not only that Man is exalted above, but that He is coming again in glory — the saints go forth to meet Him. In the meantime they are gathered to His name here.
I pass on now to 1 Corinthians. I want to show you the privileges that belong to those who are gathered to the name of the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 1: 2 we find: “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called ... saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord”. That is the ground on which the apostle saluted them, and the privileges that belonged to such were — what I want to dwell upon tonight — that they were the temple of God, and the body of Christ; chapters 3 and 12. They are very important subjects, and though elementary very interesting in regard to the true place of the church here. The saints who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus are properly the temple of God — the Spirit of God dwells in them, and they are all baptised by one Spirit into one body, and have been all [p. 235] made to drink into one Spirit. They are Christ’s body. I will, if the Lord enable me, bring before you in a few words the import of both these expressions, and just add a word as to the vessel of the Spirit. I believe, as I said before, that the object and purpose of the Spirit down here is practically to exclude what God has judged, and to introduce what God has glorified. I think everyone would bow to that, and it is seen in a distinct way in the church. Let me ask you, If man’s state has been judged of God do you think that man’s mind is competent to judge of the things of God? Hence the apostle says, “I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”. The presence of the Spirit is essentially exclusive, and exclusive of man. In the temple is God’s glory, the mind of God is there; His oracles are there — but the mind of man is excluded by the presence of the Spirit.
I go further; I say that the intrusion of what is of man in the temple of God defiles it. The holiness of God’s temple is inconceivable to the mind of man; it cannot take in the idea. But that is the very point of the temple, “The temple of God is holy”, and by the very holiness of it the mind of man in divine things is excluded. You bring an unconverted man there, he has no conception of the holiness which is of the Spirit of God. “The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”.
Now I go to the other side, to what the Spirit of God brings in — that leads to the thought of the body in chapter 12. As I have pointed out, the contrast between the two chapters is, that chapter 3 shows the holiness of God’s temple and what that holiness excludes; chapter 12 shows what the Spirit of God brings in. The chapter introduces the thought of the Christ, and by that I understand “the anointed”. When we speak about Christ it has come to be too much a mere name; we want the moral idea connected with it — the Anointed.
One great thought about “the Christ” is this: He is the vessel in which God was brought to man. I speak with all reverence. In becoming Man, Christ became the vessel in which God was pleased to come to man in grace. We read (Acts 10: 38), “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power”, etc. Again (in Luke 4: 18), “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel”, etc. He was to present God to man. If you want a formal expression of it: “God was in Christ”, 2 Corinthians 5: 19. Christ was the vessel. The true deity of His Person is not the point for the moment. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses”.
Wherever Christ was, there was the fulness of the Godhead. The Father was there. There was no such thing with regard to the Lord Jesus as that He could act independently. “The Son can do nothing of himself”, He says, “but what he seeth the Father do”. In every act and word God was present in a man. The Father was there, the Holy Spirit was there; the blessed vessel of it was the anointed of God, the Christ. I have said it often, He brought to man all the good of God in grace. It was the form in which God saw fit to approach man, in the Anointed of God.
Now, beloved brethren, what I say is this. All the good that came out there to man was of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit which brings in the good of God. The vessel was suitable perfectly. He could receive the fulness of the Spirit, but the good of God was brought to man in Him by the Spirit. Every miracle was wrought by the power of the Spirit; every devil cast out, and every infirmity healed was by the power of the Spirit of God. I cannot conceive anything more marvellous. The Father was with Him, the vessel in every way suitable, and the fulness of the power of the Spirit present. The works were the Father’s works wrought by Christ in the power of [p. 237] the Spirit. The fulness of the Godhead was there. That is all past; but in one sense it is not all past.
We get the continuance of the power when we come to the church as Christ’s body. The church is the anointed vessel. “By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body”. “The fulness of him who fills all in all”. That is the wonderful truth of this time. “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men ... And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”, Ephesians 4:8; Ephesians 4:11,12. Everything, all God’s munificence and goodness to man is all set in the church. The world is not given up in that sense. It has rejected Christ personally, but His body is here, the Spirit of God is here, and the manifestations of the Spirit coming out here in the body, a witness of the glory of Christ. That is the wonderful thing. We do not see it in such a public way now. We have not the apostles, the gifts of tongues, and other displays of the Spirit’s power, but have we no manifestations of the Spirit? Have we no word of wisdom, no word of knowledge, no helps, no interpretations? That is all the grace of God in the body here. We see very little of it because of the distracted condition of things in Christendom.
I wanted to bring out the privileges proper to the saints gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. The temple where all of man is excluded; the body where all the grace of Christ is. These are the privileges that properly belong to Christians as gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One word more. The Corinthians were that. Their state was exceedingly unsatisfactory, but the apostle says to them, You are the temple of God, you are the body of Christ. They were the vessel. Even at the very best, apart from the disgraceful things allowed among them, they were but babes in Christ. The apostle says, “I, brethren, could not speak unto you as [p. 238] unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ”, but they had the privilege of being the temple of God and the body of Christ; and the manifestations of the Spirit of God were there.
I have spoken of the manifestations. I want just to say a word now about the vessels. The tendency with us is to make everything of the endowment and very little of the vessel. I believe that is why chapter 13 comes in. It shows the measure of the vessel, the measure of every member of the body. If you have every endowment and have not love, you are nothing! I might be endowed with the gift of tongues, or of healing, or what not, but if I have not love I am nothing. It is everything to see what the size of the vessel is. Your size is measured by your love. How much do you love? Exactly as much as you are conscious of being loved. That is why the truth of the Lord’s supper is brought into the subject in chapter 11, showing how “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”, and exactly in the measure that we apprehend His love, we ourselves love, and that is the measure of our spiritual stature.
If I have not love I am nothing. It is a very poor thing to be endowed and to be nothing, and really it had great application to the Corinthians; their tendency was to make much of the endowment and little of the vessel.
It is a point which might well exercise us — How much are our hearts under the influence of the love of Christ? We are His body which He loved, and for which He gave Himself. The Lord’s supper puts us, I judge, in touch with Christ and with one another. We are reminded afresh of the proper title of Christ to be the Head of the church, His body. He is entitled to be in that place, for He loved the church and gave Himself for it. If we are under the influence of His love we very soon begin to love one another. The church is the vessel of all the manifestations of the grace of [p. 239] God. All are in the church as the body of Christ. Well, beloved brethren, I have sought to point out to you two great functions of the Spirit. The one to exclude the mind of man which tends to defile and cannot conceive the holiness of God, and the other to bring in the good of God in those gathered to the Lord’s name.
May God grant that we may know something more of the love of Christ. A wonderful influence to be under! There never was a Christian yet who could work himself up to love. The Spirit will not work to support you, but to bring Christ in, to bring your heart under the influence of His love. Then the endowment will adorn you. There will not be the painful disparity which we sometimes see between the vessel and the endowment. When I speak of the body, everyone has part in that; not only the gifted people — all are members of that one body. Everyone is the object of the love of the Head, and is to answer to it in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And, mark you, the righteousness of the Christian is, that he acts according as he has been acted towards. Why ought we to lay down our lives for the brethren? Because He laid down His life for us. We ought to love one another; why? Because we have been loved.
May God grant that we may be so under the influence of the love of Christ that we may be suitable vessels for the manifestations of the Spirit of God here.