PERFECTION

^[p. 145] PERFECTION

Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 6:9-15; Genesis 17:1-11; Genesis 17:22 - 24; Genesis 18:1-8; Genesis 18:16-26

I had in mind, dear brethren, to speak about perfection; the idea would become simple if the Lord helped me to dwell upon the things that belong to it. That is, I believe, the meaning of the clause I read in verse 1, “Let us go on to what belongs to full growth”, or perfection. As these things are detailed in any measure, I believe the youngest here will understand what is in my mind — the idea of perfection, of full growth. The suggestion of it must always be of interest and importance; for conditions generally among the saints of God are not just characterised by perfection — the babe state, indeed, may be said to mark the people of God generally, whereas the divine mind is full growth, or perfection, and for that there must be some standard, which is also evident. And God has brought in that — indeed He began with it; whether we go back to His eternal counsels, or whether we go back to the detailed work of Genesis 1 and 2, we see that God began with the full thought. For instance, He made birds and fishes and cattle; there is no idea of His creating an egg or a lamb; when He came to man, there is no idea of a babe — He made a man, He made a woman. Nor had Eve any other thought when Cain was born, she called him a man — “I have acquired a man with Jehovah”. Genesis 4:1. The babe idea had not yet taken form in her mind; and so the Lord, in comforting His disciples, speaks of the joy at the birth of a child that a man is born into the world. And so in the types, in the Israelite’s house, however many children there may have been, they were all to have an omer of manna, the father ^[p. 146] and the mother and the children, each was to have the same measure. I refer to these thoughts, dear brethren, that we may see that God would impress us with a full thought — with completeness and perfection.

This passage in Hebrews has that in mind; it is a passage of scripture calculated to stem the tide of retrogression which had set in. There is always, I may say, a tendency with the people of God to retrograde. If a little bit of growth has been attained, the tendency to retrograde is always present; the ministry, the general service graciously provided by the Lord, is to meet that condition amongst us and to maintain steadiness where God has begun; there should be a steadiness with us to His thought. So the word is, Let us go on to the things that belong to full growth. Young christians may say, There is Mr. So-and-so, he has been a long way in the path, I cannot hope to attain to his measure. But then, let us begin with the things. What marked that brother in his earlier days? He had to begin young, too; and his progress was marked by certain things. The writer of this epistle alludes to what he would regard, as the opposite to progress at that particular time; he refers, for instance (but not with any thought of discrediting them) to “a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God, of the doctrine of washings, and of imposition of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment”. Hebrews 6:1,2. A christian in the Establishment might be familiar with such a category of things, right perhaps in themselves; but he must take other ground, he is not in the Establishment now. You will see what I mean. Were he there, there might be a certain consistency in his occupation with such things; but he is not there now. Those things belonged to Israel before Christ was born, or died. The Jewish believer in Christ had moved professedly, and occupation with ^[p. 147] those earlier principles was not a mark of growth or development in the truth. He says, Let us go on to the things that belong to full growth. God has brought in Christ, Christ has died, He is risen and gone into heaven, the Holy Spirit has come down from heaven; a few years back, at Jerusalem, there were men occupied, with the greatest depth of feeling and joy, with the things that attached to Christ gone into heaven; the Holy Spirit had come down. And so today, God has wrought, and men have great joy in the things that belong to Christ as having come down into this world, as having died and risen from the dead, and gone into heaven; the Holy Spirit having come down and formed the assembly here, and having brought about a state of liberty in relation to the things of God in those who are sons of God. Well, these are the things that belong to full growth; let us go on to them.

I mention these things in a simple way so that the youngest here may understand that this thought of full growth is not simply an abstract thought of Christ personally, but the things that have come in through Him and by Him, that attach to Him as gone up into heaven, and that mark many here upon earth today. These things are practical, not far to seek; the young ones here will find them if they look about. And so the writer goes on to say, “But we are persuaded concerning you, beloved, better things, and connected with salvation”; that is just what I am saying, “things that accompany salvation”. Then he suggests some of the things — “the love which ye have shewn to his name, having ministered to the saints, and still ministering”. Now this ministering to the saints is very simple — I am speaking in a preliminary way. If anyone is concerned as to full growth, this is one of the things; the youngest here may have part in that feature. The Lord, in His wonderful discourses while here in flesh, spoke about ^[p. 148] the reward of a righteous man, and the reward of a prophet, too; then He speaks about a cup of cold water given, not in the name of the Lord Jesus, but in the name of a disciple — that should not lose its reward. The young sisters and brothers perhaps think little of that, but it belongs to perfection. It is a very small thing, but it sets you on the way; keep on that line, let us go on to that sort of thing. There are a thousand ways in which you can show that you belong to the class who are going on to perfection.

And so the writer says, ‘That ye may be imitators of those who, like Abraham, inherit the promises’. We may take Rebecca to illustrate further what I am saying. She is, as you will know, a type of the assembly; but she is not a myth, she was a person, and she belongs to the holy women of old — a very great distinction; many are unnamed, but she and others are named. And Abraham’s servant draws near to her father’s house, he is under the guidance of heaven. What a moment it was! Think of a brother coming into a district under the direction of heaven — you have had many such occasions here. He is under the direction of heaven, a man who communed with Jehovah. He is a nameless man in Genesis 24, he is simply Abraham’s servant. We must not let our minds rest too much on those who are more distinguished; distinguished persons in Scripture are usually named, but there were thousands who were unnamed, and there are today. They are in communion with heaven. This man was in communion with heaven; what a time he was having, there alone, as I may say! He had his camels and others, doubtless, and if you had eyes to see you could see how that man would bow his head in communion with heaven, with Jehovah. What a beautiful picture of real service! And here is Rebecca; she comes out with a pitcher on her shoulder — a ^[p. 149] common incident in the East, but there had never been such an incident as this. The servant of Abraham is looking for Rebecca; there is no uncertainty about her, her name is mentioned in Genesis 22:23. You will remember that when Abraham offered up Isaac on the mountain, it is not said that Isaac came down from the mountain. The idea is that Christ has gone into heaven as having risen from the dead; and there must be someone suitable to Him as a wife. And so Rebecca is mentioned; her genealogy is given to us in Genesis 22, so that in sending out the servant there was no doubt that there was such a person as Rebecca; just as it is here this evening, there is no doubt that there is such an element here as is needed for the assembly. No true minister of Christ has anything else in his mind in what he does but that there should be something for Christ in the assembly. So the servant is there, not in a mechanical way as sent to a certain town, and a certain street in the town, and to a certain number in the street, and to a certain woman, Rebecca; that is not the thought. The thought is that she is to be marked by the things that belong to what he has in mind. He had perfection in his mind, and she had the marks. They were, apparently, outwardly very small; but look at the beautiful grace of that young woman. I am speaking to the young sisters here, because the Lord has need of you, not because you were converted on such and such a day, but because He is looking for certain graces in you, certain things that accompany the thing He has in His mind. And so when the servant asks for water, Rebecca says, “Drink, my lord!” Genesis 24:18. How beautiful that is! She lets the pitcher down, and is ready for service, for the service that was needed. That is the point. What is the need here in Trowbridge? What can a young sister or brother do? I have no doubt you are looking at the elder brethren and you may be leaving the matter with ^[p. 150] them; but that is an entire mistake. There are things that only the elder brethren can do; but the explanation of the weakness is that the young do not take up the things that they can do. The point is to be available. Rebecca is ready, and even goes beyond what is needed — “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough” Genesis 24:19 — no small matter for a young woman to do. Well now, I am illustrating the simple thought I have in mind for the young ones here so that you might see that the Lord has need of you in relation to the assembly. He has a certain thing in His mind, and there is perfection attached to it; and He is looking in you for something that belongs to that perfection, however little it is; and you must not be discouraged if it is only in a little way that you can show what belongs to perfection. Rebecca had that feature strikingly at the very outset, a feature that belonged to the perfection that the servant was looking for. I might multiply such illustrations, but one suffices; I am thinking of the young people here first.

Now I go on to the older ones, and I have selected Abraham, as you will see, to illustrate the idea of perfection; he is brought in by the writer to the Hebrews as one who inherits the promises, and we are to imitate him. You will notice, first, that he is to walk before God and be perfect. He was an old man, so that he certainly fits as an example for those of us who are older, Jehovah appears to him and says, “Walk before me” — a word that comes to one’s own heart, because in service we are apt to walk before the brethren. That is right, surely, to commend oneself to them; but then the word is, “Walk before me”. What eyes those were that would look down on Abraham every day in his walk! And then, “Be perfect”. One wishes to show as briefly as possible from these scriptures how this great thought was worked out in the patriarch. First, he is to walk ^[p. 151] before Jehovah and be perfect. God then says to him, “It is I” — addressing Abraham in a personal way, saying, as it were, I have a great matter in hand, and am come Myself to effect it. He is putting Abraham on his feet; he is to walk before Him and be perfect. Now He says, “It is I” — and I am going to make a covenant with you, you are to be the father of a multitude. That is a great thought of God: that one man, who as yet had no child, save Ishmael, and nearly one hundred years old, should be the father of a multitude. And He says He will change his name, meaning that the thing is certain. It is a potential thought; he is not yet actually the father of a multitude, but he is potentially. He is that in the mind of God, who calls things that are not as though they were. Every time Abraham signed his name, that is what would be in his mind. In the book of Isaiah the young people are enjoined to subscribe themselves by the name of Israel; it is what is in the mind of God, and you are writing it down, and every time you write it it is greater to you. Well, he is to be the father of a multitude and kings shall come out of him; Isaac is to be born: this all enters into the divine proposal. God says, “It is I”: He is proposing it all. Now He says, ‘All your males are to be circumcised’, meaning that the flesh profits nothing; these things that accompany salvation and that belong to full growth are not fleshly products; no university in the world can develop in any person a product that belongs to full growth. Circumcision means the rolling away, “the putting off of the body of the flesh” — the totality of it — “in the circumcision of the Christ”, Colossians 2:11.

Well, what will accompany this, what will belong to full growth in Abraham after such a command? What will be required of him? God says, I have finished for the moment: and we must understand, dear brethren, that we are to learn in part, we get a ^[p. 152] word now and a word later; if you move in the light of the present mind of God in any word given to you, you get another. God had spoken to Abraham and conveyed His mind to him in part, not altogether yet; He stopped speaking with him and went up. How often one has experienced it, God ceasing to speak to you and leaving you to yourself, as it were. Now what will Abraham do? He did exactly what God enjoined him to do. That is the secret of progress, dear brethren; you move in relation to the last word you have from God, whatever it is. Then God will come again to you and speak again to you, and speak greater things to you. But the first thing is, what is Abraham going to do now? Jehovah broke off the conversation and went up; and the selfsame day, we are told, Abraham circumcised all who were in his house, not one exempted. How delightful that was to God, the carrying out of the commandment. Look at Abraham there, in that house, on that day! What a house it was! What a scene it was! How delightful to heaven! There is an accompaniment of salvation, a thing that belongs to full growth. Dear brethren, have we all come to that? It is a very simple thing — one of the things that belong to full growth — the acceptance of death in a drastic way: it is the acceptance of the death of Christ, “the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ”. Colossians 2:11. It was a wonderful day in Abraham’s house; there was the feeling of the thing, death was rolled in on that house; everyone was affected.

In the next chapter Abraham is sitting at the tent door, and three men come to him; that is to say, he is recognised as a man. The Lord Jesus says to the Father, “The men whom thou gavest me”; John 17:6. It is “the men” in John 17, not ‘the children’ — though that word may be used rightly in other connections; the idea is of men, those who belong to the assembly, those whom the Father has given Him ^[p. 153] out of the world. Now Abraham is recognised in the dignity of manhood. Three men come to him, but it was no less than the appearing of Jehovah to the patriarch. He was honouring that which was already there, that is, the accompanying feature of full growth. So Abraham was honoured by the visit and communication of the Lord, for it was none less than Jehovah who was there, but as a man with two others. How great is the position — God coming into our circumstances to commune with us and honour us, and to give us the opportunity of ministering to Him. Abraham is ready, he is not disconcerted in the least degree. Were he a babe spiritually he would be hardly equal to such an occasion; it belongs to manhood. Abraham got the manhood, he advanced into it; the things that belong to it are with him. He is restful as sitting by the tent door by the oaks of Mamre, speaking of so much in themselves. Jehovah draws near, but as a man with two others; He comes in company, so that you have four persons now, one of them serving the other three. How dignified that is! Abraham is ready for it, he has everything under his hand; there was no consternation or perplexity, as with the women at the tomb. He is ready for the great occasion. It is a picture that may be carried on into the assembly. How urgent it is that we should go on to the things that belong to full growth, so that as a visitation takes place, we are ready; the things are all there under our hand, we are not disconcerted. The scene is beautiful; they remain under the tree, waiting for Abraham to go through what was necessary for the service. That is God coming into circumstances that are marked by full growth, honouring them and Abraham in them.

Finally, I want to call attention to God’s own comment on this man; for He delights to comment on us. I have no doubt that one might hear encouraging things spoken of one (I am not speaking of myself)

^[p. 154] if we could get up into heaven. These things should not be very far away from us. Do you not think there is holy converse in heaven, dear brethren, in regard to what is down here? I am sure there is. God says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” The scene is beautiful. They move on towards Sodom, and Abraham goes with them to conduct them. What a manly thing that was! And to think that God placed Himself in such a position, that Abraham could do it! Now God says, “Shall I hide from Abraham?” Abraham clung to the Lord, he knew Him among the three; and he stood before Him. What a word to the elder brothers and sisters, some of them getting very old and weak — how great is the opportunity for prayer when we can do nothing else! Abraham yet stood before Him, while the others went on to Sodom. “Shall I hide from Abraham”, says Jehovah, “what I am doing?” He is a man now; he is showing the qualities of a man. “He will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice”; that is God’s commendation of him, as it were to Himself; he is worthy of being a friend of God, and of being brought into His secrets. Nothing is to be more desired than to be brought into the secrets of God. Abraham stood before him. Now he is not thinking of himself, but of others — a very fine feature accompanying full growth, that I am thinking of others — and others, perhaps, who have not treated me very well; Lot certainly had not treated Abraham in a very brotherly way. It is remarkable how much we have of unbrotherliness in Scripture; but, thank God, it is not only what is unbrotherly, but what is brotherly, that is found in Scripture. Unbrotherliness, however, is depicted in Scripture as in Edom and Lot. But to think unselfishly, to think of the welfare of persons who have been unbrotherly towards me is a very fine feature of full growth; and ^[p. 155] that is what comes out here. Abraham does not name Lot, it is a question of numbers. He stood before Jehovah and said, “To slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked — far be it from thee!” See how beautifully he speaks to Jehovah. That Jehovah should place Himself in such a position that Abraham could speak to Him thus is what is so striking. Then he says, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” As if God did not know it! But then it was a man who was talking to Him; it was delightful to Him to hear Abraham tell Him that. Now he says, Perhaps there are fifty righteous persons in the city, would you not save the city for their sake? God says, I will. And supposing there were only forty-five, will you save it for their sake? God says, I will save it for forty-five. Supposing there are only forty, he says. Jehovah says, I will save the city for forty. For thirty? Yes. For twenty? Yes. And if there are only ten, says Abraham. I suppose his heart was failing him, he would not go below ten, and he knew well enough how few there were. He did not go below ten, and God did not go below ten. But how fine the position is — the perfect man, as you might say, marked by the features of perfection; for that is the point. He is now able to intercede in this beautifully mutual way with the great Creator of the universe. That is what is open to us. Then we are told that Jehovah finished conversing with Abraham, and went His way. He did not go up from Abraham this time; it is a finished matter. Chapter 17 is unfinished; chapter 18 is finished. Abraham is complete, in the setting; and Jehovah leaves him, and he returns to his place. What a brother he would be locally now! That is the idea: God would have us in perfection before Him, interceding in regard to persons who may have been unkind or unbrotherly. God respected that, and He respects it now. It is the ^[p. 156] best way to serve them, however unbrotherly they have been; in interceding for them you are what you would wish them to be. If you are with God about them, and they get to God about you, the distance will soon disappear. God Himself removes the distance.