THE ASSEMBLY
[p. 422] THE ASSEMBLY
These verses will suffice to show how the thought of the assembly develops. The Lord had spoken of the assembly after Peter’s confession of Him, saying, “On this rock I will build my assembly”, and the thought is then announced that it should be invulnerable against the gates of hell. Having that in view, as well as other scriptures, I thought it would be helpful to consider as to whether we understand what it is to assemble. In moving about, one discerns that saints have more the thought of a congregation in their minds than of an assembly. The idea of a clergyman having sprung up in the history of the church outwardly, the thought of a congregation has almost universally taken the place of the thought of the assembly, and many who are breaking bread have scarcely any different thought from that. The idea of a congregation is a number of people together without any special responsibility, the responsibility being vested in one or two. The principle of a clergyman fosters this, and depends upon it, whereas the thought of an assembly is that each one has a share in things; it is mutual. We come together, sharing mutually what obligations or what privileges there may be. The Lord’s thought was that people should be found in local companies taking up assembly character, so that each one should be there intelligently and with a sense of responsibility as having the mutual state of things at heart. Thus they deliberate, because “the gates of hell” supposes a counsel of evil against the thought of God.
The invulnerability of the assembly largely lies in the power of discernment that is there. Paul said that he would not have the enemy getting an [p. 423] advantage against us. The conditions indicated at Corinth exposed the saints to Satan having an advantage over them, and the apostle says, “We are not ignorant of his thoughts”. Now, if the saints are in a position to know the very thoughts of Satan, you may be sure that he can get no advantage. If a general has the means of discovering not only the counsels, but also the very thoughts of his antagonist, what can the enemy do? Hence the king of Syria was discomfited, because the king of Israel knew his thoughts; Elisha the prophet could tell him the words which the king of Syria spoke in his bed-chamber. I think it is important to take up the thought of the assembly in that way, because we are the assembly militant. Of course there is the side of privilege, but the position today is the saints are the assembly militant, and there are the means by which we can tell the very counsel and thoughts of the enemy, “He that is spiritual discerneth all things ... We have the mind of Christ”, that is, the thinking faculty. I do not think the apostle meant to convey that every Christian could say that, but the spiritual discerns all things; he knows Satan’s thoughts, as well as the thoughts of men. What can the enemy do with such a company who take counsel together? The advantage of an assembly is that we can take counsel together. The Lord said, “Where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”, meaning that we should take up the matters connected with His name. He leaves us to do it, only He supports us in the doing of it; so that the meetings in which brethren confer and take counsel together are of great importance. It supposes ability to look around and see that in which the enemy might attack. At Corinth, the man had judged himself, but they were not restoring him quickly enough.
The exercise of gift in the assembly is an additional thought. The apostle shows the relative value of prophecy as compared with other gifts, but the [p. 424] thought of the assembly is also dealt with — the importance of taking counsel. In Acts 15 we read the apostles and elders came together to consider the matter. That is the great thing. One great feature of our position is, “We took sweet counsel together”, and that is so as we are together in love. “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend”; we get encouragement, and the counsel is sweet, so it says, “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety”. The Lord is with us in that, and the affairs that are of mutual interest in the locality are dealt with in wisdom; even if it be a secular matter, instead of going to court, you put the least in the assembly to judge, but when you come to spiritual matters it does not say the least in the assembly; you call the assembly together in its entirety.
The first divine mention of the assembly is in Matthew 16. The interests of Christ are vested there; He says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. What is involved is that those who compose it are qualified to judge, and they are enabled to maintain divine principles, principles that will not give way against the pressure. Divine principles are everlasting principles. We have to stand by the principles, for the enemy never relents. Taking counsel together helps all the saints. Think of what we are as constituted by the Spirit of God: the saints will rule the universe according to divine appointment; in the light of that we learn to administer now. The church economy is set in that way in localities; the Lord never intended that the assembly should be ruled from any centre on earth. Metropolitanism only comes in in connection with heaven, Jerusalem which is above. The divine thought is that there should be local companies in which God’s principles are maintained, hence at Thessalonica the principle of assembling is seen. Paul went in among them; he was the great former of assemblies;
[p. 425] he had that before him in every locality in which he carried on his service. In teaching them, he would have before him the idea of the assembly, so it says the Thessalonians were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. The thought is that there should be a company in the district in which divine principles are maintained. It is for us to see how this works out now, dealing with things as they were dealt with primarily. We have to work out these same principles, and in doing so we have to accept the breakdown, and not pretend to be the assembly now.
We are together now on the line that comes in in Acts 20: 11. In the beginning it was an unbroken discourse of Paul, but after they had broken bread they conversed; as if the apostle would carry on the mind of God, but others spoke. Coming together “in assembly” is for the breaking of bread, but in 1 Corinthians 14 you have, “If the whole assembly come together into one place”; there it is for ministry. It is not ‘all of you assembled’, but the whole assembly coming together into one place, for the exercise of gift or ministry, and the gift of prophecy being in exercise would bring to light what was there. If one came in who was unconverted, the secrets of his heart would be made manifest, and he would report that God is in you of a truth. The apostle does not say, If ye be come together in assembly; it is a continuation of chapter 11 in a way, but it has not the same official character. As convened now we are not together in assembly; it is more in the nature of a conversation, or ministry. Then it goes on: “When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine ...”; each of you has something; that would be an open meeting, but what we are at today is not that; it is more like the conversing.
[p. 426] I think the coming together in assembly governs the other, because it says, immediately after, speaking of coming together in assembly, “Despise ye the church of God?” In chapter 14, “If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church”. These passages show it is still the thought of the assembly, and further, in the light of that, it is enjoined that the women keep silence. Coming together in assembly directly governs the thought of the Lord’s supper. A meeting like the present has not the same official character.
Referring to Acts 1 first of all it is said of the Lord, “Being assembled with them”, and then, “They therefore, being come together”. The one is from His side and the other from our side. When they were come together they began to ask questions. “Being assembled with them” would give Him the dominant place, so He, “being assembled with them, commanded them”. That would answer to the thought of the assembly, in which He is pre-eminent; the other side is that we may ask.
We take counsel, and this is largely the way in which the gates of hell are overthrown. There is deliberation together that what is for God may be maintained and that in a divine way. Brethren ought to see the great advantage of taking counsel in regard to matters that relate to the Lord’s interests in their district, and indeed in the whole world. Thus the truth of “My assembly” should give a tone to us in all our intercourse; we should carry about with us a sense of being connected with it. Think of what is vested in it! that the Lord has something here now in which His interests are vested. Every believer in the locality should commit himself to this, but we know they do not all do that, but the moment one does, he becomes the object of Satan’s special attack. We [p. 427] are bound up with one another, and the counsel that we have helps greatly. If we have the thought of the assembly rightly before us, we see that there is very great scope. 1 Corinthians 11 to 14 shows what a wide scope there is. We are concerned about edification, and anything that makes for that is quite within the scope of these scriptures.
I think the Lord in the forty days was teaching the disciples by example how to assemble. It is a great lesson to learn: “Being assembled with them”. You can understand how Peter and John would take note of what He did, and of how He acted. They must have been accustomed to assemble together even before the Lord died. Luke has in mind the new thing coming in.
In Antioch the Holy Spirit said, “Separate me now Barnabas and Saul”; the saints are then brought into it, and having laid their hands on them they let them go. I think it is under that head that we may ask a brother to minister. The Spirit sent them out, and the others laid their hands on them. The power to minister comes from the Spirit; He sends you, and gives you the power. At Troas (Acts 20) a number of places were represented, Derbe, Berea, Thessalonica, and of Asia the small province in which the seven churches were, and it says that on the first day of the week “we being assembled to break bread”; the moral element, not the official, predominated. The “we” covers all; not only the saints at Troas and these visiting brethren, but even Paul himself. They did not come together to hear Paul, nor does it appear they asked him to preach; he comes in to indicate the mind of God governing the position.
Breaking bread is the local character of things. In Acts 20 they brought the young man away [p. 428] alive; that was after the breaking of bread, I think it right to take note of what there may be present. The way is the way of mutuality; the rich is not to give more, or the poor less. The breaking of bread was partaken of in the full light of Paul’s ministry; that gives it its true setting, which is the purpose of God. Acts 20 is a love chapter; you have embraces in the first verse, “Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them”, and in the last verse but one they “fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him”; then in the middle of the chapter you have Paul enfolding the boy; so that it is a love chapter, which is very suggestive, and would fit in with the way in which the Lord’s supper is restored to the assembly. The presence of the apostle was everything, and the fact that he would depart on the morrow has a spiritual significance. The instruction in the chapter is wonderful; the more you look into it, the more you see that it is a chapter of love, in divine light; it is the top note of apostolic ministry. The love in this chapter fits in with the epistle to the Ephesians. Their falling on his neck and kissing him ardently reminds one of Luke 15, the divine side; how the gentiles had received the love, the magnificence of the gift from God. Paul is here representative of the Lord, and the fact that they fell on his neck and kissed him shows that there was a complete response to the love manifested. There was the evidence of first love.
The recovery of the breaking of bread is indicated in this chapter, but we are brought down to the mutual side, and that shakes the outward historical system to its foundations. The “we” sets the whole fabric aside. “We being assembled to break bread”. Out of that “we” there is a spiritual system built up; that is the position we [p. 429] are in now; it is the nucleus of the new foundation of things. Heaven itself is marked by the spirit of mutuality. After the cloud on the mount of transfiguration had passed away, they saw “Jesus only with themselves”, Mark 9: 8. Think of what that means!
There was only one Paul, but there were many lights, Timothy and the others. The jailor asked for a light. The lights are in the assembly.
God would look for the freshness of life among us; the truth of eternal life coming in has brought that out. It has been a great exercise, and the result of it would be to bring in life in its primary conception, life brought in by the embrace of Paul.