NEARNESS AND WARMTH
John 1:18; 13:23; Ephesians 5:29-33; Acts 28:3 (to “fire”)
G.B.G. These scriptures suggest nearness and warmth. The verse in John 1 refers to “the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father”; it suggests the nearness and warmth of the relationship between the Father and the Son. We cannot measure the depth of that relationship in its fulness; it is unique. How much it must have meant for the Lord Jesus to come into manhood and have the new experience of being loved as a Man by the Father. He is “in the bosom of the Father”. It is wonderful that God has chosen to make Himself known in this way as Father. This relationship has been set out perfectly between the Father and the only-begotten Son. That person of the Godhead came into manhood and into this relationship, which is unique, and yet sonship was God’s purpose for man. There is not much said in the Scripture about the Lord’s love for the Father, there is more about the Father’s love for the Son, but the whole life of the Lord Jesus was an expression of His love for the Father. In all He did, He always thought of the Father.
In chapter 13 there is a reference to John being in the bosom of the Lord Jesus, and it brings before us our relationship with Him. Again it suggests nearness and warmth. God has chosen to make Himself known in this way, so that as individuals we might know the nearness and warmth of a relationship with the Lord Jesus, and know the nearness and warmth of sonship. In chapter 5 of Ephesians, the thought of cherishing suggests nearness and warmth in the relationship of the assembly with Christ. Then in Acts 28, Paul took a certain quantity of sticks, put them in a bundle and laid them on the fire; you get the thought of warmth there. How often the Lord Jesus, especially in John’s gospel, spoke of that feature among His own. He saw it as absolutely essential in view of His leaving them. I wondered if we might get some profit from that. The Lord Jesus went into the distance; He said, “why art Thou far from … the words of my groaning?”, Ps.22:1. That was distance. He knew that “by the breath of God ice is given” (Job 37:10); He endured the cold, so that we could be brought into sonship.
J.A.B. Would you say something about the significance of the word “is”; “who is in the bosom of the Father”?
G.B.G. The Lord Jesus entered into the relationship of sonship as soon as He came into the world. He came into the condition of flesh and blood, and it was always true of Him that from the time He came into manhood, He was in the bosom of the Father. Then of course, throughout the whole dispensation right up to the present time, He is in the bosom of the Father.
J.A.B. Yes, and He always will be. That relationship subsists eternally from the point at which the Lord Jesus took it up when He came into manhood and took the place of the only-begotten Son. This verse is so blessedly attractive; “the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father”. There is nobody here who cannot understand these words, and the simplicity of what you have said about warmth and nearness would attract our hearts.
G.B.G. I think so, and the Lord Jesus in manhood here enjoyed that relationship. Just as a father and son would operate, He heard what the Father said and He learned from the Father. Think of the pleasure of the Father in having such a Man here who, as often has been said, was adequate to satisfy His affections. That had never happened before, and the Lord Jesus had never had this experience. That Person of the Godhead had never had the experience of being loved as a Man by the Father. It is all set out perfectly in view of us learning from that relationship.
P.A.G. Did the Father particularly appreciate that, having come into this relationship of affection, the Lord was willing in devotion and love for the Father to go into the distance you spoke about. I was thinking of that verse in Job that you referred to. It goes on to speak about “thy garments become warm when he quieteth the earth by the south wind”, Job 37:17. Would that remind us that the Lord was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father?
G.B.G. Yes; the Father’s love and power operated in raising Him from among the dead. It was a selective resurrection, and there is a lesson for us in that. The Father left all others in the grave, and brought that one Man out. It shows how Jesus was exceedingly pleasurable to the Father, that He brought that one Man out of the grave. How much it had meant to the Son to be in the bosom of the Father. That had not been enjoyed while He had been abandoned, but the forsaking was necessary in view of others being brought into the blessedness, joy and intimacy of the relationship of sonship.
R.G. Does nearness involve active affection?
G.B.G. Yes, that is good. It is amazing that God had Himself looked for this, that men might be in sonship and in nearness to Him. He could bless at a distance, and it would be great blessing, but it was in the Father’s heart that we would enjoy nearness ourselves. As we often say, sonship is primarily for the Father’s heart. Think of the enjoyment which the Father has in expressing His love towards His sons, the great enjoyment on the Father’s part of having persons in nearness. The Lord Jesus was constantly in this nearness, in this holy intimacy.
R.G. That is helpful. So where nearness does not exist, God would be active to ensure the distance is removed.
G.B.G. That is right. Paul wrote “that we should be holy and blameless before him in love”, Eph.1:4. That is not only our relationships with God; it also involves horizontal relationships with each other. God cannot have His portion unless there is that intimacy and nearness between us as well as in our relationships with divine Persons. We will be “holy and blameless before him in love” eternally.
R.G. I am glad you brought out the thought as to the assembly in the third scripture. That would bear on it very much.
G.B.G. It often amazes me to think of what has been in divine purpose. The Lord Jesus is personally so great, and yet we are brought into such an intimate relationship with Him. Then the relationship of brethren is an intimate one. We are to know union with Christ as the heavenly Man. That is such an intimate relationship, involving nearness and warmth with that Person.
G.A.B. Do we have an illustration of this when Jacob desired to see Joseph’s sons and he said, “Bring them … that I may bless them”, Gen.48:9. Joseph brought them nearer, and Jacob kissed and embraced them, but he went on to say to Joseph “I had not thought to see thy face” (v.11). I wondered if that would allude to the abandonment you referred to earlier, but now that is all over. Jacob embraced Joseph’s sons and kissed them.
G.B.G. Yes. The meaning of the names of the sons suggests that there is what was past, but now it was “Bring them … to me, that I may bless them”. Some things cannot be enjoyed unless there is nearness. You cannot kiss someone unless you are near them, and that is what divine Persons have purposed. There is blessing in nearness.
A.M.B. The declaration of who the Father is required “the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”. Jesus knew what it was to be the Beloved in His Father’s bosom.
G.B.G. I am glad you mention that. The declaration and the revelation of God has been altogether coloured by this relationship, has it not? It was One in the closeness of this relationship with the Father who declared God. Everyone who is a believer in the Lord Jesus in this hall is the product of that declaration and revelation, and the intention is that we should enjoy what has been revealed.
A.M.B. It was the Lord’s delight to make known the Father. Does the Father’s pleasure come into that too? The Lord speaks about what was well pleasing in the Father’s sight in making His name known to babes (Luke 10:21). Confidence and affection and nearness all come out in that.
G.B.G. The better each of us knows the Lord Jesus, the better we will know the Father and the better we will know the Spirit, because the full declaration and revelation have been made known in this Person. The result is not just vocal response, but also a formative response to how God has been revealed.
A.M.B. I am glad you say that. It is the result of the revelation being formed in us.
G.B.G. It has of course all been set forth in Christ. The Father has chosen to be made known in this way of grace and love, therefore we have to be formed in these features. I often think of the Spirit as helping us in our feelings, in sensitivity. We have to take on that formatively.
P.A.G. Does “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge” (Eph.3:19) morally lie behind being “filled even to all the fulness of God”, and glory to God in the assembly in Christ Jesus. If we did not know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge, then the fulness of God would not be known and the response being equal to the revelation would not be known.
G.B.G. Yes, that is right, so we know the love of Christ personally; “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge” is very much Godward, is it not? Christ has that in His heart. He has fully revealed God, and as we are associated with that Person, formed after Him, there is a response which is suitable to God.
P.A.G. Yes. I wondered whether part at least of the response being equal to the revelation is in the assembly, but it is “in Christ Jesus”. I do not want to put a definition on it, but “in Christ Jesus” appeals to me as being the basis on which the response is equal to the revelation. How could it be otherwise?
G.B.G. Yes; it is the assembly in Christ Jesus. That is very intimate; it suggests formation and also affection.
J.A.B. You referred to knowing the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge. That might seem an impossibility, to know something that passes knowledge. What you said is important, that every one of us here as a believer knows something of the love of the Christ. Then there is the love which the Lord Jesus has for His Father. That is, in its fulness, beyond our understanding, but it brings the two thoughts together in that verse.
G.B.G. There is what is infinite in what is between the Father and the Son, but as you say, it draws us in. It is not to exclude persons. It is so attractive and it sets forth perfectly the thought of love and relationship and affection.
J.A.B. The love that we have for the Lord Jesus is something that has been given to us by God, because God is love. As we are formed in response to that love, is our love for Jesus of the character of the love that pervades the divine realm?
G.B.G. That is right; it is that “the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them”, John 17:26. That is just what it is. It is divine love which affects us, and produces what is like itself.
D.A.B. Is this really worked out later in John 1 where these persons say, “where abidest thou” (v.38)? The Lord could have said, ‘I am abiding in the bosom of the Father’, but He says, “Come and see”. Is He desirous of drawing persons into the full blessedness and light of what He Himself was enjoying in His relationship with the Father, and declaring it to these disciples? Was there something being formed in them?
G.B.G. Yes, I think so. Luke’s gospel presents the Lord Jesus as expressing God coming out towards us, but a feature of John’s gospel is persons in whom God had worked moving towards the Lord Jesus. That is what you have referred to. There was what was attractive in what the disciples saw. They had not seen anything like it before, “as of an only-begotten with a father”. What they must have learned! In the case of Zacchӕus, the Lord said, ‘Zacchӕus, I am coming to your house’ (Luke 19:5). He would have been in Zacchӕus’ house for a day; what a privilege Zacchӕus had. He must have learned so much, but what you have mentioned was even greater. What the disciples saw in the Lord Jesus attracted them; how much they would have learned from that experience.
The scripture in chapter 13 is very well known but I think it is good to go over these things. They keep our affections soft and in line with what the divine mind would be for us.
J.S.S. Does this kind of nearness allow for a special kind of disclosure or communication? I was thinking of the way in which certain things might be revealed to someone who is particularly close to the Lord. Some things may be communicated at a distance, but would there be something special about what would be disclosed to a person in such a near place?
G.B.G. Yes, I think so. Divine persons want us to appreciate what is precious to them. Their secrets are made known to persons who appreciate them. John is a good example of that. He wrote in his gospel about certain things and you wonder how he knew them. He must have gleaned a lot from the Lord as being near to Him. He realised the benefit of being near. In this case there was only room for one person in the bosom of Jesus, but as we all know, in Christianity there is room for every person to be in this place, near to Him. There is something especially sweet about that individual nearness to the Lord. Mr Darby said that nearness to the Lord Jesus was the sweetest thing he knew of individually. The next sweetest thing is bringing someone else to know that Person.
R.G. Do you think the Lord Himself showed how much He valued this matter of nearness? He said “because I am not alone” (John 8:16), and He said elsewhere, “the Father is with me”, John 16:32. Is this nearness necessary for the working out of what you spoke of earlier as declaration and revelation?
G.B.G. Nearness was essential on the Lord’s part, and our coming into nearness is also essential. The Lord would set us free to realise that this is open to us. We do not need to feel that He is too great, that He is beyond us. Of course His greatness surpasses our understanding, but the Lord did things while with His own to cause them to have liberty with Himself. So John took this near place in the bosom of Jesus; he did not feel inhibited or unworthy. What condescending gentleness and grace of the Lord to operate so that we might know this liberty. This place is ours.
A.D.M. Would this place of warmth and nearness that you have spoken of lead to stability? Judas was about to betray Jesus and to go out, but you get the impression that John knew an inward peace and stability which was special to him. But as you have been saying, it is available to us all. What you have said about the principle of attraction permeating John’s gospel is very helpful. We have been taught that John largely writes from the standpoint of what is astronomical. We would be drawn in, and that would bring about a certain character in us that is pleasing to God.
G.B.G. Your mention of stability is good. You might not naturally link that with affection and nearness, but to have this relationship with the Lord Jesus makes the believer inwardly stable. John was not disturbed, was he? The Lord was not disturbed, although He felt what was before Him. Whatever happens, nothing can change the blessedness of that relationship with the Lord, that nearness with the Lord. We can all have it, and it is absolutely essential that we should have it. Everything flows out from this. The Lord had just washed their feet and that was a very lowly service. Such a great Person did that, and then John described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. This was the first time he described himself in that way. He took this place because he knew that the Lord really loved him and was prepared to serve him in whatever way was needed. It is the same with ourselves. His love is infinite, unchanging. It is an amazing thing to appreciate how infinite His love is for us.
J.A.B. ln everyday life, only so many people can be really near to a person. People talk about having an inner circle. There is no such thing with Christ and those who love Him; everyone is to be near to Him. I was thinking of what you said earlier about what flows between us. If you are near to the Lord Jesus, and I am near to the Lord Jesus, then what flows between you and me will be fine.
G.B.G. That is right. So we all have to have an impression that we are special. We are all special to the Lord. The Lord says in John’s gospel, “I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine”, John 10:14. I think we progress in that knowledge. He knows us perfectly of course, but “known of those that are mine” is in relation to the sheep. So the experiences we pass through are intended to bring us into the enjoyment of the relationship, binding us more closely to Him and developing greater knowledge of Him.
J.T.B. So it would encourage us that every one of us is the Father’s gift to Christ.
G.B.G. Love lies behind that, does it not? Think of how the Father must consider for His Son, and what He does in consideration for His Son, in love for Him, is that He gives persons to Him. The assembly is the Father’s consideration for His Son. Individual believers are the Father’s consideration for His Son. The families in a coming day will be part of the Father’s consideration for His Son. God’s purpose centres in Christ, and it is all to make much of Him.
J.S. It would make way then for the new commandment further down the chapter. What do you say about it?
G.B.G. The disciples were going to be in new circumstances, without the Lord. Therefore it is a new commandment. The Lord brings in this thought of the new commandment time and time again in these chapters. He saw that it was absolutely essential in view of His absence that this feature of loving one another would be among them. The Lord knew more than anyone how active the enemy is. Any one of us can be a tool in the enemy’s hand, to spoil what divine Persons are looking for. Even Peter was. But time and time again, the Lord brings in this thought about loving one another. The thought of commandment is imperative; it is absolutely essential that this is the case.
J.Spk. The commandment is based on love, is it not?
G.B.G. Yes. It is not difficult, because we have a God-given nature which, we might say, naturally loves one another. We have that nature of love in us.
P.A.G. Is oneness a fruit of nearness and warmth?
G.B.G. Yes. Men try for unity and to bring things together but this is the only way, to have the divine nature in operation and love flowing; then you get true oneness. That is not only for our enjoyment but it is for the pleasure of divine Persons. They see persons down here who are different. The Lord and the Father see everything that is going on. What it must mean to Them to see that feature operating among persons down here in whom They have worked. I was thinking about that in suggesting Acts 28. There was what Paul did; he exemplified this feature in his ministry, but there was also what he was personally and in the way he operated. Even if he was less loved, he would love them (2 Cor.12:15). He would gladly spend and be utterly spent for the sake of the Corinthians; it was set forth in him. The Son of God was revealed in him, therefore Paul was marked by the features of sonship. This feature of love shone out in him; how he laboured and served the saints. He laid this quantity of sticks on the fire to add to the warmth that was already there. A young person can do this; it might be a simple thing which a young person does for an older person. It is all adding to the warmth, not only what we bring in a public way, which is important, but for the body. It is a close knit and intimate organism and we can fulfil our part in it.
D.M.Jr. I have been thinking that the relationship of sonship on resurrection morning was opened up to a sister. It might seem strange when it is a masculine thought, but it was a most wonderful message that was given to Mary.
G.B.G. It was because of her affection. She was there. She had such affection for the Lord that she was given one of the most wonderful messages ever given to anyone up to that point. The Lord Jesus, as Son, in that relationship of sonship, so enjoyed that relationship with his Father that He wanted others to be brought into the enjoyment of it, so it was the first thing that He said on resurrection morning. As Man, He enjoyed that relationship with His God so much that He wanted others to be brought into it. It is as though there was nothing greater that He could speak about or bring others into.
G.A.B. John in his epistle says, “If any one say, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar”, 1 John 4:20. That is negative, but out of that comes this commandment which we have from Him, that “he that loves God love also his brother”. You cannot have the one without the other, can you?
G.B.G. Yes, that is right. We have not seen God, and we love Him. We do see our brethren. It was once said that all we have in a physical way is one another. That is all we can see in actuality – one another – and that is God’s provision for us. It is actually enjoyed in the way of fellowship and in our communion together.
J.S. We often think of what God received from Christ and how His delight in His Son was proclaimed in opening the heavens upon Him and expressing His delight. Now He sees it extended, in that He has a whole generation of that order of man.
G.B.G. Yes, I am glad you bring that in. That order of man will be before God eternally, and that in relation to every family. There will only be one order of manhood before God eternally. It is seen in those that compose the assembly and it will be seen in every other family. It is an amazing thing to me that One of the persons of the Godhead came into manhood, and that was the only way in which that heavenly, blessed order of manhood could come into being. It was a person of the Godhead that came into manhood, and by the Spirit we are formed according to that order of manhood, all for God’s pleasure.
D.A.B. The Lord in His prayer in John 17 spoke of the men who the Father had given to Him, that they might be one as He and the Father are (v.11). The Lord’s desire for His Father was to bring persons into the blessedness and nearness, the warmth and knowledge of the Father’s love for the Son and the Son’s love for the Father. It is a wonderful prayer. I love reading John 17 over and over again and to get a fresh touch every time.
G.B.G. And chapter 17 covers the whole dispensation. It is not entirely related to the assembly, although it is nearly all about persons in this dispensation. But there are points in it which are wider than that.
D.A.B. What do you mean by that?
G.B.G. Well, “that the world may know that thou hast sent me” (v23) is wider than those of this dispensation, while “authority over all flesh” (v2) is also a wider thought. But it is primarily concerned with those of this dispensation, and you could never think of that prayer not being answered, could you? It is a very attractive chapter. What comes out very prominently is the thought of oneness, according to the standard of it seen between the Lord and the Father. That is what God is looking for. He is One, and that feature of oneness is needed if God is to be satisfied.
D.A.B. So the Lord’s desire is that He might draw us into the bosom of divine affections, if I could use that word. As we sang this morning, we are to know the blessed secret of the Lord’s preciousness to the Father (Hymn 277).
G.B.G. Shall we touch on Ephesians? We could have read more of this chapter but this word “cherish” suggests warmth. You could not cherish someone unless you were near them. The Lord nourishes and cherishes His assembly, and it is obvious that if you cherish someone, it is in view of a response. So the Lord is looking for a loving response. It is a delightful thing to think that while we experience this now, we will experience it eternally. The Lord’s love will be active towards us then, and there will be no hindrance on our side; we will be in a perfect state. We have to combat the flesh now, but it will have gone forever. He will cherish the assembly. We experience His activity in this way now, and we will do so eternally.
R.G. Do you think warmth would relate particularly to the activities of the Holy Spirit?
G.B.G. You can almost bring the thought of warmth into the very word Comforter. I know that it means that He takes charge of our affairs, that is the thought in the Comforter, but all the activities of the Spirit are in love from His side. That must underlie His activities with us.
R.G. So you can see that working in a local company, if it is working. Things flow together where the Holy Spirit is free; there is real proximity. But if the Holy Spirit is not free, then there is a coldness comes in, do you think?
G.B.G. Yes, that is right. We all know what we are in ourselves. It is the easiest thing to be envious of somebody else. As soon as you realise it is there in you, judge it! Be honest with yourself, because that kind of thing militates against what is in the divine mind for a local assembly. We must be honest with ourselves. Little things in my mind and heart which are secret can operate against what is in the divine mind for the local assembly. The pattern for every local assembly is Christ.
R.G. That is helpful. So in John 17, the Lord says first of all “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (v.21). That involves the present time. There is a testimony in the Holy Spirit moving freely in a local company.
G.B.G. That is right. How powerful the testimony was at the beginning of Christianity. There was a powerful testimony in how these persons were in relationship with one another, how they behaved with one another. The Lord said that the world would know that they were disciples of His if they had love amongst themselves (John 13:35). There is testimony in that, and also enjoyment on the divine side.
G.A.B. The Lord loved the assembly and delivered Himself up for it. That was a specific demonstration of His love. Then the fact that He is cherishing it now, sanctifying it by the washing of water by the word, shows His present love. I was thinking of the words we sometimes sing:
’Unquenched by death, eternal, still the same,
Living and ever precious is Thy love!’. (Hymn 318)
G.B.G. So we can be channels for the expression of that love. Paul was used in a unique way as an expression of the love of Christ for His church in his labour and how he served. We can be channels for the love of Christ finding expression. The body is for the expression of Christ.
G.A.B. I suppose you see the demonstration of that in Acts 20 – they fell on Paul’s neck. There was such warmth of affection there.
G.B.G. They could not bear to think that they would never see his face again.
J.A.B. Say more about how we can be channels for the love of God.
G.B.G. It is the expression of the love of Christ. Headship would come into that. Are we under the influence of Christ and near to Him? The Spirit would give us impressions and substance, a living touch to bring in, but it is all coming from Christ as Head. His love for His church underlies the operation of Christ’s headship.
J.A.B. I think what you have said is vital. We are so used to thinking about breakdown in relation to the assembly publicly, but what it says in this verse about the Lord nourishing and cherishing the assembly has happened and is happening. It is nearly two thousand years since this was written, and the results of it are accumulating in heaven with those who are now with the Lord, and presently in those in whom this is going on. The love that flows between members of His body is something that we experience.
G.B.G. We are of His flesh and of His bones. That is what the assembly is. It is derived from Christ and that is the thought of headship, therefore there is only what is of Christ.
A.M.B. Even in natural things, an expression of affection brings out the best in somebody. But in the spiritual things which we enjoy together, as we are doing this afternoon in our links together, as we express affection towards one another, it brings out the best, does it not? It touches the work of God in our souls.
G.B.G. Yes. We could easily bring out the worst in one another, by how we react in the flesh, but it does not need to be so. Constant self-judgment is needed.
A.M.B. So Paul wrote “the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part”, Eph.4:16. That is you and me; that is each of us, according to our measure, all working to bring about an increase in what is for Christ.
G.B.G. When you think of the spiritual body, it conveys nearness; we are all near and we are all part of one another. The primary thought in the family is that we love one another, while the primary thought in the body is that we are part of one another. These things work together for the functioning of the body. We are actually part of one another, and that is a divine thought.
J.S. In relation to the expression “joint of supply”, we think of joints and how we move in love and movement. Joints of supply are very fine things.
G.B.G. We can each be contributors through these joints of supply if we have right relations with the Lord personally. We each have to hold Christ as Head.
P.A.G. Warmth comes from circulation. It starts by being here, which means that you are in circulation and you are providing warmth. Then you could bring forward an impression of Christ or do something to serve the brethren; all that adds to the warmth, but the first thing is to be here.
G.B.G. That is right. Reading the ministry is not exactly the same as being here, because in actually being here, you get the atmosphere. It should be an exercise to be at the meetings. Brothers have the exercise to contribute, while sisters contribute in affection, and in their spirits and prayers.
We touched on Acts 28 earlier on. We had an address in Kirkcaldy recently about our baskets of first-fruits. The basket is the believer. What we bring is important; it was suggested that we could bring all sorts of things in our basket. Paul added to the warmth that was there. What a fine activity it was, to be concerned to add to the blessing and warmth that there is in the local place. We have to think about these things, about what I am adding to the local meeting, not only when we are together like this but including also what goes on in the background, which is so important.
Reading, Grangemouth
15 February 2015