THE FATHER SUPREME IN THE ECONOMY
A.J.G. I was thinking about how the Lord draws the attention of His own to His Father, by saying, “My Father is greater than I”. This is not only found in verse 28 of chapter 14, but also in chapter 10: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all”, v 29. So it seems that the Lord is seeking to bring the hearts of His people, when they are engaged with Him and held in His love, to turn to the Father, not just the Father, but to His Father, “My Father”, as He said with so much affection, so that we are impressed by the love of the Son towards His Father, in His operations of love in view of the pleasure of His Father, so that we may know Him in the most extended way. I mean that the Lord seizes the opportunity to introduce the thought of His Father’s house, with many abodes, as if to give enlargement to our thoughts touching the Father. I believe that we need to be enlarged in our thoughts as to the Father. It should be noted that neither the Lord in John 14, nor Paul in Ephesians 3, dwell on the idea of families, giving teaching that relates to it; however, the idea is there in these two scriptures, the families being in contact with the Father. We must therefore be impressed by the fact that He has many families before Him and that the Name of the Father will mark the whole redeemed universe and each of the families. This is what we need to appreciate as being introduced into the unique place that we have in a plan characterised by the Father. We are brought into a unique place, in that we are there with Christ, as the Lord says: “that where I am ye also may be”.
I then thought that in the last verses of chapter 14 we have the conditions in which the Father is to be known by His sons; and not only the Father, but God Himself in the fulness that includes the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. In verse 23, the Lord speaks of Himself and His Father. He says that, under certain conditions, we will come and we will make our abode, the Spirit being already there, and He abides there; so that in verse 23 of this chapter, conditions are secured, in which the Deity is known in fulness by the saints at the present time. Then, in verse 24 of chapter 17, the Lord prays that we may be with Him to contemplate His glory which Father has given Him, with the view, I believe, that we are further expanded in the light of the economy and all that attached to Christ as a centre, in view of praise addressed to God. What suggested these passages to me was the simple thought that came before me this morning, in what the Lord said, “for my Father is greater than I”, as if to commend to His disciples what is connected to the Father and to direct their thoughts to Him.
E.J.B. Would this passage suggest that, by being in the presence of the Father and engaged in His service, we do not consider only what He is for us, but the whole vast extent of His interests?
A.J.G. That is exactly what I thought, giving us an impression of what the Father is in His blessed character, the very Name of Father to mark all the different families whether in heaven, or on earth.
R.D.H. Is this seen in Revelation 14, where the hundred-and-forty-four thousand are presented as having the Name of His Father on their foreheads?
A.J.G. Yes, that is a very interesting scripture. They have the Name of the Lamb on their foreheads and the Name of the Father of the Lamb. Another similar passage is found in Matthew 25, where it is said in verses 31-34: “But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit down upon his throne of glory, and all the nations shall be gathered before him; and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, Come, blessed of my Father”. One is struck in seeing that the saved nations, blessed on the earth during the millennium, will be recognised by the King of kings as having received their blessing from His Father, the Father of the King of kings.
C.D.B. Can we say that the two passages that are being quoted, Revelation 14 and Matthew 25, relate to the millennial day, while the chapter which is before us relates to eternity?
A.J.G. Yes, and in eternity, there will no longer be nations, as I understand it, there will simply be men, albeit the idea of families is an eternal idea, as I understand it. But what impresses me is God’s desire that His Name of Father, that Name of grace and affection, should be known by all the families, in different degrees no doubt, but this Name gives its character to the whole position.
W.G.C. Can we link this to the fact that the kingdom will be given up to the One who is God and Father? Is it that it is given to Him by Christ so that there may be His imprint, with a view to the state in which God will be all in all?
A.J.G. First of all, the Father’s supremacy is accentuated, then the end, so that God should be all in all. I suppose that all the families will have some understanding of the Father, because all of them will be gathered in One who is the Beloved Son. “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand”, John 3: 35. So all the families; no matter what they are, will be brought together in one, in One who is in this position of love. Wonderful conception! The whole scene, so grand, will be characterised by the Father’s love.
J.B. Is it for this reason that it is written, in Ephesians 3: 16: “in order that he may give you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened”?
A.J.G. He may give you “to be strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man; that the Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts”.
J.B. It connects the Father to all the families that are named in the heavens and on the earth, even families who do not know him as Father. Is that right?
A.J.G. I do not think that at all. The scriptures seem to indicate that some impression of the Father is on each family. We can only enlarge a little on this subject. As for ourselves, we know that we occupy a distinct position, because we know Christ’s Father as being our Father. The Lord says, “that where I am ye also may be”. On the other hand, it seems to me that that, since the Father’s Name attaches itself to all the families, it is that all the families are gathered in the Beloved Son. “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand”. In John 14 the Lord says, “My Father”, not just ‘The Father’, but “my Father”, which reminds us of the affections of the Son, taking care of His Father’s interests, giving Himself wholly to the pleasure of His Father.
-.T. Can one think that the abodes spoken of here are for the various families?
A.J.G. Yes. These are the families mentioned in Ephesians 3, some heavenly, others earthly.
C.M.M. Might the idea apply of the sons of God shouting for joy when the earth was founded? Did the blessed God think of families from the beginning?
A.J.G. It seems that He finds His pleasure in the response from sons, from those who have an intelligent appreciation of what He is doing.
R.J.B. The note in Ephesians 3 indicates that the word ‘family’, in Greek, is related by derivation to ‘Father’.
A.J.G. We must recognise that we know little about other families. I suppose that every dispensation has produced some family according to the light in which God was known then.
-.L. Does God indicate what is in His mind when He speaks to Abraham in Genesis 17: “a father of a multitude of nations have I made thee”? In Genesis 22, the conversation continues in the same sense; God speaks of blessing him, and He adds, “I will … greatly multiply thy seed … and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves”.
A.J.G. I could not say much in this connection. However, it may be noted that God gives Abram his name, for the name Abram signifies ‘high father’. Then he has been named Abraham, ‘father of a multitude’, as if God wanted to extend that name of father.
H.W. The Lord has given us full teaching as to the Father; and what a unique place we have before the Father, together and with the Lord in the presence of the Father! We need to be set in liberty in the service, when we are in the presence of such a great and glorious Person.
A.J.G. This is my thought. There is little to say about these other families but we have a certain knowledge of the part we have with Christ before His Father and our Father. In enjoying this our portion, we may then receive enlargement in the sense that the Father has great thoughts. Perhaps we have little possibility to dwell on His thoughts; but we know that He has such thoughts.
C.H. It says, “their angels in the heavens continually behold the face of my Father”. Is this another family?
A.J.G. I hesitate to say much about the angels in relation to the families. I believe that is just but I would not want to be too dogmatic on this point.
J.B. “Jesus, knowing that his hour had come that he should depart out of this world to the Father”, John 13: 1.
A.J.G. That is why He tells Mary of Magdala, on the morning of the resurrection: “Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father”, as if he had not yet arrived at the end of what was before Him. In reaching this end, in entering before the Father, He shows the place that has been designated for us in the Father’s purpose; “that where I am ye also may be”.
E.L. In the expression: “you believe”, which is so much at the end of John 16, did the Lord want to indicate that He has given His disciples some impression of the Father? He speaks of Himself: “I came out from the Father and have come into the world”, then as leaving the world to go away to the Father; and it is at this point where the disciples say that He speaks to them openly and no longer in parables. They know what He is saying.
A.J.G. And they add: “By this we believe that thou art come from God”. They were led into the whole thought, that is, that the Lord being come out from the Father, His thought was to manifest God fully.
-.C. Would you like to say a few words about the service of the Lord, preparing the place?
A.J.G. I do not think that it involves anything other than the fact that He was above as Man, and He immediately adds: “that where I am ye also may be”. This flows out from the Father’s purpose. If therefore He came into manhood, the assembly, which was given to Christ to be united to Him, has to be with Him.
E.J.B. So your thought is that He is not presently busy preparing the place for us, but the place is ready by the fact that He has gone above?
T.I. Knowing this, we should enjoy all the greater liberty in the Father’s service.
A.J.G. What more could be done, in a sense of preparation? It seems to me that if we enjoy the love of Christ and if our minds are settled by these words: “I am coming again and shall receive you to myself”, then we have the feeling that His place is our place, and that now.
A.W. Does this relate a little to Genesis 2: “And Jehovah Elohim planted a garden in Eden eastward, and there put Man”, as if He wanted to give the man a special place. Can we see in this the idea that God wants to have man before Him in this special place and like Christ?
A.J.G. The idea that is found there is that God has a special place for man, but I would not link the garden and the Father’s house. I think the garden would rather represent what the Lord has in the saints down here, what God has in the assembly on earth. God has His garden down here in the assembly. I think the Corinthian position corresponds to it. The garden was planted eastward, in Eden. Eden speaks of what is for God’s pleasure, and the East indicates that we are in the light of the coming of the Lord, and that is exactly how the epistle to the Corinthians begins. It says: “awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ”, 1 Cor l: 7. Man is placed in the garden to till it and to guard it. That is what our responsibility is now. While the world produces nothing for God, we must cultivate the garden for His pleasure.
H.W. The Lord says, to begin with, “Let not your heart be troubled”. He is going on to speak of the Father’s house. They were no doubt occupied with His departure, but He wanted to engage them with the place they had before the Father, of which He could say in this wonderful economy (and we use this term with reverence), “for my Father is greater than I”.
A.J.G. He wanted to link their thoughts to the great stability of divine counsel, and He was about to go above to show the place that man can now occupy there. This is the glorious way, full of dignity, in which the Lord is presented in the gospel of John; that is how He moves, from the beginning to the end of this gospel. It is not so much about the fact that He will be put to the death, as the fact that He goes straight to the Father.
J.B. Can we say that the Father’s house is the place where we will enjoy our established relationships with Jesus?
A.J.G. Certainly.
E.J.B. However, it is “my Father’s house”.
A.J.G. Yes, “my Father’s house”. The Lord’s considerations are for His Father in the first place, not exactly for us. We find a place there, of course, but He is occupied with His Father.
W.G.C. He insists on the particular link in which we are associated with Him above; and this is not all, because as you said, we have to take account of these deep affections that flow from the various families to the Father.
A.J.G. Think of the heart of the Father, who has conceived such thoughts, envisaging that many families would come into evidence over the centuries, during six thousand years, and that the assembly would come to light as being the greatest of all the families.
-.L. Do you not think that we often fail to appreciate the Lord’s response to the disciples’ words: “teach us to pray”? The Lord said to them, “When ye pray, say, Father, thy name be hallowed”, Luke 11: 2.
A.J.G. We need to be expanded in our appreciation of the Father, so that His Name should be more precious, exercising its sanctifying effect upon us while we are here on earth in testimony.
E.J.B. It has often been said that the Father’s house refers to the future. What do you think? Would you say a little about the enjoyment we can have of it now?
A.J.G. I believe the Father’s house relates in the future, in that it encompasses the whole universe of blessing, including all the families who have been redeemed, heavenly families and earthly families. But also, because we have the Spirit, we can already enter into what belongs to us.
J.G.G. The Lord gives the disciples the credit for believing in God. How do you understand this?
A.J.G. “Ye believe in God.” It was part of the teaching they had received as Jews. But then we come to what is important, namely: “believe also on me”. Their hearts had to be engaged with the Person of Christ as Man, taking His place in the Father’s presence.
C.R.B. Can I ask you if you have the experience, in your travels among the saints, that there is always the tendency, despite repeated warnings, to diminish in the service of God the part which belongs to the Father?
A.J.G. This is what is found in some localities.
C.R.B. This trend would be corrected if we took to heart the word of the Lord: “for my Father is greater than I”.
A.J.G. There is a tendency to extend unduly what is addressed to Christ, and then there are just a few notes addressed to the Father and we continue in addressing God. I believe, indeed, that, since the Lord says; “for my Father is greater than I”, we should think that a large part is to return to the Father.
A.W. Do we not see the same line of thought in Matthew 11: 25, in that the Lord addresses Himself to the Father as the “Lord of heaven and earth” and mentioning what He found good in His sight?
A.J.G. Yes, as well as in the corresponding passage in Luke 10. Although the setting is different in Luke 10, He tells us to rejoice that our names are written in heaven, and it is immediately added: “In the same hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth”. It is a sort of reference to families.
H.W. Can we say that the Father finds pleasure in seeing the saints gathered?
A.J.G. Yes, in that His sons are in movement, having a response to Him, in the appreciation of the great expanse of His glory.
J.B. “I am coming again”. Is the Lord referring to His resurrection in speaking like that?
A.J.G. Oh, yes, there is no doubt about it. “I … shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be”. The Lord’s purpose is not to place before us just an event, but to give us the sense that we are connected to Him, as far as it is a matter of what concerns us.
H.W. It is essential that we are brought together to remember the Lord, if we want to enjoy the presence of the Father and the Father’s house.
A.J.G. Yes. If we say that we enjoy what the Father’s house is, it is in the sense of having the Earnest.
W.G.C. In being alongside of Christ, in the presence of the Father, we are at ease and free for praise.
A.J.G. We are at ease, conscious of the love of Christ and brought with him before the Father.
-.S. Is it because we are in the company of Christ that our appreciation of the Father is expanding? The Lord says to Philip, “Am I so long a time with you, and thou hast not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father”.
A.J.G. Yes. Then there is this repeated expression: “my Father,” which leaves you with the impression that He loves the Father, as He says, at the end of this chapter: “that the world may know that I love the Father”.
E.J.B. The Father’s house embraces the universe, so that it represents the largest possible extent. But the fact that it is “my Father’s house” gives us a very special place there, in love.
A.J.G. I suppose that that is the important point in Ephesians 3, where the apostle prays that we are strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man, and the apostle continues by talking about the breadth and length, and depth and height. The Spirit of the Father is not limited as we are. The Spirit of the Father must introduce the Father’s thoughts.
Then, in the following verses in this chapter, we see the possibilities of the present time, in the fact that the Spirit has come, and come to remain. Thus the Lord says, “In that day”, our day, the Spirit’s day, “ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you”. He goes on immediately to speak of the conditions necessary to be able to know this, not only as light, but as a present experience. He says the Father and Son will come and will make their abode with those who are in these conditions.
R.D.H. How do we understand verse 20, “I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you”? Is it affection?
A.J.G. I think it is a matter of affection: “I am in my Father.” That is an allusion to the unique place that Christ as Man has in His Father’s affections. It is also, I think, a matter of the truth as His Person.
We have an expression somewhat similar to this one in chapter 10, where the Lord says (v 37): “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, even if ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him”. It specifically refers to the unique place He has as Man in the affections of His Father, and then we are in Him. We have no part at all in deity, but we are in Him because He is Man; we have part in His love and we are also held in His affections. It is a great system of love in which the saints are embraced in Christ, and as being in Christ, in the Father. He says, “and I in you,” which means that there is in the saints that in which the Father can find pleasure. Christ is in them.
W.G.C. The phrase “ye in me” implies mediation?
A.J.G. Mediation is essential, so that we should have part in it.
W.G.C. Then, do you think that “I in you” includes what is for the Father’s pleasure in the saints?
A.J.G. Yes. Christ is in us; He is held in the affections of our hearts, but I am thinking it is in us in that it was formed by the Spirit, and it must be for the Father’s pleasure. In this way, He must see Christ in the saints.
H.W. It is worth noting that the word ‘knowing’ is objective knowledge. This meaning applies to verse 20 in the same way, as in verse 17, in relation with the Comforter. I was thinking about the reality of objective knowledge.
A.J.G. It is the result of the presence of the Spirit here with us.
C.M.M. Why does He make this change in verse 21 from the collective idea to the individual idea?
A.J.G. The Lord has constantly in view what is proper to the assembly, but He brings that thought down to the smallest number. And I think it is not a matter of an isolated individual, but rather a characteristic thought. “He that has my commandments and keeps them”, that is, they are found where there are such conditions.
C.M.M. Is it in view of a practical bearing on us?
A.J.G. Yes, in a day of ruin. It is the light for the last days.
J.A. Did Mr James Taylor not dwell on that in the past?3 To begin with, He addresses the whole company, all loving and keeping His commandments; but then He envisions our days of decline, and instead of saying ‘you’, he says ‘any one’.
A.J.G. What was proper to the company as a whole is proper in days of weakness and decline, so that someone could be isolated, even like John in Patmos. And although the Lord says “he” nevertheless Judas (not the Iscariote) does not understand that this is an individual matter. He said, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us and not to the world?”
C.R.B. In verse 25, we have the plural “you” again. Is it general teaching for the company?
A.J.G. Exactly, and the intermediate verses 21 to 23 are really a development of the truth of the assembly on the line taught in 2 Timothy 2.
-.C. Why is it said of Judas, “not the Iscariote”?
A.J.G. Judas Iscariote had gone, and the Spirit of God would not want us to have any doubts about this, so it says, “not the Iscariote”.
S.C. Can verse 18 be linked to the manifestations that we have of the Lord? “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”.
A.J.G. Yes, in a general sense. I suppose that, literally, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you” came true when the Lord was raised from the dead and when He came into the midst. But then it is quite right to give this passage a general sense and apply it to our time, provided there are the conditions that are suitable.
S.C. Exercises must therefore be produced in us.
A.J.G. One might think that what the Lord says, by speaking about manifesting Himself, applies to all; but His manifestations are only actually known where suitable conditions are provided.
R.D.H. Is it not interesting to note that in John 14, all the disciples who speak to the Lord address Him as “Lord”? They are Philip, Thomas and Judas.
A.J.G. I had not noticed that, but it is interesting.
-.S. Would you like to say a few more words about verse 23: “If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him”?
A.J.G. It is a matter of the Father and the Son. “We will come”—the Father and Son. The Spirit too is there, in a permanent way. The Spirit does not have to come, since He is already here. So it is the Deity that abides there. Mr Taylor has said4 these are tabernacle conditions. The first thing is to keep his commandments, which means we do not do anything that would be contrary to His Name; then we must have an ear open and keep His word.
W.G.C. Would the Lord’s words to Philadelphia confirm what you have said as applying to our day: “thou hast a little power”?
A.J.G. It should be noted as the Lord insists on His word: “thou hast kept the word of my patience”. It is important to have an attentive ear to all that the Lord is saying now, not only to keep His commandments, but besides that, to be attentive to all that the Lord may have to say at every moment.
J.B. It should be noted that the Lord Jesus always attaches the love of the Father to the fact that we love the Lord: “but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father”, v 21. “If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him”, v 23. In chapter 16: 27, He says: “the Father himself has affection for you, because ye have had affection for me”. Why is this thought so accentuated?
A.J.G. It is something to cherish. Loving Christ gives us a special place in the affections of the Father, and provides a sympathetic link between the Father and ourselves.
H.W. We can be grateful for the distinction you make between commandments and the word of the Lord. So there are some among us who are willing to keep the commandments of 2 Timothy 2, and yet not ready to accept the word!
A.J.G. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and she was attentive to His word. If the Lord had come to Bethany a week later, we would still have found Mary sitting at His feet to listen to His word, but perhaps He would say something different to what He had said the week before.
C.R.B. You mean that what matters is not just what He was able to say ten years ago, or twenty, or fifty years?
A.J.G. It is what he may have to say now. His word is not only what He said, but what He may say.
C.M.M. Do the commandments to His position of Lord, and keeping His word, imply His position as Head?
A.J.G. I suppose so. “Let the word of the Christ dwell in you richly”, Col 3: 16.
A.W. Is it by the Spirit that He speaks currently, and is that what is said in Revelation: “he that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”?
A.J.G. I think so. There is a remarkable verse at the end of Numbers 7, where it is said that Moses entered in to talk to him: “then he heard the voice speaking to him”, as if God was anticipating Moses. Moses proposed to talk to God, but it is God who speaks to him. So, to speak to God, Moses had to be regulated by what God had to say to him. There cannot be any doubt about that.
S.C. In view of what you said about the greatness of the Father, one is struck that the Lord expresses Himself in these terms: “What therefore I speak, as the Father has said to me, so I speak”, John 12: 50.
A.J.G. That underlines the mediatorial position that the Lord had taken, so as to make us to know the Father, and to make us know God.
E.J.B. Your quotation from the end of Numbers 7 is interesting, in that what is actually said to Moses refers to the light of the assembly, to the candlestick and the lamps.
-.L. Could I ask if you would establish the distinction between the great general thought of Father, as for example when we address Him together on Monday night in prayer, and what we are considering now?
A.J.G. We are obviously the children of the Father, enjoying His affections and his care, in our conditions here on earth in testimony. But then we are sons before the Father. The Father is supreme in the economy, and in that sense He represents God; “for my Father is greater than I”.
C.M.M. Is it that on Monday evening, we would generally address the Father?
A.J.G. That is what I think. We are in liberty, and I believe that the Lord encourages us to address the Father, especially in John 16, because Christ is in our hearts and we are occupied with interests that relate to His Name.
-.S. Could the verse you quoted from the end of Numbers 7 apply to the meeting for prayer?
A.J.G. I suppose so. You would say that Moses went in to speak to God. I do not know if he was coming into His presence to ask Him something. He could just be coming in to commune.
E.J.B. The context in which these verses are is not precisely that of prayer, but rather the enjoyment of love in which divine Persons are found.
A.J.G. Exactly. Our responsibility is to furnish conditions: to keep His commandments, keep His word. If these conditions are met, he says: “we will come to him and make our abode with him”.
H.W. Our love for Him is thus put to the test.
A.J.G. I have no right to say that I love Christ if I do not have his commandments and if I do not keep them.
W.G.C. If, on the one hand, we are obedient and, on the other hand, we are listening to what He says, conditions will be assured to experience His love.
A.J.G. One therefore understands the force of Mr Taylor’s expression, when he was talking about tabernacle conditions, because the tabernacle was built on the basis of the heave-offering, that is the people giving their answer to God.
R.W. Could we see in 1 Corinthians 15 “for my Father is greater than I”?
A.J.G. He hands over the kingdom to Him who is God and Father, so that God may be all in all. Thus, in the Economy—and we cannot know God other than in the Economy, the Father is supreme and greater than Christ. We know, of course, that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are personally in equality, in Deity; but then, by means of what is established in the Economy, men are brought into relation to God: “the Son also himself shall be placed in subjection to him who put all things in subjection to him, that God may be all in all”, 1 Cor 15: 28.
We now need to say something about verse 24 of chapter 17. The Lord addresses the Father in a very touching way. In chapter 14, He speaks of Himself, saying: “my Father”. Now, in the presence of His disciples, and they listening, He speaks to the Father Himself: “Father, as to those whom thou hast given me, I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me”. Again He gives the supreme place to the Father, saying, “That thou hast given me”, and He adds, “for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world”. I consider that the glory that the Father gave Christ is the glory of being the Mediator in this great system in which God is known. The One in whom the wonderful thoughts of God are carried out in manhood.
J.B. Is this a particular glory that He has forever?
A.J.G. Well, He has His own glory forever. He says, in verse 5: “and now glorify me, thou Father, along with thyself, with the glory which I had along with thee before the world was”. It is distinctly the glory of Deity, His place in Deity; but here (v 24) it is the glory that we can contemplate, that we do not share, but that we can contemplate because we are near to Him.
C.R.B. Would there be any correspondence between this of which you are speaking and “my new name”, which it is spoken of in the letter addressed to Philadelphia?
A.J.G. We can see how God acted, in the Economy, a Person of the Deity becoming a Man, and in this position of manhood becoming an object of love, so that man should be brought to His side in this position of love. I think that introduces the full development of divine plans, Christ being the pivot of everything. I think we have to see more and more that the incarnation is the keystone of everything.
J.B. He says in verse 6: “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world.”
A.J.G. From verse 6, the Lord is occupied with the position of His own in testimony here on earth, but when it comes to verse 24, He introduces eternal conditions.
E.J.B. One loves to bring the two thoughts together: “with me” and “that they may behold my glory”. I am thinking of the feeling that we have, at the end of service, of our whole association with Christ as man, at the same time we have the objective of His personal glory, in the Economy.
A.J.G. That is right. These two thoughts are kept together, and I suppose they are attached to His glory as Mediator, because the idea of a mediator implies that He must be God and Man at the same time.
-.W. Does this glory also relate to the unique place Christ occupies in the filial position?
A.J.G. Surely.
E.J.B. And it is only through the power of the Spirit that we contemplate this glory.
A.J.G. It is through the Holy Spirit alone that we are sustained and are conscious that we are being served by the Son and by the Spirit, and kept in the Father, so that we are actually kept in God. “He that abides in love abides in God”, 1 John 4: 16.
R.D.H. When we address the Father, in assembly service, would there not be a lack of balance if we did not address Him too as God and Father?
A.J.G. We have the freedom to speak to Him simply as “Father”, as the Lord did. On the other hand, I believe it is also right to say “God and Father”, introducing a note of reverence, although reverence should not be lacking if it is by the Spirit that we say “Father”.
-.B. Deep feelings must be produced in us when we hear the Lord say, “If ye loved me ye would rejoice that I go to the Father”.
A.J.G. I believe the Lord is counting on us to be fully with Him in affection. It is really only as a result of the union that we are with Christ according to His own thoughts; we should therefore realise that His objective is to move to His Father. We should be sensitive to His movements in that direction.
E.J.B. Then, in Ephesians 3, the Father’s goal is that we are filled to all the fulness of God.
MANCHESTER
11th November 1956
Translated from Paroles d’Édification Mutuelle, January 1958
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