CONDUCT IN GOD'S HOUSE
CONDUCT IN GOD’S HOUSE
What I desire to speak of is that in which we are called to set forth divine behaviour. I do not intend to enlarge on the behaviour, but rather to show the sphere, or the character of the sphere, in which it is to be carried out; and that sphere, as you will observe in this epistle, is God’s house. Now I desire by the Lord’s help to say a word in regard to God’s house viewed in that light; as the sphere in which christian behaviour is to be manifested. And what I shall have to say centres largely in the house as formed by Paul’s ministry. My apprehension of it is that the house is properly formed by Paul’s ministry; I shall come to that directly, but I wish to point out a feature or two of the house as indicated in the Old Testament Scriptures.
As you will be aware, the first mention of the house of God in Scripture is in Genesis 28, and there you have indicated a very important feature of it. The house of God is connected with the earth, and is introduced primarily in connection with Jacob. There are two features which appear in the introduction of it, which are carried all through; indeed, in every subject introduced in the Scriptures you will find the salient features at the outset.
Now what appears in Genesis 28 in connection with the house is divine interest in man upon earth; that is, Jacob was an object of interest to God. The heavens were opened upon him as he lay a lonely wanderer upon the earth with a stone for his pillow; he was the object of the interest of heaven; and then, his appreciation of the house consisted in God being in it, and hence it was none other to him than the house of God and the gate of heaven. That is to say, although it was a terrible place to [p. 217] him, because of his state, nevertheless he recognised that it was God’s dwelling, and that it was in close proximity to heaven; indeed, it was the “gate of heaven”, Genesis 28:17.
Genesis in that way presents to us the house; although not actually formed as a structure, nevertheless it is presented to us abstractly. God had, as it were, indicated His mind in regard to Jacob, and you will find that when God introduces light, those to whom the light is given have to go through a course of exercise until they are formed according to it. Jacob came back to Bethel, but the full course of exercise only ended with David. At Ephratah (Psalm 132) David had received light in regard to the house, and he connects the light that he received with Genesis 28; he would build the house; he would give no sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, until he found out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. The light that David received at Ephratah was connected with the light that came to Jacob as he fled from his brother Esau. David referred to that.
Now I want to dwell for a moment on two features that come out in connection with David and the house. The first is, that the foundation of the house was connected with sacrifice, and the fact that at that place Jehovah’s sword was sheathed. You will recall that when David numbered the people (1 Chronicles 21) he brought down the wrath of Jehovah. But God in grace directed him to rear an altar to Him on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. There David offered sacrifices, and there Jehovah accepted him; hence David instinctively recognised that that spot was the only proper location for God’s house.
If you will look at 1 Chronicles 21 and the beginning of 1 Chronicles 22 you will observe that David decided [p. 218] that that spot was to be the site of the house. In other words, the foundation of the house is in the place where sacrifice is accepted. It is laid in the death of Christ; the judgment of God is there exhausted. I am not saying that judgment may not be connected with the house, judgment begins there (1 Peter 4:17), but God’s house is properly immune from judgment; its foundations are laid upon the spot where the sword of Jehovah was sheathed. You will notice that, the site being indicated, David prepared with all his might to rear a structure.
Now another feature that came out in connection with David is that he was not allowed to build the house. He had the desire to build it but the house of God is not built by a man of war. It is built by a Son. I want you to take notice of that; it is built by a Son. You will remember that the first child of Bathsheba died under divine judgment. David would have saved the child; he lay all night upon the earth, in hope that God would have mercy upon him and spare the child, but the child died, and David bowed to the judgment. He said, “now he is dead”. The child was never to be revived; “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me”, 2 Samuel 12:23. He says, virtually, ‘not only has the child died, but I am going that way also’. He bowed to divine judgment, and then there is another child; and Jehovah named that child. Jehovah loved that child, and He sent by the hand of the prophet Nathan and named him Jedidiah, which signifies The beloved of the Lord. It is the Son, the beloved of God, that builds the house. We speak of Solomon and his glory, and he is a type of Christ. He is Christ in relation to the millennial world; but we must not overlook that Solomon was a son. Solomon was the object of affection, and the house is built by the beloved of the Lord, and what a house!
[p. 219] You will remember that Solomon spoke of everything in creation from the cedar-tree to the hyssop. He was acquainted with nature; he was in that way qualified to head the millennial world. All the beauties of nature and the secrets of nature that men spend their lifetime and their means to bring to light now will be spoken of definitely by Christ. He will show what they signify in regard to God. Solomon spoke of all these things, but he was also the son, and it was as such that he built the house. Now, beloved friends, that is what the house of God is; these features that I have intimated suggest to us what the house is; and I would specially dwell upon the fact that it is built by the Son.
Now that leads me to the Acts of the Apostles, where you have the development of the course of the testimony; and I take it that in the earlier chapters of Acts we have that which refers to the city and its walls. It seems to me that it awaited the ministry of Paul to bring in the house according to its true character, and my reason for saying that is this, that Paul preached the Son of God. That is, he brought in Christ, not exactly officially (although you find that also in his preaching) but he preached the Son of God. He says, “God ... was pleased to reveal his Son in me, that I may announce him as glad tidings among the nations”, Galatians 1:16. That is, Paul preached a Person who was in relationship with God as Son, and the effect of his gospel is to bring in sons. The house is formed in view of relationships which involve affection; a man’s house is not an official place; his house is a place of relationship; a man’s house is where his affections flow, and in order that you should see God’s affections in flow, you must see the Son as man in relationship with Him, and you must see the sons who are brought in as His brethren.
[p. 220] Now what I see is, that the house of God, although upon earth, is composed of what is heavenly; not simply of that which has come out of the death of Christ, but also of that which is heavenly. It is composed, in other words, of those who are the companions of Christ. As the companions of Christ, we are the companions of a heavenly Man. You will remember how that the Lord said to Mary Magdalene, “Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17); thus intimating that there should be no links upon earth; that all links henceforth should be with Him in connection with heaven, or rather as the heavenly One. He says, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”, John 20:17. He is the ascending One; He is the One who is in all the liberty of the house. He has the title to ascend, and He does ascend. None but the Son could speak thus! He says, “I ascend”. He is the glorious One, beloved friends, of whom we are the companions. He is the Son, and hence He is in the liberty of the house; and He goes to the highest point. In John it is not that He is received up, but He goes up; it involves the liberty of sonship: and we are the companions of that glorious One; and it is as the companions of Christ in heavenly glory that we form the house of God upon earth.
Now, in confirmation of what I have been saying, I refer to the assembly at Ephesus, in which assembly Timothy was when this epistle was written to him. Ephesus is the end, as it were, of the course of ministry that began in Acts 9. Paul began with announcing that Jesus was the Son of God; he had received heavenly light into his soul; it was a light from heaven that entered into Paul’s soul. That meant that there was a new centre, and that light was now emanating from it; a heavenly centre, not an earthly one. Jerusalem as a centre was [p. 221] abandoned, and everything was now from heaven. The light that came into his soul from heaven works out in a ministry that places believers — the sons — in heaven. You will never understand the assembly in any of these features unless you see that its position is in heaven. Hence Ephesus is the end of that course of ministry. Chapter 20 of the Acts is the great climax of Paul’s testimony, and in writing to these christians he tells them that they were not only raised with Christ, but seated in the heavenlies in Christ.
That is the first half of chapter 2 of his epistle to the Ephesians; the second half shows that these same people are here upon earth as a habitation of God; in other words, a heavenly people upon earth. In these people you get all the features indicated in the house in the Old Testament; but there is one feature of supreme beauty, and that is, that in that structure Jesus is the chief corner stone. “Ye ... are built”, says the apostle, “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone”, Ephesians 2:20. God placed Him on high, as Peter tells us; the One that the Jews refused is made the Head of the corner; but He has now obtained that place in the affections of the saints. Christ is supreme in that circle. He is the Head of that structure — the chief corner stone. That is to say, Christ is the Son, and He is honoured as having the supreme place in that circle. God dwells in it. God dwells there in affection: he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in him. The ministry of Paul brought about upon earth a company of people formed in divine affections; that is, formed in the affections known in the Son. Affections flow from relationships, not relationships from affections. The relationships are made known in the gospel preached by Paul; he announced the Son, and affections were formed according to the [p. 222] light of the relationships, so that there was a circle in which divine affections flowed. God dwelt there. God dwelt at Ephesus; He dwelt in that company; there Jesus was the chief corner stone. It was a wonderful triumph of the gospel.
Now you may ask me how I know that Ephesus had reached that point. Well, there are various answers to that question, but the most conclusive to my mind is that Paul was loved at Ephesus. He was not generally loved at Corinth; the Corinthian saints were not characterised by love for Paul; but at Ephesus Paul was loved. You remember how he sent from Miletus to Ephesus and called for the elders; and he calls their attention to the character of his ways and of his ministry; these were after Christ. Paul was a vessel entirely formed after Christ. I do not believe that we shall rightly understand his position unless we see this, for as so formed he was a test for the saints, and hence you will find that he frequently refers to himself as such. You will find it in his letters to the Corinthians habitually, and in his appeal to the elders of Ephesus. Speaking to the Ephesian elders, he concludes with recalling the word of Christ, with which he was in full accord; that “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. He says, “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”, Acts 20:35. There you have the character of Christ, as it were, condensed, and Paul was entirely in accord with it; his ministry and his ways were in complete agreement with that character. I need only refer you to his letters as a proof of what I am saying; he was christianity livingly expressed.
The elders loved Paul — they fell upon his neck and wept sore. Notice it was the elders. Difficulties invariably arise from the leaders, so that we may conclude that seeing the elders loved Paul the mass of the saints loved him also. I take it, therefore,
[p. 223] that the Ephesian saints were formed by Paul’s ministry. There are other evidences; namely, his epistle to these saints; the character of the truth set forth in that epistle shows that the Ephesians were advanced in the truth, that they loved God, and they loved Christ.
Well, now, if you have followed what I have said you will have some idea of the circle in which christian conduct is to shine; and I refer to it for a moment so that we might be exercised as to whether we are equal to it. Paul’s word was, “if I delay, in order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house”, 1 Timothy 3:15. We ought to take note of the word delay. It puts us to the test. You will remember how Saul was tested by delay; he could not wait for Samuel: and so we are tested by the absence of Christ. So Paul says, “if I delay, in order that one ought to know how to behave oneself”. It is not simply that Timothy should know, but that we all should know how one ought to behave oneself in the house of God. What a dignified position to be introduced into! The passage was written with a view to acquainting christians as to conduct that is suitable in the house of God.
I cannot enlarge upon it, and I did not intend to; my thought was to show, as I said, the character of the house, and if the character of the house is rightly understood you have the divine standard. The divine standard of everything is Christ — the Son. He is the model. It is as One in the affections of the Father; One who could lift up His eyes to the Father and speak to Him as Son. It is the Son in the presence of the Father that is the model. See Matthew 11:25 - 30. He is the standard, and it is beautiful to see how Paul was in accord with that standard; he was formed after Christ.
Another beautiful touch which I would call your [p. 224] attention to is this; that Timothy was formed after Paul; Timothy was begotten by Paul’s testimony. You will never understand Timothy’s position in the Scriptures if you do not see that he was Paul’s son in the faith. The Corinthians were naughty; they were like naughty children in a house; they knew not how to behave themselves in the absence of authority. Now Paul says, I am not coming to you, but I am sending my son Timothy to you; he is like me; he is my son, and he will put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ, 1 Corinthians 4:17. Only a son could do that. One might learn the apostle’s doctrine and expatiate upon it, but who can put you in mind of Paul’s ways as they were in Christ? Paul would suggest Christ to you; he was formed after Christ, and Timothy was formed after Paul; he was Paul’s son, and hence he could suggest Paul to the Corinthians.
What we require, beloved friends, is that our ways should suggest Christ: that is the test before men; it is a question of how we are formed by the truth; it is not what we say, as we have often heard, it is what we suggest; it is what we put people in mind of; if we are like Christ, we remind people of Him. I have referred more than once lately to Gideon’s interview with the Midianitish kings after having vanquished them. He said, “What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?”, Judges 8:18. Their reply was, “As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king”; and Gideon answers, “They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother”, Judges 8:19. That is, they had taken character from their mother, as Gideon had. Now we christians have all one mother, and that is “Jerusalem above”; it is that which gives character to us. Jerusalem above is really formed in the light of sonship; it has reference to liberty; “Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother”, Galatians 4:26. God’s house is [p. 225] composed of those that are like Christ, hence you have there the shining out of God. If we are not formed after Christ, we are likely to be unruly, like naughty children; but if we are formed after Christ, we maintain divine order, and we are in sympathy with God. As I was saying in regard to Genesis 28, heaven is interested in earth. God is interested in all men, and so he would have the saints interested in all men. God is shining out in Christ towards men, and as formed after Christ we are sympathetic with God in His desire to “have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth”, 1 Timothy 2:4.
Well, now, all that is to be in the house of God. And then it is “the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth”. That I take to be a kind of check, or safeguard, for in evangelical desire we might go beyond the truth. Many are evangelical at the expense of the truth. The nearer we are to God the more divinely evangelical we shall become; but being in the light of the assembly as the pillar and base of the truth becomes a safeguard, for you cannot do violence to the truth if you recognise that the assembly is the pillar and base of the truth.
May the Lord use these truths to form us; light is intended to form us; it is intended to exercise us; and as there is exercise there is formation.