ASSEMBLY MATERIAL
D. M. Welch
Mark 1: 1, 15; Luke 10: 8, 9; 16: 16; 1 Peter 4: 1, 2
I was impressed while our brother was speaking of the way the whole matter opens up in Matthew 16. The Lord refers to Himself first of all at the end of verse 13, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?” And then the question is brought to the disciples, and Peter answers according to the revelation from the Father Himself. He does not say, ‘The Son of man’, although the same Person, but “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”. As our brother was bringing before us the exercise to correspond with a life that the Father would have in the revelation of a wonderful relationship, we noticed that the Lord began again with Himself, not as Son of the living God, but as the Son of man. He mentions at the end of that portion that “the Son of man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to each according to his doings”, Matthew 16: 27. While Matthew is the assembly gospel, it is also the kingdom gospel. The thing is opened up morally for us in Luke’s gospel, and that is why I read from Luke. At the outset of the Lord’s ministry “the glad tidings of the kingdom of God” were essential. This essential feature was seen even with the apostle Paul in his recorded life history as in his own hired lodging when he preached the kingdom of God. This was at the end of his life. We may wonder about things being recovered as they have been, and yet decline coming back in at the end of the dispensation. Beloved brethren, maybe we have not laid hold as we should have done, with exercise, what is essential as to assembly material.
In Mark’s gospel it starts out immediately, “Beginning of the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, Son of God”, and in verse 15 it says, “the kingdom of God has drawn nigh”, and then in Luke when the seventy were sent out by the Lord Himself, “into whatsoever city ye may enter and they receive you ... heal the sick”, and so on; the kingdom of God had drawn nigh to them. In Mark there is an immediate reference to the kingdom of God relating to the glad tidings concerning the Son of God. Most of His ministry in the synoptic gospels was along that line, having to do with the kingdom of God, and there was a reason for that. If we think about it morally it is the same reason that prevails today and it should prevail with us. With the light of Christ and the assembly in which the Father had His part (Matthew 16) grace, and the relationship of grace, are in view, yet it would be essential for us to be rightly in the kingdom.
If the knowledge of Christ and the assembly continue, persons are to be formed as suitable material for the assembly, and be exercised that the light would, have an answering effect on their walk. In our walk individually we are responsible to proceed in the path of righteousness and thereby provide material so that our life, as having the light of Christ and the assembly, can be enjoyed, and there can be an answer to that light in our souls.
Things may just become a ritual or a formality, saying a lot of things in our readings without much foundation as to our part in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is a protected area, it protects something; it protects ourselves and our households and it protects the assembly which is the metropolitan area of the kingdom.
So Mark starts out that way. The preponderance of the Lord’s ministry, as I have said, was along the line of attracting persons into the kingdom of God. We know that everything is set out in the Lord Jesus Himself, the kingdom was resident in Himself. When it says, “the kingdom of God has drawn nigh”, that was in the person of Christ. But these seventy in Luke went out and they were to have power. Luke’s gospel teaches us the moral side of things, so that has come down to the very day in which we are. None of the things characterising the works of the enemy in the kingdoms of men are to have power over us, but we are to have power over such. The reason for the power of the kingdom is that we might answer to God’s mind regarding the great light out of heaven. If there is not assembly material, we might think to take up a right position and say many wonderful things, and even learn intellectually from the ministry. Yet assembly light may become routine if our wills are not set for the assembly and if the kingdom is not established morally in our own souls.
So with the seventy in Luke 10 the kingdom was to be in themselves and the kingdom is to be in us. This leads to the portion in Luke 16 which is very interesting. You may have wondered, as I have before, as to the meaning of this. It says, “from that time the glad tidings of the kingdom of God are announced, and every
one forces his way into it”. Matthew’s gospel says, “the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence”, (Matthew 11: 12). Militarily persons are set to engage the enemy to protect the homeland and to protect a kingdom, so that the activities within a kingdom can go on unhindered and without harassment. I think that is the point here. If we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross as we have heard already from Matthew 16, then there has to be a certain amount of violence that we do in regard to protecting the assembly. That is kingdom warfare and that requires violence on the flesh. There cannot really be assembly material with persons being set and minded for the complete and full revelation of God, including the Father, the Son and the Spirit, and all that belongs to the assembly, unless we do violence to the flesh. Otherwise, beloved brethren, what we will do is arrange things in our circumstances to suit ourselves, and when we do that we are not doing violence to the flesh, we are not forcing our way into the kingdom. And this has many indicators. I may speak about these things but if I have not experience in the kingdom myself, there will be indicators, and the mind of the flesh will show itself. We may continue to come to meetings or some of the meetings and take part, but good material morally may not be there. If the foundation is not there, the kingdom of God in our souls, where we have denied ourselves and taken up our cross and entered into the kingdom, forced our way into it, then this great light out of heaven, which appeared to Paul and has been brought down to ourselves, will not be protected rightly.
The Lord Jesus as the perfect model sets it all out in Himself. The devil showed Him the kingdoms of this world; He said they can all be yours, everything can be yours, if you do certain things. Peter may have been tending toward that himself when he said to the Lord in Matthew 16, “God be favourable to thee, Lord” (Matthew 16: 22) when the Lord spoke of His sufferings. The Lord had to answer the character of that comment, “Get away behind me. Satan; thou art an offence to me, for thy mind is not on the things that are of God, but on the things that are of men” (Matthew 16: 23). This is what the Lord is looking for, minding the things that are of God. I believe this with all my heart in these days. If we are not kingdom persons we cannot really be assembly persons. We have to force our way into the kingdom and do violence to the flesh to keep it down, so that the mind of God and the will of God become our only motive. Then, all of the arrangements in our circumstances will be in relation to God’s mind and will. So Peter, with the experience that he had of his failures and with the light that he had, was given the keys to the kingdom. He was not given the keys to the assembly, even though he was given a revelation of the assembly and how Christ would build the assembly. Peter especially can write to us about the kingdom.
In 1 Peter 4 he sets out the Lord Jesus as the One who suffered for us in the flesh, and says, “do ye also arm yourselves with the same mind; for he that has suffered in the flesh has done with sin, no longer to live the rest of his time in the flesh to men’s lusts, but to God’s will”. I wonder how willing we are for this. How willing are we really for these things? and I speak to myself in this. He says, “arm yourselves”, that is a military term, “arm yourselves with the same mind”, to suffer, to deny ourselves, and take up our cross and be done with sin. Romans 6 is a very important chapter and it has to do with the kingdom, “our old man has been crucified with him” (Romans 6: 6). Have we come to that kind of judgment of our old man as having had our part in the collective world that proceeds in the external sin system? If we armed ourselves to have that kind of judgment on what is collective in the world system, the sin system, we would have more experience in the kingdom of God. Romans 6 goes on to say, “reckon”, that is the reckoning of faith, “So also ye, reckon yourselves dead to sin” (Romans 6: 11). That is not indwelling sin but the external worldly system that proceeds apart from God, even the religious side of it as characterised by man’s mind and human sentiment. “So also ye, reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”. This is always a continual exercise.
If we say that God has brought everything out and given it to be in our hands and for our minds, the light of the kingdom is to be appreciated. If it is not we cannot proceed in right principle or with any order. We have light and know what we speak of, but then the corresponding exercise is to provide material morally that supports that great light. And for that I believe military action is required to force ourselves into the kingdom, and not allow the mind of the flesh and the activities of man to in any way influence, motivate or arrange us in our circumstances. We are to arrange everything around the assembly calendar and the life of the brethren, Christ and the assembly. Everything revolves around that. It says, “If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them”, John 13: 17. In John’s epistle it says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren”, 1 John 3: 14. If this is our life, then we are willing to lay down our lives for the brethren. It means our lives have taken a different turn. The kingdom of God is to be resident in ourselves so that there can be material to protect the light of Christ and the assembly. In this way there will be some correspondence to Him and testimony to the end. May it be so for His name’s sake.
Word in meeting for ministry, Denton, 3 October 2000
EXTRACTS
The apostle resumes the thread of his instructions, by taking up—as he does in all his epistles—the moral consequences of his doctrine. He places the believer at the outset on the ground of God’s mercy, which he had fully developed already. The principle of grace that saves had been established as the basis of salvation. The ground of all Christian morality is now laid in this fundamental principle—to present our bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy acceptable to God—an intelligent service, not that of the hands, not consisting in ceremonies which the body could perform—a simple but deep-reaching and all-efficacious principle. This was for man personally. As to his outward relationships, he was not to be conformed to the world. Neither was this to be an outside mechanical non-conformity, but the result of being renewed in mind, so as to seek for and discern the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect; the life being thus transformed.
This connects itself with the end of Romans 6. It is not those sitting in heavenly places, imitators of God as dear children, but men on earth set free by the delivering power of redemption and grace, yielding themselves up to God to do His will. The exhortation follows the character we have seen to be that of the epistle.
J. N. Darby (Synopsis Vol. 4, Romans 12, pp.147, 148)
JT But the thought of eternal life goes back further than Abraham, “in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began”.
FER God had all His ways before Him. God was not taken aback by sin. Sin came in, but sin existed even before the world; the devil sins from the outset. God put the first man on the scene first, but His purposes were in Christ before the first man. God had everything before Him. It is a mistake to suppose that He brought in Christ as a remedy. When the responsible man had failed God brought in the Man of His purpose; but all His ways and purposes were ever before Him. Eternal life was not an afterthought with God, though it has now come out in contrast to death which came in by sin.
F. E. Raven (New Series Vol. 12, p.414)
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