WORKERS WITH GOD
[p. 296] WORKERS WITH GOD
1 Corinthians 3:9; 1 Samuel 14:45; 1 Samuel 14:1-15; 1 Samuel 14:20,23
My thought, dear brethren, is to speak about workers, of which there are many, for it is a time of work, of exploits, too; but I am thinking of those who work with God. The book of Genesis shows how work had proceeded as the race increased after the deluge. They said one to another, “Come on, let us build ourselves a city and a tower, the top of which may reach to the heavens” (chapter 11:4); quite an undertaking, yet it was begun and men rapidly would have gone forward to a conclusion satisfactory to themselves. As the work proceeded God came down, we are told, to see what the children of men did, showing how considerate, and patient too, He was. The work stopped; they were not working with God. That sort of thing is current, much of such activity is going on. God, I believe, has come in and effectively checked human enterprise in recent times but men will proceed with their schemes as they have opportunity and means without any reference to God. Indeed, one of the most distressing things that one notices today is the giving up by men of even formal thanksgiving to God. He is being eliminated effectively, and He feels that; the prodigal had eliminated Him from his circumstances, as seen in the parable in Luke 15. The first thing he infers in his acknowledgement is that he had “sinned against heaven” (verse 21). Heaven had been good to him, as it ever is to men. Indeed it is remarkable how prolific the earth is through the refreshment of heaven, yet there is but little giving of thanks. We are living in a time of the elimination by men of even the formal recognition of God. Yet God is working Himself. “My Father worketh hitherto” (John 5:17), the Lord so beautifully said. I suppose that [p. 297] included all the workmanship of God from the making of Adam’s and Eve’s clothes right down.
And then the Lord says: “I work”. God goes on with the work but He seeks co-workers. And those who work otherwise are not accomplishing anything for God. God looks for results, and He graciously calls us into His operations in view of these. One marvels at times as one ponders the great fact of being a worker with God — that there should be such a privilege accorded to us as that. The Corinthians had the opportunity; Paul having left, the work was to go on. He began there in a very humble, simple manner, but with no uncertainty as to result, because he knew the people were there. The Lord said to him, “I have much people in this city” (Acts 18:10). No one was to set upon or hurt His servant, and the work went on for eighteen months, and then the Corinthians were left; but they were left with the example set before them of Paul’s service. Were they close to him in his private seasons they would see how he sought out God as to his labours. We may be sure that every day of those eighteen months was marked by inquiry on the part of this great workman with God as to the day’s work ahead. For work is by the day. The Lord said: I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day, and the working day was twelve hours.
God Himself began on the principle of daily toil. He worked by the day; the first day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day; every day had its own particular bit of work to be done, and it was done; and God appraised His own work, another important thing. For every bit of work should be reviewed by the workman as before God. Is it done at all, and if so, is it well done? With God each day’s work was well done, and He pronounced it “Very good” (Genesis 1). The principle of appraisement necessarily enters into all God’s work. Whether I appraise [p. 298] my own, or otherwise, God certainly does, a solemn reflection. So God, as I said, pronounced on all His work, “Very good”. The Lord said: “Are there not twelve hours in the day” (John 11:9), and again, “I must work the works of him that has sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). So that He went on day by day with His work, and, as I said, you may be certain that at the beginning of each day Paul inquired of God as to what was ahead; there was to be no beating of the air, no waste of time, the work was to be known, and taken on, and done. At the end of the day he would go to the Lord, and say: Lord, I am an unprofitable servant.
That is what the Lord Himself said to the apostles, so as to prevent self-satisfaction and pride; our appraisement must be in the light of the divine standard of workmanship, and as one measures one’s work with that standard it is very humiliating; you may be sure of that, although it may be profitable in measure. It is thus wholesome to inquire of God in the morning and make a review in the evening as to the work. How does it compare with the general scheme of God? for we have in this passage in Corinthians the general idea conveyed, the plan of the building committed to Paul. The wise architect laid the foundation, the whole scheme was there and now the workers were to proceed, and as he said, let each take heed how he builds thereon, so that one is to review one’s bit and see how it compares with the general scheme, or whether it is wood, hay or stubble, which are worse than useless and have to be removed.
The Corinthians, alas! proceeded with the wood, the hay, the stubble, in the absence of the apostle. They were not measuring themselves with the great architect, or with Christ, or with God, but measuring themselves with themselves, that was how the matter stood, and consequently work according to God had [p. 299] ceased. And so the apostle has to remind them in both letters that he was a worker with God, not a partisan, for that marked the state of things at Corinth. The work there had dropped from the divine level to the human, to the realm of rivalry. So that instead of being workers with God they were workers divided up into parties and working each with his party. And as the work of God lapsed, the work of Satan proceeded. Some of them were evil workers. So he has to bring in this thought, in both letters, that he was a worker with God. As if all else were of no account. God is working according to scheme, and whatever my bit, it must fit in with that scheme, and in order to fit in with that I must inquire of God to get my work from Him, not only in a general way, but something for every day.
Well, now, dear brethren, I have said what is obviously true, but I believe most necessary at the present time, and I proceed to illustrate it from the Old Testament, from one who is formally said to have “wrought with God” — Jonathan. One can hardly say anything better about him at that time than that he wrought with God, and that the workmanship was according to God, and that God gave it full issue. And so it is “one day”, as the chapter begins, and a very fine day’s work, that was. “It came to pass”, it says, “one day”. Those were dark days, too, as was inevitable with such a man as Saul in power. One can picture a little the effect of the influence of a man like Saul. He had already been rejected. As soon as his rejection is announced in chapter 13, he begins to number the people. That is the man after the flesh — he thinks of numbers; he counts not on God being with him, but on numbers. He had 600 men, an ominous number. It is a usual fleshly way to reckon up one’s supporters, those you may rely on. If I am not with God and God is not with me I shall seek support somewhere else, I shall begin to number my [p. 300] friends and supporters. That marked Saul. So Jonathan was living in dark times. Things were looking very dark, as they do now in a certain sense. In another sense, they look bright. For however dark the tunnel there is a light the other end. All is well, beloved brethren, whatever happens. James 5:7 says: “Have patience, therefore, brethren, till the coming of the Lord”. I have little confidence in anything else. I have confidence in the Spirit of God; I have confidence that He will not cease speaking to the assemblies, but I cannot say anything about the continued faithfulness of the brethren. I have the utmost confidence in the coming of the Lord, and that is what faith looks for, especially from Thyatira onward; and then for the voice of the Spirit. While He remains here He will speak, and we are urged to hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He will speak to us and stand by us to the end. But it is solemn that after Josiah’s beautiful ministry darkness sets in. Jeremiah was there, representing the faithfulness of God in the prophetic word.
The history of Jeremiah and the history of the people afford no comfort as to the faithfulness of the people. I do not wish to disparage the brethren, far otherwise, but the sudden spread of evil and subsequent dark history after Josiah is solemn. Jeremiah was there, but the end was Egypt; Jeremiah had to go to Egypt. Think of the exercise of that dear man, of the weepings, the heart breakings, as he was compelled to leave the land of promise and go into Egypt with a poor, faithless, idolatrous people! It was the patience of God, not the faithfulness of the people. We can rely on God, we can rely on the prophetic word, but we cannot rely on the answer to it, as seen in this particular history. We can rely on the faithfulness of God, we can rely on the coming of the Lord, but then the result of the ministry of the Spirit, who can speak of that? As [p. 301] it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. What marked the days of Noah? Well, a striking ministry, no less than the ministry of Christ Himself through Noah, when once, we are told, the long suffering of God waited while the ark was preparing. But how disappointing the result! There are very solemn warnings in the history of Israel in this respect. “Wherefore”, as enjoined in Hebrews 12:28, “let us, receiving a kingdom not to be shaken, have grace, by which let us serve God acceptably with reverence and fear. For also our God is a consuming fire”.
Well, as I was saying, this was a dark period, but here is a resolute man determined to do something on one day. He does it, and in doing it he works with God. Jonathan significantly says nothing to Saul, his father. We must leave the rejected man. Saul was rejected already. It is one thing to be rejected by the people; Samuel had that cup to drain, but he was not rejected by God. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. What a man he was! If we are with God our influence will never wane. He judged Israel all the days of his life. He was rejected by Israel, but not by God. Now Saul is rejected by God, not yet by Israel. When you have a man ruling who is rejected by God and not by the people, it is a dark, difficult day for faith; but such a man as Jonathan overcomes. “He told not his father”.
Then the Spirit of God tells us about Saul, how many men he had, and the priest that was there in those days, who was of the rejected priestly family of Eli, and then it goes on to tell us of two rocks, one on either side. Not only is there the influence of Saul and the darkness that resulted from it, but there were two sharp rocks, one on each side between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison. There they stood, the Holy Spirit giving us their names. The [p. 302] one Bozez, the other Seneh. They would have a menacing effect. We cannot afford in working with God to minimize the position of the enemy, for God in His workmanship in Christ had to grapple with the full power of Satan. The Lord Jesus single-handed has made way for us; and so Jonathan faces the position of the enemy. He is moving according to God. It is a dark day, a day of small things in the sense of which I speak of it, and the enemy is powerful to all appearance, and here were these crags, sharply reminding us, for that is the idea, of the acute satanic power to be faced; very widely, too.
Well, that is the position, dear brethren, and if the young brethren seek to be workers with God it is well to face the opposition as it is. There is nothing to encourage flesh in this. But, even if there be only one, think of the privilege of working with God! But there were two here. That is another thing, that the work is to go on, on the principle, not of partisanship, for the young man was not simply a partisan of Jonathan, but his armour-bearer, and withal a man that could follow. Now I would say to young brethren here that you will never be of any use in the work of God unless you learn to follow. And so the passage says, “his armour-bearer after him”. It is the effort to get before another that is the baneful thing. Run with patience, and run with your might, but it is looking unto Jesus, not to outstrip a brother. John outran Peter, but there was no rivalry in that, there was in both of them affection for Christ. But running to beat another, to replace another, is damaging. That went on at Corinth and it is going on all around us. But let it not be so among us. The enemy has great power on this line, alas! much material to work with. One of the great features of God’s operations is leadership, however obscure the leaders may be. Even the young Thessalonians are exhorted to “know those who ... take the lead among you” (chapter 5:12) — [p. 303] know them. Not to rival them, but to be subject, recognizing the position that God has given them; not officially, but on moral grounds, for a man is what he is. You cannot alter him, God has made him that, Paul said, “by God’s grace I am what I am”, and nobody can dispute that. He was what he was, and he says: “I have laboured more abundantly than they all” (1 Corinthians 15:10). As in the list of mighty men, so to speak, he came in after Peter, after John, after James, after Matthew, after Barnabas, after every one of the apostles; he was not a rival to them, but he laboured more abundantly than they all; but he says, “not I, but the grace of God which was with me”. God supports that attitude of mind, it cannot be set aside. And that is what comes out here — “his armour-bearer after him”.
The circumstances were very humiliating for a great warrior like Jonathan. He had to climb up on his hands and feet, as if from the dens and caves of the earth. No military array or pomp and show in this, it is a question of result, not the way, but the result of the work; he was working with God. Think of the humiliation of Jesus to carry out the work of God! The humiliation of the way to the cross! The humiliation of Gethsemane, of Pilate’s judgment hall, of the crown of thorns, the delivery over to the soldiers, who mocked Him! But He was working the work of God, He was going on to sure victory, but with all there was the shame of it. So Jonathan is content to climb up on his hands and feet, and his armour-bearer after him. He is equal to it. There was the principle of leadership, and following. And there was also unity — they both showed themselves to the enemy; a united front, not a divided one. Even although they were but two you have the principle of unity, as the Lord says: “Two of you”. You have in all the evangelists the thought of the Lord having need of the colt, but in Matthew the Lord has need of two, the ass and [p. 304] the colt. He has need of two or more, for assembly or gathering purposes, or for united testimony, and so Jonathan and his armour-bearer show themselves together to the enemy. They climb up on their hands and feet, and Jonathan slew and his armour-bearer slew after him — twenty men within a prescribed area.
You see, dear brethren, how the work of God proceeded and how it reached a successful issue, there were twenty men brought down on the principle of unity and leadership, and then God took the thing in hand and there was trembling; the victory widened out until there was complete discomfiture of the Philistines, and God saved Israel that day. God gave deliverance. You see thus what an incentive there is to work with God, and to abandon all other efforts; to get to God in our work. We shall reach an issue which God can take up and extend. Jonathan fought not for himself; he fought for Israel, having said, “There is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few”. As I said before, there is the entire refusal of all partisanship in him, it is a question of Israel, and the victory God could and did give to Israel. So that every little bit of work is in the light of the whole assembly, for it is in that relation that God is now working. And though I may think I am not doing much, He knows how to make my little bit fit in with the whole of His operations.
May the Lord help us! The work is to be done, but let us see to it that in our part in it we are working with God.