THE LORD'S COMMANDMENT
THE LORD’S COMMANDMENT
I begin with this one verse, dear brethren, as bringing out the idea of the Lord’s commandment. The importance of a divine commandment, especially as embracing many in detail, has been long observed and felt, and its importance was never greater; for the present period is peculiarly marked by disobedience, whether it be to the authorities divinely ordained, or parent or masters or what is set in the assembly; disregard of commandment and divine authority is prevalent everywhere.
I am speaking now in general terms, hoping to come to those in whom there is respect for the Lord’s commandment. It is a written commandment here; it stands whether it is observed or otherwise. We have before us the writer, as well as the commandment through him; one who has a place not only by faithfulness, but by divine appointment in a special way; one to whom the ministry of the mystery of the assembly was committed, to complete the word of God. God lays great stress on the place of this servant, and this very verse emphasizes it, in that in it he says, “the things that I write to you, ... it is the Lord’s commandment”. I believe that is the proper rendering, it is one great idea, “it is the Lord’s commandment”. It is one great idea of commandment, and it is a test to all pretension to gift or spirituality.
Now I want to show, dear brethren, that commandment implies fixity from the divine side, and is therefore a guarantee that things are to stand, a guarantee for faith. Our position here today is a testimony that the will of God stands; that we can meet thus, no man forbidding us, when in earlier days such a meeting would be proscribed. A commandment lies behind [p. 334] this, something maintained divinely. And so, to trace the idea a little way, we have it set out very early, especially in that well-known passage in Psalm 33:9, referring to the creation, “he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast”. There was intelligence in the speaking, faith understanding that “the worlds were framed by the word of God”, (Hebrews 11:3).
I hope to show that this applies in a moral sense, too: “it stood fast”, there was fixity, a most important point to bear in mind in looking through the Scriptures, for all were written for us. The idea of fixity based on the commandment runs through, and, as I said before, fits into our very meeting today, “he commanded, and it stood fast”. Then, lest there might be anxiety as to material things — the waters are placed under a decree. Waters in the creation can be easily moved, God can call upon them, if needs be, as He did in a large way to effect the deluge, when “the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”, (Genesis 7:11). Possibly the antediluvians never thought of God’s resources in this way. According to His remarks to Job, God had set bars and doors to circumvent the movement of the waters, but they were available for His use (Job 38:10).
The antediluvians doubtless had not reckoned on such resources, such movable material, an element that God could call upon in a large way for retributive and for cleansing purposes. But then He had them under control, and still has them thus. He may use them, but it is a question of His will, and that applies at the present time — “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed”, (Job 38:11). The underworld, as we speak of it, may seem to lift up its head, and it has done so even in modern times; what, in one sense, is prefigured by the waters may be acted upon, and will be. We are touching the fringe of the period in which the waves [p. 335] of the sea will roar and the beast will come out (Revelation 13:1), but then that is a question of the divine will and permission. For the moment all is kept back divinely, not accidentally, so that there is stability for faith in regard of what seems to threaten to convulse the world, and which will indeed do so presently, when God lifts His hand.
We do well to face these things, dear brethren, because they are facing us. But then, as I said, there is security, and we may shelter under the commandment — the decree. Wisdom was present as the decree was imposed according to Proverbs 8:29. Wisdom says “when he imposed on the sea his decree that the waters should not pass his commandment ... then I was by him”. It is a question of God’s power to impose His will on what seems to be most powerful. We are to nestle under this in regard to current conditions. Prayer enters into that too, for believers are to be conversant with these things: the Scriptures are written for us, and if we read Scripture and become sympathetic with God, we will look to Him as to things.
Then, coming to Adam, there was also testimony to the divine commandment in the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That was intended to govern Adam in innocency, but he lost his innocency and it is never regained: innocency is not a thing that is regained. The new man is “created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24), it is not said that the new man is created in innocency. Righteousness and holiness belong to a much greater order of man than Adam, involving what will stand up intelligently against all that is against God in this world. God introduced the thought immediately sin came in; the idea of righteousness is brought out; and notwithstanding the presence of sin through Adam and Eve, human conditions were fixed in a general way by commandment, through what was imposed on the serpent, and on the woman, and on the man — that was the order. God imposed certain [p. 336] conditions which remain to the present moment, and even as apostasy followed in Cain, He imposed a condition there; the murderer is marked off and must not be touched.
It seems an extraordinary thing that a murderer should come under the protection of God, but “where sin abounded grace has overabounded”, (Romans 5:20). It is the Jew, typified in Cain, protected to the present moment: he is around us, in the towns and cities with which we have to do. The Lord’s word stands unfailingly, “This generation will not have passed away until all these things shall have taken place”, (Matthew 24:34). The Jew stands, the generation is the same today as it was then. All these things come down to us, they are round about us, all fixed by the divine commandment; evil can go just so far, and no further. Faith nestles under this; the commandment of God must be in our favour surely, if it shelter the Jew.
That is how matters stood in the antediluvian world, and these things run right through — taken up and added to after the deluge in a most interesting way, for we are in the post-diluvian world; that which then was is said to have perished, we are in the world that now is, and there is another one to come. The present world dates from the deluge, but it is full of the same things and others added, especially in regard of the nations. International issues are the outstanding feature of the time, and we must not disregard them, for they enter into the will of God. Indeed the apostle Paul said to the Athenians at Mars’ hill, those who above other people would be conversant with mundane affairs, that God “has made of one blood every nation of men to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, having determined ordained times and the boundaries of their dwelling”, (Acts 17:26). In whatever direction we look, there it is, God has set the bounds and they cannot be altered: in other words, God is in all these things, as indeed we get further, “he is not far from each one of us: for in him we live and move and exist” (verses 27,28).
How different everything becomes as we look at it thus; God entering into all these things in a limiting way by His commandment. Take the current agricultural situation, for instance, how prolific the earth is — is that not of God? It is; that fact enters into the worship of God’s people. “While the earth remaineth”, He says to Noah, “seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease”, (Genesis 8:22). It is very striking how the goodness of God in the fulness of the earth stands over against the futility of human legislation and administration. God is still there to be worshipped as the Creator. God would enlarge us as to these things, that we might worship Him intelligently as enjoying His benefits, seeing His greatness; for “the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made” (Romans 1:20), showing that by the renewed mind, the christian is brought into these things, perceiving in this way “both his eternal power and divinity”.
Then another thing in regard to the nations is that in ordering them, it was in relation to the children of Israel, His own people: all these orderings and fixities have in view the comfort, the prosperity and growth, of the people of God. We are set in what seems to be overwhelming; if for a moment God’s hand were lifted, it would be so, and yet the people of God stand in the midst of it unperturbed; that is to say, where faith exists. All these bounds are set in relation to the people of God, according to Deuteronomy 33 — the love of God entering into that book in a peculiar way: “Yea, he loved the people”, it is said (verse 3). So that we are restful in regard to current matters by the knowledge of the commandment of God.
Well now, it should appeal to us that a commandment is written to ourselves, one directly given to us!
[p. 338] What are we going to make of it? Elsewhere the Lord says, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me”, (John 14:21). If these things are disregarded abroad, the Lord would appeal to us that the one that is written to us, this particular one in this letter to the Corinthians, should be looked into most carefully and adhered to sedulously. There is enjoyment in it, but above all, we honour Him whose it is — “it is the Lord’s commandment”. One is reminded of Himself as Man here on earth, and He leads the way in this, as in all else: He loved the law, it was in His heart. What a testimony He was here! and how delightful to heaven He was in that relation. He “magnified” it too, for God makes a point of that, that His law must stand; and not only stand, but be honoured. “He will magnify the law, and make it honourable”, (Isaiah 42:21). How important, therefore, if we love God, if we love the Lord Jesus, that this great commandment, the first letter to the Corinthians, should not only stand in regard to ourselves, but be made honourable.
What has been the case even in the history of persons who separated nominally from the great religious systems many years ago? Many independent bodies have been formed, and this commandment has dropped out of view; and it remains out of view so far as many are concerned. I am not here to accuse, but it is a solemn fact. What does heaven think of that? There may be much activity, but what must heaven think when the commandment is not magnified and made honourable? — not even kept? We may well listen to the Lord saying, “it shall not be so among you”. Let us take it to heart; He is greatly concerned about this matter. I do not, of course, limit the idea of commandment to this epistle, but this epistle relates to the assembly in its public character here, and how important therefore that it should have its place, not only in word but in fact; that we may be able to prove [p. 339] our spirituality, our love for God by obeying the commandment. There is no other way that I know of; it is the test for us.
Well, it is here in chapters 11 to 14 inclusive, but particularly in chapters 12 to 14. Chapter 11 deals with the Lord’s supper; the Lord has helped us as to that, and is helping us. The apostle, in that chapter, speaks about the directions he had given the Corinthians, which they had kept, and he was now giving them others; and then he adds that other things that needed to be set in order, he would deal with when he arrived. But then the question of gift comes up, the question of ministry; and it is a very important matter just now. The apostle, indeed, had persons who professed to minister in his mind, persons who would prophesy. Certain ones at Corinth had entered the lists with the great apostle, as rivals to him. What folly! But it was there, rivalry in the ministry; and what goes with that is partisanship, and what follows on that is metropolitanism. So he says, “Did the word of God go out from you?” Had it been so, it would have meant that Corinth was to be a metropolitan centre, as Jerusalem had been. Jerusalem is the only city entering into christianity that was once rightly metropolitan, and it has passed away long ago, not to be revived in relation to christianity. It was of God for the moment but God would never repeat that amongst the nations, though the assumption to it has been shamefully attempted in Rome, and in other centres, too. The rival element at Corinth would have had it so. “Did the word of God go out from you?” the apostle says. It did not; there is no evidence of it. It went out from Thessalonica, from a young assembly, “it sounded out”, but there was no pretence to rivalry with Paul in Thessalonica. There cannot be the proclamation according to God where rivalry exists.
Then he says, Did the word of God “come to you only?” pointing unmistakably to certain pretensions among them. Then he says, “If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”. That was the test. You may talk about your pulpits and your missionary services, and how much of this has been all these recent years — while the commandment has been disregarded! What does heaven think of that? It resents it. The pretension that the word of God was going out, and certain denominations, each in its own sphere, assuming that the word came to it only, for that is the underlying principle in a sect, that it is right and all others are wrong. The challenge in the presence of all that, is the Lord’s commandment; not the pope’s or the archbishop’s, or the convention’s, or the presbytery’s; no, it is the Lord’s commandment. That is the test the Lord has given to the whole of christendom, whatever the pretension — “let him recognize the things that I write to you”, Paul says — mark it is not ‘what is written’, but “the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”.
Well now, dear brethren, this is very searching, especially as to ministry, because rivalry, alas! usually arises amongst ministers — though no doubt underlying conditions amongst the saints give occasion for it. The Lord shelters His people if the state is right generally, but rivalry arises among ministers, and the challenge here is to such to recognize that what is written by Paul, in this letter, is the Lord’s commandment. Now in these three chapters — 12, 13 and 14 — which treat particularly of ministry, we have the idea of commandment, peculiarly attaching to us as christians. In chapter 12 we have divine Persons operating; a remarkable thing that they should be brought in to correct or instruct the Corinthians in regard of ministry: there is the Spirit, and there is the Lord, and then there is God; all operating together in perfect holy unity. What a model for us! The Spirit is [p. 341] mentioned first, because that is the point to be stressed in regard of ministry, it is a question of what the Spirit says. So the gifts first of all are referred to the Spirit in chapter 12, but then the body follows, so as to teach us our dependence upon one another; that we are an organism, and that God has set the members “as it has pleased him”. That is fixity; you cannot alter it. The position of each in the body, as in the human body, is according to divine wisdom; according to divine pleasure, too, and surely if we love God — it is a question of God — we do not wish to alter in the least degree the position He has set us in, it is a question of His pleasure. I love to think of what pleases God; He has part in all these meetings, and should have His pleasure in every believer — as he walks the street, and particularly as he sits down with his brethren, as he sits down body-wise with them — how God is pleased with the love that underlies that! — each in his place. “God has set the members, each one of them in the body, according as it has pleased him” (verse 18).
Then the next thing is, He has set certain in the assembly (verse 28). Gifts are set in the whole assembly. Gifts are not local. If we recognize this, we shall never make any local brother our favourite minister. That has been done. If one has gift, he is not in that sense local. He is local as a brother, but he is universal as a gift. He is set “in the assembly”. “God has set certain in the assembly”, and then we have the list: apostles, prophets, teachers, helps, and governments, and so on. God has set them there — that is the thought; there is a fixity in regard to those set in the assembly. This is most practical: it shuts out independency on the one hand, God having set the members “each one of them in the body”, and clericalism on the other hand, for “God has set certain in the assembly”. It is a question of your place or mine according to the pleasure of God, “as it has pleased him”. It is wonderful how [p. 342] God has brought in the detail in this epistle in regard to the members of the body, just as in regard to the very seed sown in the ground; it is said in chapter 15 that He gives it a body “as it has pleased him”. All this is to prevent interference or rivalry; it makes way, in other words, for the free action of the Spirit of God. Without these things we shall miss the free action of the Spirit of God.
Love comes in in chapter 13, without which all activity must be in vain: there must be love; without it, as we have often heard, we are nothing. So that love being existent in all these things that the will of God fixes and recognizes, you have the free action of the Spirit, and the river of grace flows — a most delightful thing! “There is a river the streams whereof make glad the city of God”, (Psalm 46:4). The city refers to divine ordering of things among the saints, and then the river makes glad the city of God. How the free action of the Spirit in ministry and the like, gladdens the hearts of the saints as we come together as we are now! “A river the streams whereof ...” showing that it is not one person, it is a question of gifts or vessels that God uses to gladden the hearts of His people.
That was all I had to say. I think you will see the force of it, the importance of commandment and of getting into the soul the idea of the Lord’s commandment. There is a word added to that — “But if any be ignorant, let him be ignorant”. You may say, That is not consistent with christianity. But it is: there are those that will be ignorant, a most solemn thing, and God fixes things on us. Is it not a most solemn thing that God fixes ignorance on a man? I think it is a most serious matter; if I am ignorant, shutting my eyes and heart to the truth, God allows this to stand. A most solemn matter! “But if any be ignorant, let him be ignorant”. That is how the matter stands;
[p. 343] but God would encourage us in regard to the Lord’s commandment, to recognize it, maintain it, and make it honourable. Let it stand out as a testimony that is not only written, but actually effective, in the walk and the ways and conversation generally of God’s people.