THE ASSEMBLY AS THE REALM OF DIVINE RIGHTS
THE ASSEMBLY AS THE REALM OF DIVINE RIGHTS
1 Corinthians 1: 1 - 3; 1 Corinthians 10: 30 - 32; 1 Corinthians 11: 20 - 26; 1 Corinthians 15: 7 - 10
SMcC In suggesting these passages to be read, one is thinking of the expression which enters into them, namely, “the assembly of God.” This letter is often alluded to; often have we gone over the teaching contained in it. One thought that we might get fresh help in taking account of the assembly of God, as it is referred to in this epistle. In our day, when ruin and breakdown mark the public position, we could not claim to be the assembly of God - far be the thought! But as available to each other in the light of 2 Timothy 2, we walk together in the light of what is becoming in, and proper to, the assembly of God, as in this and other epistles. And it would seem important that we should apprehend the greatness of the saints in any given locality, as walking in the light of the assembly. This letter is to help us as to the dignity of this wonderful realm constituted by the assembly of God; a realm that God’s rights enter into in a peculiar way; a realm that is the base of all operations in any given locality, the assembly; a vessel that is particularly marked by the presence of the Spirit of God in it, and also marked by being the anointed vessel. The teaching in the letter has in mind that there should be found among the saints, in any given city, a vessel answering in holiness to the light within. The saints are referred to in different ways in this letter in the light of the assembly of God, some of which we referred to in other parts as to the temple and the body. It is important that we should have a right viewpoint of the saints in any given locality, the dignity that attaches to them in the light of this expression, as the assembly of God. It is a realm where God is going to set out in an ordered way His own testimony. The assembly of God is a vessel to which He commits Himself, and where human glory, human power and human resource, are to be excluded, which would all belie the dignity of the anointing which attaches to this vessel in any given locality. But I think it is important to see how Paul begins with this thought in verse 2, “the assembly of God which is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus,” reminding us of the dignity of the personnel who form the assembly of God. We are thus reminded of the divine right of proprietorship in a realm like this, that it is God’s assembly, and a realm that is to be viewed, and moved in, in that light; and where the dignity that is suggested in these verses as characterising the personnel is to appear. It says, “called saints, with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours;” the authority of Christ as Lord particularly entering into the earlier part of the letter in regard of the teaching.
Rem So that it is an exceedingly exclusive sphere.
SMcC Exactly; exclusive of man in relation to what he is after the flesh; exclusive of human resource. It is a realm where the order of man that is linked with “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints,” is peculiarly before us; where the presence of the Spirit of God is to be known and relied upon constantly all the way through, whether in relation to the glad tidings, the reading of the Scriptures, the meeting for prophetic ministry, or the service of God. “Do ye not know that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” - 1 Corinthians 3: 16.
NBS Would you say a word as to the difference in the bearing of “the assembly of God” here, and the Lord’s word, “my assembly,” in Matthew 16?
SMcC The Lord is not exactly alluding to the assembly there in a localised way, although the expression of it would be seen in localities; He is not thinking of it exactly, either, in regard to just the time or the moment in any specific way in which it appears; He is thinking of it as covering the whole dispensation, as that which Hades’ gates shall not prevail against. The light of that maintained in our localities helps us in the understanding of the dignity that attaches to what the saints are in a given locality.
WJB Is the term “assembly of God” suggestive of the fact that the character of God is there; God is represented there?
SMcC God is to be rightly represented there; it is His own realm. The saints constitute that in this city as moving in the light of the assembly, as conveyed in this epistle, and therefore it is important that we should see the dignity of the saints in our cities in this light, that it is a realm in which God is to be represented.
WJH Would you say a little as to the distinction between “sanctified in Christ Jesus,” and “called saints”?
SMcC I suppose that “sanctified in Christ Jesus” embraces the totality of the work, in which the history of the man after the flesh is entirely closed up; and “called saints” would allude to the wonderful way in which we have been affected by the calling of God; God calling us in relation to these great dignified thoughts that are in His mind, calling us out of the realm where He has taken, up His abode.
GJD Does the expression “the assembly of God” bear on the public testimonial side?
SMcC This epistle is largely dealing with that. It is not a question of the assembly in heaven; it is a question of the assembly down here as the base of divine operations in our cities, where God sets forth His thoughts in testimony in an ordered way; the anointing involving that God commits Himself to the position, and the representation of God in that realm involves that we know God, and are formed in the moral characteristics that are linked with the way that God has shone out in the glad tidings and otherwise.
WJB So we would have great respect to the thought of the assembly of God, not only in our own city, but in every place where the saints are found walking in the truth.
SMcC Because it is divine property, and it is important that we should see that it is divine property. The teaching in this letter is to remind us of the dignity of it. It is not a realm in which human resource is to be exploited, but a realm in which human resource and all that is linked with man after the flesh is to be definitely refused, so that room is made for the Spirit of God amongst us.
GJD Would we appreciate that, when we think of what Paul said in Acts 20, “the assembly of God, which he has purchased with the blood of his own”?
SMcC It shows the infinite cost that it has been to God, purchased at such cost, and therefore should be treasured in that light. I think we need to see what comes into this letter; it is a realm where the Spirit of God is to have prominence; prominence in the preaching, the teaching and in the working out of the distributions in the body. Whatever way we may think of it, the Spirit of God is stressed as the great resource that we are to rely on, if the thought as to this vessel is to be maintained in its proper dignity.
JHH Is that why the beloved apostle was such a great help to the saints at Corinth? While he knew, probably, when he began this letter, the adjustment that was needed, yet he could see them in all their greatness, as from God’s side?
SMcC A very important thing. We can never serve the saints rightly unless we value and view them rightly. Even if concrete features may deny the true character of the saints according to the divine thought,
we can always resort in our minds to what the saints are abstractly, and clothe them in that light.
SEE Do you mean that they are never less than that, whatever the outward evidences may be?
SMcC Yes, so that Paul moves to bring in the needed adjustment that has been referred to, and to deal with what comes up, in the light of what he is referring to in these few verses.
CEJ Would you say that God has provided everything that is necessary from His side to enable us to be here for Him testimonially?
SMcC Yes, and especially to work out this great thought of the assembly of God in a locality, and what the saints are, as set together in the light of it. The position has been divinely provided for, and the furnishings from the divine side are to be noted.
WJB So that we need not be unduly anxious about matters. Primarily it is God’s matter, and He has the situation in hand in every case. Is that not so?
SMcC That is the great thing that we should see. It is God’s realm and the Spirit of God is in that realm. Hence the importance of relying on the divine Presence in that light, so that God’s thoughts may be set out in the ordered way in which they are intended to be set out. That is, as the thought of the assembly of God lays hold of our minds, the prime concern with us is that it belongs to God, and God is to be represented in it; His rights are to be acknowledge in it; His sovereignty is to be made room for in it. It is not a realm for human manoeuvring, but a realm where the Spirit of God is to be relied upon all the way through.
AWG Does the apostle himself serve as conscious of his own call being a divine calling, and that according to God’s will, and would that dignify his service and the saints in his eyes as he seeks to serve them?
SMcC It is a great matter that we should learn how to rely on the work of God in the saints, so that when the truth comes up and is to be maintained (as in this letter it had to be maintained), we can rely and base our confidence on the work of God in the saints, and the presence of the Spirit among them.
WJH These great thoughts would be equally true, would they not, in smaller towns and even villages where there are saints walking in the truth?
SMcC It says, “in every place.” It is inclusive of every place where the saints are found walking in the truth, and in the light of what is becoming to, and proper in the assembly. The number may be numerically very small, but nevertheless the truth equally applies, as it would apply in a city like this where numbers are so ponderous.
JHH I was thinking that when Paul came to Philippi, he sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled. Of course, it is not the assembly of God there at that time, but it seems that Paul could link on with the work of God in a small company like this.
SMcC It is a great thing that we should know how to link on with the work of God among the saints, and to clothe them with divine thoughts as we sit down together in relation to one another; as we are now, I mean; as we think of what there is in the body of the saints, and how much depends on what there is in the body of the saints; it is a great matter to cling to the abstract thought, wherever we are, in reading meetings or otherwise.
GHW Would this linking on be seen in Acts 18: 10, where the Lord says to Paul, “I have much people in this city”?
SMcC Yes. The Lord enters into the position in a peculiar way. He tells Paul that he is not to be afraid to speak, that He is with him; showing that the local position is such an important matter that the Lord takes a personal hand in it in Acts 18, to stand by the maintenance of the truth in regard to the assembly of God.
WJB I was just thinking of the importance and dignity of the local position, however small or obscure it may be, whether in a little village or a great city. So that we would need to tread softly in the matter of influencing brethren in a locality, for fear we might encroach upon the divine realm.
SMcC There would be holy concern as to the matter, and we would view very soberly, in the light of what the assembly of God is in any given place, any thought of writing it off, or setting it aside. Paul does not make any suggestion in this letter because of the conditions that obtained, of setting the assembly aside, or, as it were, beginning on a new foundation. There is no suggestion of that in the letter at all. He writes for their building up, not for their overthrowing. The whole body and substance of the ministry in these two letters is not for their overthrowing, it is for their building up; therefore the importance of keeping in mind that assembly judgments are always right, in principle.
FW Calling on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Would you say something as to the importance and force of the word “name” there?
SMcC I think it is that we are in the sphere of the Lord’s absence. The Lord is not here, in the light of what is referred to here; it is the scene of His betrayal. But the saints are here and they are calling on His Name, bringing in the element of dependence, and setting out where the resource of the saints is. There is what is linked with His Name objectively on the one hand, and what is linked with the Spirit and His presence in the vessel too.
JC Would you be free to open up that remark as to assembly judgments being always right in principle?
SMcC We must not think that on account of what was done recently in another land that we are to regard assembly judgments lightly. I am sure that we shall never be helped or supported in regarding assembly judgments lightly. We are to regard assembly judgments properly in their dignity. So that in principle assembly judgments are always right. They may be shown to be wrong, as in the case I have referred to, but in principle the assembly is always right.
JHH Have we any scripture in the New Testament that would suggest anything else?
SMcC No; and it is a great thing that we should not be careless in regard to the great thought of the assembly of God in any given place; that we should hold the saints in a given place, and what they arrive at and what they do, in the proper dignity that belongs to them as moving in the light of the assembly of God in the place.
WJB So that we would not question an assembly judgment, unless it is clear that some divine principle has been broken?
SMcC Exactly, because the Lord is with His people. We are to remember that.
GWB Does that give point to what was said a few moments ago about the importance of influencing what may be done in a place?
SMcC What holy care is needed! It is God’s realm and therefore priestly and holy care would be needed in our regard for it and our movements in relation to it.
FW Is that because what is done, is done, or is ostensibly done, in His Name?
SMcC Yes, and the Spirit is among the saints.
EBMcC There is no excuse for an assembly judgment not being according to truth.
SMcC What one is thinking about is the necessity of seeing the dignity of the assembly of God, and, in that light, that we should not lightly regard what is linked with, nor what is arrived at by the saints in any given city.
EBMcC It is a great administrative body, is it not?
SMcC Yes, it is the greatest administrative body on earth, and we think of the personnel that compose it, “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” That is, it represents the closing up of the entire history linked with the man of sin and shame. We are to learn to think of the saints in their proper dignity, if we are going to serve effectively in helping them in any matter.
LGS And it always functions in administration locally, does it not?
SMcC The saints in a given locality have only administrative authority within that realm. They have their own realm of administrative authority in the place, and not outside of it.
AC It says in John 20 that “Jesus came and stood in the midst,” and then again, “eight days after” (which takes in a new dispensation) “Jesus comes, ... and stood in the midst.” Is that not a fixed position? It says in Matthew 18: 20, “where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them.” He is there to guide and direct even the two or three.
SMcC Matthew would be quite distinct from John 20 in that sense. In Matthew the Lord does not ascend, but in John the Lord ascends and He comes to His people. His presence is not continuous in John; it is continuous in Matthew.
JD Would the contemplation of this, “all that ... call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” promote holy feelings amongst us? I was thinking of the Name.
SMcC It would, because you are thinking of the renown of that Person. The Name is linked with the renown of that Person whom God has made Lord and Christ: “the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We do not take other names on our lips, as it were, we take this Name on our lips. Other lords may have had dominion over us, but this is the Name that stands out, and upon which we call.
CEJ Is it that all we do, we would seek to do as the Lord would do it Himself?
SMcC Yes, exactly; and to do things in the dignity that becomes the vessel that is called the assembly of God.
GHW-n Would “both theirs and ours” bring in the link that we have with our brethren in other places?
SMcC Yes, showing that the light that would apply to the saints at Corinth equally applies to the saints in other parts, so that we are linked together in unity in that way. While the local assembly is a distinct vessel by itself, divinely furnished, yet we are bound up together with the saints in other places in the unity that is suggested in these verses.
AED Despite the conditions in Corinth, it says at the end of the epistle, “the assemblies of Asia salute you.” There would be respect from those assemblies to the assembly in Corinth.
SMcC Exactly. It is important that the thought of the assembly in any place, and the saints as forming it, should always be maintained in their proper dignity before our minds and souls.
WJB Chapter 10 would show, would it not, that our consideration is not to be confined to the assembly of God? It goes out to Jews and Greeks as well.
SMcC It is rather remarkable how the public position comes on to our view in chapter 10, and how the apostle begins that passage with, “All things are lawful, but all are not profitable; all things are lawful, but all do not edify. Let no one seek his own advantage, but that of the other.” Then, “If I partake with thanksgiving why am I spoken evil of for what I give thanks for? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all things to God’s glory. Give no occasion to stumbling, whether to Jews,
or Greeks, or the assembly of God. Even as I also please all in all things; not seeking my own profit, but that of the many, that they may be saved.” It gives a remarkable touch here to the assembly of God in the way it is referred to, alongside of Jews or Greeks in the public position.
AWG Is it, so to speak, the philanthropy of God that would be referred to, as bringing forward the Jews and Greeks in that relation, and the assembly following? Would it be the expression of the grace of God and His philanthropy in that way?
SMcC Well, it would have in mind God’s operations through the assembly that we are concerned as to how God is coming out, how God is to be represented, and how persons are to be saved; that we are not there to give occasion of stumbling, we are there having in mind that persons might be saved. Not pleasing ourselves, as Paul says, “Even as I also please all in all things; not seeking my own profit, but that of the many, that they may be saved.” That did not mean that Paul was compromising the truth; it has to do with a right representation of God in view of persons being saved.
GA Would the scripture in Acts 17: 17 illuminate for us, perhaps, what you have in mind: “He reasoned therefore in the synagogue with the Jews, and those who worshipped, and in the market-place every day with those he met with”?
SMcC Well, we can see how Paul was concerned always by all means to save some; and that is a great matter in the right representation of God. He is dealing here particularly with the matter of liberty, as he says, “for why is my liberty judged by another conscience? If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I spoken evil of for what I give thanks for?” It is a very important thing, where the truth is not compromised, that we do not, as it were, entrench ourselves upon one another in the way of presuming to tell one another as to what we should give thanks for, and as to what we have liberty for, in our relation with God.
EBMcC It should always be a great matter with us to commend God to others, that they may be saved, as the apostle says.
SMcC Yes, and it is rather remarkable that the assembly of God is brought into this passage here, that we are to give no occasion to stumbling. The note says, to ‘be offenceless ... to both Jews and Greeks and the assembly of God.’ What a beloved brother Paul must have been! How he could come down to them! “Even as I also please all in all things.” How he could come down, let us say, to the weakest saint, and yet hold the truth in all its dignity and height!
SMcC Maintaining it uncompromisingly, as he does in this letter, yet having such an outlook in regard to all, as he says, “Even as I” (it is the emphatic ‘I‘) “also please all in all things.” That did not mean that he was giving up the ground in regard to the truth; it is his attitude and outlook in relation to all, having in mind their salvation.
JD And then, would he not have in mind, too, in regard to the assembly, God’s glory?
SMcC Yes, and especially as he is stressing the matter of liberty. As beloved Mr. Taylor once said of Paul when he went up to Peter, “I do not suppose that Peter ever saw liberty in a man, as he saw it in Paul.” Paul is stressing this matter of liberty in regard to what we give thanks to God for, and in the matter of what we are doing. We are to do all things to God’s glory, giving no occasion to stumbling, whether to Jews, or Greeks, or the assembly of God.
JC Would the light of this scripture preserve us from internal interference? We often try to regiment one another to our own fixed ideas.
SMcC I think that is the point of it, that we should not seek to interfere in one another’s houses, and in one another’s matters, and in one another’s liberties, where the truth is not compromised. We are to give no occasion for stumbling to Jews, or Greeks, or the assembly of God.
SEE The apostle refers to the conscience several times in this passage. What has conscience to do with these matters?
SMcC Conscience is a great thing where it is regulated by the word of God. It is an important matter that we should see the place that conscience has, as regulated by the word of God, because it is a saving element to man.
WJB If we neglect conscience, we shall make shipwreck as to faith.
SMcC That is the truth. It is important that our consciences be regulated by the word of God. Sometimes you hear persons entrenching themselves in a position, where they say, ‘Well, I have no conscience about the matter,’ and they may be altogether wrong in it. That is not ground for any of us to take, because our consciences must be regulated by the word of God. The Lord examines us.
SEE I was thinking, rather, of the other side; that is, the seeking to impose things upon persons against their conscience, where they have a genuine conscience about things.
SMcC Well, that is what Paul is dealing with here, that he would have regard for persons where there might be an occasion of stumbling.
GWB Does it help to see in verse 29 that the apostle says, “but conscience, I mean, not thine own, but that of the other”?
SMcC He says, “But if any one say to you. This is offered to holy purposes, do not eat, for his sake that pointed it out, and conscience sake; but conscience, I mean, not thine own, but that of the other.” But then he says, “for why is my liberty judged by another conscience?” He balances the truth to show us the seriousness of one person imposing his conscience upon another person, where another person may have liberty and the truth not be compromised.
GJG Is the great point of liberty in the apostle’s own soul, “the earth is the Lord’s and its fulness”?
SMcC Yes, and he says, “Everything sold in the shambles eat, making no inquiry for conscience sake.” “For every creature of God is good,” as he says in 1 Timothy 4: 4. It is a matter of liberty here, while he is having regard for conscience where it may be pointed out that the thing is offered to holy purposes.
AC This is a person that has accepted an invitation from an unbeliever, and while they are eating the man that has invited him points out that it was offered to holy purposes.
SMcC Yes.
HE Do the first two scriptures and the truth bearing upon them greatly help us in coming together at the Lord’s supper, in the way we appropriate the saints?
SMcC The chapter is dealing with that; the appropriating of one another and the enjoying of one another. That brings us to the next passage, where Paul says, “When ye come therefore together into one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For each one in eating takes his own supper before others, and one is hungry and another drinks to excess. Have ye not then houses for eating and drinking? or do ye despise the assembly of God, and put to shame them who have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you? In this point I do not praise.” He is bringing into our minds another point in the truth in regard to the dignity of the assembly of God, the possibility of despising the assembly of God by the way we act and by the way we do certain things.
SEE Does that emphasise the need for respect for the assembly of God? I was thinking of the dignity in the first passage, and the liberty in the second.
SMcC Well, exactly. He opens up the passage by referring to conditions among them, “I hear there exist divisions among you, and I partly give credit to it.” He is taking account of conditions among them. Then he says, “For there must also be sects among you, that the approved may become manifest among you.” Then he goes on to speak of the Lord’s supper, which is the great centre of unity in regard of the position. It is an important thing, if the dignity of the assembly of God is to be maintained, that we do not move on isolationist lines; that we move together in the light of all that attaches to the assembly of God in a place. Especially in a city like this, where there are so many subdivisions, how important it is that there should not be sub-divisional influence, but that the saints should be moving together in the light of the dignity attaching to the assembly of God in the place.
SEE Would the recognition, that the apostle emphasises here, of the fact that it is the Lord’s supper, and not our supper, help us in that?
SMcC We are in the realm of the Lord’s dominical rights. What a serious thing it is to interfere with His dominical rights! The supper is brought into its true setting in the assembly by Paul’s ministry. He is stressing the matter of headship in the beginning of the chapter, in this great thought of the authority of God, working down through Christ, through the man to the woman; then the truth of the supper; then the truth of the body; but then this great important point as to the dignity of the assembly of God, in which the supper is set.
GJD Is he seeking to eliminate from our minds the matter of social caste and all that sort of thing, that makes for so much grief sometimes?
SMcC It is all to be excluded, and all that would centre around men and persons. All that is to be excluded in this realm. It is God’s realm. Our natural predilections, love for certain persons more than others, preference for some to minister more than others, all this is interfering with divine rights of proprietorship in this dignified realm, the assembly of God. All that is linked with that is to be excluded, so that, the Spirit of God being amongst us in this vessel, we are to rely on Him, and make room for Him, in the setting forward of whom He will.
WJB So then, if God has given a brother ability to minister and he is in fellowship, we leave that matter with the Lord; we do not have our predilections and prejudices; we respect this divine territory and the divine rights in it, do we not?
SMcC Yes, and the great need of recognising it is God’s realm, so that every element of partisanship is judged in our souls every element of natural predilection is judged, so that we make room for what is in this realm, especially in the light of what lies in the body of the saints, the work of God and all the latent wealth linked with the body of the saints.
WJH Is that in keeping with what the apostle says, “For ye can prophesy one by one”? That is, he makes room for all that may be able to edify the saints.
SMcC Yes. It is a question of the whole position, and therefore, how we need to judge unsparingly in our hearts any suggestion of certain sections of the city having particular affinities or coteries or whatever may enter in to becloud the great thought of the assembly of God!
FW So, is it in that realm that you referred to, that the Lord’s rights and the power of the Holy Spirit are to be recognised? It is not the opinions, as it were, of brethren, but rather the place that belongs to the Lord and the Spirit in the assembly.
SMcC Exactly, so that we do not set man forward.
I think we have to learn that it is God’s realm and it is not a question of setting man forward in this realm. It is God’s realm, and we are to make room for divine sovereignty in it, in relation to the whole position.
SEE Would the apostle provide an example of that in chapter 12: 28, where he says, “And God has set certain in the assembly,” and then he refers to numerous gifts and so on? The footnote says that the significance of the verb is, “set for himself,” and another reference to that particular verb shows it has a reflexive force, so that the glory of the thing falls back upon the One who does it; so that the glory of everything is for God in the assembly.
SMcC Some of the Corinthians were using their gifts to exploit their own prowess and ability, a very subtle snare that we might fall into. Especially are we to be sober and calculated in our outlook in the cities in which we are set, as to the assembly of God in it, so that we do not entrench upon God’s right of proprietorship. It is His realm, it belongs to Him, and the Spirit of God is there, and we are to rely on the Spirit of God; refusing every feature linked with human strength and human energy. We do not need to be unduly anxious about setting persons forward. If persons are gifted, then gift will make room for itself. We are to be concerned that God is made way for in His own realm, and His rights are recognised in it, and that the Spirit of God is recognised as the power for everything in the realm.
DJM As in Acts 13, “Separate me now,” and then the brethren recognising it?
SMcC Yes. The Spirit of God is sovereign in that realm. It is what He is setting forward, not what I want to set forward. I may want to set myself forward; and we need to judge that in our hearts.
WJB I might want to hold someone else back. That is just as grave an error.
SMcC That is equally as bad. We are to make room for the divine right of way in this realm; the promotion of mutuality among the brethren. I know the difficulties the brethren have in a big city like this where there are so many, but it is a great matter that we should make room for what there is in the body of the saints, as adding to the wealth of the position locally.
GCS Features of spirituality and mutuality coming to light?
SMcC So that in the last scripture read, Paul would never forget what he was in his unregenerate days in persecuting the assembly, and he retires into what he was by God’s grace: “by God’s grace I am what I am.” Why should any of us try to make out that we are something else than we are? Why should we not, in the light of the greatness of the assembly of God, accept what we are, as in this realm where God asserts His rights.