THE GLORY AND PRINCIPLES OF DIVINE ADMINISTRATION IN THE ASSEMBLY

THE GLORY AND PRINCIPLES OF DIVINE ADMINISTRATION IN THE ASSEMBLY

Matthew 16: 24 - 28; Matthew 17: 1 - 5; Matthew 25: 31 - 46

SMcC The thought in mind in suggesting these passages as a basis for an inquiry in relation to the truth, is the thought of glory in relation to divine administration. We have, in the passages that we have read, remarkable allusions to glory, especially as entering into administrative functions and bearing on an administrative environment. In view of the apparent deterioration in administration on every hand and among the nations, it is important that we should understand the positive features linked with divine administration. Matthew is the great administrative gospel, and the assembly is presented in it in a very dignified and glorious way in relation to this subject of divine administration. Divine Persons delight, in the presence of the deterioration linked with man’s administration, to draw our attention to, and link our thoughts with, the glory of divine administration, especially in regard to the positive features that are linked with it and what it brings in. Very often, perhaps, we have tended to allow the preponderance in our minds of administration as bearing on the repression of evil, without sufficiently seeing that divine administration, and the working out of it in its glory, involves the introduction of positive thoughts of blessing. There is a radiancy in divine administration, with which there is linked the representation of God; and every one of us, as having part in divine administration, should be marked by the right representation of Him who is the source of all administration. It is suggested that we look at this reference in chapter 16, where the Son of man is referred to, in verse 27, coming “in the glory of his Father,” a remarkable allusion to Christ; and then, in chapter 17, the overshadowing cloud, alluding to the excellent glory (as the marginal reference would suggest); and then the allusion in chapter 25, in the time of the sessional judgment, to the great thought of the Son of man coming in His glory; the reference to “his throne of glory,” all bearing upon the administrative position. As the brethren will note, in chapter 25 it is a question of executive administration, especially working out in relation to the protection of the people of God. I thought we might get help in considering these features of glory, as set out in this gospel, which brings administration so much before us.

SEE Would the glory of the administration of the assembly lie in the reflection of divine Persons in it?

SMcC Yes, God would be rightly represented in all administration working out in the assembly. The Lord makes a remarkable allusion to the assembly in this chapter; “my assembly.” How much the Lord makes of the assembly! The way He speaks of it as “my assembly,” and “hades’ gates shall not prevail against it,” an allusion, I suppose, to the administrative side in connection with what is evil.

WJH What you have said would be confirmed in the great issue in the book of the Revelation; when the cities of the nations fall. God’s answer to it is to bring in His city in holiness and transparency and glory.

SMcC So that it is said of the holy city that she has the glory of God. She is marked by that, a vessel that has been formed in relation to divine outshining, and, as having it, capacitated to have her part and place in sharing with Christ in the blest administration of that day.

PB Are you suggesting that this administrative vessel, the assembly, is composed of persons who have to be cared for?

SMcC That is what Matthew would impress us with, that the saints are great in the eyes of divine Persons. Matthew 18 impresses us with that, in the working out of the principle of care, and Matthew 25, while we know that prophetically it alludes to the sessional judgment of a future day, yet the principles that enter into the executive administration of that moment are to be understood by us, as rightly conveying what enters into divine administration.

RCR So that administration is not limited to care meetings, but the care of the saints is basic in that chapter.

SMcC I think we may have been too limited in our thoughts as to administration. Think of the glory of it in our dispensation; Christ in heaven and the great system of administration set up in relation to Him there. He functioning as Man in heaven, and the Spirit in the assembly down here commensurate with the position up there; the great working out of divine administration in the glad tidings in the way the knowledge of God is brought to men. We need to have our thoughts enlarged as to divine administration.

HJM In chapter 16 He speaks of the Son of man coming “in the glory of his Father with his angels,” and then in chapter 25, “But when the Son of man comes in his glory” - are those two features that shine in the matter now?

SMcC I think they do. “The glory of his Father” is a remarkable expression, and there is something for us to understand and learn as to this reference at this particular juncture; the Father being the great sovereign Ruler of the universe, and the One who is referred to by the Lord Jesus in that great turning point in Matthew 11: 25, “I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes.” That is one of the features of the glory of the Father, that He is not operating in relation to the wise and prudent. He is operating in relation to the impressionable state among the people of God. Unsophisticated as the babes are in the ways of human and worldly wisdom, the Father is operating in relation to them, with this great thought of administration in mind.

BOL The glory of the Father was witnessed in the resurrection of Christ, was it not, according to Romans 6: 4? He was “raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father.”

SMcC Yes, showing how early the thought of glory enters into the position of the believer in the wilderness. It is the glory of the Father there, God known in that way.

NBS In this reference in verse 27, “For the Son of man is about to come in the glory of his Father,” intended to direct the eyes of our hearts to the contemplation of that glory, so that it affects us in our movements here, and enables us to be ready to lose things here, as indicated in the verses earlier?

SMcC I think so. Peter had been the subject in relation to a divine movement in the body of the chapter. The Lord says to Peter, “flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.” That is another feature of the Father’s glory, His operations in putting an impression upon such as Peter represents. The great thought of administration is brought into Peter’s mind by what the Lord says in regard to the keys of the kingdom and what follows, “whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.” The Lord is inculcating into Peter’s mind administrative thoughts, yet Peter falls beneath the level of these great thoughts, and the Lord has to rebuke him in the succeeding verses, for Peter would turn the Lord away from the path in which the divine glory would shine, the path of suffering. Then the Lord introduces this matter of those who want to save their lives, and proceeds to speak of this matter of the Son of man about to come in the glory of His Father. It seems to have a distinct bearing in relation to what has preceded.

AC Is that why He takes them up into a high mountain apart shortly afterwards, and is transfigured before them?

SMcC Yes. It would show the elevated side of things that comes into view in this great administrative section; whereas, in man’s world, there is the thought of degeneration in administrative functions, just as in Daniel’s time there was the deterioration from the head of gold down to what we have in the feet. The Lord would elevate our thoughts in relation to the great realm and range of divine administration and glory.

HJM Did Hannah have an instinctive sense of that glory of divine administration in her prayer, which was really a song, the reversal of men’s thoughts? “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; from the dung-hill he lifteth up the needy. To set him among nobles; and he maketh them inherit a throne of glory,” 1 Samuel 2: 8.

SMcC Very good. Hannah had a right conception as to divine administration, linked with God’s anointed! She was a woman who was in power in her soul. Whilst the subject of persecution from her rival Peninnah, she finds herself liberated in her soul, giving expression to the exalted thoughts linked with the glory of divine administration.

JHH Does it suggest to you that the Lord had confidence in Peter? I notice He calls him Simon Barjona first, but then He says, “thou art Peter.” Does it suggest that the Lord had confidence that Peter was going to come into the gain of all that you are saying?

SMcC Matthew would keep Peter before us: “first Peter”. We are not to lose sight of the distinctive place that Peter has; but what comes out in the verses immediately preceding those we read, shows what is possible with any one of us. If it was possible with Peter, it is possible with any one of us to fall beneath the level and dignity of divine thoughts in regard to what is going forward.

WJH You refer, do you, to the Lord calling Peter “Satan” in that matter? An adversary!

SMcC A remarkable expression! We might have said naturally, Well, was the Lord justified in using such a strong expression at this juncture? We might say, All that Peter said was, “God be favourable to thee, Lord; this shall in no wise be unto thee.” But the Lord, turning round, “said to Peter, 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.” Peter was seeking to deflect the Lord in relation to the path in which the glory of divine administration would be established and shine out.

AWG Would Peter’s recovery be on the lines of following the Lord, as suggested in the following verses? “If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Does the pathway of suffering precede this thought of glory?

SMcC Well, it does; and I think it involves that we should be unreserved in our committal to things. Where there are reserves, you never get full enlightenment and full freedom in relation to the glory of divine administration. We try to save our lives, in whatever way it may be, in regard to things in the world around us - our businesses, or in the way of religious reputation, or other things. If we try to save our lives, we shall never get the full gain of what is linked with our part in these great matters we are referring to.

JD Would verse 29 of chapter 11 have a moral bearing upon this? “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.”

SMcC Just so. The Lord would help us as to our part in this great feature of administration, in which divine glory is shining; because we are not to have anything less in our minds, in regard to the working out of administration, than that divine glory is to shine in it; not the glory of men, but the glory of God.

GCMcK That is emphasized in the heavenly city, that you drew attention to, having the glory of God, and her outshining corresponds with that?

SMcC And therefore, as to the city having the glory of God, there is the great matter at the present time of the forming processes, through suffering and other means and ways of developing us substantially, in relation to that great thought.

GJG Would you say a word in relation to the scripture in Revelation 21: 23? “The glory of God has enlightened it” (that is, the city), “and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.” Why are those two thoughts put together?

SMcC I think it suggests that where divine administration is working out, you will find enlightenment among the brethren. Where divine administration is interfered with, you get darkening and bondage - engendering elements, which do not set the saints free. “The glory of God has enlightened it.” It is a remarkable sphere and environment, where the gates are open and not shut, and where there are the remarkable resources for meeting whatever need there might be.

WJH Would the word in Galatians be in keeping with that? It says, “Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother,” Galatians 4: 26. Is that one feature of the glory shining out in the assembly?

SMcC That is what I thought Matthew 17 would teach us; the great matter of sonship. Preceding the functioning chapter (chapter 18), the liberty and dignity of sonship, in Christ and in the saints, is brought into chapter 17.

GCMcK It says in chapter 16: 27, “the glory of his Father with his angels.” I was thinking of the angels there. What bearing would they have on the matter?

SMcC We know that the angels will attend these great matters. They attend in relation to the working out of administration in the assembly. They are greatly interested in the working out of divine administration wherever it may be seen, and it is interesting to see how they appear in these matters. In Ephesians 3, the assembly is referred to, in relation to the working out of the all-various wisdom of God, and the angels taking account of it.

JGC The first of the scriptures before us refers to individuals: “If any one desires to come after me.” Does the concrete expression of administration in a local assembly depend upon the presence of individuals in it who are thus committed?

SMcC I think that is important in a day of difficulty, such as we are in. It is important that there should be full and unreserved committal with us to the path of suffering and reproach; because, in that path, we see how divine glory shines out in Jesus; moral glory shining as the Lord drew near to the cross, and on the cross His relations with the thief, what glory shines; when He came and had to do with the Jews, in the light of John’s ministry, how the Lord stressed the fact that they rejected the Father; how He came in the Father’s Name; how He did the works which the Father did, and how He was rejected by the Jews.

AWG On the mount of transfiguration, the Lord’s face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light. Are they in keeping with what you have before you, as to the glory of administration?

SMcC It suggests transparency. The figure of the sun implies indiscriminate influence, shining on the just and the unjust; the great heavenly influence linked with it, too. All that enters into the position of chapter 17. It is to help us in the administration of chapter 18,

for in chapter 17 we are in an administrative environment, and the teaching in it is to help us by first seeing the dignity of sonship in Christ.

HJM That is really the shining that shone upon Saul of Tarsus on the way to Damascus, and he started early with the light of sonship and the glory of divine administration in Christ.

SMcC Paul got an impression from that moment, and he is the minister that brings forward the assembly in her heavenly position. No doubt, all that entered into the moment gave him a permanent impression. I think we want to understand the heavenly side more, in relation to administrative matters; that we can only work out administration rightly and properly, as coming in from the heavenly side, with all the beneficent influence that the heavenly side, as enjoyed by us, would disseminate in the working out of the administration.

GJG Would that bear upon the reference to “my Father who is in the heavens,” and then further, “your Father who is in the heavens”?

SMcC Matthew makes a good deal of that, what is in the heavens, and what is in heaven; as if, to understand administration rightly, we have to understand that side of things.

FW Is that why it is spoken of as the glory of the Father of the Son of man?

SMcC That is a very interesting reference, “the Son of man” implying His link with humanity. What this administrative environment would stress, is the greatness of man, as the Lords sets out as to the Son of man and His activities. And then the matter of sheep; earlier in the gospel it is said, “How much better then is a man than a sheep!” That is, we are impressed, in the Son of man here, with humanity; because the Son of man is what He is on our side.

FW So that it is administration in a Man; but it is one particular Man; that is, the Son of man, is it?

And then the glory of the Father of the Son of man (at the end of chapter 16), and the glory cloud (at the beginning of chapter 17) with the word, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight.”

SMcC So that you might say that the rights of humanity according to God are guaranteed in the closing verses of chapter 16, in the allusion to the Son of man. Evil will have to be dealt with, of course; but the very reference to the Son of man involves the protection of the rights of humanity, according to the divine viewpoint. It says, “For 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.”

WJH Is that why all judgment is given to Him, because He is the Son of man? He will deal feelingly even in judgment?

SMcC Exactly; and the glory of the Father, linked with that, shows us (while the Father judges no one) the remarkable link of the Father with the matter of judgment in the hands of the Son of man; the grace side being intensified in the thought of the glory of His Father, because in the word to Laodicea, He is upon His Father’s throne, having overcome, a delightful reference to the unique character of divine administration at the present time.

FW Is that why it was necessary for the bright cloud to overshadow them? There were those that were saying, “let us make here three tabernacles: for thee one, and for Moses one, and one for Elias”; but has that all to be set aside, and the special and dominant position of the glory of the Son of man to govern the situation?

SMcC Well, that is it. So that, in this world of administrative glory in chapters 16 - 18, every man must go out; no one can stand alongside of Christ. If administration makes much of man according to the flesh, there is something wrong, because it is Christ and God that divine administration has in mind to set into relief in Their glory in its working out.

PB So we have this wondrous touch of the Lord’s in verse 24 of chapter 16, as being the kernel of our arriving individually and in reality at this administrative thought, “If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

SMcC Linked with that, too, in the opening of chapter 18, 3 - 5, “Verily I say to you, Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens; and whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name, receives me.” The Lord is showing, in this realm of administrative glory, the exact reverse of what obtains amongst men, that it is not the ‘survival of the fittest’ in the divine realm. We are in a divine province, and room must be made for divine sovereignty in it; and especially that we should be in accord with the outshining of divine glory, which would distinguish Christ, and no man after the flesh.

JD Seeing Him, is referred to in chapter 16; verse 28, and then hearing Him; the Father’s voice follows with “hear him,” chapter 17, verse 5. Are both important in connection with this - the seeing, and the hearing?

SMcC It is a question of what our eyes are taking account of; seeing - what do we see in the realm of administrative glory, as it is working out now? What can we see in the assembly? Are our eyes observing? Are they open to see what is being done, what is happening? And then the matter of hearing; are our ears open? Our faculties, in that way, must be sharp and keen.

WHF We are ready, would you say, for the Lord’s word as to prayer and fasting? The impression of the divine glory would stimulate us to have power, as a result of the exclusion of the flesh, along that line?

SMcC We are in an elevated realm here. We think of all that is around us in the public professing body; the sordid character of things, and how things are brought down into the dust. How we need to see the glory of the assembly in the divine mind, in this great realm of administrative glory, and the glory of the personnel of the assembly, which is in mind in this section. So, as Mr. Darby points out, the cloud covered, without darkening them. It was bright, the excellent glory. That is, the shining out of divine glory in a realm like this does not darken the saints, it illuminates them.

AWG Does verse 1 suggest that it is a new day? After the six days, this is a new day, is it, in which we are found?

SMcC Yes. And the Lord has selective rights; we must allow the Lord to do what He has in mind to do. He takes Peter, and James, and John, and brings them up. We might say, ‘Well, why not someone else?’ But we are in a divine realm here, and we have to have our thoughts adjusted in relation to divine ways of doing things. So we have to be converted, as chapter 18 indicates.

HJM Why does it add the words in relation to John, “his brother”?

SMcC Is not that a great feature in the environment of administrative glory, that we are to keep before us this dignified thought of the brother. “His brother”?

FRG “This is my beloved Son.” Is it a realm of love, as well as of glory?

SMcC Well, that is it. That is the thought of the family side. The side of sonship, on the one hand, in relation to Christ, and its uniqueness in Him; the side of the brother working out, “John his brother,” the feelings in those relations.

GJD Had Peter learned this lesson in Acts 3, when he could say, “Look on us,” as administering something of this glory?

SMcC That is it. There was something substantial there to be looked upon, and that is what the Lord is stressing at the present time. It is not the amount of light that we have (we can thank God for all the light that has come in through the great ministry of our day); but the Lord is testing us now, as to where we are substantially in relation to that ministry, in all its authoritative character.

PB So the voice is out of the cloud, is it not?

SMcC Exactly; it is linked with the excellent glory. It is conveying this kind of thing.

JGH I wondered if this glory is not also seen in Stephen?

SMcC Yes. Stephen is a remarkable expression of a person who is substantially formed in the spirit and grace of the dispensation. He says, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Stephen is a wonderful administrator. He is not letting his thoughts run all over the place, nor speaking about things in general; he says, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” He is very specific. He knows what he is referring to.

Now, when we come to chapter 25: 31, “But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit down upon his throne of glory,” we are to see how this throne of glory works out, in the remarkable way in which are people of God are protected, for it stands related to the protection of the saints. We were saying across the sea the other day, that if there is any sphere on earth where a believer should feel safe and protected, it is in the assembly, the great vessel of divine administration. We should never be afraid of losing our lives in the realm of administrative glory linked with the assembly. It is the sphere of salvation, the sphere of divine protection;

and the believer should feel that if there is any place he or she would be protected, it is in that realm, the assembly realm.

SEE Even, too, as the Lord says, “to one of the least of these my brethren.”

SMcC “One of the least of these.” The Lord is not writing anybody off here. He is taking full account of the smallest representation of Himself, as it may be; and the glory of divine administration involves that, that we make the most of every bit of the work of God connected with the vessel of divine administration, in our day, in the assembly.

AWG “The weak brother, for whom Christ died”?

SMcC That would enter into it.

ESW “It is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones should perish.” Is not that the working out of it?

SMcC That all enters into it. So that the young brothers and young sisters growing up amongst us should get an impression, in the working out of divine administration, that if there is any place where they will be protected on earth, it is in that realm, the great city of refuge.

JW Is that why the thought of the kingdom of the heavens is stressed by the Lord in the beginning of chapter 18?

SMcC Well, it is; the rule of the heavens. This does not mean that evil is ignored, nor that evil is passed by; in all this realm of administrative glory, evil is repressed and fully taken account of; but that is not the great divine end only, it is that good might also be put in its place.

DJM Is that why it says in verse 34, “Come, blessed of my Father”?

SMcC It is a remarkable expression; and the same verse begins, “Then shall the King ... “ The capitalized word “King” there stresses the regal side of the administration. Even in the glad tidings, there are inculcated into our minds regal thoughts linked with divine administration. Grace reigns “through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 5: 21.

GHW Is the reference to the shepherd intended to impress us as to care, and caring for one another, as entering into administration?

SMcC The help of souls, caring for one another, as the Lord says, “for I hungered, and ye gave me to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was ill, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me.” What a range this working out of administration is taking into account here!

GHW-n So have we the administration of Christ here, and the test as to answering to it?

SMcC That is, we are tested by the way we regard those that represent Christ; that is the point in the passage. They say, “Lord, when saw we thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or ill, or in prison, and have not ministered to thee? Then shall he answer them saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it to one of these least, neither have ye done it to me.” We can see how the principles of divine administration, underlying this executive judgment here, involve the protection of the least that belongs to Christ.

LF In the actual carrying out of administration, the glory of divine administration is maintained, in so far as it is carried out in accord with God’s own nature?

SMcC That is it. So it is a great matter, in the working out of divine administration, that we should feel secure. We want to get into our souls that the working out of administration in the assembly involves the protection of all that we have, and all that we are,

in this wonderful realm that the assembly affords; because the assembly is the sphere, at the present time, in which divine administration is working out, and especially as marked by the dignity of sonship.

CEJ So it says in Romans 8: 15, “For ye have not received a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

SMcC Why should persons be afraid of losing their lives if the glory of divine administration is working out in this elevated environment that we have in the assembly? For the assembly is a heavenly vessel here, representing God.

GCMcK Would the last word in chapter 25 have in view the saints being preserved in unity in view of the enjoyment of eternal life?

SMcC Eternal life is the great end on the line of what is good. They go away into life eternal, strengthening in our minds the thought that eternal life involves a wonderful sphere, where the knowledge of divine Persons is enjoyed. So that, if any one of us does wrong; if a young brother or young sister gets involved in the world, in things that are wrong, they should not be afraid to open up in this realm of administrative glory in free confession of what they may have done, because they will be divinely protected and saved in the assembly.

SEE One is impressed with the thought of the “babes” in chapter 11, and the “little ones” in chapter 18, and now, “one of the least of these” in chapter 25. It would all show the extent of divine consideration in this realm of administration.

SMcC It is remarkable how the babes and the children come into this gospel. Matthew opens up with Rachel weeping for her children, because they are not; as if there is something in mind to begin with in regard to the feelings that would enter into the working out of divine administration.

RHP Would you link this with Isaiah 11: 9, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” and the administration of Christ there?

SMcC That is how it would work out. As we were saying a little while ago, that does not mean that evil is passed by, nor that evil goes on unjudged. In the systems of men evil is allowed to go on unjudged, and the principles of the world espoused and no power to deal with them; but in the assembly, there is power to deal with evil, but also to bring in what is good. That is what we want to see.

PB So it says, “Then shall the righteous answer him saying.”

SMcC That is it.

JC Do we get a detailed outline of administration in Proverbs 31 - a full picture there of these activities?

SMcC Yes; you might say the virtuous woman is there in her working clothes; a great thing to see the brethren in Sydney in their working clothes, to see what they are in a practical way, and how matters are working out, for that is what Proverbs 31 typifies. It is not an out-of-the-world picture far removed from practical difficulties, but what the virtuous woman is in a scene filled with practical difficulties.