THE HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT
ITS OBJECT AND USE
This is a pattern, on the new ground where the habitation of God is. It is a great thing to get a pattern, you get the chief characteristics in the pattern. The first is, "Christ is risen". You are not in the assembly if you are not with Christ risen; it is a new ground altogether, therefore as Peter writes, "To whom coming, a living stone, disallowed of men"; it is not merely coming to the meeting. Here I see they were gathered together, waiting for the risen Christ, and the doors were shut for fear of the Jews, "then came Jesus and stood in the midst".
You have no idea of structure here?
No, but you get the great element, namely, that you have come to Himself, He is risen from the dead, and the more you contemplate the simple fact that you are in company with Him risen from the dead, the more you know of the ground you are on. I think you could not explain the wonderful sense of being in company with Him risen from the dead.
I thought that (so to speak) the day was spent in the disciples apprehending that He was risen and getting them together.
No doubt it has often been said, Mary Magdalene gathered them to a risen Christ.
I have often thought that the Lord went with the two going to Emmaus to bring them back to this point.
I have no doubt that the interview with Mary Magdalene and His walk with the two disciples occurred in one day; you find in Luke's account of it, that whilst the two were relating what had occurred Jesus stood in the midst of them. There is a preparation in souls. The two disciples did not believe in His resurrection. Their coming was the effect of beholding Him.
I think it would have a wonderful effect on every one entering the assembly if he were going into the presence of the Lord. If you ask a pious man in Christendom, "Why do you go to church?" he would say, "To worship God for my salvation". Surely you should go to God's house to know His pleasure.
Does the Lord breathing on them and saying, "Receive the Holy Ghost", shew the new state? "
Yes, you could not be with Him otherwise. That could not happen now, it is historical? No; the Holy Ghost did not come down until Acts 2. The scriptures which have helped me much are Matthew 14 and John 6; both occurred at the same time.
Do you refer to feeding the multitude?
Yes, I make Matthew 14 our side and John 6 the divine way to it. If you read John 6 with Matthew 14 you will see that both are at the one time. You could never enter upon the new ground but in the life of Christ; hence in Matthew 14 Peter leaves the ship to walk on the water, which no man of himself could do; and you get in John 6 that as you feed on the death of Christ you enter into His life.
I wonder why it begins at John 20?
Because it is the first day of the week, the beginning of new creation. In this pattern we get the characteristic of the assembly. It is very important that the disciples were sent out from the assembly; we do not sufficiently look for this. I do not mean that the assembly sends you. I should not put before a young believer the greatness of the step of joining Christ in the assembly, but I would count on the affection which would lead him to come.
I thought that was what the Lord was doing when the two disciples were going to Emmaus - He was attaching their hearts to His circle of things.
An illustration of "beholding the Lord's glory; you are transformed".
Into what?
Into Christ's present interest.
Do you think John 6 is the way you get disengaged from the condition which hinders us from joining the Lord?
Yes. Matthew 14 and 15 set forth the way we are prepared for the assembly; one is, you see Christ supreme above the power here and you join Him there; the other, His grace sets you free from the power of Satan. I think these chapters are highly instructive. The disciples had no bread in the ship; the Lord did not give them any, He was there Himself. He then says to them, "But whom say ye that I am? " Peter says, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". Yesterday morning we had the resurrection. If you do not get to it you can never join the Lord in the assembly.
Would you say that until a soul has really come to Christ risen, he is not in a fit state to take his place in the assembly?
Yes, decidedly. He is not at peace. The Lord said "Peace be unto you" . There is not a disturbing element between God and you.
Death and its shadow cleared away?
Yes, all has gone; the spiritual mind is life and peace.
You are in such an atmosphere that you have not really to recall disturbing elements?
Assuredly. Beholding the Lord's glory is the same as the holiest of all to the Jew. You could not come in if you were not completely free of all contrariety.
I wish you could impress that on every one. Well, each must begin with himself. You will never effectually impress a soul until you are impressed yourself. When I am deeply impressed I can deeply impress.
It is a very practical point; it might help some of us as to receiving in following at the Lord's table.
Yes, the first thing is to believe in Christ risen; next, your object is, like Peter's, to join Christ where he saw Him. If you join Him I know the step you will have to take.
Is it the path of Christian faith - all of faith? Yes, but there is no other way. There are plenty of human ways, but only one divine way. Do you connect John 6 with what you get in Peter, "To whom coming"?
Yes, but Peter refers to the structure. It is generally taken as the gospel. "If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious", is the effect of the gospel, but coming to Him, "a living stone", is another step.
There are two things we should put before one desiring to take his place in the assembly - counting the cost, and counting the gain?
I should put counting the gain first; it is a question of affection. It is easy work when you know your Saviour risen from the dead; you cannot join a Saviour risen but in His life.
Would not there be a difference in a soul receiving the testimony of God as to the effect of Christ having risen, and so getting the knowledge of salvation, and the soul really coming to Christ as risen?
Yes; when you believe in Christ whom God has raised from the dead, then you receive the Spirit of God. Then you can come to Him in His life, as in John 20.
Is that what you mean by joining Christ?
Yes. He is rejected; in Matthew 14: 10, John Baptist is beheaded. If you come to Him according to Peter, it is as to One disallowed of men.
I question whether the lack is in not apprehending that Christ Himself is on new ground. I am afraid it is. You have to join your Lord and Saviour risen out from the dead, apart from all the ruin and misery in which you were.
In Matthew 14 was not the fact of the Lord being where He was on the water the very thing that made Peter leave the ship; it was not only Himself but His position as being superior to the winds and the waves?
Yes. In Matthew 8 He was in the ship.
In connection with the assembly what we are accustomed to look at is Christ as He was in our circumstances instead of as introducing a new order of things?
He was in the ship but He is not in it now.
"Henceforth know we no man after the flesh?"
Exactly; no place for man at all.
And it is a question of seeing Christ risen first; that is the key to everything.
I find that in religious publications the almost exclusive subject is Christ coming to our side. There is great difficulty in leading souls to Christ's side. Writings on His side and His order of things meet with little attention. You come to the assembly not merely for your own benefit but to know His mind, Psalm 22: 22, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren".
Are we to understand that the first step is to apprehend that Christ is risen?
Yes, after another order.
You cannot have an idea of what the assembly is unless you see the new order. The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
They saw Him with their natural eyes but it is a pattern for us to shew us what we should enjoy spiritually, "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you", John 14: 18.
ls it not a fact that they did not realise Him by the natural eye?
Yes, but it is only a pattern. It is not what you get in John 14: "I will come to you"; that was to all of them.
Do you think that refers to the assembly?
It refers to the company, to the eleven there. He only alludes once to the individual in that chapter.
Would you say what the difference is between the Lord's presence being discerned and the presence of the Holy Ghost, because I understand that the subject this morning is the habitation of the Spirit?
Well, take the eleven, they had the Spirit; "that day" refers to the Spirit's day, it was Christ who would come to them; the Spirit was given. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you"; and "in that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you". If they had not the Spirit they could not know this; the Spirit in us takes a new action the moment we come into the assembly. You might be occupied with the Spirit as in Romans 8 until you had entered the assembly, and then the Spirit would take a new action in you as in the assembly.
Would you not bring Romans 8 into the assembly?
No.
But you have the Spirit that you had in Romans 8 in the assembly?
Yes, but the Spirit is differently occupied with you now.
Yes, I see.
So far as this particular passage is concerned (John 20) you do not get the exact force of the Holy Ghost filling the house, but you get the great elements in it; you are there and perfectly enjoying Him, and you are commissioned by it to take new ground.
You get spiritual material?
Yes, you are there, and there to learn; the great point is to be here for Him.
And it is an entirely new company?
Yes. The first thing the believer feels is the Lord is not here, where can I find Him? He is refused among men, where am I to find Him? People say, "where am I to go?" That is not it. Would you go to Him? You could not be near Him without knowing His interests and you will never know His interests until you are near Him. It is not only that I know His work but I know Himself; therefore - who shall separate me from the love of Christ?
If I am not of Him I cannot be suitable to Him. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground" etc.
Quite so.
If you join Him where there is no natural support, nothing but Himself could satisfy you?
Certainly. There was no consecration until all the sacrifices were offered up.
How do you apply that?
Because you must learn the perfection of Christ's work first.
Does it mean you must be entirely separated unto God?
Read Leviticus 8; all the offerings were first offered and then the consecration.
The consecrated company are in the full fragrance of all the offerings?
Exactly. I have often thought why is there nothing said about remembering the death of the Lord in Hebrews; I suppose it is because the Jew knew well that there could be no consecration until after all the sacrifices. The first twenty-one verses of Psalm 22 describe His death, the twenty-second verse His resurrection. You cannot remember His death if you do not know it.
It is generally spoken of as a means of grace? Yes. "Take and eat this bread in remembrance that Christ died for thee", which is not in the Bible from cover to cover. We suffer because of the failure in Christendom. I cannot escape the stigma on my family, but I can be practically free from it and thus an example to them.
Could it be said they were "all of one" before Christ rose?
Certainly not, but He called them His brethren before He saw them: they could not as yet enjoy the relationship.
Are you taking that twenty-second verse as two things or as only one, "He breathed on them and said"?
It is one and the same thing.
It was explanatory of His breathing?
Quite so, if you have not the Spirit of Christ you are none of His.
I do not quite understand "I will not leave you orphans".
If you felt like an orphan you would understand its meaning. I will not leave you orphans; they were like unfledged birds. I will come to you.
Do you connect that with the Lord in the midst of His gathered saints?
Yes. I will see you again and your hearts shall rejoice.
Is it not true that the Holy Ghost is always in the church, in the assembly; but the Lord is not always in the assembly?
It is true the Holy Ghost is always in the individuals who form the assembly.
Is that the only way in which He is in the assembly?
I used to think there were two ways; I was corrected by John 14: "He dwelleth with you and shall be in you"; it is to remain in you. That is the way I was corrected - I had read it as His being with us in two ways.
I thought you used to press it from Acts 2? Yes, I am like Peter, I was in error; I now desire to help others.
Is not the Holy Ghost in the house of God as well as in the individual?
Where?
The moment you come into the assembly the Holy Ghost takes a new action, you are connected with the building.
I thought 1 Corinthians 3 was corporate and 1 Corinthians 6 individual?
The Holy Ghost has come down to individuals. It is all individual in John 14.
Pardon me, the individual is only once referred to, "I will come to him, and we will make our abode with him". All the rest is plural.
It is a company of individuals?
Yes, I do not say there is any structure there. When you come to the passage in John 16, "When he is come, he will reprove the world", that is His testimony. The Holy Ghost comes to the disciples to testify of Christ.
It says, "Ye also shall bear witness"?
That is the apostles, that is the earthly side. Verse 26 (chap 15) is for us, 27 is for the apostles.
Which chapter are you talking about?
Chapter 15. On looking at the original to which my attention was called by one of J.N.D.'s letters, I saw John 14: 17 in a new way.
The Spirit never came on one individual. Quite so.
I am not speaking of the Lord Himself.
Never on one; it came on 120, sitting on each of them.
They all have their part in the one Spirit? The Spirit dwells in the believer.
Individuals do receive the Spirit?
No individual could say that the Holy Ghost dwelt in him only.
The Spirit of God dwells in you, God dwells in you.
One person could not represent Christ down here, "the body is not one member, but many". What you cannot do another can do. It is clear there were 120 persons at the beginning.
Where did the Holy Ghost dwell in the house when He formed it?
In the 120, they were a part of the house; no matter where you are you are a part of the house. There is a different action of the Spirit in you individually and when in the assembly.
What is "partakers of the Holy Ghost", Heb 6?
Companions of the Holy Ghost.
Do you mean that the Holy Ghost is only here subjectively, not as an object ?
Yes. I do not make Him an object.*
He makes Christ an object?
Yes. The Spirit is not objectively in the midst as the Lord is.
No, that idea has not helped us.
I quite admit there is a great difference between the Holy Ghost and the presence of the Lord.
Why does it say in Acts 2 He filled the house first before He sat upon them?
The effect of His presence filled the house. So I can say in effect the Lord fills Christendom.
The Spirit was there as a sort of president?
I could not agree to that. By way of illustration - The light which the Speaker in the House of Commons has, to see every one there, is the same light which every member has to see the Speaker. The Speaker represents Christ. The light is not in the room apart from the persons who have the light, the light is in the persons.
The Spirit of God came down and dwelt in the midst of the redeemed?
The Spirit of God dwells in the believer.
Does not the Spirit of God sometimes use an unconverted man; he may read the word?
That is another action. There might be conversion in China, but there is no house there. Does the Spirit direct the company as such, that is, He leads our hearts to Christ?
Quite so; that is the action of the Spirit when you are in the assembly, quite a different action to that He has in you individually.
If you speak or lead, you are leading the company, you are occupied with Christ for the company. The Spirit controls and directs the functions of the members as they are subject.
This is the construction of the house?
In 1 Peter 2 the moment you come into the assembly you come in as part of the building. Get the moral idea of the house, the intent of it, “To whom coming, a living stone, disallowed indeed of men".
What is the idea of the house of God? It is to learn God's mind.
I thought that was the idea of the temple, where the oracles are.
I think the house of God is a wonderful idea, it is where God puts Himself as it were in contact with men.
You mean to say there is a place on earth where man can find God?
Yes.
Speaking of the house, are we not always in the house?
Yes, but what do you get in the house? expect to get a knowledge of His mind.
Are we not always in the assembly? We are always belonging to it.
I think it would be a great thing if we could leave the "we" out.
The Spirit of God is always here?
The Spirit is always here in those who form the house.
A member of parliament is not always in his place.
Yes, but he does not lose his place. He has a new course and a new interest. Jacob's altar, El-elohe-lsrael, indicates, not that God was his object but that he was God's object. God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel", that is God's house; though it was twenty years since Jacob was there, he said to his household, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be ye clean, and change your garments". You could tell where every one is, if you knew his altar. You cannot know what suits God except you have been in His house.
The habitation of God is here, Jew and Gentile are builded together, the Spirit is here permanently, or rather God is here by
His Spirit, but then I make that fact wholly dependent on the body being here. When I think of the individual members and the Spirit of God acting in them I have a limited idea of God's presence, but when I think of the house of God, I think of what God is as dwelling here. The point is, that God is there, and it is not a question of activity. Leave out for a moment the question of activity. There is divine activity for blessing. I believe the Spirit of God does not go beyond the state of the company.
If you go to the house of God you get there what you could not get anywhere else, it is the necessary accompaniment of His presence. The pillar and base of the truth.
Christ is here not merely with regard to the saints, but with regard to God.
Do you connect in your mind how to behave in the church of God with the actual state of God's people?
No, I do not.
You would not exclude behaviour, but it takes in more?
Yes it should characterise you in everything.
Men are to pray everywhere, women are to adorn themselves with good works.
Suppose all the members were taken away, how would God be represented then?
There would be no house, the house would be left desolate.
If you accept the house, I want to know the great thought connected with the house. As to the Spirit not being here objectively,* how about Ananias's case, "Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God".
God dwells here by the Spirit; but if it were the question of God coming to man in grace, it must be as incarnate, as in Christ. God has come thus and now there is a vessel in which He can dwell, but not as incarnate. The Spirit in the individual is different. It is to me God dwelling in the house by the Spirit.
That explains that verse in Acts 5 just quoted. The house was here on the day of Pentecost but had not got its scope.
How does it refer to Christendom at large? The house was first formed, souls were gathered in the first instance by the testimony of Christ risen, to Him who was rejected here but chosen of God. By that testimony the house of God was formed, but you find that many have come into it who have no part in it.
Is it presented in Scripture that the Spirit of God dwells in Christendom?
It is a great fact that the house of God is here; the house of God has been formed by the testimony to Christ risen, but you have also mere profession in it.
In regard to the house and the temple?
A great many people come into the house and came under the influence of the Spirit there, but I do not believe anybody but a spiritual person enters the temple, so as to understand it and thus get the good of it.
The man who enters it, and profanes it, is no part of it. The temple is the inner part, the shrine, the holiest. If a man defiles the temple he has no sense of what the temple is. Many speak of the temple who have no true idea of it. The house would be more connected with the place of responsibility?
Yes, they are never confounded in Scripture. I raise my voice against evangelists going out and separating their work from the assembly. They ought to come from it. * More light has since been shed on this point - see, for instance J.T. Vol.53 p.261.