THE NEED OF LIFE IN THE CELEBRATION OF THE SUPPER
[p. 26] THE NEED OF LIFE IN THE CELEBRATION OF THE SUPPER
JT What is in mind is the need of life in this passage; it is not the main subject, but the leading subject. Much is made of the boy being brought away “alive”, and they were no little comforted. The thought is not to enlarge on the Lord’s supper, but to show the need of life in the celebration of it. The young who seek fellowship are in mind, whether they are living. The first epistle to Corinthians brings in the Lord’s supper, and the second epistle has the same thought in mind, but links up the thought of life with it. Hezekiah says, “The living, the living, he shall praise thee” (Isaiah 38: 19); so that the idea here is remarkable, and how it happened, and it has to be considered as needed to fill out the subject and make the Lord’s supper what it should be in life and enjoyment. This chapter, it might be said, is the central chapter in this book. The truth rises till Paul comes to Ephesus in chapter 19, and then in this chapter he sends for the Ephesian elders because of his desire to speak to them. Paul had gone up to Jerusalem after his visit to Athens and Corinth, and “saluted the assembly” (Acts 18: 22), and returning by “the upper districts” (Acts 19: 1), shows how the Lord’s supper is on the ‘up-line’, the line of life; but the twelve men at Ephesus were void of the Spirit, and undoubtedly this enters into this chapter, and indicates how essential the Spirit is, especially at the Lord’s supper.
Ques Is life in energy seen in Paul in descending and enfolding the boy in his arms and taking him up to his own level?
JT Yes, “for his life is in him”, it says; it may mean ‘soul’, in keeping with Elijah’s great anxiety as to the boy in the house in 1 Kings 17, how he prays, “Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again!” (verse 21).
Ques Is life seen in energy?
JT Yes, especially in Paul. The word ‘descending’ is very remarkable; the youth “fell from the third story down to the bottom, and was taken up dead. But Paul descending fell upon him, and enfolding him in his arms, said, Be not troubled, for his life is in him. And having gone up, and having broken the bread, and eaten, and having long spoken until daybreak, so he went away. And they brought away the boy alive, and were no little comforted”. The energy is in Paul, in keeping with the whole position here; it is apostolic ministry.
Ques In Acts 16: 7, 8, it refers to “the Spirit of Jesus” there; does it then show that Troas is the focal point?
JT Just so; the Lord orders things with a view to an end, even in a combination of circumstances, so that the Spirit preventing Paul had an end in mind which is seen in the next verse, “There was a certain Macedonian man, standing and beseeching him, and saying, Pass over into Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to announce to them the glad tidings” (verses 9, 10); the end is no doubt Europe, for the working out of the truth of the assembly. So that all the previous history of Europe comes into this, the thought of ‘spreading’ in Japheth (Genesis 5: 32); that is as clear as it can be from the sequel. So the Lord’s supper appearing in this particular chapter is undoubtedly to link up these matters. Verse 4 links on Paul’s work, his own labours in these representatives; their localities are given; they are the produce of Paul’s labours, and a living state of things is in [p. 28] mind. There were seven of them, from different areas where Paul had worked. Here we see how life and light go together; it speaks of, “many lights in the upper room where we were assembled”.
Ques Is the Supper a time for feelings?
JT Yes; someone said as to America, ‘the birds have no song and the men have no souls!’ Maybe it is so; our souls are called into the matter.
Ques Does the Supper pave the way for Paul to descend and enfold him in his arms?
JT Yes; there are no accidents in the divine record; all is to a definite end. Even though the Lord’s supper is mentioned here towards the end of the book, it is mentioned in Acts 2: 42, and again in verse 46, where it says, “and breaking bread in the house”; the breaking of bread was removed from the temple, indicating that external religion is of no account in the Lord’s supper.
Rem Mary puts soul and spirit together.
JT Yes; Elizabeth and Mary and Zacharias furnish wonderful examples of priesthood in Luke’s gospel; it is essential for the Lord’s supper, we are priests unto Christ as well as priests unto God. It is remarkable how these three at the opening of Luke’s gospel pave the way, not for formal priesthood as Zacharias had been in, to carry on the divine service; firstly we have Elizabeth, and then Mary, as you quoted; her soul and spirit are in it, and her intelligence too; she is an intelligent priest; and so was Zacharias as time went on, for when asked what the child’s name is to be, he says, “John is his name”, and then he became a real priest; and that is what is needed so much.
Rem The seven named men are Gentiles.
JT It illustrates Paul’s doctrine, because he was apostle of the nations, and they accompanied him here, and no doubt the reference to lights is to them.
Ques Are we priests of Christ at the Supper?
JT Yes, “for the priest’s lips should keep knowledge”, Malachi 2: 7.
Ques Would the twelve men at Ephesus not having the Spirit, be constituted priests as having the Holy Spirit?
JT Yes; Peter says so, “yourselves also ... a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”.
Ques Would “we being assembled” be an evidence of life?
JT The word ‘assembled’ is not in the Authorised Version in verses 7 and 8, but it was that word as set out in the Lord Himself in Acts 1: 4, where it says, “and, being assembled with them”, to indicate to them how to assemble. We do “gather together”, but that is not “assembling”, for that is a greater thought, leading to the assembly in function.
Ques Was it necessary that Eutychus was brought to life before they could break bread?
JT Paul saw that things were not right there.
Ques Do we see the importance of time in the references to “five days”, and “seven days” and finally in “the first day of the week”?
JT It was in Paul’s mind. You can see in a group of brethren, as here, how order was in God’s mind. It is current now, and has been a burning question, this order of the Supper, how life enters into it; it is a living state of things.
Ques Would “not distinguishing the body” (1 Corinthians 11: 29) be connected with Eutychus?
JT Yes, exactly; the direct discipline of God was invoked to meet the situation. Paul spoke most decidedly of their ways in the assembly; “But in prescribing to you on this which I now enter on, I do not praise, namely that ye come together, not for the better, but for the worse ... . For each one in eating takes his own supper before others, and one is hungry and another drinks to excess”, 1 Corinthians 11: 17, 21. Then [p. 30] he goes on to tell us what he “received from the Lord” (verse 23), showing what irregularities there were; so we can well account for the long discourse in Acts 20.
Rem It would be in contrast to what you spoke of this morning as to their order in Colosse?
JT It was just that, and at Corinth it was the very opposite. We are not told what Paul said here. The brethren were comforted as having the living boy. The doctrine is to be followed and put into practice.
Ques Do we see the direct discipline of the Lord in “On this account many among [p. 35] you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep” (verse 30)?
JT I am not sure whether it is the Lord’s hand, or God’s; but it is plainly stated there, that this matter is taken up. Chapter 10 gives us the public order, and chapter 11 the inward side, involving the severe discipline of God that fell on this company because of the irregularities there. “On this account many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, so were we not judged. But being judged, we are disciplined of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world” (verses 30 - 32). It seems to me very plain that the judgment is direct from the Lord; it is very severe, even to death.
Ques Would the conditions in Eutychus before he was raised be like those in Christendom?
JT I think that is right; we touched on it a little yesterday. There was not much to be seen, but it is the real thing, the work of God; to get at it is the thing; “for his life is in him”; he would not have been looking out of the window if he were living.
Rem So Paul’s service in verse 10 is like the Lord’s in John 13.
JT Just so; it is very much like the Lord’s own service, “Unless I wash thee, thou hast not part with me”, John [p. 31] 13: 8.
Ques Why do we have the boy’s name given?
JT It is in keeping with the divine way that what is of God is to be named, as in the creation. Adam was intelligent enough and named the animals, and so it is now; if a brother or a sister, let us find out their name.
Ques Does this matter of naming things promote the living results?
JT Very good, and in keeping with what I am saying. The Lord takes the place of the last Adam; so He names Peter, “thou shalt be called Cephas”, John 1: 42. He was a person worth naming.
Ques Is the basic work there, and the active energy of the Spirit enters into the matter now?
JT That is a very good suggestion and brings up the matter of Luke’s second treatise, because it is a question of personality, and “Jesus began both to do and to teach” (Acts 1: 1), brings up the work of God, what is done firstly, and then teaching based on it. In Luke 11 the Lord was praying, and one of His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray; the teaching leads up to the Father and His giving “the Holy Spirit to them that ask him” (verse 13). The Lord had worked before the Holy Spirit came, so He left it to see how the work of God in itself will act, so that the Spirit can be attached to it, and bring it into the assembly. According to Luke’s statement in Acts 1: 3 He was with them “during forty days”, because they needed more instruction; it can be seen that according to Mark He goes up into heaven, and as far as the words go He went up at once. So when Peter stood up in Acts 1: 15, how many names were there! There were “about a hundred and twenty” names; each had distinction; the work of God had made them that. Peter stood up and recounted as to Judas, and then that there was a missing apostle, and cites many things from the Psalms, showing how intelligent he was because the Lord Jesus had Himself “assembled with them”; this is clearly shown. The Lord was pleased with the progress they were making before the Spirit came. The brethren should see that young people have the Holy Spirit before they break bread in order to have their affections right for the assembly.
Ques Would Eliezer and Rebecca and the camels in Genesis 24 be seen in this?
JT Eliezer’s name is not mentioned in Genesis 24; it is said “the man was astonished at her” (verse 21) he was a type of the Spirit, and so are the camels; there are many thoughts and much to indicate that the Spirit was to come. Rebecca answers exactly to the servant’s prayer, and not only so, but gave drink to him and all his camels. It shows that she was not only a beautiful person, but a worker, too, to give drink to all those camels. Then there is this wonderment of the Spirit, too, not to belittle the Spirit at all, but how He has taken the place of the servant! New birth is one thing, but life by the Spirit is another thing.
Rem “Let thy work appear unto thy servants”, Psalm 90: 16.
JT Quite so.
Ques Would there be this basic work in Cornelius in Acts 10?
JT Yes; he had not the Spirit, but was building up a memorial in heaven.
Ques Would our part in the Supper in life be patterned after the Lord in Revelation 1: 17, “I am the first and the last, and the living one”? Should we be ready to move with Him?
JT Well, just that. Peter says in Acts 1: 21, “It is necessary therefore, that of the men who have assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us”, those movements, you mean? In John 14: 18 He says, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”.
Ques Would “the third story” indicate a high level spiritually?
JT Yes; it would be from heaven: “This is the bread which has come down out of heaven. Not as the fathers ate and died: he that eats this bread shall live for ever” (John 6: 58); but there was the downward move with the boy.
Ques Would the Holy Spirit enable us to distinguish the body and would He link on with the disciplinary action?
JT “Not distinguishing” the Lord’s own body in the Supper should be worked out in the spiritual body.
Rem “The youths of the children of Israel”were available in a priestly sense (Exodus 24: 5).
JT Yes, they were the priests; not the official priests, because Aaron was not called a priest until Exodus 28: 1. We have to wait for the full thought of priest till after the Hebrew servant. “Aaron and his sons” means that they know what to do; the thought of love has been brought in among us by Him.
Rem Paul expressed love in enfolding Eutychus.
JT He would indeed. Someone has called the Corinthian epistle ‘the picture on the wall’; there is no life there; and so it is, life cannot be developed there; they are just children, but he wants men. Chapter 13 is the abstract thought of love, but not worked out in persons; the Lord wants the loveliness of persons.
Ques So would 2 Corinthians 8 be like life working in the assembly?
JT Yes; the second epistle is based on life; the first is not that. It helps us to compare the two epistles.
Ques Do we need spiritual sensibilities?
JT I think so; a boy is more alive under those circumstances; boys do not usually bring out comfort in these things.
[p. 34] Ques Would living conditions be seen in the prison at Philippi?
JT The basis for love working out was seen there, Paul and Silas preached the word of the Lord.
Ques What does Paul’s embrace involve practically for us?
JT It is what he could do. He enfolded him in his arms; the human body is calculated to express warmth. It looks as if Paul’s statement in verse 10 was literal, whereas the soul of the boy had gone, and he labours for its return.
Rem “And they all wept sore” (verse 37) would be the answer to Paul’s embrace.
JT It is a love chapter.
Ques Is what is maternal seen in Paul?
JT Yes; and paternal, too, for they had not many fathers, so he was doing it.
Ques Is the promotion of life in individuals a necessary part of the care of the assembly?
JT Both are true.
Ques As to priestly service, would Leviticus 8: 36 apply? “And Aaron and his sons did all things that Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses”.
JT Very good. I believe the use of the word ‘boy’ is significant; there is another generation needed, and that is why Paul had to discourse and speak at such length. Verse 9 reads, “And a certain youth, by name Eutychus, sitting at the window opening, overpowered by deep sleep, while Paul discoursed very much at length, having been overpowered by the sleep, fell from the third story down to the bottom, and was taken up dead”. It is left with us to decide whether there was not a low state at Troas, and these seven men, the result of Paul’s ministry, are left to work it out; for a serious occasion took place, and in addition to Paul’s discourse in verse 7, we have something like what he said in 1 Corinthians 11: 30, “On this account many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, so were we not judged. But being judged, we are disciplined of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world”. He says, as it were, you can see what is happening, how many are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep; he had to speak so long, and leave the matter; he must leave it, and count on God for better conditions; the boy is left as a witness to the power of apostolic ministry.
Ques Is paying attention therefore much needed?
JT Yes; the thing was so serious.
Ques Are we to have the records in the gospels as to the Lord’s supper in our minds, but we are to be guided in what we do by Paul?
JT Paul’s is the last word, and if we are to get at the truth of the Lord’s supper, we are to get it from the last word from heaven, and then seek to see why there are apparent discrepancies in the accounts, as to remission of sins and other matters. We must consider these things, and bear in mind that Paul has the ministry of the glad tidings and the ministry of the assembly, and he completed the word of God; well, we are at the fountain-head! Luther and the other sects were baffled by the ministry of the glad tidings and by the ministry of the assembly as beginning with Paul; they never speak of Paul, but usually of Matthew.