THE OPERATIONS OF GOD AT THE PRESENT TIME
[p. 134] THE OPERATIONS OF GOD AT THE PRESENT TIME
Jeremiah 18: 1 - 10; Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14
I wish to speak on the operations of God at the present time, particularly the sphere of these operations, and in entering on this subject to remind the brethren that in operating, God has entered into an economy, the wording conveying it is, “To us there is one God, the Father, of whom all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him”, 1 Corinthians 8: 6. That is the idea of God as presented in the economy in His supremacy as of the Source of all, “of whom all things”.
Our minds thus understand that the operations are God’s, but that there is in the economy the idea of instrumentality, and that the instrumentality is commensurate with the idea of God — not creature instrumentality, but divine — commensurate with the idea of God, and yet operating subordinately. All things are of God, but they are effected by Him who is said to be “one Lord, Jesus Christ”. There is no limitation to the power of the instrumentality; it is a glorious one, “All things” are by Him. The word ‘by’ means instrumentality, and hence we are enjoined in another epistle, “that the Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts, being rooted and founded in love”, Ephesians 3: 17. “The Christ” there is an operative term; it refers to Christ as the great divine Operator in the economy into which God has come. He is to be in our hearts, “the Christ”, the great divine Operator; and He is to dwell in our hearts by faith. When He begins to operate directly in relation to the coming world, all will be manifest: “When the Christ is manifested who is our life, then shall ye also be manifested with him in glory”, Colossians 3: 4. Then it [p. 135] will no longer be a matter of faith; we shall “be manifested with him in glory”. In the meantime the operations are carried on in a way which the natural eye cannot discern and the natural mind cannot take in; it is for faith. The great divine Operator is to be in our hearts, as it is said, on the principle of faith; but we as “rooted and founded in love”.
As I said, in speaking of this I have in mind to call attention to the sphere of these operations at the present time, that is, the saints. Of God’s work in relation to creation we are told, “By whom also he made the worlds”, Hebrews 1: 2. It is a wonderful thought, how they were made: “By faith we apprehend that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11: 3), but the actual means, the detail, is not disclosed. The immensity of the matter indeed, dear brethren, places it beyond the compass of the creature: “by faith we apprehend that the worlds were framed by the word of God”. That does not mean we can compass the matter, for it is so vast; it is beyond the creature’s mind to grasp. Still, we are not left out of it; God would not leave us out of anything in that sense. “The sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38: 7), at the time of the foundation of the earth; God let them into it in some sense so that they understood something of it and rejoiced, “shouted for joy”. Divine operations always carry that thought; they are wonderful, not simply awe inspiring, but cause joy to those who are in the relation of sons, the sons of God.
We have come into that relation on a higher level than those sons spoken of in the book of Job. We are in relation to Christ, and let into more than they were let into. So that our joy should certainly be always full; every vista of creation ought to occasion joy. Wisdom says that in all this, “I was there” (Proverbs 8: 27), and I was “rejoicing”. It says wisdom rejoiced, showing that there was good reason for it,
[p. 136] it was not mere sentimental exuberance. There is a good reason for it when wisdom rejoices, and moreover, “my delights were with the sons of men”, Proverbs 8: 31.
The Scriptures are freighted with the idea of delight and joy, dear brethren, carrying us along like a river triumphantly in glory. The Spirit of God is here today bringing in the whole matter, in principle at least, “the earnest of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1: 14), bringing it into all our hearts. Well now, the sphere of all the operations of God in the economy is men: “rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with the sons of men”, showing that that is the great idea with God in His creation — that God brought Christ in where men are, and expressed His delight in Him. That is, He gives the real, supreme lead in all that, both to God and to us: “in whom I have found my delight”, Matthew 3: 17. That voice at the Jordan was intended to give impetus to all that was there, all that was current in the way of faith, to stimulate the whole matter and bring the new order of things into being and set it going by the glorious Man “in whom I have found my delight”. It has never ceased, never; it has widened to the inclusion of all the sons. We are brought into that blessed relation to God, with the One “in whom I have found my delight”. So God is working with material entirely congenial; that is what I wanted to speak on in Jeremiah.
First I want to show that the prophet in each case is brought into a sphere, directed into a sphere, and the operation is going on, or about to go on. In Jeremiah the sphere is styled “the potter’s house”, not a potter’s factory, but a potter’s house. The antitype is in the mind of the Spirit, dear brethren, always, and so God is operating house-wise in this wonderful time. The beautiful thought in John 8: 35 is that the son abides in the house for ever; He is [p. 137] there in that relation as a divine Operator, the Son. What is He doing? He sets free. Immediately preceding that beautiful verse we have the Lord’s own words to those who have professedly believed on Him; as disciples of His they should know the truth and the truth should set them free.
Now what one observes in difficulties amongst the people of God is that generally we are governed by persons in our judgment and in our movements. In a certain sense it is right for young people, especially, to follow their leaders, obey their leaders, but if that be mentioned we are introduced to the thought of Christ, “the same yesterday, and today, and to the ages to come”, Hebrews 13: 8. We are not to slip away from Christ through any leader. The true leader says, “Ye became our imitators, and of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 1: 6); he passes them on to the Lord. I should be exceedingly grieved to think I misguided anybody through personal influence. Any lead one gives should direct to the Lord, should go on that line. So that the truth is the first thing in this matter; the Lord says, “The truth shall set you free” (John 8: 32) — the truth will do it. Hence the point is to begin with the facts of any case and the principles involved governing it. “The truth shall set you free”; and then in the beautiful passage I quoted, the precious pre-eminent Person must be “the Son”. He is operating in the house; He would have us in the house; it is the place of affection. So He says, “If therefore the Son shall set you free, ye shall be really free”, John 8: 36. He abides in the house for ever, the servant does not.
And so here it is not the potter’s factory, but the potter’s house, for God would not descend to the thought of a factory or a workshop; He would say to us, I am operating in a sphere of affection. The very surroundings would help you in the operation. Well, what is the operation? He is making something,
[p. 138] we are told, on the wheels. It says, “I went down to the potter’s house; and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels” (verse 3). It is a remarkable thing — the wheels revolve, you know, and acquire momentum as they go. He was operating on the wheels and the vessel of clay that he made “was marred, as clay, in the hand of the potter”. It is still clay, it is not a finished vessel, it is still in the making. The marring has happened but that is not final. The potter has his own thought and he can remake the same material; and it says, “as seemed good to the potter to make”.
Now, dear brethren, one would say that each of us is in the hand of the Potter, each christian, from Paul down. The great apostle was in the hand of the Potter; it is a question of discipline. We are in the making all the time. The Lord says to Peter and Andrew, “I will make you”; the principle is that the operation is going on among the brethren, among the saints. The Potter is operating on the wheels in His house, and marring takes place. What causes this marring? It is a moral matter; it is a moral issue, and hence the remedy is given in the explanation; it is when the person repents that the Maker proceeds to form the vessel as He would wish him to be, as it pleases Him. That is the point, dear brethren. Every one of us is in the making, nobody is to assume that he is a finished vessel. You are not a finished vessel. We are in the making and we do not want to get out of the hands of the Potter in that sense. The marring takes place through the action of our wills, no other way; that is what happened in Adam. We have to take this book allegorically, we have to place it in relation to divine operations in man. In the beginning man became marred in the hands of God, but God did not throw him away. He retained the thought and the process went on, but the moral issue must be faced; and so the explanation is in verses 7 and 8: “At the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, then I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them”. That is to say, the identity is the same. The true reading is, “the vessel that he made was marred, as clay, in the hand of the potter”, meaning that the thing is there, the material is there yet.
Now, dear brethren, let us put ourselves into this, what God is in His love to us, in His operations today. We are in the making, and if there be a marring, what is the secret of it? The exercise of will, nothing else but the exercise of my will. Let Satan in, and of course he mars the vessel; it is his business, as it were, to do that, to act against God. As every single christian believer in Christ comes into being on this earth, Satan is set to damage him. “Hast thou considered my servant Job?”, God says (Job 1: 8). ‘I have considered him’ — that is the answer immediately. ‘I have considered him’. What has he considered him for? To mar him. Job was in the making, as each of us is, and Satan is watching, ‘I have considered’. Satan would say, ‘How can I get in there?’ God fences us round, or Satan would soon overwhelm us. The Lord says to Peter, “Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you as wheat; but I have besought for thee that thy faith fail not”, Luke 22: 31, 32. Satan has desires; he meditates. How is the vessel going to be marred? It is marred in the hand of the potter, marred as clay. Thank God for the thought of the clay, that it is still usable and not gone. Judas is gone for ever, gone to his own place. His place was fixed — a most solemn thing.
In the next chapter we have the prophet directed to another sphere, the gate of the pottery, not the house. It is not marred pottery now — it is a finished vessel, but this flagon is to be broken; this vessel is [p. 140] broken to pieces, meaning there is no salvation for it. The matter is fixed as in the case of Judas. It was a most solemn thing in the matter of Judas, the matter was fixed and he goes to his own place. Peter was marred, as many of us have been, but he was in the making. But then there was this action of will; Satan is ready to get in in the action of will, and hence the marring, but it is the marring as clay. A truly converted person can never be other than clay, in some sense usable to God to make something out of him. You want to let God make the best out of you, make you like Christ; that is His ideal. I have My pleasure in Him, God says, “In whom I have found my delight”. If He has delight in me it is because I am like Christ. I am in the making and God is making me according to Christ; and if I am marred because of the action of my own will God would say, I am not going to change My mind about you, I will carry on.
I was speaking about the finished vessel in chapter 19 being a fixed matter, there is no hope for it. In chapter 19 it is the valley of Hinnom; it is Gehenna, the lake of fire for Judas and for the man of sin. There are many whose destiny is fixed before they die, let nobody forget that; I mean from the divine side; Judas’ was fixed, that of the man of sin was fixed. Many others are like that, persons even classified as the Lord’s, their destiny is fixed. It is very solemn. But then, even as to christians, my place in the testimony may be final; I mean to say, if I pursue a course of will as in the assembly. People must behave rightly in the house of God. People coming into the presence of God, into the assembly and misbehaving are not only in a wrong attitude of mind, but it is actually wrong behaviour in the presence of God. The time may come when that behaviour may be fixed on you. You will not be lost, but your position in the testimony is fixed,
[p. 141] that you have no more part in it — a most solemn thing. It says, “But he shall be saved, but so as through the fire” (1 Corinthians 3: 15); but you have no more part in the testimony. In 1 Corinthians 14: 38 we are told, “But if any be ignorant, let him be ignorant”, the matter is fixed. He has settled the matter himself; his will is governing him. He has had every opportunity, and God would say, Let him be that, such as he is. As a matter of fact he is asleep in the mind of God: “On this account many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep”, 1 Corinthians 11: 30. In the mind of God these people are finished as regards the testimony here; it is most solemn. If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged with the world; it is a dreadful thing to be judged with the world. Think of the period fixed on the divine calendar! This person is out of the testimony, he has got out of it, his will is acting; he is obdurate and ignorant, and will be ignorant. He has shut his eyes to the truth. It is most solemn! “On this account many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep”. When a person sleeps he is finished, he is out of it as regards the testimony — not as regards his eternal salvation, thank God! It is the action of will, and God abominates it. If any man will be filthy — go and speak to him? No! — let him be filthy still. The matter is fixed, “He that is holy, let him be sanctified still”, Revelation 22: 11. Thank God, there is that side too, do not alter it, keep on, blessed happy thought, keep on in that. “Let him that does unrighteously do unrighteously still”, think of God saying that! The matter is fixed.
Well now, here our parable teaches us that in this instance it is not fixed. The vessel is marred only, but it is still clay, it is plastic. It is still such as the potter can use for his design, to make it according to his design. It is not hardened like the flagon in the [p. 142] next chapter that can be broken; it is marred as clay, it is still usable for the purpose of the potter. Peter was still usable, although he failed. He was very marred in the palace of the high priest, but he came round in the making. He was made just what the Potter intended him to be; he submits, he stretched forth his hands. “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire”, John 21: 18. He is carried to martyrdom, which he so wished — to be like his Master; he is taken on by Christ as He intended him to be. The Lord had said, I will make you something, and he was finally made in the hands of the Potter what the Potter intended him to be. Now, dear brethren, the point is, let us surrender our naughty wills, let us be in the hands of the Potter in every matter. He will make us according to His own designs, a most happy and precious thought; the Lord will carry out His will as we remain clay. The clay is still usable, not a hardened will, but usable for the Potter for what He has in His mind.
Well now, we will go on to Ezekiel. It is another scene. Here the operator is the prophet; in Jeremiah the Operator is God. Now the operator is in the main the prophet, and he is directed into the scene as we are told, “The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and Jehovah carried me out in the Spirit, and set me down in the midst of a valley; and it was full of bones”. It is full, it is a big matter, a very big matter, and the Lord would encourage us to go in for big matters. Men love to be big, and there is no city more marked by that than this very city of Detroit, by big affairs and men big by their affairs. It is the affairs that make them big, not what they are morally; it is their affairs, their circumstances. So this is a big affair, the valley is full of the bones and the word of the prophet is, “And he caused me to pass by them [p. 143] round about; and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and behold they were very dry” (verse 2). That is, this operator is capable of passing judgment on the material, as indeed every operator should be that God would take on. He takes us on as those who are intelligent in what we are doing, and He would have us to understand the material we are dealing with. It is not clay now, this is another matter; it is bones, and the operator moves round about them. There are a lot of them, it is a big affair, and they are very dry, meaning that this operation is going to be very difficult.
What can be done with a valley full of very dry bones? But bones are marks of identification. “bone to its bone”, they allude to the framework of the individual. That is, identification comes into view as bone comes to bone. We say of one and another, He is a tall man, he is a stout man, he is a man of big frame. As soon as bone begins to come to bone we find the identity of the man by his size and framework; this is what God intended him to be. These bones refer to past history. They were not always mere bones, they refer to past history. What is to be done with this great matter? I believe, dear brethren, that the great thought of prophecy is the secret of facing a big matter of this kind.
Prophecy is, I think, the first gift mentioned in Scripture — I mean gift in the sense of ability to serve. It is exercised by Enoch, and Abraham is formally called a prophet. It is a very old instrumentality for service and is efficient in great matters. I would cite to you how prophecy is connected with great matters in Scripture. In Abraham’s case he is brought to the attention of the reigning monarch of the time as a prophet. Who can gauge the power of the prophet? Hear him speak! Another man, Elijah, says to the reigning king, “There shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by my word”, 1 Kings 17: 1.
[p. 144] You see how the thought is linked up with great things.
And so here this is a very great matter. It is the whole house of Israel from that point of view — I mean in regard to the earthly side of God’s operations. It is the greatest matter in relation to God’s operations on the earth. The assembly is the greatest matter in regard to His heavenly operations; there is no greater matter than the assembly. We are having to do this very night with the greatest of matters, namely, the assembly of God, and it is being built up, the members made to live from their graves morally. This is not a question of the literal grave; it is persons who are morally dead. But I would repeat for the encouragement and stimulation of everyone here that we are occupied with the greatest of matters. It is a big affair; there is nothing bigger than what we are engaged with, though it may seem very little outwardly; still we are occupied with the greatest work, the assembly of God. All gift and every bit of service has that in mind, it is for “the edifying of the body of Christ”, Ephesians 4: 12. Is it not worth while coming into it? May I not appeal to everyone here to come into it actively? It is a great work. God will be with everyone who addicts himself to it.
“And he said unto me, Son of man, Shall these bones live? And I said, Lord Jehovah, thou knowest”. The prophet could discern “there were very many”, but he does not undertake to say that they can live. I sympathise with him, for I know how difficult the material is that we have to deal with. One knows in one’s self what pains, what trouble, what expense one has been to the Lord, and so it is with every one of us. How hard we are at the outset, how dry, how difficult to affect, to form in the things of God! It is better not to leave these things, but to face them. These are most difficult times; still the work is the same great work. The prophet here says,
[p. 145] I do not know. The Lord does know. There are many who use that word too often, they say, The Lord knows. Of course He knows, but others know too. Do not say, The Lord only knows; do not say that. How do you know others do not know? There are plenty of brothers and sisters who know far more than you think. They know what has led up to this; they know what has happened; it is well known. Do not forget it, do not deceive yourself. What is spoken in your closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetop. You think it is all secret, but it is known. The prophet however says, “Lord Jehovah, thou knowest”. Then the word comes to him again, “And he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, Ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah” (verse 4).
Now let me say to any young brother saying a word in the ministry meeting. Bear in mind, the Lord will give you His mind if you want it. Do not flatter the brethren in your address. Notice the word here that he is to use, “Ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah”. A true prophet will tell you just what you are and it is the very best service he can render, “Ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah”. Oh, you say, so and so might say, You are hard on the brethren, we will not invite you again; you are too severe on us. That happens; people do not like to be told the truth! It is Ezekiel who discovers that they are dry and Jehovah says, Say that, say what you see; just tell them. The word is “Hear the word of Jehovah”; oh, do not turn a deaf ear in any difficulty that exists, do not turn a deaf ear to the word of the Lord! “Hear!”, it is your only hope. That word divides asunder between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. The word of God is like that, and verse 5 says, “Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto [p. 146] these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will put sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah”. What encouragement there is! You are the very ones, you know, not somebody else. Look at the recurrence of the words ‘you’ and ‘ye’! You are the ones, wherever the word is ministered; it is the present people that are in mind always.
There are great promises here. You are going to come together in all your pristine beauty. It is a question of life, of the identity of the person, whatever he has been before. The bones are his identity. God is going to clothe him now according to His own thought. Let Him do it! It is all for you, do not put it from you. Well, it says in verse 7, “And I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a rustling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone”. Now God’s work is beginning; the prophet has done his part and God is beginning to work. And so there was a noise and a shaking and the bones came together. “And I looked, and behold, sinews and flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them” (verse 8). The sinews and flesh and skin are all there now, but the identity is in the bones. God is going to beautify you as you have never been before; so it goes on to say, “And he said unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live”.
The word ‘breath’ is used. The ‘wind’ is the great general thought, but ‘breath’ is really a personal thought and would connect with the New Testament. They were made to live by the breath of God. Why should we hold back? Why should we not place ourselves [p. 147] through the prophetic word in the presence of God? There is a noise, a rustling of bone coming to bone, then sinews come up, flesh comes up and skin comes up. It is all now referring to the thought of beautification. And then breath comes in so that everyone stands on his feet; it is not a small matter, it is a great army; we come into a great matter, though outwardly small. So it goes on to say, “And I prophesied as he had commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. And he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off! Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people, and bring you into the land of Israel” (verses 10 - 12). Think of those words ‘you’, ‘ye’ and ‘your’. God says, I will take you out of these limited circumstances. It is that in actual realisation but I will take you out of that. Do let Me do it! I will take you out of your graves, for I have been opening your graves. He recognises them now; He says, “O my people”, and says “I will ... bring you into the land of Israel”. Do not stay out of this, it is yours! God is ready to take you out of all these gloomy circumstances into which your own unfaithfulness and your will have led you, and to set you up in your own land, the land of Israel, a very precious thought. It is a great matter, as I said before, but still every one of us is to be brought into it. God wants every single saint of His in all this. The significance of the stressing at the present time of the prophetic word is to this very end, that the sons of God, every one, should be brought into all this and into the full thought of His purpose, beautified with all new sinews, new flesh, new skin and new life by the very [p. 148] breath of God Himself; so that we stand up with an exceeding great army and have part in the land of Israel. “And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land, and ye shall know that I Jehovah have spoken, and have done it, saith Jehovah”.
Dear brethren, I suppose what I have said is clear. There is a word in it. It is the attitude of God in the prophetic word at the present time, so that His people should be in the enjoyment of their greatest blessings.