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Introduction See Early 6 for the address 'God Himself'. 1. Romans 6: 11–17, 12: 1-5; Exodus 25: 1, 2, 8-9; Ephesians 2: 22 2. Matthew 5: 1–16; 11: 25-30; 14: 25-30; 16: 15-18 3. Acts 2: 1-4; 9: 3-6; 10: 9-16; 20: 25-28 4. 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-8; 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3; 3: 16-17; 12: 13-14, 18, 27; 5. 1 Corinthians 11: 23-25; Ephesians 5: 30-32; 2: 18; 3: 11-12 • Key to Initials |
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| • Ministry by G. R. Cowell – Part 12 Part 14 | |
| INTRODUCTION |
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| Notes of meetings at Markinch, with Mr G. R. Cowell, January 1-3, 1954 |
The following previously unpublished notes are from a faded original typescript which only recently came to light.
In Mr. Cowell's own word, these readings cover "the truth of the assembly … the way the material for the assembly is secured according to Romans and Exodus … and according to the gospel by Matthew … where the Lord's own service in this connection is set out so beautifully"
G.A.R., April 2009.
| THE ASSEMBLY – READING 1 |
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| Friday morning Romans 6: 11–17, 12: 1-5; Exodus 25: 1, 2, 8-9; Ephesians 2: 22 |
G.R.C. I have in mind the assembly, and that today we should consider the way material is secured for the assembly. The assembly has been in God's mind and purpose before the ages of time as the vessel in which He would display Himself.
There are two points that we might especially dwell upon; in Romans 6 the thought of
and in chapter 12
"presenting" – presenting our bodies a living sacrifice.
H.V. Was the Lord Himself when here working to this very end in securing material for the assembly and setting it together?
G.R.C. I think what you say is helpful, and we may take up that line this afternoon. I am sure it is true that in all the Lord's service He had in view the assembly, and He has set a wonderful pattern as to securing material for it.
A.A. John 9 would be a striking example of that, would it not, chapter 10 following?
G.R.C. Quite so, the Lord says "I must work the works of him that has sent me". Those works had in view securing material for the assembly.
M.M.S. The woman in John 4 would come into that?
G.R.C. She would. In fact features of the assembly come to light in that woman. The previous chapter says,
A.C.C. In chapter 12 there are reasons for us to present our bodies, "by the compassions of God", what is the lever in chapter six?
G.R.C. I think the lever in chapter six is the abundant grace of God that has been developed earlier in the epistle in connection with our justification and redemption, and then also what lies behind His grace, the love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
A.C.C. I thought that the love of God, as you have mentioned, shed abroad in our hearts, would greatly help the yielding.
G.R.C. I am sure it would, and I think it involves the acceptance of the wilderness. Romans 6 refers to baptism in its Red Sea aspect, and certain wonderful things are brought in, the name Christ Jesus, for instance, and the privilege we have of reckoning ourselves
A.A. Is it important that both the mind and the heart are involved; the mind in verse 11, and the heart in verse 17?
G.R.C. That is very instructive. Reckoning is evidently an act of the renewed mind as governed by faith, and then, as you say, verse 17 says he has
T.T. Paul before his conversion used his body for destructive purposes against the assembly, but then the principle of yielding comes in when the light from heaven shone,
G.R.C. Very good indeed. He surrendered to the Lord, and, of course, yielding to God involves surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ.
J.A.C. Have we a similar line of thought as to Israel?
G.R.C. That would link with this chapter. Then we should note the word
A.G.B. Would you say an added word as to that in verse 10
G.R.C. I think the great theme all through Romans is God, but I believe the keyword, or one of the key words, in chapter six is the glory of the Father,
and the theme of chapter eight is the Spirit;
A.N.G. So that you have in mind that God in His perfect wisdom has allowed us to come into mixed conditions in which we should have first hand knowledge of dealing with sin, first in ourselves, and learn what God can be to us in these circumstances, and learn what the flesh is?
G.R.C. I believe it is in these circumstances of real soul exercise and soul wants, that we first come to know the Trinity.
A.R. And would you say Romans shows that we take up these exercises individually? It is a matter of each of us passing through, and coming to the conclusion that you are suggesting? We do not enter into things in a body, but each of us has to take them up personally?
G.R.C. And that is of immense value, is it not? The personnel of the assembly is composed of those who each one, in personal soul history, has had dealings with God, as such, about his sins.
A.R. I think that is very good.
J.B.S. You have spoken of the Trinity, and I wondered if you would say what you understand by the name Christ Jesus. Is it that the Anointed One has gone through death, and that the saints are presented to God in Him?
G.R.C. I think that is true. It is the way Paul came to know Him, do you not think?
J.A.F. Would that speak of the detail of our exercises day by day?
G.R.C. It would; it is a detailed matter, taking account of each of our members. The first member is the ear. What do we lend our ears to? – and I speak of this very feelingly because I am very much a transgressor I fear – We know what is right, but what do we give our ears to? Are our ears always shut to everything except what is right?
A.C.C. It is remarkable in Act 20 how much Paul's members are spoken of, his arms, his feet, his hands.
G.R.C. I think that is very interesting indeed. Would you say some more please?
A.C.C. Well, just how they are alluded to, his arms first of all encircling the boy, his feet, going on foot when others went by ship, and then "these hands have ministered to my needs", and finally his knees, his face and his neck.
G.R.C. That is most interesting. His whole body was full of light and every member was available, was it not?
A.R. I think what you say is good, and especially referring to our tongues, because James calls our tongues by name, showing how we are apt to be loose in our talk, and to say things we should not say, and it is so apt to lead us astray, and to make our body unserviceable.
G.R.C. It is, and insofar as any member of mine is out of the way of righteousness, I am a potential damage to the whole assembly, which is a very serious matter.
J.B.M. Is the glory of the Father any leverage in what you are referring to in connection with the service of our members?
G.R.C. It would help us as to righteousness, because we often fear to tread the path of righteousness because of the consequences; we are afraid of suffering for righteousness sake.
J.B.M. In the passage you referred to in Exodus 16 there is the principle of allurement, is there not? They turned towards the wilderness.
G.R.C. There is something most attractive in the Father's glory, a glory that enters into the details of the wilderness, no detail too small for Him to take account of; but a glory which would lead us into the realm of His purpose.
A.G.B. Has not all that shone in Christ, and does not that become, as we take account of the truth as presented in Him, the great attractive lever in the earlier part of this chapter?
G.R.C. I am sure it does. He trod the wilderness perfectly, and He ever lived in the light of the glory of the Father, but He has been into death as our representative, and come forth as such, in order that the glory of the Father which He knew so well, should now shine upon us, so that we might walk as He walked, I think that is what newness of life means, that we are walking as Jesus walked.
A.G.B. And would you just say at that point where the power lies for this? Does it first of all lie in what is objective; but then in the great matter of the Spirit in His operations with us objectively?
G.R.C. This chapter, as you say, is objective; sin is viewed objectively as the great principle which governs the world; and the glory of the Father is objective, involving, too, His care for us.
D.M. Does the Lord attract us to tread this path, the path of righteousness by the presentation of the Father in the early chapters of Matthew?
G.R.C. I think He does, the Father is greatly stressed in Matthew's gospel and the gospel begins with "thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness".
Ques. Does the form of teaching: "but have obeyed from the heart the form of teaching into which we were instructed" show the attractiveness of christianity in contrast to the past dispensation, and all that belongs to the system of sin?
G.R.C. It is important to keep in mind that this is not legal teaching. Verse 14 says "we are not under law but under grace". I think this form of teaching is the teaching of grace, and it is most attractive.
Ques. Would that also be connected with the Father?
G.R.C. It would.
A.C.C. So Matthew makes a great deal of righteousness, does he not, he even speaks about righteous blood, it would be the principle of life, would it not? Is that what you mean by not being legal?
G.R.C. Yes, and then Abel is called righteous Abel. There was nothing illegal about Abel, he moved in the light of God that was known at that time, and that is the idea of this. We have received the full light of God, and we move in that light.
A.R. Is it thus a matter of Divine Persons having way in our souls, and leading us into the truth?
G.R.C. I am sure that is so. ‘The Lord is Himself gone before’, and God is with us in the wilderness; God is with us as made known in the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
A.N.G. So that the form of teaching embodies the fact that one of the Divine Persons came into manhood, the Lord Jesus, into the very circumstance is where we are, sin apart; so that it says in Hebrews, that God has made the leader of their salvation perfect through suffering, in bringing many sons to glory.
G.R.C. It is very touching that a Divine Person has come into manhood. The moment Paul speaks of His manhood in chapter 9
A.G.B. Does not the expression you have used "borne you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself" involve that God was there before His people?
G.R.C. That is very fine.
A.G.B. So that we find God in the way we have been speaking of Him as now known to us in Revelation. We have infinite resource in God, not only as to every need on our part, but in order to set His people up in ability to serve Him in those very conditions.
G.R.C. So can you not understand that in Exodus 25, at that point; God could rightly say,
A.A. Is it only in the light of what you have been saying that our service can be intelligent according to Romans 12?
G.R.C. Just so. As regards the children of Israel, it was intelligent service, Jehovah's heave offering. They knew what the material was for, and in presenting our bodies, the idea is, I am sure, that we know the purpose of doing it; that is, we present our bodies in order to be available for the assembly. That is our intelligent service.
J.B.M. Would Exodus 21 bear on this, "I love my master, my wife, my children, I will not go out free"?
G.R.C. You are thinking of the thought of love?
J.B.M. Yes, and the idea of presenting our bodies, I suppose the idea of the Lord presenting His body was like the bondman.
G.R.C. Well, I believe Romans 7 gives, in principle, the wife of the Hebrew servant. Romans six speaks much of our being bondmen, member by member we devote ourselves to righteousness and to God.
J.A.F. Is the use of our body peculiarly connected with the will of God?
G.R.C. That is how we are brought into correspondence with Christ.
J.A.C. The apostle makes his appeal in chapter 12, "by the compassions of God". Have we really come to be appreciative of all that we have learnt of God in the wilderness circumstances, and thus be able now to present our bodies in this way? It is a wonderful lever that the apostle uses here, is it not?
G.R.C. What a God He is, how worthy He is to have our bodies, and what a privilege to be in correspondence in any measure with Christ in presenting our bodies as intelligent in regard to the divine end in view.
A.R. Would you mind saying a word more as to bondman; you said, I think, that scripture does not say that Christ was a bondman, but that He takes the form of a bondman. How would that fit in with Philippians 2 where it says,
G.R.C. Well, I am not sure that we could say that scripture says He was a bondman. What it says, as you say, is that He emptied Himself, and took upon Himself the form of a bondman. In that sense He was a true bondman.
A.R. Yes, I can see that.
J.B.M. He took it upon Himself in love and with certain aspects of service in view you mean?
G.R.C. Yes.
A.A. Would the reading of Philippians 2: 7 help,
G.R.C. Quite so. In Philippians 2 it is all viewed as His own act. He took upon Himself the form of a bondman, and in that sense He was a bondman, because He took that form upon Himself, but it was never imposed upon Him, He took it upon Himself, in love.
A.R. I think that is very important that what it says brings out the greatness of His Person as God.
J.Tr. He is a Man in glory, but you could hardly say He was a bondman in glory.
G.R.C. We have to recognise that, at the present time, He is not emptied. The emptying Himself refers to what He became in humiliation here in manhood, but as a glorified Man, He is also glorified with the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. There is no question of Christ being emptied at the present time.
A.R. So in John 13, it says that He laid aside His garment. He took the place of a bondman there, did He not, but He put His garment on again, showing that, even down here, He is not always viewed as in the position of a bondman.
G.R.C. No, because the thoughts of God as to manhood are thoughts of dignity and greatness to be fully seen in Christ. But He took upon Himself the form of a bondman in love because it was necessary, if the work was to be carried through, that He should take that place.
J.B.M. It is said of the Lord that He loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; but in Romans six we become bondmen to righteousness.
G.R.C. It would involve that we learn to love it, because it speaks of obeying from the heart. It is a great thing that saints should become like Christ in loving righteousness.
D.M. Loving righteousness would be involved in the proving of what is the good and perfect and acceptable will of God.
G.R.C. It would; the adjectives used are very attractive; it does not simply leave it as a matter of righteousness, but it says the will of God is good and perfect and well pleasing, or acceptable. And we are to prove that experimentally.
J.H. Would that be the development of the walking in newness of life?
G.R.C. Yes, because unless our members are instruments of righteousness, how can we fit into this one body in Christ? An unrighteous man would simply discredit the whole position.
A.G.B. Had you in mind in the reference to Exodus 25 that that comes in at the beginning of God's ways in wilderness history with His people, and that we can now look for this response?
G.R.C. That is just it, it is Jehovah's heave offering, which suggests a spontaneous response, because Romans 12 is put on the line of beseeching.
J.A.C. Is this strength of affection Godward?
G.R.C. Indeed.
A.C.C. Every one whose heart prompted him, is that it?
G.R.C. That is it, and think of an apostle taking this place, "I beseech you". How it should cause our hearts to prompt us to move.
A.N.G. So that one of the ways we have been spoken to – "speak to the children of Israel" – is that the Lord Jesus has come into manhood.
G.R.C. That is very beautiful, and so you can see the importance of Romans 7, to be to Another. To be to such a Person would make us real bondmen, not in any legal way but like the wife with her husband, moving wholly with him in it, in the path which he took on in love.
J.A.F. Is each one of us affected as having come into touch with such a Person as the Lord Jesus? I was thinking of "every one whose heart prompted him".
G.R.C. That is very good, so that we have each got a body. We may think we have not much to give to God, but we each have something that is of more value to God than a thousand worlds — a thousand worlds are not so valuable to God as one human body, and we each have got a body.
W.C. Does Paul bring that out in that verse in Corinthians "I seek not yours but you"?
G.R.C. Quite so, and so he says in one Corinthians six "do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?"
T.T. In working it out here in Romans 12 it speaks about the transforming of your mind and thinking so as to be wise.
G.R.C. Well, do you not think the renewed mind lies behind all this? We get impressions of Christ by the Spirit, and if we allow those impressions to have their way we shall be transformed, because this is a transformation.
J.E.M. Do we see this set out in Mary in Luke 10 in yielding herself, sitting at Jesus’ feet, and then fitting intelligently into the service in John 12?
G.R.C. That is very good, because undoubtedly in sitting at Jesus’ feet she would get a renewed mind; and so she is intelligent as to the service.
W.B. In Exodus 35 where these things are actually brought, a good deal is said there about wise hearted.
G.R.C. There is, it needs wisdom to help one another to fit in.
Ques. Are we merged as individuals in connection with that which is collective?
G.R.C. We are; every one has to take it up individually, and yet it becomes one great offering, holy and acceptable to God.
W.H.B. Speaking of the compassions of God, is there a touch of that carried forward into Exodus 25 where it says
G.R.C. You mean that would touch their hearts?
W.H.B. Yes, the ‘me’, a personal appeal.
G.R.C. A personal appeal by the God whom had brought them to Himself, and so in Ephesians it speaks of "we are builded together". It has impressed me that the body is an underlying matter,
M.M.S. What is the difference here, our place in the body, and the gifts in Ephesians, all given for the edifying of the body of Christ?
G.R.C. Well the gifts in Ephesians are for the work of the ministry, for the edifying or building up of the body,
J.Cm. He says to the Corinthians
G.R.C. It does; our bodies are temple of the Holy Spirit which is in us, and that is why they can be called living and holy and acceptable, and that is why they ought not to be used for unholy purposes. We are bought with a price, and it is for a purpose.
J.M. And would it be right to say that Divine Persons put a great value on the human body?
G.R.C. Yes, it is the greatest possession we have. We shall soon have bodies of glory, and then God will be displayed unhinderedly according to the formation in each.
Rem. The price has been paid.
G.R.C. Yes, ye are bought with a price; who can measure the price?
A.C.C. Was it your thought then that this expression intelligent service goes right on to the thought that God has got before Him, the sanctuary?
G.R.C. That is just what I have in mind.
A.G.B. Does that finalise itself in the expression that the tabernacle may become one whole? "May become" I was thinking, as we move on this line.
G.R.C. Yes, and it involves many exercises.
| THE ASSEMBLY – READING 2 |
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| Friday afternoon Matthew 5: 1–16; 11: 25-30; 14: 25-30; 16: 15-18 |
G.R.C. The theme that is engaging us is the assembly, having in view ultimately what the assembly is to God, as a vessel of glory in which there is glory to Him, and through which His glory is displayed.
Today we are occupied with the way material is secured for the assembly, and we have already considered Paul's teaching in Romans, especially chapters 6 and 12.
Now this afternoon, what we have read is specially affecting, because it is the Lord Jesus Himself who is speaking in every passage we have read.
D.M. Is the Lord becoming attractive here in that His disciples are coming to Him in view of taking on these features shining in Himself do you think?
G.R.C. I would think that is the only way that transformation could take place. It is as beholding the glory of the Lord we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, and the Lord Jesus was the living exemplification of all that He taught, they came to Him.
A.A. In connection with what you said as to having the assembly in mind in this chapter, is it not rather significant that in verse 11 there is a change of pronoun to "ye"; leading on to "ye are the salt of the earth"; as if the Lord were viewing the disciples as the nucleus of the assembly, and crediting them with the features that He had been speaking of?
G.R.C. That is very good. It shows that there was something concrete there in them.
J.A.C. Have we do dissociate ourselves from the crowds, and take on this spirit of discipleship in view of all that the Lord has to say to us?
G.R.C. That is right. The public testimony of the Lord in the previous chapter goes out in a universal way, it says in verse 24
"Great crowds followed him from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and beyond the Jordan".
A.R. When it says His disciples came to Him, would it mean that they were persons who were teachable, willing to be taught, do you think? Is that not a very important? It may mean setting aside thoughts of our own.
G.R.C. I believe that it is important to notice that discipleship is stressed specially in Matthew and John.
and in John they are called disciples right through John 20.
"then were the disciples glad".
and John's gospel to instruct us as to assembly privilege.
A.R. That is very good.
J.Tr. Do we get what is foundational in "poor in spirit"? I wondered if it is viewed over against the pride of man or the pride of life in view of this system that the Lord was bringing them to?
G.R.C. So that it stands at the doorway of the expression "be not conformed to this world". There is nothing of this kind about the world.
A.C.C. In Exodus 25 the chapter closes by Jehovah saying to Moses that everything was to be made according to the pattern in the mountain. Would these ‘blesseds’ be in line with that, the kind of material suitable to the sanctuary?
G.R.C. That is very good, I am sure we need to be in the mountain to get the divine pattern and divine thoughts, and I suppose in principle we might apply it in some way to a gathering like this, because on the plain, in a day like this, there are worldly celebrations going on, but we leave the plain.
H.V. And is not this the position that obtains today, as coming together on occasions like this. It is good to come to Him?
G.R.C. That would be the principle of a gathering like this; we would like it to be really a mountain, a moral elevation.
J.A.C. The position is most attractive is it not? The first word that the Lord uses is "blessed". Would that encourage us all to come more often together, coming to Him, so that we may understand His thoughts towards us in relation to the service of God and the assembly?
G.R.C. I believe so, and do we not prove that in coming to the mountain, on occasions like this, that the Lord sees to it that we have a blessed time. It is not a happy time in the sense that men of the world speak happiness, it is a truly blessed time.
J.Tr. He says later on in this gospel that kings have desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things which ye hear and have not heard them.
H.P. What we sang at the commencement, "A well-known voice has called us up"; is this an essential thing for each of us individually to have part in, thinking of the previous chapter, the matter of disassociation has been spoken about, the Lord speaking to the two sets of brothers, and they left their circumstances, their parents, left everything in view of this mountain journey.
G.R.C. That is very good, they are examples for us, in the way they were prepared to leave things, and respond to the call; and now they would be amongst those who came to Him.
J.A.F. Why does it say that the Lord sat down? We have the same thought in Luke four, He stood up to read, and then He sat down.
G.R.C. I think it suggests restfulness and deliberation; the Lord's teaching was normally as sitting down, He stood up to read, as you say, and sat down to teach. It suggests restful conditions which could not be had among the crowd, congenial conditions, and then great deliberation in what was taught, the Lord Himself unfolding the pattern which was exemplified in Himself.
J.A.C. So that when we come to the Lord feeding the multitudes, the Lord says "Make the men sit down". Is that what you have in mind?
G.R.C. Yes, He has in mind that we too should be restful, because we need to be restful to take in the great thoughts of God.
J.B.M. You were speaking this morning of our entering into matters individually. Would this be an illustration of the result of that, the disciples came to Him, as if there was just one mind and one heart. One body in Christ.
G.R.C. They are actuated here by a common impulse are they not?
J.B.M. Yes, I wondered whether it showed a measure of progression towards the assembly position?
G.R.C. Just so.
A.G.B. Would you mind saying something as to the results that are to accrue from the teaching. There seems to be a great positive yield from what the Lord discloses here.
G.R.C. Well I do not think anybody can be rightly in the assembly unless he is amongst the blessed. The assembly of God rightly is composed of exceedingly happy people who are conscious of the blessing of God, so that their countenances as in the assembly would not be sad.
G.R.C. I am sure that is right. If these features do not mark us we are disqualified, in practice, from a living and vital part in the assembly of God.
T.T. What is the relation between the kingdom of the heavens and the assembly?
G.R.C. I think of the assembly is like the metropolis of the kingdom of the heavens.
A.R. So would you say that you get the principles of the kingdom set out in the One who really is the King in perfection and reality, so that He can say later on "Learn from me". All these principles having been set out in Himself, He Himself becomes the One that is before us, and from Whom we learn.
G.R.C. So it says "thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty".
W.McI. You were emphasising dealing with things one by one. I was thinking of the Lord teaching here, and going over things one by one.
G.R.C. That is helpful, because we cannot take in a lot at a time can we? It is helpful, I believe, daily to think of our members one by one.
W.B. So we would always be preserved in the sense of blessed?
G.R.C. We would always have a sense of happiness, because we would have the consciousness of "God with us", according to this gospel, and that is blessedness.
J.B.M. In Mark 14, where the Lord is before the council, the High Priest says to Him "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Is that what we have in this passage the flowing out from the legislator on the Mount the exemplification of what He is teaching?
G.R.C. That really it is the Son of the Blessed who is speaking you mean? Very good indeed.
J.B.S. As to progression, is it "line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept"?
G.R.C. Quite so. God is patient with us, so it says "Let the prophets speak two or three", there is not too much at a time.
Ques. What would be the bearing of "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted"? What is the mourning in relation to?
G.R.C. I would say it is mourning because of the rejection of Christ, and because of the breakdown of the assembly.
A.C.C. What has been quoted from Isaiah is prefaced with these words
G.R.C. Yes, we must be weaned from the one before we can take on the other. I think I can see that "poor in spirit" is the basis;
J.A.F. Would that be seen in chapter 12 of Numbers with Moses, where he did not seek to justify himself, but left the matter with God?
G.R.C. The meekest man, was he not, in his day, in all the earth.
J.A.C. These "blesseds" all stand connected with wilderness conditions. Would you say that now the truth of the fellowship is involved in all this?
G.R.C. I would. How can we get on together body wise, how can we go on together in fellowship without these features? If we pursue without these features we are bound to come under the Lord's judicial dealings sooner or later.
and then "the pure in heart", most necessary of all, every motive pure, and such a man sees God, and thus sees everything clearly, too.
A.G.B. Would you agree that this speaking is in the way of light, as seen in the One who is becoming their Teacher, but have we not to learn that there is power in this same Person, too, as coming down from the mountain to effect in the disciples what was true in Himself?
G.R.C. That is very good. In chapter eight He comes down and deals with the leper, so that there is power in the Lord to help us.
H.V. At the close of the gospel He was tested Himself in relation to all these features.
G.R.C. He was tested in the fullest manner from Gethsemane to the cross.
A.R. Does not all this show that the kingdom is in support of the assembly, and that kingdom principles would strengthen us in taking up assembly matters?
G.R.C. I do not see how assembly matters can be handled rightly by any but those who are amongst these blessed ones. How can a man touch an assembly difficulty unless he is poor in spirit, it is impossible to do it properly.
W.McI. Is that really involved in seeing God in relation to what He is doing?
G.R.C. I would say so. I would say it means that God's glory shines unhinderedly before the soul, and in that light you see everything clearly.
J.B.M. When the men of Ephraim chided Gideon for not calling them to the battle he says
G.R.C. He was a peacemaker; that is the line of peacemaking. It is done in that spirit.
J.Tr. Would you say a word as to those that shall see God and then the peacemakers who are called sons of God.
G.R.C. I think we can understand why seeing God comes before being called sons of God. There is a progression in these things.
D.M. Does Paul set out this feature in his approach to the Corinthians?
G.R.C. I think Paul's attitude to the Corinthians showed that he was poor in spirit, a mourner, meek, and he hungered and thirsted after righteousness.
A.R. Would sonship be in a different setting here than Galatians and Romans? In Galatians it says "ye are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus".
G.R.C. Galatians is on the gift line. God sent forth His Son that we might receive sonship.
A.R. And is sonship brought to us in the gospel for us to accept?
G.R.C. It is brought to us as a gift. But Romans eight and Matthew five link more together, in Romans 8 it is
J.H. All these features seem to build up what you might call assembly character.
G.R.C. We are sons of God from the outset, as soon as we have faith in Christ Jesus, but we may not have the characteristics of sons, we may not be such that we could really be called sons of God.
J.Tr. Solomon says he was a son, he says "I was a son to my father". While he was in one sense a son of David, yet he said he was a son to his father. Does that answer to this?
G.R.C. He was a real son, and that is the point here.
J.B.M. The expression "sons of God" conveys the idea of maturity on the moral line, bearing on what you are remarking in connection with righteousness and persecution.
W.McI. The 70 that were called up the mountain saw the God of Israel, and certain features marked them, and it says "they saw God, and ate and drank", as if they were in the enjoyment of the position.
G.R.C. Just so. That is in chapter 24, and in chapter 25 the material for the tabernacle is brought together. The Lord goes on to say in Matthew 5
A.G.B. Is it in your mind that the Father should be known as near to us, and so to become known to us?
G.R.C. Yes. He is with us in the wilderness.
J.B.M. You are suggesting that there is no difference in the Person of the Father; the difference is in the setting in which the saints are viewed?
G.R.C. That is it; it is the same blessed Person, with the same heart of love.
A.R. Do you mean then that "my Father, and your Father" in John 20 is the same Person that we are speaking of here, who cares for us, and who numbers the hairs of our head. That is very good and interesting.
G.R.C. It is the same Person, and so Romans six, which is the wilderness, speaks of the glory of the Father, but Ephesians three, which is the land, speaks of the riches of the Father's glory. It is greater there, there is a fulness, but nevertheless it is the same Person.
J.Tr. We have all been rather reticent in using this expression "heavenly Father". Would you mind saying a little more about it. Do you have in mind the expression to be used only in relation to the wilderness, or also in the service of God?
G.R.C. I had not thought of using it in the service of God in the assembly, because there you are in the Father's own realm and we are viewed as in heavenly places ourselves. I would not care to hear the expression in the assembly in the service of God.
J.B.M. But the recognition of the Father as operating in relation to different matters would bring, not only liberty, but intelligence.
G.R.C. Quite so. I do think in speaking or writing to one another about our trials, and in comforting one another, we should have liberty to say our heavenly Father, because it is a comforting expression; and, as I say, the Lord Himself uses it, He says "My heavenly Father".
J.H. Would it be connected with the testimonial position? The assembly is a light bearer and also an habitation. Matthew seems to be stressing the position of light bearer and so refers to heavenly influence and heavenly power to sustain us here.
G.R.C. Quite so. But then, as over against that, in Chapter 11, the Lord does not say heavenly Father. He never does, as far as I know, when He addresses Him. He says
A.N.G. I was wondering if you had in mind that under no circumstances does the relationship cease.
G.R.C. I would, and it is the very same Person. I would not suggest that even in a prayer meeting we should speak of our heavenly Father, the Lord says when ye pray say, Father.
A.R. Would it be right when we give thanks for our food to speak of the heavenly Father, and thank Him for his care?
G.R.C. I would be quite happy about that. I would not say it in a prayer meeting, but I would be quite happy in the home.
J.B.M. Does the way the Lord addresses the Father here open out the scope of the Father's operations,
G.R.C. I think there is room for us to take up the lines of praise that the Lord suggests. It is very compressed here, but think of the Father, and then think of what He is as Lord of the heaven and of the earth,
A.A. I was wondering what was involved in this thought of "Jesus answering said". Does it suggest the response that is the result of communion? It seems to stand by itself.
G.R.C. What an answer it was in view of the public position, what a wonderful answer that the Father should get praise at this moment. He retires into the sovereignty of the Father's will, and rests in it, and that is why He can say to us
T.T. The Lord speaks about these things which are hidden from some and revealed to others. What has He in mind particularly in using that expression, "these things"?
G.R.C. The Lord has in mind the whole scope of God's purposes.
A.G.B. Is not the background of this the fact that the Lord felt fully the lack of outward result from His service. Is there not something peculiar from His call from that standpoint to come to Him. What is more distressing than to labour as the Lord had done, and to see little or no result?
G.R.C. If we do not understand this place of retreat we shall be hindered in assembly service.
Then He says "Come to me … and I will give you rest"
J.E.M. Is that what the apostle had in mind when it says
G.R.C. That is an interesting reference because the apostle saw the breakdown outwardly of all he had laboured in; all in Asia, he says
J.Cll. Would you mind telling us what is meant by the Lord saying
in chapter 16 the Lord said to Peter
"flesh and blood hath not revealed this to thee but my Father who is in heaven".
G.R.C. I think this means that it is impossible to explain the truth of the Lord's Person. It is impossible to explain the fact that He is true man and yet very God.
J.Cll. And yet it is this Person who gives us an intimate knowledge of the Father "and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal him". We cannot have an intimate knowledge of the Son, but we can have an intimate knowledge of the Father.
G.R.C. We can also have a most intimate knowledge of the Son as the Christ the Son of the living God; for He is united to the assembly. You cannot conceive of a closer link than that which the assembly has with the Christ, yet it is impossible to define the truth of His Person.
J.B.M. His Deity is inscrutable.
G.R.C. Yes. He is true Man and yet He is very God, but it is beyond human explanation. We worship the Person, we worship the Man that we know is God. We know He is God but we know Him as Man.
A.R. The Lord says "no one knows the Son". That title would involve His humanity and yet stresses what He is in His own Person as inscrutable.
G.R.C. Exactly. It is to shut out all the efforts of the human mind to fathom the great mystery of the incarnation.
A.R. I am sure that is right. The Lord puts things entirely on the ground of revelation, and in that we are shut up to God.
G.R.C. Yes, and when it is a question of revelation as to Himself in chapter 16, the word is
J.A.C. It says all things have been delivered to me by my Father. Say a word on my Father. And then "no one knows the Father but the Son".
G.R.C. I think when the expression the Son and the Father are used, it specially refers to the personality of the Father and the Son.
A.A. And the word for ‘knows’ is specially chosen it seems, according to the note, ‘real knowledge, and not a mere objective acquaintance with a person’. Real knowledge as if there was something there that is outside the human range.
J.Tr. Are you stressing the thought that the "all things", while they are delivered to Him as Man, yet they are only delivered to Him as Man because He is God?
G.R.C. No one else would be capable of filling out the position of Head and Centre of the whole system of glory and blessing that is suggested here.
J.Cll. Only in regard to the truth of His Person would it be right to say that it is not understood but by Divine Persons alone?
G.R.C. Yes, and we accept it gladly. Yet we know in our very souls, and through our very experiences, that He is God, and we worship Him accordingly; there is nothing more certain in the soul of every true believer than that Jesus is God.
H.P. Does this matter at all link on with the three glories in John 17?
G.R.C. In John 17: 5, the Lord in the hearing of His disciples asks to be glorified with the Father with the glory He had along with Him before the world was, but He does not suggest that His disciples would see that glory.
A.R. So there is much that we share alongside of Christ, but then there is that which is peculiar to Himself that is His own, and we gladly worship Him as such, He is firstborn among many brethren, and He has the place of preeminence in all things.
J.H. He never ceased to be what He was on account of what He became?
G.R.C. In His Person He is changeless, "Thou art the Same" implies that.
A.R. What do you think the ship might represent?
G.R.C. I was thinking of it as representing the vessel of testimony. It has a dispensational bearing, but I wondered whether we might even apply it to our local companies.
A.R. So that Peter's experience with the Lord in walking on the water, and being supported on it would be of great value when he came into the ship and the Lord with him, and he would bring in the knowledge of the Person that they had not had before.
G.R.C. He would. Then in chapter 16 we see what all this is leading to. The Lord raises the question with Peter, and Peter, in a spirit of worship, says
A.R. And the assembly is built of material that Peter exemplifies. He is part of the rock, "Thou art Peter".
G.R.C. Quite so, which all bears on what we have been say that these things are exemplified in the King — Christ Himself — and now are seen in Peter.
| THE ASSEMBLY – READING 3 |
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| Saturday morning Acts 2: 1-4; 9: 3-6; 10: 9-16; 20: 25-28 |
G.R.C. Our theme is the assembly, and today it is in mind look at the development of the truth of the assembly in Acts.
In chapter 10, the Holy Spirit graciously adjusts Peter, and we need that adjustment if we are to merge in the vessel which the Lord calls "Me".
Chapter 20 is the last reference to the assembly in Acts, "the assembly of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own".
We begin with the inception of the assembly through the coming of the Holy Spirit. The idea of assembling had preceded this. The Lord Himself had secured the material, and it says (of Him) in verse four of chapter one … *
G.R.C. That is very affecting. God had this in mind before the world began. The Lord had come, and finished His own ministry, and now this great moment arrives, when the Spirit came and it is spoken of as "hard breathing", God Himself, as it were, filling this vessel, but in such an intimate way, filling it by hard breathing.
J.A.C. Would you say that the Spirit of God had this in mind in Genesis 1: 2
G.R.C. I would say so. He descended in bodily form as a dove and abode upon the Lord, but now it is the fruit of the Lord's own work, a vessel into which the Spirit is free to come.
M.M.S. It says "Whom the world cannot receive", there was a vessel here who could receive.
G.R.C. Quite so.
W.B. Does the reference to Jesus as a Man – verse 33 – "having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit" refer to the feelings of divine Persons?
G.R.C. It brings the Father into the matter, the Father's affections are involved.
A.R. It says "and it sat upon each one of them". Would you say a word as to that? The Holy Spirit would be implied in "it", would it?
G.R.C. Yes. I do not think the neuter is any reflection on His Person. It is purely a matter of grammar. What had you in mind as to the sitting?
A.R. There is the sense of complacency I thought, the Spirit of God came down and abode upon the Lord Jesus in manhood and now He comes down and sits upon each one of them.
G.R.C. How marvellous it is! Each one of them was pleasurable
H.P. You referred to three thoughts in relation to the Spirit, sealing, indwelling, and filling; had you in mind the three different ways that it is actually referred to here, "filling the house", "sitting on each one of them", and then "filling each one of them"?
G.R.C. First it says "filled all the house where they were sitting", that connected with the sound out of heaven as of hard breathing, and I would think it refers to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the company which has to be distinguished from the presence of the Holy Spirit in individuals.
then there is the sitting on each one of them showing that now they are looked at severally,
and then it says “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues".
A.A. Can you help us as to the distinction between this and the in breathing of John 20?
G.R.C. Scripture never repeats itself, and that seems to have its own particular setting, the Lord Jesus as the last Adam breathing into them, imparting life; but here it is the vessel of testimony and the persons comprising it.
A.A. Is John 20 more an inward and private matter, and has this a more public bearing?
G.R.C. I think so. It is more, as we have already said, the glory filling the house according to Exodus 40.
A.G.B. Does the understanding of this matter of the feelings of the heart of God lie behind the power for the testimony? The word is, we hear them speak in our own tongue the great things of God.
G.R.C. Quite so. It says "As the Spirit gave them to speak forth". So that the testimonial side is in view here.
J.A.C. So that the persons are all in keeping with the atmosphere of the house. Is that an important matter for us each one?
G.R.C. It is an important matter. I am glad Mr R. referred to each one, because the public testimony depends upon each one of us; we can either credit or discredit the vessel of testimony, but here the parted tongues of fire sat upon each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. What a company, and so they go forth from the house, and they speak a great things of God. Verse 11.
J.A.C. Would you say a word please, as to "as of fire"?
G.R.C. It says in the gospel, "He will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and with fire".
J.A.C. Because of what we are in ourselves the fire is necessary, is that right?
G.R.C. My impression is that if we can control our tongues, it is a sign that our whole body is under control. The fire will have done its work with the whole man, because James says that the tongue is the most difficult member to control. The tongue itself he says, is fire, the world of unrighteousness – James 3: 6; but this fire would nullify the fire of mischief which the tongue can do.
D.F.B. And what do you understand by "it appeared to them"?
G.R.C. I would say it was instruction for them. The Lord had appeared to them as in John 20, and showed them His hands and side, and they were expected to learn from that.
A.A. It says in verse 6 "the rumour of this having spread, the multitude came together". Is that what is in your mind?
G.R.C. Quite so, a tremendous multitude came together, because there was a joy in Jerusalem and things were being said in Jerusalem which had never been said before.
B.Tr. Peter follows on here to speak of the resurrection. Is that the testimony throughout the Acts, that Christ is raised?
G.R.C. It is the basic fact of the testimony that Christ is raised, although the testimony goes on to the fact that He is exulted; the coming of the Spirit is from and ascended Christ.
A.N.G. Do you think the truth of the Spirit of God has been emphasised in the last year or two because God is concerned now that there might be persons filled with the Spirit? Persons have been processed, the emptying process has been proceeding. Do you think that perhaps might explain why there is so much discipline amongst the people of God at present?
G.R.C. Our brother was referring last night to the scripture which says "they were to bring empty vessels, not a few", and the emptying of the vessels does involve a process.
D.McI. As to being filled with the Holy Spirit, is the testimony only in keeping with what God is prepared to bring before the saints at any given time? It has been said the Holy Spirit has been slighted up to the present day, which I do not think is according to the word of God.
G.R.C. The Holy Spirit was not slighted in Acts.
D.McI. The particular place He has in the minds of the saints today does not at all mean that He has been slighted or quenched in past ministry does it? The whole truth of the assembly did not come out at once, it waits upon Paul, does it not?
G.R.C. At any given time the Spirit brings things out as the saints can bear them, and I suppose He has done that in the course of the recovery.
A.R. Would the end of the fourth verse in principle bear on what you are saying that they spake forth words
G.R.C. I am sure it would. I think we ought to pass on to chapter nine. There is not a sound from heaven, but
A.R. Did you connect that earlier with the second of Genesis, what Adam said?
G.R.C. Adam was the only being on earth at that time competent to name the woman; so I think in the heavenly sphere, Christ Himself alone could name the assembly.
D.M. This being the very first thing that is said to Paul, does it indicate that it is to govern his life and movements afterwards, and would it be a further word for us in that direction?
G.R.C. I am sure it would; this completely governed Saul of Tarsus from this time onwards. He was a minister of the assembly, and he spent himself for the assembly, because of the impression received here.
A.C.C. You said at the beginning that it happened outside the territory of Israel. That is in keeping, is it not, with Matthew 16, where the Lord says "My assembly". Would all that show the distinctiveness of it, that it has no Jewish connection?
G.R.C. Caesarea-Philippi was on the borders of the land, at the extremity, and there the Lord Jesus uses the words "my assembly". He does not use those words in Jerusalem, as though to prevent the apostles linking the assembly with Jerusalem as a centre. The Lord Himself, as far as we know, never went outside the confines of the land, but he went to the very extremity. Paul, drawing near to Damascus was right outside.
D.McI. It is remarkable that Paul gets this light before he gets the Holy Spirit. The personnel of the assembly were there before the Spirit was given, and this light comes to Paul before he received the Holy Spirit.
G.R.C. Quite so; it is the Lord's own work, which magnifies Him in our hearts. The 120 were there – as the fruit of the Lord's work – before the Holy Spirit came, then the Spirit comes and fills them.
A.R. I was thinking of a remark Mr Taylor made, speaking of Adam naming Eve. Adam said, as it were, ‘myself, over again’. And the Lord Jesus says ‘me’, it is Himself. That seems to be the setting here, that the assembly is spoken of as the body of Christ.
G.R.C. That is just what I thought.
A.G.B. Have you particularly in mind how the saints appeared in a testimonial way in suffering? It was thus that Saul received his first impressions of the assembly as the "Me".
G.R.C. He had seen a character of Christ in the members of His body, and it had caused him to have goads in his conscience, and in continuing his course he had kicked against the goads.
T.T. Paul, describing this incident later, speaks about a light above the brightness of the sun. It is an order of things transcending anything that had existed before.
G.R.C. Quite so, "a light above the brightness of the noonday son" shining in this glorious Man, the Man who is God, the Man in Whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells.
A.N.C. So that this impression would grow in Paul's soul. He recounts it three times, and the last time he mentions that the Lord spoke to him in the Hebrew tongue, which would be the language of love.
A.A. You spoke of the feelings of God being in evidence in Acts two. Have we here the feelings of Christ in definite evidence as to His identification with the saints in a suffering position testimonially; the feeling way in which He speaks "Why dost thou persecute me"?
G.R.C. The tender feelings of Christ in their own way are entirely unique. It is the feelings of a Man for that which is so precious to His heart. We know even in human affairs, if things are right, if a wife suffers, the husband will feel it more than if he was suffering himself, and I think that is implied here. The Lord was feeling intensely all that was happening to His body and His bride.
W.B.J. Is there a link with Matthew 5 where the Lord speaks of the blessedness of those who are reproached and persecuted for His name's sake?
G.R.C. That is interesting. How comforting this is, that if they persecute us, they are really persecuting Him; He is feeling it.
W.McI. There is a real correspondence with Christ in the city do you think, in the way Paul is spoken to and dealt with—"Saul, brother" and so on?
G.R.C. The Lord Himself takes the matter in hand in order that there should be right feelings. The Lord is active all through this chapter. The Lord appears to Ananias, and Ananias comes and says
W.McI. It was beautiful correspondence with the Lord. He had those to whom He could give directions and who expressed feelings to one like Saul.
G.R.C. It emphasises that the assembly is a vessel that the Lord can trust. The word to Paul is
H.McF. Is there especial stress upon hearing and seeing in these chapters? I was thinking of the sound from heaven in chapter 2 and the appearing of the tongues, and then here there is the voice, and the appearing of the Lord.
G.R.C. Spiritual sensibilities are of the utmost importance. The bride in Canticles has every sensibility developed, she speaks of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling, all the five senses are in exercise.
That began in Acts 9, "my intelligence". But then he goes on to say
"which in other generations has not been made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the power of the Spirit, that they who are of the nations should be joint heirs, and a joint body, and joint partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus by the glad tidings".
H.P. Does Ephesians 1 and 2 help? Chapter 1 is the sphere where love is at home, and then in chapter 2 things are worked out in the sphere down here where sin has reigned?
G.R.C. Yes, Ephesians two specially bears on Jew and Gentile being brought together; although Ephesians one bears on it also, because where he speaks of
A.A. Would you connect a higher level of the mystery with the thoughts of God in purpose, and the lower level with the working out of those thoughts in His ways?
G.R.C. That is exactly what I have in mind; we have to distinguish between the purpose of God, and the counsel of His will
A.G.B. Is that why our side of the matter is linked with the expression "Rise Peter, slay and eat"? Is it the appropriation of the saints as seen from this standpoint? I mean they are presented as those to be fed upon?
G.R.C. It is one of the most important features of fellowship that we feed upon one another; the 11th of Leviticus shows the kind of persons we can feed upon, and those that we must not feed upon; but we can feed upon all those whom God has cleansed.
A.A. What you are saying now would help us, would it not, to clothe the saints with divine thoughts?
G.R.C. It would, and thus we should feed upon one another according to what we are in divine purpose, and as formed after Christ. The word is
J.Hs. So the word to the Colossians is "Christ in everything and in all"?
G.R.C. That is a good reference. He has formed the two in Himself into one new man, and in the new man Christ is everything, and in all, and that is how we feed on one another.
T.T. When it comes to writing his epistle Peter speaks about holy men, holy women, he had learned this lesson.
G.R.C. Very good, he had learned the lesson.
J.Tr. Is that why in Matthew 16 after the Lord says "on this rock I will build my assembly", He says that He would give Peter the keys of the kingdom. Is that how the lower levels are to be maintained?
G.R.C. That is very interesting. He speaks of "my assembly", which would link with this vessel; and then speaks of the keys of the kingdom. Peter was to use them to let both Jew and Gentile in; but he needed further help, he needed the Spirit's help, and in this chapter the Spirit comes in to help Peter. It is the Spirit operating in this chapter.
A.R. You would say it is a good thing for us then when we are able to trace our origin to the death of Christ and to view the brethren as having their origin in the death of Christ, sinful history having been dealt with and no longer before the eye of God.
G.R.C. And so this voice from heaven should ring in our ears "What God has cleansed"! That is, we look at the brethren in the light of the death of Christ.
A.G.B. Would that resolve many questions among us that are related to what is personal and often cause such sorrow?
G.R.C. It would end all personal feelings amongst the saints.
J.Cm. I was thinking on Exodus 25, and what we had yesterday, in connection with the pattern of the tabernacle, and also the pattern of the utensils. Is that what you get here? I mean the saints.
G.R.C. You are thinking of the persons. Very good; we need respect for one another. A great point in Ephesians two is peace between man and man. It means the end of all personal feelings and animosities.
W.McI. The ‘thou’ is emphasised here is it not? "Do not thou make common".
G.R.C. Quite so. The saints are not common people.
D.F.B. Can we have a word on chapter 20?
G.R.C. Well chapter 20 again brings in divine feelings in a remarkable way. Divine feelings enter deeply into each of these chapters.
J.E.M. Would you say a word as to this word shrunk,
J.Cm. Would verse 24 help? "But I make no account of my life as dear to myself", he was prepared to sacrifice everything in relation to this great truth of the mystery that had been entrusted to him?
G.R.C. That is a great help. It was the teaching as to Jew and Gentile being one body in Christ which cost Paul his life, humanly speaking. It aroused the animosity of the Jews and resulted in the persecutions he endured, but he had not shrunk, he did not attempt to hide the truth.
J.H. He speaks of the glad tidings of the grace of God, the preaching of the kingdom of God, and the declaration of the whole counsel of God, are they all essential?
G.R.C. Yes, and they are progressive. And then he finishes with this word
HL. Is that why in Acts 10: 11 it says a certain vessel descended? It seems that the vessel is a distinguished vessel.
G.R.C. I think that is right, it is the most distinguished vessel in the universe, and that is proved by this verse, "which he has purchased with the blood of his own". That could be said of no other.
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