Chapter Nine: The Sad Divisions Among Brethren Do Not Disprove the Truth of Gathering in Matthew 18:20

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Statement/Question:
There are so many divisions among the Brethren and people leaving; how can we think that they have the Lord’s approval? Don’t these things prove that the Brethren are on a wrong footing altogether?
Answer:
It’s true; sad to say, on the average, there has been a division among those gathered to the Lord’s name every 20-25 years. One Church historian reported, “The Brethren are known for rightly dividing the Word and wrongly dividing themselves.” This is sadly true. We might well ask ourselves why it is so. One answer would be the working of the will of the flesh. If we walked in self-judgment divisions would not happen. But when we refuse to judge ourselves, God uses other means to humble us, and allows a division to occur.
The Lord wants reality in those connected with the testimony of being gathered to His name. Since He desires “truth in the inward parts” (Psa. 51:66Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (Psalm 51:6)), He would have our principles to be consistent with the stand we have taken in being gathered to His name. When this is not the case, the Lord sifts His people by allowing divisions and scatterings to occur until there remain those who genuinely hold the principles of gathering on which we meet. The Lord uses such shake-ups to purify His testimony.
Zephaniah 3:11-1311In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. 12I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. 13The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. (Zephaniah 3:11‑13), speaks of the Lord’s work of sifting His people. The context of this passage has to do with the remnant of Israel, but the principle stated in it applies to the Lord’s dealings with His people in any dispensation. “I will take away out of the midst of thee [Jerusalem] them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain. I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”
There will always be some born and raised among those gathered to the Lord’s name who have never really made the things that they have been connected with their own. Some may have taken their place at the Lord’s Table out of convenience and may not even believe the principles on which they are gathered. Others may have once embraced the truth of being gathered to the Lord’s name but have become defective in regard to them. Like those on the sailing vessel that traveled to Italy, they simply have had “enough” of the wheat—what they might call “Brethren doctrine”—and have thrown it overboard (Acts 27:3838And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. (Acts 27:38)). But strange as it is, they remain among the gathered saints.
When there are those gathered to the Lord’s name who hold divergent principles as to gathering—perhaps Amalgamation principles, or Open Brethren principles, or further out yet, denominational church principles—and they are vocal about their views, and press for them, our collective voice in the community is weakened. The result is that the brethren no longer “with one mind and one mouth glorify God” (Rom. 15:66That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:6)). We wonder why such people would want to be among the gathered saints when they don’t believe the principles that are part and parcel with that position. We don’t want to see anybody leave the assembly, but it seems rather hypocritical to be connected with this remnant position and yet not believe in the very principles of its existence.
At any rate, when such a condition exists among the Lord’s people, He works to purify the testimony. He will allow a storm to sweep over an assembly in the way of some trouble to test those who are there, and thus manifest the true state of things. 1st Corinthians 11:19 speaks of this. It says, “There must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” Similarly, the captain of a sailing ship does not know how competent his sailors are until they are tested in a storm; then, it becomes manifest who is and who isn’t. Amos 3:66Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? (Amos 3:6) says, “Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?” This shows that the Lord allows—even sends—these tests. If we are among brethren merely because of family connections, or for some other reason, the Lord will test and “manifest” it. The fact that there has been a division, or a scattering, on the average of every 20-25 years, tells us that every generation must be tested as to these assembly truths.
It is important to understand that the Lord is the divine Gatherer, but He is also the divine Scatterer. In both cases, He has an agent. In gathering, He uses the Spirit of God, but in scattering He uses the devil. There may be times when the Lord, in His governmental dealings with His people, allows Satan to get in among them and scatter some (Num. 21:66And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (Numbers 21:6); Luke 22:3131And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: (Luke 22:31); John 10:1212But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. (John 10:12)). This is because scattering is as much a work of God as is gathering (Gen. 3:23-24; 11:8-923Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23‑24)
8So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:8‑9); Deut. 4:27; 28:6427And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. (Deuteronomy 4:27)
64And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. (Deuteronomy 28:64); 1 Kings 12:24; 17:20-23; 224Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord. (1 Kings 12:24)
20And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. (1 Kings 17:20‑23)
20Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay. 21And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. 22And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. 23Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. (1 Kings 2:20‑23) Kings 24:1-4; Jer. 15:1, 4; 31:101Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. (Jeremiah 15:1)
4And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 15:4)
10Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. (Jeremiah 31:10); Ezek. 20:37-38; 36:1937And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: 38And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 20:37‑38)
19And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. (Ezekiel 36:19); Amos 9:9-109For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. (Amos 9:9‑10); Zeph. 3:11-1211In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. 12I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:11‑12); 1 Cor. 10:55But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:5)). When the Lord allowed the great split among the tribes of Israel, Rehoboam tried to recover the ten tribes that followed Jeroboam into division, but the Lord sent a prophet to Rehoboam and who told him to cease and desist, saying “Return every man to his house; for this thing is from Me” (1 Kings 12:2424Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord. (1 Kings 12:24)).
We need not fear these actions of the Lord among His people, but they should humble us. “Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it” (Mic. 6:99The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. (Micah 6:9)). J. N. Darby said that he had never seen sifting result in anything but what was good; the candlestick burns brighter afterwards. So, when a storm comes into an assembly gathered to the Lord’s name, it doesn’t mean that that assembly is on the wrong ground, but that the Lord is testing His people. Those connected with the testimony, who don’t hold the principles on which they are professedly gathered, may be sifted out at such a time, and others will be gathered in to continue the testimony until the Lord comes. I suppose we could say that it is God’s maintenance program. It is part and parcel of being gathered to His name. Hence, divisions will continue to happen until the Lord comes.
This may not be the only reason why God allows divisions to happen, but it is certainly a major reason. If the principles of gathering are indeed the truth of God, we can be sure that Satan will attack it. Scripture tells us that in the latter times “seducing (demonic) spirits” will get a hold of the minds of some and they will “depart from the faith” (1 Tim. 4:11Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1)). Certain principles and practices will be given up, and oftentimes the very ones who give them up are the most vehement opponents against the truth. Satan will use such to do his work of dividing the saints, and God will allow it to sift His people.
Summary:
Divisions and scatterings among the Lord’s people gathered to His name are not a sign that they are meeting on unscriptural principles, but that the Lord is testing and sifting those connected with that testimony. If the absence of division constitutes who is on the right ground, then the Catholics would be right—they really have only had one major division in 1400 years!