With Some Remarks About Going on Accordingly—Part One I would like to look into the Scriptures this afternoon concerning the Lord's people here in this scene and His desire to be with them and to dwell among them as they journey on here. I believe it is very evident from His Word that it has been His desire from the very beginning to dwell among His people —not only for time, but also for eternity.
The first scripture I wish to turn to is Gen. 49, where Jacob is blessing the tribes of Israel. I particularly want to notice what he says to Judah in the 10th verse: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be." That should be in the plural, "gathering of the peoples be." Now, verses 22-24, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)."
Here we have, I believe, the earliest expression of the desire of Jehovah to dwell among His people. The Lord is mentioned under the name of Shiloh. (Shiloh is both a place and a person.) And it says He is coming, "and unto Him shall the gathering of the peoples be." It is plural. It was not only the children of Abraham that these prophecies concerned, but they also took in the Gentiles "the peoples." We see that, too, in the reference to Joseph. This was how our blessed Lord and Savior had to come into this scene, as the lowly and rejected One. It speaks here of Joseph, that he was, "a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall." So his branches did run over the wall. They were not confined to Israel, but ran over the wall to include the people that James speaks of in Acts 15:1414Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. (Acts 15:14), "God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name." Here it tells us, in Gen. 49:23, 2423The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) (Genesis 49:23‑24) that, "the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength." So we know that our blessed Lord and Savior had to come into this scene, in order to accomplish our redemption, as a lowly, humble man. On account of that, He was rejected by His people and the archers certainly did shoot at Him. But, "His bow abode in strength."
Now, turn to Ex. 15. It has been remarked that in the book of Genesis there seems to be a nearness of Jehovah in His dealings with His people that we do not find later, after the law was given. He could come and reason with one like Cain and point out the way of salvation to him. He could take up different characters throughout the book and speak to them personally. But after the law was given, a distance had come in. When we get to Exodus, the Lord is not dealing with individuals as He was in Genesis but He has taken up a people. So here, they had been delivered from Egypt and had been brought through the Red Sea, which is a figure of the Lord going into death for us and delivering us from this world and the power of this world, Satan. As soon as they get across the Red Sea we have a song a song of deliverance. In this song, they speak of His desires toward His people. Ex. 15:17,1817Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. (Exodus 15:17‑18), "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever." Here, we have a mention of His wanting to dwell amongst His people. Think of that the grace of God in addressing them in this way and putting this hope before them, that He wanted to dwell among them in the Sanctuary! The Lord still' has those desires. He dwells now in a different way than what was spoken of here in this song, but it is still His desire. And I would like to trace something of that desire through the Scriptures.
In Ex. 25, we have the subject of the building of the tabernacle and some special instructions about the ark and the mercy seat that was above it. It is nice to see the way the Lord speaks of it. Look at verses 21, 22, "And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel."
So we have these final instructions. They were to put the mercy seat above the ark in this holy place. Chapter 15 spoke about the Sanctuary. Here the Sanctuary has been constructed and we see the grace of God in the way He speaks with them about this mercy seat. He says, "There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee... from between the two cherubim... of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Here was His place to meet with them. And we find in the Old Testament many references to His dwelling between the cherubim.
God, in His grace, made provision for the people so that He could go on with them. It was only through the sacrifices and the shedding of blood that He was able to come down and dwell among them. Before He took them up, the Passover lamb was sacrificed in Egypt and here, in this book and in Leviticus, provision is made for the sacrifices. There had to be the shedding of blood, for there could be no remission of sins without it. So here was the mercy seat and the High Priest could go in and sprinkle the blood of the sin offering on the mercy seat. This was done on the Day of Atonement. It was here that He would meet with them. So we find the Lord speaking with Moses from out of the tabernacle. When the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered it and the Lord spoke from within to them and gave them instructions.
Turn now to the 25th Psalm. You know, if we are to go on with the Lord, we have to learn something as to the secrets of His presence to be in the secret of what He has communicated to us. It is only faith that can lay hold upon it, and He would have us to walk in that secret. The 25th Psalm follows the series of psalms which bring in, first, the Lord's exercises concerning the cross and His being forsaken of God (Psa. 22). Then, in the 23rd Psalm, we have the Lord in resurrection as the Shepherd, the one who is leading His people on in this scene. In the 24th Psalm, we have the Lord reigning. So it takes us from the cross on until the time when He shall reign. But in the 25th Psalm He goes back and takes His place among the remnant which is seeking to follow Him. We have some very important verses in this psalm. I would like to call your attention to several: verses 8-10, "Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will He teach sinners in the way. The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." Verse 14, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant."
We would like to know the secret of the Lord concerning what He has for His people here in this scene. Well, we learn some very important lessons in this psalm. First, He speaks about the meek. He was the meek and lowly One when He was here. And He would have us to be meek and lowly ones as we tread our pilgrim journey through this scene. So it tells us here, "The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way." This world does not have much use for meek people. They like to run over them. But here we learn that the Lord cares for them. He will guide them "in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." The things which we learn in the Scriptures as to our pathway here are quite different from what we would gain by our knowledge as taught in this world. The world would have us aspire to great things. In order to aspire to those great things, people are not known by their meekness. But the Lord was the meek and lowly One. He says, "I am meek and lowly in heart." "Come unto Me... and ye shall find rest unto your souls." So here He tells us the secret of these things. Would we like to know the secret? Well, here it is! And here are the instructions concerning it.
Now, turn to the 127th Psalm. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep." At the heading of this psalm it says that it is, "A Song of degrees for Solomon." I was told very early in my Christian life that in the Psalms where you find something in fine print above the psalm, it really belongs to the psalm. When you find something there in italics, it is man's summary of the psalm, what he thinks about it. And often man is far off. But that which is in fine print was inspired by the Spirit of God. It tells us that this was a Song of degrees for Solomon instructions for him.
One has often thought about Solomon. It was said of him prophetically that he was going to build a house for Jehovah. It was also said about this house that David received the plans of it by the Spirit. Here was a man who was drawing up these plans as led by the Spirit of God. We often think of things being written by the Spirit of God, but David received the plans for it by the Spirit of God. One writer said about the temple that he thought it showed a sign of deterioration of Israel because it was not used in the New Testament in type. What he did not realize was that those very plans were received by David from the Spirit. Furthermore, in connection with the worship, we find that when David was anointed king as a young man he later had to flee for his life. After he met Goliath, jealousy came in with Saul so David had to flee for his life and, for a while, he found refuge with the old prophet Samuel. We learn in 1 Chronicles, that while David was with Samuel (here was the old prophet and the young king I suppose he was still in his teens), they were communing together concerning the worship that was to be established. And we find later on that David did arrange the courses of the priesthood according to these instructions of Samuel.
Well, one has thought, with all that background, here we have a psalm that tells Solomon, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Here was one who had the plans handed over to him. He was a chosen vessel to build this house and yet he is told that something else is necessary, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." He had to be in the secret which is spoken of in that 25th Psalm, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." So, we might have great intelligence as to some of these things, but unless we go on in the fear of the Lord and in the secret of His presence, we will miss the path we will labor in vain! It is not the time for doing exploits! One is reminded of what Jeremiah said to Baruch, "Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not." Jer. 45:55And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. (Jeremiah 45:5). So, in connection with our passing through this scene, it is a good thing to remember that. We are told to humble ourselves under the hand of God and in due season He will lift us up.
Let us turn to Psa. 132. Here is something concerning David and his exercises about worship. The ark had been separated from the tabernacle for many years, probably 80 to 100 years. There was a disorganized state of things there in connection with worship it was not in the place where it had been set up by the command of the Lord. We find elsewhere that there was a reason for that—failure had come in among the priesthood. They had failed grievously, so the Lord had to forsake Shiloh. Here David was exercised about the fact that the ark was separated from the tabernacle. It exercised him so deeply that he said (verses 3-5), "Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." His parents evidently had taught him in his youth something concerning the importance of the ark and its place in Israel. They had mourned over the fact that it was separated. David had heard that; he was the anointed king, even in his youth, and so he purposed in his heart that as soon as he became king he was going to find the place for it. Evidently the Lord had showed him that it was not to be returned to Shiloh, because the Lord had forsaken that place. So we find that he makes this promise. And if we were to read the historical account, we would see that this was the first thing he did when he became king over all Israel. He was king over Judah for 7 1/2 years. Later the other tribes gave him their allegiance. Since the ark was in their territory, he could not do anything about it until that time. So we find that he sought it, and it is the first thing mentioned in connection with his being king. At first, though, he did it in a fleshly way. And oftentimes that is the way we do. We get hold of certain truths and seek to carry them out in a fleshly way. Well, the Lord had to speak to him very pointedly, and David gave up for a time. Then he finally realized that the ark should be brought up by the Levites (1 Chron. 15:11-1511And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, 12And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. 13For because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. 14So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. 15And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 15:11‑15)).
Now there is one thing in connection with this that I wanted to call attention to. You know, we speak of what a blessed place it is to be able to come together and to remember the Lord in His death, and what a privilege it is. Oh that we valued it more! It tells us here that David prayed to the Lord about this when he brought the ark to Jerusalem. We know that when the Lord forsook Shiloh, He chose Mount Zion (Psa. 78:60-7260So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; 61And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand. 62He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. 63The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage. 64Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation. 65Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. 66And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach. 67Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: 68But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved. 69And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever. 70He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: 71From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 72So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. (Psalm 78:60‑72)). Mount Zion means grace. It was when everything had failed (even the king had failed) that He chose Mount Zion. It speaks of mercy and grace, the opposite of Mount Sinai. So David, when he brought the ark into this temporary place in Jerusalem, said: "Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest; Thou, and the ark of Thy strength." Psa. 132:88Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. (Psalm 132:8). He asks the Lord to come in, and speaks of it as a rest to the Lord. "Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest; Thou, and the ark of Thy strength." That was David's thought concerning it. Then we find farther on, in the 14th verse, that the Lord answers him as to that request. He said: "This is My rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it."
In the 22nd of Luke, when He was to keep that last passover supper with His disciples as He assembled there with them, He said: "I have desired" (or, as the marginal reading tells us, I have heartily desired) "to eat this passover with you before I suffer." His great desire was to be there in the midst of His people. And He, at that passover, instituted the Lord's Supper. There He said that He had heartily desired it. Is His desire any different now that He is in glory? No, I believe He has that same desire. He would like to have His people around Himself. And so we learn something of that desire in the New Testament.
Turn now to John 4. Here we have the account of the Lord meeting that Samaritan woman, that poor, degraded woman. He allows His light to shine upon her, which showed what a sinner she was. So, she says, when first aroused (verses 19, 20), "Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and Ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." She, perhaps, had been aroused a little bit and she really tried to talk religion to Him, as we might say. She told Him about how their fathers had gone on "And Ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." I think it is marvelous to see the grace of our Lord with this poor degraded woman and what He says to her: "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Here He tells her there was a change coming.
God had forsaken the tabernacle at Shiloh. He chose Mount Zion and Solomon built Him a temple there a glorious, wonderful temple. But, in the end, they turned from it in heart and worshipped idols. So He had to allow the enemies to come in and destroy that beautiful temple, and they were all carried captive to Babylon. In His mercy, after 70 years, He allowed a remnant to return. So they started in afresh to build a temple. First, they set up the altar and it was nice to see that. It says they set up the altar for fear of the nations around. They felt if they gave the Lord His true place there, and approached Him with that altar, that it would be a protection from the enemies around. Well the Lord is looking out for His people He is not indifferent to what goes on here. So we find that this remnant built a temple. But it is quite distressing in a way when we see how often, even in those remnant days just a few years in the interval of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah it had to be called to their attention that they had sinned and had gone in with the nations around them in a way that was forbidden by the law. They would then bind themselves under an oath that they would not do that again. But it was only a short time until they did it again. I believe they did that about three times. The last time was in Nehemiah. And each time they placed themselves under an oath.
When we come to the book of Malachi, about 100 years, I believe, after Nehemiah's time, we find that they had forsaken the Lord again. This time they could not be aroused to any sense of it. In Ezra and Nehemiah's time they could be aroused, but here in Malachi's time they could not. However, there was a remnant stirred up, but they did not put themselves under any oath that they would not do so again. Rather, it says that they, "spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written." So He heard and He said, "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels." He had a special place for them. How the Lord honors faith!
There is a blank between Malachi and Matthew's gospel of perhaps about 400 years. We do not find any communications in the Scriptures during that time; there were no prophets. But we do find in Luke 2 that when the Lord was born, there was a remnant. Putting themselves under oaths could only carry them a few years and then they transgressed again. But, during those 400 years, those who spoke often one to another were preserved and kept going on in simplicity before the Lord. How marvelous it is that they were preserved. The encouraging thing, it seems to me, is that they were kept going on until the Messiah came until the Lord came! What a cheer that is to us now! If there is the going on in simplicity and dependence upon Him, He will preserve us and preserve the testimony (it is His testimony, not ours) until He comes.
Now, then, in the gospels we have the Lord's ministry, and He had to tell the Jews toward the end of His ministry, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." He told His disciples that "not one stone" should be left "upon another." Here He tells this woman that the time for a change is coming: "The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." Then He tells her, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews." They did not know what they were worshiping, He said. (They were really worshiping demons that is what it amounted to.) But, He says, "We know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is." The time had come for the change. God was no longer going to go on with that old thing. How sad it is, if we read the Scriptures, to find that man fails in everything that God commits into his hands. He fails to realize that God is a Spirit; he fails to realize what is becoming to one in this path of faith, because it had been a path of faith all along. In the law a natural man, unconverted, could carry out those things in a nominal way; many of them did. But there were those who read between the lines, as we say, that there was something else beyond that outward observance.
The principles of Scripture are those things which express to us the ways of God. In the New Testament we do not have a definite chapter and verse for everything that comes up. But there are principles that guide us. One has referred to the Sadducees in the 20th of Luke, when they came to the Lord denying the resurrection and proposing an improbable situation to Him of a woman who had seven husbands. Now, who is going to be her husband in the resurrection? He had to tell them that in the resurrection they were neither married nor were given in marriage. And He cited a scripture back in Exodus, where the Lord was speaking to Moses and He introduced Himself as, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." The Lord said, "He is not a God of the dead, but of the living." He was teaching Moses that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were with the Lord. The Sadducees denied that. That scripture which He quoted did not say anything about that, but it showed in the very expressions of it.
I was interested in reading in the JND Translation about the expression, "Word." In one place it tells us there are two expressions for Word; one is the definite text and the other is more the thought of what is taught rather than what is expressed. And that is what we have in the principles of Scripture. It is like the Pharisees. They thought they could read between the lines in the Old Testament that there was to be a resurrection, though it was not given as a doctrine. There were some who thought they could see it, but there was no definite word for it. However, the Lord held them accountable that they had not seen it. And so the Lord holds us accountable for what we should, see in the Word.
I remember one time, many years ago, in Chicago we had a case of discipline and some of us were speaking to Mr. Potter about it. We raised the question, "Shouldn't there be some definite scripture to tell us what to do?" He said, "The New Testament is not written that way." The law was written a good deal like that. They had specific instructions what to do and what not to do, which animals were clean and which were unclean. But in the New Testament we do not have things written in that way. It is not like a textbook in school where one portion is gradually developed into another, and so on. But it is, "line upon line; precept upon precept; here a little and there a little." And so we learn God's ways.
But we have to know that He is a Spirit and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. We must approach Him in that way. We cannot go on in this scene as the world does, or even as they did in the Old Testament. We find oftentimes in the Old Testament characters who were cited for their faith and yet they told lies. Perhaps they thought to save themselves. In the New Testament God has come out. He is a God of Light as well as a God of Love, and in Him is no darkness at all. That is not in keeping with our position here. The world has an expression, "The end justifies the means." But that is not true in what the Lord has given to us. He does not want our conniving to further His ends here in this world. He wants us to approach Him in faith. So He tells the woman, in John 4:23, 2423But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23‑24), "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." When He speaks of truth here, I believe we might say it is in the absolute sense. It is not the sense, "in the main it might be true, but in details it might not. It could be a little shady." No, it is not anything like that. "Must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
Here we have the Lord introducing the fact that there is going to be a change. Turn to the gospel of Matthew and we shall see this change spoken of in chapter 16.
In the 13th verse Jesus raises the question, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" in verse 14 the disciples answered, " Some say that Thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." But none of them really approached the truth as to His person. The natural man cannot see that. So, He said to them, "But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The Lord there speaks of something future. He says, "Upon this rock" (that is, the confession that Peter made as to His being the Christ, the Son of the living God the Christ that was the Rock upon which this Church was to be built) "I will build My church." So we see that it was yet future. Sometimes you may pick up a paper written by one in the Christian world, and they speak about the Church. They want to take it way back into the Old Testament. They will say, "Was not Isaiah a Christian?" Well the Christians were those who were the followers of Christ after He came. No, the Church was yet future.
We also notice here that Peter is called blessed. I do not know of any other man in the New Testament who was called blessed. I think it is well to notice here though, that in this same chapter the Lord had to speak to Peter in a rather severe way.
Peter must have been puffed up a little bit about what the Lord said to him. And, you know, we can't stand very much without the pride of the old man asserting itself. So in verse 21, the Lord spoke about His going to Jerusalem to suffer many things and be killed, and be raised again the third day. "Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee." Peter takes it upon himself to rebuke the Lord and tell Him, "No that is not the path You ought to take. You are too valuable here with us; You should remain with us." So the Lord had to turn to him. He recognized where that came from. He recognized the source of it and so this most blessed man is now told, "Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Peter here stooped down to the level of man. He was on a high position; God had revealed to him the truth concerning Christ and now he sinks down to the level of man and looks at things from the human standpoint. He had to be told, "Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me." So it is possible for the most blessed among the people of God to get down to the human level and speak perverse things that are not to the glory of God. Peter had to be rebuked!
Now, in chapter 18, we have the Lord beginning to reveal to us what He was about to do. He again speaks of the Church in this chapter, one of the two times, I believe, that we have it mentioned in the gospels the Church. We have here a case of difficulty coming up between two disciples and the Lord tells them a certain procedure to follow. They were to go and speak to him and take two or three witnesses. If they were not heard—if there was no yieldingness on the part of the one spoken to —they were to tell it unto the Church. So here we have the Church again spoken of. Is it not humiliating to think that the second time the Lord speaks of the Church it is spoken of as a place where difficulties should be settled amongst us by those who are His. They constitute the Church as we may see later on, and here difficulties can be settled. Now we will see how it is that they can be settled. Verse 20: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." Here He gives us a simple thought concerning the Church. He says, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." He is in the midst! That was His promise. It is said, in connection with this man who would not hear the Church, "Let him be as a heathen man and a publican." Why was that said? Because he had despised the Lord in the midst.
I would just like to mention the divisions in this 20th verse. "Two or three" there is the divine number, the minimum number, we might say, the divine number of His disciples. Then we next learn, "are gathered together." Oh, there is a divine power of gathering. They do not gather together voluntarily. It is the power of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God does this gathering. So, "are gathered together," is the power of the Spirit of God—the divine power. Everything connected with this verse is divine. Then we have, "together." There is the unity which is formed by the Spirit of God. It is not union; it is not binding ourselves together with some kind of an oath or something of that kind. But the Spirit of God brings together and unites together, as we will see farther on. So, here is this unity. Then, "in My name." There is the authority divine authority. Things in this world, you know, are done largely by some name endorsing them.
Here we have, "My name." There is the divine authority. There could be no higher authority than that —My name. Then, He says, "There am I." There is the divine presence. We have to be gathered together. Not only that, but there has to be a divine center to whom we are gathered. So, He says, "There am, I." Then He says, "in the midst of w them." So here we have the Lord speaking to us in this wonderful way of the Church, how it is gathered together brought together by the Spirit of God, and that the Lord is in the midst. I believe that we do not contemplate enough the presence of the Lord in the midst!
Brother Potter had a verse from the 89th Psalm framed and put under the clock on the wall in the meeting room. I suppose he thought it was a place we would look quite frequently, so he had this verse framed as a text and put there. Psa. 89:77God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. (Psalm 89:7), "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him." He wanted to call our attention to and to ever keep before us the fear of the Lord. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be 'had in reverence of all them that are about Him." One wishes we could keep that more before us. I realize that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, and oftentimes the flesh is not kept in the place of death and human thoughts come up with us as they did with Peter. But is is a wonderful thing if we can be brought to realize that the Lord is in the midst. And, that if we do certain things contrary to the fact that He is in the midst, it is a most solemn thing!
We could not, for instance, knowingly go to another nearby meeting simply because we did not like the way the chairs were arranged, or something like that. I believe that would be despising the Lord in the midst. And, if for any reason we did not like what was going to be brought up and we went elsewhere, I believe that would be walking disorderly. It tells us in 2 Thess. 3:66Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6), "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition" (or the instructions) "which he received of us." I believe that should exercise us. The Lord is in the midst. And, if for some reason or other we choose not to go to a certain place on account of something there which displeases us, we are setting ourselves above the Lord in the midst and above our brethren.
In the Old Testament, in connection with the gatherings together of Israel, the seventh day was prominent obligatory. In the New Testament there is a new beginning. The Lord was in the tomb on the Sabbath Day but He was raised from the dead on the first day of the week. And we see the prominence given to this first day of the week in the New Testament. I remember one time talking with a Seventh Day Adventist. He was bemoaning the fact that Christian people in general observed the first day of the week instead of the seventh day of the week. He was blaming that on Constantine, the one who lifted the Church from the place of being the persecuted Church to a place, as it tells us in the address to Pergamos, "where Satan's seat is," that is, in the world. He blamed him for inaugurating the first day of the week as the day on which Christians should gather together. I asked him, "When was Pentecost?" He knew enough to look it up, and he looked back in Leviticus and found that they were to number seven Sabbath days, and, on the morrow after the seventh Sabbath, they were to bring out of their habitations two wave loaves baked with leaven and offer them to the Lord. So he said, "It was on Monday, wasn't it?" I replied, "It wasn't Monday, it was the first day of the week." Well, he was going to have to ask somebody about that.
Now, turn to Acts 2. Here we find the day of Pentecost, which means fifty—the seventh Sabbath and one day following. The Lord was risen from the dead and ascended and the disciples were together. The overruling hand of God, I believe, brought them together that time.
You know, in the Gospels, the disciples did not seem to enter into the things the Lord told them. They seemed to take them in but very little. But the Lord told them that after the Spirit of God was come, He would bring to their remembrance those things which He taught them. We find that the Lord ascended in the first chapter of the Acts, and He had opened their understanding to understand the Scriptures; yet the Spirit of God had not come. Still it is nice to see that there had been progress with them. In the first of the Acts they seemed to show more intelligence than they had previously when He was here and so they can turn to the Scriptures and realize that someone had to be chosen for Judas' place. So they choose one. They acted on the principles of the Old Testament and chose this one by lot. (I do not doubt that the Lord guided that lot.) After the day of Pentecost, though, when the Spirit of God came, we find an entire change in their lives and the power in which they were able to speak. The Spirit of God had become their power of testimony as the Lord had said.
So here they were together, "all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." The Spirit of God came upon them, that was, we might say, the birthday of the Church the first beginnings. We are told in 1 Cor. 12:1313For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13), that, "by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." That took place here, on the day of Pentecost.
I would like to turn now to 1 John 1 and consider just a few verses to show something that had transpired when this great event on the day of Pentecost took place. Notice the first, third and fourth verses (the second is a parenthesis): "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life." That is speaking of our Lord as He came into this scene in human form. They had seen Him, they had heard Him, they had touched Him. Then, the third and fourth verses: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may he full." I particularly wanted to call your attention to this third verse, "That ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." We were saying that when the Lord was here they did not seem to enter into the things He was teaching them. Afterward though, after this day of Pentecost came, something took place which had never taken place before. They were introduced into a fellowship, a fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. He brings that before them. Well, I believe that took place on the day of Pentecost. I just call that to your attention.
Now turn back to the second of Acts. The apostles had been preaching the gospel and numbers were converted. We read in verse 41: "Then they that gladly received His word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." It tells us, "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship." In the New Translation it is turned around, "they persevered in the teaching [doctrine] and fellowship of the apostles." It was the doctrine and fellowship of the apostles. It was that which the Apostle John was speaking about years later—about this fellowship. So it tells us that they continued steadfastly in the doctrine and fellowship of the apostles. Well, the Lord would have us "continue steadfastly in this into which we have been brought, and truly there is no fellowship like it. There is nothing in this world to compare with the fellowship that He has introduced us into!
So, here, they continued steadfastly. Oh, we should endeavor to keep out anything that would mar this fellowship! We are told in Ephesians to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." This is the unity which is of God and He would have us use diligence to keep this unity in the uniting bond of peace. We should not seek to introduce things from an argumentative standpoint or anything like that, just to hear an argument. I remember a story Mr. Potter told about a man who used to be in fellowship in Chicago. Afterward he got away and became the vice-president of one of the great railroads. I believe it was the Milwaukee Railroad, with offices in Minneapolis. One time Mr. Potter was up there and a brother took him around to see this man. Mr. Potter was a little man and this man was a big man. So, when he saw Mr. Potter, he threw his arms around him and just lifted him off his feet and said, "I have a confession to make. Back there on 81 Clark Street, where we used to meet, I confess that oftentimes I said things in that meeting just to see you fight." Well that was not endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
So here we have, "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship." Then it mentions the breaking of bread and prayers. It has been said that when one gets cold in his soul, the prayer meeting is the first meeting he neglects. I believe it is true. The prayer meeting is really a source of our power being before the Lord in prayer collectively. So here they were, continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship. Of course in that day they did not have a New Testament in their hands as you and I have today, so they were dependent upon the apostles to bring before them the Word of God. Sometimes the question is raised, "Why in Corinthians does it not say something about reading meetings?" Well, I believe that they did not have the New Testament in a volume then; they probably had very little. They may not have had any New Testament scriptures, but there were prophets in that day in the assembly who could give to them the mind of the Lord and they evidently did read the epistles as they came to them. And so there were no instructions as to that, but we do get something about them later on.
So here we have the Lord in the midst, as it is said in Ephesians, "Builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." And when we meet together in that way, we are, "builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." The Spirit of God is here. The Church is looked at as a house in two ways: one with God as the builder, and the other, with man as the builder. Where it speaks of it as being builded together for a habitation of God, that is as we see it today. There may be some false material in it but, nevertheless, God owns it as a place to dwell.
We have been speaking about His desire to dwell among His people. I would like to turn to one more scripture that is for this present dispensation. We know that in the time to come, the millennium, there will be a new center upon the earth. I was thinking particularly, though, of what is beyond that. Turn to Rev. 21, the first four verses: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death; neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
Now we have passed beyond the present, "little while." The Church period is gone, and the millennium is gone. But here we still have that desire of God to be among His people. We have here a scene of new heavens and a new earth. Former things have passed away. We read in Peter about the earth being burned up, the elements melting, and new heavens and a new earth. So here we get new heavens and a new earth. And here, also, He is still expressing that desire to be among His people. All in this new scene, as we have described here in these few verses, are those who are His. They are no longer in bodies like we have now they have been changed. Evidently there will still be a heavenly people and an earthly people. So we have here the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband. The new Jerusalem is seen in the millennium and spoken of as the bride of Christ, but now a thousand years have passed by and nothing has changed. How often was there change in the earthly histories; how often failure had come in in one way or another and blighted what was so fair and promising at the beginning. Well here is the new scene. For a thousand years it has been the bride of Christ and it is still the same as it says here, "Coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
Now, just this word, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." That tabernacle is, I believe, the Church the redeemed. And He dwells in that tabernacle; He dwells with men. Is it not wonderful to see His thoughts concerning poor, fallen man and hear what His redemption has done for us? "Made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Here we have His purposes concerning us, and they go beyond this scene into eternity.