John 1:38-4338Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. 43The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. (John 1:38‑43)
We were dwelling last week, beloved brethren, on the divine object, which was found in the blessed One. He was John’s object, and it was the delight and personal satisfaction of his heart, in Christ Himself, that was the power of attracting others to Christ. That was the subject which occupied us, when we were together this night week. And now, there is another subject in this same chapter, which is closely connected with it, which is greatly on my heart to bring before you this evening, namely, that the same Christ who is the divine object to faith, is also the only divine center. He is the center, as he is the object. And there is a further glory of His too, to which I would hope to call your attention, another time, and that is, that He is the divine path. For He is, blessed forever be His name, all three things. He is the true object, He is the true center, and He is the true path. And think of all the blessedness summed up in those three things that we find in Him even in Himself. And observe, that changing time, and events, and circumstances on earth, can never, in the least, interfere with all the substantial reality of these things. We may change, we do, as a matter of fact, alter; we may deteriorate, and our hearts may get cold, and our feet may get off the line, and off the path; but the path is there, the line is there, all the same. And here, I doubt not, is how the mistake is made so very frequently, that when the poor, wandering, wayward feet, do get off the path and get off the line, Satan tempts the straying one to think that the center is gone, and the line is gone, and the path is gone. It is just one of his wiles and snares, that when he has succeeded in dislodging our poor feet from off it, he would fain persuade us that the whole thing is broken up, whilst, in reality, we have turned aside. We have left it, if you like, we may have given it up; but this abides, Christ is there, the thing that we left is there, unchanged, and unaltered, and unalterable forever.
Now, it is on this blessed subject of Christ as the true center, that I desire to speak; because he was the center here, the center of the gathering of this remnant. I quite admit that historically this remnant found here, did not, in their apprehension of Christ, go beyond the fact of His Messiahship; they were gathered to Him (speaking now of what the exposition of the scripture really is) as the Messiah, that is, they owned Him in His Messiahship. That is very clear. But then, there is a great principle of grace here, a great comfort for our hearts, which has a peculiar cheer also for us, namely, that, if we accept Christ, we accept all that is in Christ, and we have all that is in Christ, although we ourselves may perceive but the very smallest part of His glory, and take in but the very least part of His glory; still, if we have Christ at all, if Christ is our center, if we have accepted Him as such, we have accepted all that Christ is. We may not apprehend it, but it is impossible to take away from the fulness that is in Christ, and in having Christ, we have all that Christ is. That, I repeat, is an immense comfort for the soul, an immense solace for us all. So we may say here, though this little feeble remnant, which they were, only apprehended Him in what we may call the less part of His glory, that is to say, in His Messiahship, still they accepted Christ, and were gathered {together} to Christ as their center; and all that Christ was, blessed be His name, was there for them.
But there is more than that in it. Christ accepted this place. And think what a comfort that is, beloved friends, that He was pleased, in His grace, to accept it. It was not only that they were brought there, gathered there; for in truth, John attached them to Him, and it was the effect of John’s ministry that did gather them to Him; it was the supreme delight of his heart in Christ Himself, that did attach them to Him, but Christ accepted the place of center. And you find his acceptance of it, in those sweet and blessed words which He spoke, when they came to him. Mark the question. They asked Him a most interesting question; they say to Him, “Where dwellest thou?” not, where do you pass by? or, where may you be seen, or, where we catch a passing glimpse of you? but, where do you abide, where is your settled abode, where do you dwell? He says, “Come and see.” He accepts it, observe. That was His assent, His own blessed and precious acceptance of the fact, that they were looking out for a continuance with Him; it was not a mere passing moment of His company they wanted, but the longing desire to abide with Him, and they did abide with Him; when they came and saw where He dwelt, “they abode with him.” Of course they did, we may say with all affection and reverence; He detained them. Could He do anything else, than detain the heart that came to Him and asked to see where His abode was? They remained with Him. He was their center, He was the One that was before them as such; and He was the One who accepted that place of center too, through his wonderful grace; He assents to that place, and accepts it. There is nothing said about the place itself. I believe it was a place without name or title, or anything that could distinguish it. As to his own surroundings, we know what his own blessed path down here in this world was—that He was a stranger in the scene, He had not a place where to lay His head. A manger when He was born, a cross between two felons at his death; and between the two, no place to lay His head; He had nothing. A most affecting reality for our hearts. I have often thought of it lately, and dwelt upon it in wonder, even that the poorest of His sheep, the poorest of Christ’s own in this world, have more than He had. There was none upon earth, neither was there amongst the sons of men, any who was in circumstances of strangership, and pilgrimship, and poverty, as He was; alone, we may say, both in His life and in His death; in His birth, in His life, and in His death, “the Lord of glory” was alone. And therefore, as to the outward circumstances of His path and place here, there was nothing in them, save lowliness and poverty; there was nothing of man or earth to distinguish them; but there was a precious attractiveness about the Person whose circumstances they were: They abode with him”; He was everything. He kept them, as He drew them; He detained them, as He both won their hearts and attracted them; He engaged their affections, and He delighted their souls, and there they stayed. But it does not go beyond that. I think it well we should carefully note and observe the true meaning of each passage; here it does not go beyond, in the literal unfolding of the passage, the remnant’s acceptance of the Messiahship of Jesus. That was the character of the testimony, and that was the nature of the reception they gave Him. And therefore, observe, I am only using the scriptures now, in order to set forth in scriptural illustration, that which is very distinctly brought out in other scriptures.
Now I will ask you to turn with me to a scripture or two, so as to bring this great truth, of a divine center, down to ourselves now. And the first scripture that I will ask you to turn to, for a moment, is in Matt. 16:13-1613When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:13‑16), “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Now mark, beloved friends, how far we have got beyond the truth of the Messiah-ship of the Lord Jesus Christ, precious and wonderful as the grace and the glory connected with His office as Messiah are; but we have got far beyond that now in this scripture. If we have come to the Christ, the Son of the living God—and that revelation made known by the Father, and not reached or attained by any mental process of man, or reasoning of man, but a divine revelation from heaven concerning His Person—see how much we have advanced.
And look at the moment this was brought out too, for it is all important. There were all kinds of curious speculations afloat, about the Lord Jesus Christ, at this time. Men were debating about Him, disputing about Him, reasoning about Him and speculating about Him. The speculations that were in the minds of men about Christ, are in minds about the truth to- day; there is nothing new in these things. Men always speculated, and always reasoned. If they reason about Christ, they will reason about His truth. If they speculated about Christ, they will speculate about His truth; there is no difference. Men reasoned about Christ in His day, and speculated and talked about Him, just as they do about the truth of God now; they reason about it and speculate about it. It is just the same, there is no difference. And if the holiest of all subjects, even Himself, did not prevent that rude intellectuality which marked man then, neither does His precious truth; it is not safe now, any more than His own Person then. It is just the same thing. One said one thing, and one another; and very little was there in any heart, of care as to who He was. Because I suppose it is not too much to say, whether it be Christ, or the truth of God, in proportion as either His Person or His word becomes a mere subject upon which the mental process of our minds is allowed to work, the preciousness and the soul-delight of it are gone. There is no surer way to destroy everything like real soul-enjoyment of, and feeding upon Christ, and upon the word of God, than to subject it to the microscopic process of our own poor, wretched, miserable brains; it is destructive of everything like real profit by, and comfort of, the scriptures. What a profoundly blessed moment when we sit down, with the precious word of God and truth of God, to feed on it! What a different thing that is to merely occupying our carnal minds by scrutinizing it, or examining it, or treating it as a subject to be looked at, as it were, with a microscope, just as a person would investigate science—but to sit down really to be fed by it, what a different thing! and this too in the need of our souls, yea, in their deep need. Now you see there is not anything of that here; as to the blessed One Himself, it was all nothing but speculation and curious inquiry.
Now it is very precious to the heart, and comforting too, that the Lord says this; it is the Lord who raises the question, observe; it is not Peter’s question. It is not Peter who asks the Lord anything, or that Andrew asks Him anything; not one of them; but the Lord proposes the question Himself—“Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” It is a blessed thing to hear Christ Himself beginning to bring out all these things, but it is Christ who does it; it is not man who brings them out, it is the Lord. And therefore, He it is who proposes the question the bringing of them out, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” He must have it out is the secret of this question of the Lord, “He could not be hid”; blessed, precious reality! It was as if He said, I will initiate it, I will propose it. Just as the blessed God did in the case of Job; it was not Satan began with Job at all. God said to Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job?” It was God who proposed the subject, just as Christ proposes the subject here. And that question elicited just where they all were. There was curious inquiry, and speculation, and reasoning, and gossip, even about Him.
And now mark further, He says, “But whom do ye say that I am?” He brings it home then to the narrow circle of the disciples. It was not merely the wide circle of men generally, but He brings it home now to the personal circle with Himself—“Whom do ye say?” How solemn that is! Think of it. The Lord would have this out, and have it out from us too,—“Whom do ye say that I am?” And then you get from the man that was taught from heaven, taught of God, by a revelation from the Father, those precious words, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Oh, what a confession of His Person and glory! what a foundation too, and center of this great superstructure that He Himself was about to raise, was that! Before He says a word, mark you, before there is a hint even about that, before He gives a single utterance as to what was the eternal purpose, and what He was about to do now, the center of it all, the foundation of it all, in His own blessed Person, stands out so blessedly here—“The Christ, the Son of the living God.” How blessed, beloved friends, to look at such a center as that. Oh, what a comfort for us to think, that such an One as Himself is the center, that He is the foundation. The foundation of what? I suppose we should all own, gladly and willingly own that He is the foundation of our souls’ hopes for time and eternity; but here it is the foundation, beloved friends, not of an individual, but of the church. He is not merely the foundation of our soul’ hopes—thank God, He is that; and a great deal more beside, for who could say all He is?—but it is here the foundation of the church, the foundation of the assembly; that upon which the assembly, His body, the church, rests; He is the divine basis upon which the whole superstructure, that He rears, stands. I say, what a comfort that is! I think it an unspeakable comfort in these moments, when everybody is looking at the outward building, and looking at it too, as it is crumbling in the hands of men, to be free enough in spirit to turn and look at the foundation. Oh, let us dwell much upon the foundation; and not only let us see the eternal stability of the foundation, but let us think of that building upon which no man’s hand is lifted up, but which Christ builds.
What a mercy, in any degree, it is to get our consciences, hearts, and souls filled with this divine center, and this divine superstructure. I quite admit the existence of that which man builds; I quite admit that solemn evidence of failing responsibility, and nothing shows man’s utter failure as a builder more than the present state of the house of God; that was indeed committed in responsibility to man as a builder, but any one who ever thought or imagined that anything, but failure, could come out of his operations, must have but a poor scriptural knowledge of what man is; in very truth, man never touched anything, man never put his finger upon anything yet, that he did not leave upon it the mark of the incompetency of the being that touched it. There never was anything that God ever set up, upon this earth, and committed to the responsibility of man, in any measure, or any way, that man did not utterly break down, and fail in respect of it; and whether you take the church now, or anything that formerly was committed to human responsibility, you will find the same thing. There is nothing new. What is said in this world, as to history, is true as to the history of man. You have, no doubt, often heard it said that “history repeats itself”: man, I say, repeats himself; man also repeats his ways; nothing is more sure than this, beloved brethren, that man is ever the same. The history of the ages declares plainly the solemn fact, in relation to every part of the responsibility, with which man has been entrusted by God. You will always find it is the same sad issue—failure, failure all the way.
Take, for instance, the creation. Before sin entered at all into this world, when God made everything, and delighted in what He had made, and rested in what He had made, and looked upon all that He had made, “and behold it was very good,” God could rest in that creation then, the fruit of His own skill and handiwork—and now, that very creation is groaning. Why? Man has been in it; creation groans because man has been at work in it. He was entrusted with headship there, it was placed under him in headship and responsibility and all creation groans. Mark that passage—a most instructive passage for our souls, that: “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” And why? It was made subject to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who hath subjected it, that is, Adam; Adam subjected God’s creation to vanity; Adam was the head of this creation, and was placed in responsibility in, and headship over it, and the whole scene partakes of the consequences of his failure. Hence we find it groaning, and it is groaning now. It is the same thing in regard to all else. If the church is committed, as a responsible testimony and witness, to man, and he is placed as a builder in it, it is the same thing—incompetency, inability, failure, break-down—just the same sad story. But then, what a rich comfort for the heart is this, that there is a sphere in which he is not allowed to enter at all; there is a sphere in which he builds nothing; there is a sphere in which he does not add one stone to the superstructure. That is what Christ builds, not only what Christ builds, but there is the foundation upon which Christ builds, and there is the center of that which Christ builds, which He Himself is—and that is what we have here. Before ever He speaks of the building, He reveals—and from heaven too—the foundation and the center. “Thou art the Christ.” Peter was taught of God, a revelation from the Father; not a development of his own mind, not an evolution of his own mind, but a distinct revelation from the Father in heaven; a heavenly revelation from God to Peter. It is that which Peter confesses. How magnificent it is: “Thou art the Christ,” thou art God’s anointed One—“the Son of the living God.”
And now, mark, beloved friends, further, for a moment. Just look, in reference to this center, and this foundation, at v. 17: “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.” “Flesh and blood.” Some people think that flesh and blood can do anything, that flesh and blood is competent for anything, that flesh and blood is equal to anything. Flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee; as if He said, This communication is outside the range of flesh and blood. “Flesh and blood,” of course, means man as he is constituted down here in his present state and form: he is not competent to take in God’s revelation, he cannot unravel it, he cannot know it. (Cp. 1 Cor. 2:11-1611For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:11‑16).) And more than that though I do not dwell upon it now, not merely is there this revelation from God Himself, but, if you will carefully look at the scripture, you will find there is the Holy Ghost that dwells in us, to give us power to understand the revelation; not only is there the revelation, that God Himself has been pleased to make of His mind, in this precious book, but the Holy Ghost dwells in us, in order that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God. Scholarship will not do it, the most acute perception of the mind of man, the clearest head, cannot reach God’s revelation. If it could, it would not be God’s revelation. If God’s revelation were within the range and scope of the natural faculties and power of the human mind, it would cease to be the revelation of God. Being the revelation of God, it must be understood by Him who is God. Just as He is the communicator of it, He is the One by whom alone we can understand it. I know this is not palatable to this reason-loving age; people do not like that which makes nothing of them. Man does not like that which puts him outside altogether, and makes him merely a recipient; but it is the truth of God, and the meek will say, with all their hearts, Thank God, it is so. The true heart, that is taught of Him, glories in it, delights in it; adores God. for the perfection of His grace and wisdom in the whole matter.
Now further, mark this, in connection with our subject, not only was the center outside of the range of human ken and human thought, but observe these words: “I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church.” Here we have the superstructure, the building, and Christ the builder, and the revelation of what He was about to do. Here is the church mentioned for the first time: “Upon this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” How blessed to think of that! Such was the nature of the foundation, such the nature of the center, such the nature of the corner-stone, such the nature of the whole of this marvelous and wonderful building that He was about to rear,—no power of man could attain to the knowledge of it, and no power of hell could prevail, in anywise, against it, so as to destroy the superstructure in the smallest or the least degree. What a wonderful and blessed reality!
And though I do not like here to refer to a subject, now causing so much agitation, still, at the same time, it is almost impossible for one’s ears not to hear the sounds that fill the air through which we pass at the present moment; why, men are agitated, to the very depths of their souls, about all the things that are coming on the earth, and all the things that are likely to happen, and the upheavings and projected overturnings of everything that is constituted; and what may yet be, none can tell: the confiscation of property, the disestablishment of what is called the church. Oh, beloved brethren, what a reality to be able to look at what cannot be disestablished, and what cannot be disendowed, and to be connected practically with what neither devil nor man can touch! Think of that. Think of the immense comfort to the soul that is, to be connected with a divine thing of which a divine Person is the foundation, and a divine Person is the center, and which derives all the strength, and all the power, and all the durability that belong to it, from that upon which it rests. What a comfort that is! Could anything be more blessed for the soul, could anything be more comforting for the soul, than to know that? Mark it well; here is that which nothing can touch; the gates of hell, the power of man, the intrigues of Satan, all the effort, and all the contrivance that is peculiar to devils, or that is found even in men—earth or hell, devils or men, cannot prevail against it.
Now mark, a moment further, as to this center. We have had the revelation of the center; and we have had the revelation of the future building, of which He was to be the center; and the foundation as well, in His own blessed Person; but now look at how this is brought about. Observe the twenty-first verse of Matt. 16, “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” Now this sets forth His death, as the basis, on which the blessed Lord would build this wonderful assembly of His. The foundation was to be His own Person. He was to be both center and foundation of the building, but was to pass through death; it was not a living Christ; the church was not built upon a living Christ, the assembly was not to be founded upon a living Christ, but upon a Christ who should go through death, who should rise again, and ascend into the heavens; His sufferings and glory were to be the firm foundation of the church; it was to be a dead, risen, ascended, and glorified Christ. And, beloved friends, for ourselves individually,—oh, let me speak affectionately to you for a moment as to this—it is just the same for our souls individually, as for that which is corporate. What was a living Christ down here upon earth, in all His blessed, gracious ways among men? He was the perfect manifestation of God in all His wondrous kindness and goodness. Never was there such grace, never such kindness, never such tenderness, never such mercy, as was seen in the Lord Jesus Christ, as a man down here in this world. But all the worse for you and me as sinners! Why, there was not a single answer in man’s heart to it. They condemned that blessed One, spotless, and precious, and holy as He was, in all His ways down here, and they nailed Him to a cross. “For my love they are my adversaries,” He says (Psa. 109:44For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. (Psalm 109:4)). Man hated Him for His goodness, and therefore a living Christ, a Christ on earth blessed and perfect though He was, the very incarnation of goodness, was a testing Christ. Man was tested. All men stood out in their true character before Him, as He was here in this world. His very goodness exposed all the vileness, and all the hatred, and all the enmity that was in man’s heart. But then, mark! a dead Christ, a Christ who has endured death, a Christ who bears the judgment, a Christ who meets all the holy, righteous requirements of a holy God upon the cross, who drank that dreadful cup, who goes through it all, and endures it all, and rises again from the dead, He is the One who has wrought atonement; atonement was there wrought by Him; propitiation and substitution also flow from this atonement which has been wrought. Here then, beloved friends, is the grand basis of our footing before God, the true and only foundation of our soul’s hopes; we need no other, could have no other. The assembly, too, is built upon His Person, as the One who died and rose again. Let me ask you, if Christ had not died and risen again, what would become of you and me? what hope should we have? Hearken to the words of the Spirit, through the apostle: “If Christ be not risen you are yet in your sins”: “if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable”; if He has not risen from among the dead, there is no foundation for our souls. It would be impossible to over-estimate the deep importance of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord brings in here, in a most distinct way, His death and His resurrection, in connection with the unfolding of this magnificent superstructure He was about to build, and of which He was to be the center and the foundation. The moment He speaks of it, He announces His death and rising again, and tells His disciples from that time, He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Suffering, killed, rising again; observe how everything here is in relation to the blessed, precious foundation, of the assembly He was about to build.
And now there is one other subject here, before we pass from this chapter, which connects itself with what has been before us; it is exceedingly solemn for us all, I mean for all who are Christians here. Look at that twenty-fourth verse: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” There we have discipleship brought in, but discipleship brought in, in connection with what? In connection with a living Christ? No, beloved friends. In connection with a testing Christ? No; but in connection with a hated, rejected, killed, crucified Christ. And observe, it is not exactly martyrdom here, it is the reality of being in Christ’s path of rejection and shame; it is indeed the following a Christ, who was the rejected One, the hated, and scorned, and crucified One down here, by all in this world. How striking, and how remarkable, that this question of discipleship should connect itself, at once, with His precious death. He never says a word about discipleship until He unfolds His death. The moment He introduces His death, the treatment He was to receive at the hands of men, His rising again from the dead or being raised up by the glory of the Father, then it is He announces the disciples’ path; then He says to His own, if any one will follow me, “if any man will come after me”; if it be in very truth a following of this Christ, of cleaving to Him, of regarding Him so as properly to form the hope and expectation of the heart, that path is the only way. Beloved, are we really set on this? Are we up to it? Are we seeking to follow a scorned, rejected, hated, crucified Christ? Is that the constant aim and purpose of our hearts? Alas, how little the world or men can see it in us; how little does it seem to be before our hearts and minds as Christians, in the true and real sense of the word! Is it a joy to us to receive the same thing that He has received? Is it an honor to us to have the treatment that was given Him, given us? Oh, how different from all our natural thoughts, how widely different! How it crosses all the purely natural thoughts of our hearts; how we shrink from the contumely, shame, scorn, rejection, hatred, despising, at the hands of the world, just as Christ received it, in His own blessed, precious ways down here. And yet, this is His path. The Lord connects discipleship with His own rejection, His own death, His own refusal at the hands of man.
Now let me call your attention, for a few moments more, to another chapter in this same gospel, which will bring the subject more directly to ourselves. In Matt. 18:19, 2019Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:19‑20), which, you will find, is connected distinctly with this, He says, in reference to prayer—shall I say prayer in divine concert?—“If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven.” For, “observe the reason,” where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Now here we have the blessedness of this center, and that, too, contemplating the very lowest conceivable state of the church’s history on earth. For I suppose, beloved friends, we cannot conceive anything smaller in the eyes of men than two people. “What is two?” “Why there are only two!” The Lord contemplates the very weakest, He provides for the very lowest, the most abject condition of the assembly’s history, in the world. He comes down to two; if there be but two. And now, think of the blessedness of that for a moment. It would be hardly possible to conceive of anything less than two poor, wretched, feeble things of the earth. Two poor weak things, what could they do? Oh, beloved, it is that very weakness which brings out the divine preciousness of those words, “There am I.” The power is in, “There am I.” The vitality is in, “There am I.” The competency for everything is in, “There am I.” The sufficiency for every moment is in, “There am I.” And, strange to say, precious as it is, that truth is just the very one we are in danger of letting slip. The very thing we are in danger of parting with; Lord, keep it in our hearts! Lord, enshrine in our affections, the blessed fact of the presence of the One, who is the center; in the midst of two or three gathered together to His name. And you will find frequently and constantly, how little even it is in the thoughts of the saints.
If there be a difficulty to be undertaken, if there be a question to be faced, or a danger to be undergone, the thought oftener is, who is a wise counselor amongst men that can help? Where is the prudent, longheaded man, that can bring to bear on the difficulty, his power of reason and his foresight? How little is the thought, “There am I,” if there are but two or three gathered together to my name. And, beloved brethren, in that thought, at this moment, there is to my own soul unspeakable comfort. There is nothing that I know of so outrageous, no greater affront to His name, no greater disparagement to His glory, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and to the ages of ages, than to think that, because these times are days of darkness, and difficulty, and upheaving upon all sides, Christ is not the same! Oh, may such a thought be forbidden entrance into our minds, may such a slight upon Christ be resented by us with all our earnestness. None but a traitor could entertain the idea of turning away from the truth to individuality, because the days are dark and difficult; none but a traitor, I repeat, would surrender the very foundation of the whole thing, and give up the preciousness and reality of the name of Christ even for the weakest and lowest condition of the church’s history upon earth;—I cannot conceive a heart loyal to Christ, adopting such a creed as that—or pleading as an excuse, darkness and difficulty, for turning aside to wretched, selfish individuality, which, after all, is only contemptible, miserable pride, self-sufficient pride. Oh I thank God for the unspeakable resource of “There am I”; a divine resource, contemplating too days of ruin, contemplating the break-up of everything outward, of everything that was once committed to human responsibility and trust; deeply solemn, as it is, at the present moment; yet there remains the unalterable power and sufficiency—for the darkest days and brightest days alike; for times of storm and tempest, as of calm—of the divine promise, “There am I.” I admit that faith is needed to profit by it; but, may I ask, what part of God’s revealed will and truth, as set forth in His own word, is of any profit, save as there is faith, so as to get the good of it? Of course, there must be faith—“the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith”—there is not a truth of God we either apprehend, or use, or enjoy, except by faith. But then, thank God, there is something to have faith in; thank God, there is an unchanging stability in that promise, as there is an unchanging stability in the Person who makes it. There is the resource of faith. Tell me when that was ever revoked; show me when He ever withdrew that; show me, in the living word of God, in the NT scriptures, any such revocation!
Search as we may, through it—into the epistles, which, describe the state of the church in the latter times and last days, where the history is brought down to the very moment we are in—and point out, if yon can, a single line of scripture that calls back that precious promise and leaves us now without it: There is none, beloved friends; it remains in all its force, and in all its fulness, and it remains through all time. And, therefore, because He Himself in giving the promise, con- templates the lowest and most abject state of the church, all the sufficiency is unfolded in His own words, words which set forth His sufficiency; “Where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I.” Yes, as the center, as the foundation, as the competency, as the wisdom, as the power: “there am I” for discernment; “there am I” for understanding; “there am I” for action; “there am I” for everything {Matt. 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)}.
The Lord give us more faith, true faith, in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, more faith in the One that says He is there amongst those gathered to His name.
And I desire earnestly to call your attention to another point; it is important that every word should get its full and clear place. He does not say, Where two or three gather to my name—that is a very different thing. He does not say, Where two or three are met in my name. He does not say, Where two or three come in my name. That would make the whole thing different: and I will tell you why; because that would connect practically the preciousness of this sufficiency, with man’s will — and it is man’s will that is distinctly shut out. He does say, “Where two or three are gathered together unto my name.” And just on this account, that as there is a center, and as there is a foundation, and as there is an object—and He who is the center is both object and foundation—so there is a gatherer, and the gatherer is as divine as the Person to whom He thus gathers. It is so blessed to see man’s will shut out. Man is ever the intruder; there is no room left for his wretched will at all; man has ever sought to intrude into the most sacred things of God. Vain man, proud and foolish man would assert himself he would like to have a door left open for him, I may come, or any one may come.
No, beloved friends, where two or three are gathered, that is, by the Holy Ghost, to that blessed, precious name, there Christ is. And faith sees Him and adores Him; faith, too, knows His sufficiency, and faith rejoices in His sufficiency, and faith refuses everything that does not emanate from Him, that does not proceed from Him.
Now nothing could be more blessed for our souls than all that; and instead of difficult moments interfering with it, they are just the moments to prove the reality of it. But there, alas! it too often happens that difficulties, and pressure and trial, and all that kind of testing, bring out how little faith we have in Christ’s resources, how little confidence there is in Himself. Just so we find it individually in our difficulties. I suppose there is not a child of God in this company here tonight that would not own the truth of this—that when you are exposed individually to difficulty, and danger, and trial, it just tests how much you have confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, and how much He really is before your soul, as the stay of your heart.
Yes, beloved friends, the danger of the church is the danger of the individual: they are precisely the same. I know many a one who has gone on ‘smoothly, whilst as yet there has been no difficulty, or stormy trial, or pressures, nothing, in fact, to cause them uneasiness, and nothing to cause them anxiety or care in their path; but the storm arose, and the wind blew, and then comes the question, how far the soul is trusting in Christ, and having the word of Christ as the stay. Oh, be assured, it is just these very difficulties that bring out the faith and confidence of your heart in that blessed Person. And so it is collectively. I believe, and therefore I confidently speak to you this evening, that the darkest moment, of the history of God’s professing church upon this earth, is the fitting opportunity for proving, and also showing the sufficiency of Christ, to the two or three that are gathered to His name; that it is not the bright moments that show it, so much as the dark moments, the difficult moments. The difficulties, and the perplexities, and the exercises are just the very atmosphere to be assured of the reality, and the preciousness of that blessed presence in the midst.
One little word further with regard to this blessed Person here, this center, this foundation. It is found in another scripture to which I will hardly more than refer, in the book of Rev elation, in order to show you how the Lord unfolds Him- self in that character to a very feeble company, a feeble few, those whom He speaks of, to the church in Philadelphia (Rev. 3). He speaks of them in the character of few, feeble, and little; but look at the way He addresses them. He sets Himself before them, and it is exceedingly interesting for our hearts to see the manner in which He sets Himself before that feeble company in Rev. 3. He says, “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.”
Now, think of the competency expressed in that communication and revelation of Himself. Look at the divine fulness set forth in that word. There is every kind of competency in that revelation of His own blessed Person, to that poor feeble company, whom He appreciated in their devotedness to Himself. But the point here is, who is the One that is before them, and in what character is this foundation and center set before them? “He that is holy”; it is a holy center, it is a holy foundation; it is a true center, it is a true foundation. I do not know anything of a more searching nature to the soul than that. It is not merely that He is a blessed, and sure, and unchanging center; but, He is a holy center, and therefore you must have the holiness that becomes the One around whom you are—“He that is holy.” You must have holiness and truth; you must have a moral fitness and suitability to Him, in keeping with that revelation of His name. Where, may I ask, is this suitability maintained? Where is that to be found which is in keeping with His name? He, the holy One, and He, the true One, and as such He is the competency, and sufficiency, and power for everything; “He opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens. He has got power; He can open doors as He pleases. You may say, “the doors will be all closed and shut.” I reply, Christ can open them. He can open; and if He open, who can close? and if He shut, who can open? Some, vainly, forever try to open all kinds of doors, and all sorts of opportunities for themselves.
How different it is to travel in company with this foundation and center, and watch for the doors that Christ opens! “He opens and no man shuts, and shuts, and no man opens.”
The Lord, in the riches of His grace, give every heart to walk, in faith, round this precious center, and this divine foundation, in all its fulness this evening, and see what there is, as to it, in the scriptures; see what there is in Christ, see what you can find, individually, in Him; see what is there for the church in its weakest moments, in the days of its greatest difficulty, in the moment of its greatest trial; see what Christ is, and can be; our resource on earth, our treasure up there in heaven. The Lord give every heart here to taste it. He can, beloved friends; if there is the least interest in any heart here for Him, if there is the smallest desire to be found in His ways, if there is the faintest, feeblest echo to His own heart’s affection in any heart here, He can open your eyes to see the magnificence of that center, to see the fulness and sufficiency there is in Himself for every occasion, according to His precious words, “There am I” {Matt. 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)}.
The Lord command His blessing on His own word, and may it reach every heart and conscience here, for Jesus Christ’s sake.