Dear Brother,
I have felt constrained to write to you on the solemn subject so deeply connected with the honor of our Lord and Head, to which— alludes.
“Most blessed forever” as He is, we might well wonder how He could be affected in any way by our acts down here; but since He has on the one hand, eternally linked us with Himself—yea, while it is said of each of us “he that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit,” even the intimate union between husband and wife only shadowing as it were, that “great mystery;” and the blessed Lord’s appeal from heaven to Paul— “why persecutest thou me,” astounding the latter with the announcement of this, to us, most precious truth, that “Christ and we are one:” on the other hand, the grave responsibilities which such a wondrous and mysterious union with the Christ of God lays upon us, might well make us exclaim— “who is sufficient for these things?” and keep us more and more in daily watchfulness and dependence. Ceasing from our own wisdom, and confessing that we are: “not sufficient of ourselves to think anything, as of ourselves,” in the sense of this utter weakness, we realize by faith that “our sufficiency is of God.” Now, beloved brother if you give the wondrous subject of our union with the blessed Head, and union with one another, serious and prayerful consideration, you can scarcely fail to see how the acts of one member affect the whole body, remembering that precious statement in 1 Cor. 12:2727Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (1 Corinthians 12:27)— “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular;” and that touching expression of the same truth in the “one loaf” — “we being many, are one loaf” (see translation— “one bread” in the text 1 Corinthians 10:1717For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:17)), even as we are “partakers of that one loaf.” [How wonderfully this truth gives point to that other statement, “Know ye not, that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” —1 Cor. 5:66Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? (1 Corinthians 5:6), alluding to immoral conduct, and the same words in Galatians referring to wrong doctrine.
Now beloved, all these solemn and precious truths show us, that association holds a deeply important place in God’s sight, and no matter how unconscious we may be of such or how pure we, may take it upon ourselves to consider one another or even how remote we may deem the association—God is the judge and He says that even “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” It will be no excuse for any of us before Him, bringing in the plea of “love to our brother.” “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments.” This divine love, beloved brother, and we must love one another in God’s way, NOT in our own. We must beware of the spurious imitations which Satan delights to see God’s own dear children boasting of, while the precious name of Him “that is holy, He that is true” —by the widespread indifference to association and the practical denial of the “one body,” which prevails in the present day—is so dishonored. “Those Brethren,” so called, have as a body refused to “purge out the old leaven,” and nothing remains for each faithful member, faithful to the blessed Head who has been so dishonored but “to purge himself from these.” What very solemn words are those of Christ— “I would thou wert cold or hot.” Oh, may we be hot, beloved brother, for His glory and honour.
If you want to judge this question fairly, beloved, in the sanctuary, you must take your eye OFF “Brethren” and fix it singly and simply on Christ.
Yours in our blessed and glorified Lord and Head...