Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Head of the church.
I.
Cry great.
Sweeter the same thing.
That could make.
All my eggs all day.
My heart.
I love you.
My God.
He's free and unto us.
And.
When the Lord and pray Lord can't hear, you can't hear no doubt.
I'm not believing.
Ephesians chapter 4.
Verse 4.
There is one body.
And one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling, 1 Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all who is above all and through all, and in you that are in us all but unto every one of us has given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Now that He ascended, what is it all but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might feel all things.
And he gave some apostles and some prophets, and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints.
For the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love.
00:05:30
May grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplier, according to the effectual working, and the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work, all uncleanliness with greediness, uncleanness with greediness.
But ye have not so learned Christ.
If so be that you have heard Him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
And that you put on the Newman, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil.
Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands, the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needed.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed under the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
Permitted to give a few additional thoughts on the keeping of the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond peace, and I trust it will not be perceived as lacking in love, as we have been admonished in this chapter to hold the truth.
In love or speaking the truth.
In love, there is such a thing as independency.
Independency would be that when an assembly has acted in the name of the Lord, that we have the notion that we can in other places rejudge the matter. That's independency.
Or that we would not break bread of either side when there is a division that's also independency?
And we don't have to think very far to realize when these things have manifested themselves among us, then there is such a thing as neutrality.
Both of these principles deny the unity of the spirit. Neutrality would mean here there is a division occurred and we act as if no division has occurred. We take a neutral position and receive from both sides.
This is how my relatives, my grandparents and my beloved brethren on the continent got off the line ground.
So this kind of thing touches me personally very deeply when I see this same notion manifesting themselves amongst gathered things over here. Now we might make mistakes, beloved brethren, but then let's confess these mistakes and not act as if we have not made mistakes. Keeping the unity of the Spirit would keep me or anyone else.
00:10:21
Individually or any assembly to act independently of any assembly.
Gathered to the name of the Lord in any other location. And it also would keep me from neutrality, because in both cases I would ignore the authority that the Lord has vested in the local church. So I thought I would be permitted to add this to the thoughts already expressed, keeping the unity of the Spirit, now the verses that we have read.
Give us.
Three circles.
And you have the inner circle inverse 4. Then you have the sphere of profession which is larger. That includes everyone. That name is the name of the Lord, everyone who professes to be a Christian. And then you have the universal circle. And we have to recognize these three circles because our conduct in connection with those in these various circles.
Is very important to understand how we conduct ourselves and what our responsibilities are when it comes to the inner circle, which has to do with the truth of the body of Christ and then the truth of the Christian profession and God.
As the source of everything, Who is the God and Father of all, that includes all mankind, but it concludes with the statement.
In all of you there is all of the believers.
It's important that we recognize these various circles. There are responsibilities connected with each one of them for us.
Make a few comments.
To sometimes the way we present the truth, it almost comes across as though an assembly's decision is infallible and unchallengeable. Well, that's pokery.
And assembly is not infallible. It has authority. I, as a father have authority.
But I'm not infallible and I've made many mistakes.
And so each one who's a father here can admit that the government has authority over us, but it is not infallible and it does make many mistakes. So how does a wrong decision on the part of an assembly get corrected? Well, I think the the fact that we are one body.
Supplies the answer. We all have an interest in what takes place.
Every assembly and for instance, if an assembly should decide to receive to the table those that denied the eternal sonship of Christ.
Would we be bound by that? That's that's a wrong decision. We would have to remonstrate with that assembly and point out how they had violated the Scriptures. The final authority, of course, is the word of God, and if they held to it.
The end result of that exchange of correspondence and visitation or whatever it is, would end in another assembly. Disowning that assembly is no longer being a true expression of the Church of God, of the House of God. And so I just wanted to bring that side of it. And I also wanted to mention too, maybe some others can make more comments that when an assembly makes a decision, it does so not only for itself.
I think this was the error error of Shrewsbury. They made a decision to protect themselves and then they left it up to other assemblies to follow suit. Whereas the principle that we see from Scripture since that we're just all one body is that when an assembly makes a decision, that decision binds all other assemblies. But then comes the question, as we I brought up, is what happens if?
It makes a very wrong decision. Well, there's ways. There are resources within the body and in those of us who are part of the House of God, and to remonstrate and to ask them to to review and to present scripture to them, and seek to awaken the conscience if if they have done done wrong, which is possible. Mr. Darby takes that up in a number of his letters, many of his letters.
00:15:28
But the resource is not, as Heinz has just brought before us, for me to independently and individually rejudge the case myself, or at a distance and on my own authority, set aside what the assembly has done. That's independency, and that is not the way it should be handled. The responsibility lies with the assembly that has made the decision. If it's a wrong decision and that's been pointed out to it, it is responsible.
To rectify the wrong decision and to correct it as a as a parent. If I made a decision once I disciplined the wrong child because I had didn't have sufficient information. And so I went to the one that I had disciplined and apologized. They said I made a mistake, I shouldn't have disciplined you. It was the other one. So I was not infallible. And if we make a mistake, I think the way we presented, sometimes it sounds as though that decision is.
Irrevocable only if it's according to the mind of God, and that's not for me to judge at a distance. But if it's done something that is clearly a violation of Scripture, then that should be corrected. We should not remain in fellowship with no one evil. And if an assembly decides to refuse to rectify a very obvious wrong decision, you can see it from Scripture.
Maybe it's a doctrinal issue. Then that assembly may have to be dealt with itself and disowned. So there's there's there is a remedy for a mistaken action on the part of the assembly, but it's not the the unscriptural one of each one independently judging. But I think we have to be careful that we don't set up the idea of every assembly being autonomous and not having to answer to any other, any other assembly.
You get that principle in Israel. If you hearsay that in a certain city they have gone after other gods, then thou shalt search and look diligently. And if the thing be certain and be true that such an evil has been committed, then that city is to be to be judged. So there there are principles that we get from the Old Testament as well as the New that to help us on these matters. Sometimes the way it's presented, it sounds as though it's just so cut and dried.
But there are resources now in connection with, say, the last division at Nepean. A letter came from another assembly and they said, quote, nothing will satisfy our consciences but the judgment of another assembly. UN quote, that's wrong. That's wrong. Another assembly has no authority to come in and overturn the judgment of an assembly. They can appeal to that assembly, they can present their concerns for what they've done and so on, but it's still up to that original assembly to say.
Well, we made a mistake. We'll change it or we stand by the decision. And if they stand by it, unless it's positive wickedness, I'm not talking about that in this case. It had nothing to do with that. It was a question of judgment on an individual, a very simple judgment. It was just the silencing of an individual brother, and it wasn't a question of something that was fundamental. And So what do we do? We bow to that. We bow to it. Whether we agree with it or don't agree with it, we submit and bow to it.
I hope that's helpful to.
To distinguish between that kind of thing, that an assembly is responsible to deal with and fundamental error or fundamental evil, or say an assembly has no one adulterers in its midst and will not deal with it. Are we going to remain in fellowship with that? We would have to look into that and and judge it if they refuse to judge it themselves.
Might be helpful also to make one other observation is the difference between.
Putting evil away and separating from evil.
To put evil away, you need authority.
To separate from evil, you don't need authority. An individual does not need authority to separate from evil.
00:20:02
An assembly can put evil away, remove the wicked person from among yourself, but individual can't do that. He separates from evil.
And in the case I was thinking of an assembly that refused and it was a clear issue of say we'll use something denying the term sonship, we just separate from them. There's no authority to put away.
An assembly. One assembly putting away another. But there is the simple instruction of scripture to separate from iniquity.
All these additional thoughts, so no assembly has authority to administratively deal with a matter in another assembly and.
That is contrary to Scripture. What happened in the recent problem is that not only did they want to question an action, they wanted to prevent an action that was under consideration.
To my knowledge, I never heard of such a thing amongst readers, that there was ever such a case where people wanted to stop an action that was under consideration, and that there is no scriptural support for taking over responsibilities, administrative responsibilities in another assembly. But if that assembly allows evil, and they do not judge that evil, then they can no longer be recognized as in fellowship. But that cannot be done.
By an individual, It has to be done by another assembly, as it was done in Bexhill in England. That was exactly the way the matter was handled. But the independent spirit is so rampant amongst Christians and it's really open brethrenism that every assembly sits down and judges any disciplinary case. And then they might side with the assembly that has acted. Or they might.
Not side with the assembly that has access, but that principle is open brethrenism to rejudge a matter that occurs in another assembly. We don't want to have anything to do with that. That's not supportable by the word of God. And let's beloved brethren face these things squarely and realize that that has been the issue. And unfortunately, in some local assemblies they took an independent position.
Would not break bread with anybody. And then eventually they decided themselves to be back on scriptural ground. How an assembly can take itself out of fellowship and then by their own action put themselves back in fellowship is beyond me. But, brethren, we have to be faithful with each other to point these things out. Because we make these mistakes. Let's acknowledge them as mistakes and confess them before the Lord that we get delivered from that kind of a principle.
And the whole idea that another essentially has the right to rejudge things, Let's refuse them, because if this continues to fester among us, at least to further trouble.
Mentioned Brother Heinz, you had mentioned the Open Brethren. I'd just like to. I don't think many either. I think many here do not know what their principles are.
It's very simple. They at at Plymouth, England, they had a man, DW Newton, that taught very fundamental wrong, evil doctrine on the person of Christ. It was so serious that George Mueller, who was one of the leading pastors at at Bethesda.
He said that if that doctrine were true, Christ would have needed a savior himself, and it was a blasphemous doctrine. Bethesda took the position that they should condemn anyone that came with that doctrine, but if they came from a meeting where that doctrine was taught and preached and tolerated like Plymouth, as long as that individual that came hadn't imbibed the doctrine.
Himself He was not leavened, and he was to be received.
That's the principle of Bethesda, that they received one that came from a meeting where evil practices or false doctrines were taught and held. But they said, as long as the individual who comes hasn't imbibed it himself, he is not defiled by his association with that evil teaching from the meeting that he is at those known as Exclusive Brethren.
00:25:05
That's the name that these others gave to us and we didn't mind that title because.
It means to exclude evil. And that's the principle that those known as Exclusive Brethren acted upon. They refused anyone that came from 11Th meeting. They said that they are leavened by that. And the Open Brethren principle is you're not leavened by it until you have personally imbibed the teaching. For instance, in First Corinthians 511, Little leaven leaveneth the whole Dutch lump. The Open Brethren teaching is that you have to become a fornicator yourself.
Before you're leavened, as long as you're in fellowship with one and you don't fornicate, you're not leavened. And that's wrong. That's a wicked principle. The principle of indifference to being in fellowship with that evil is worse than the evil itself. It's worse than the evil itself, the principle of indifference to it. And that's Bethesdaism. They were indifferent to that which touched the glory and person of Christ.
And they said you could have fellowship with that. Does that happen amongst us? I'm afraid that there are some that read ministry that denies the eternal sonship of Christ and they still are in fellowship. And that shouldn't be you should not read that which is fundamentally evil. What you say, you might say. And this was the argument of Bethesda. These, these brethren are sound in the faith and they know all these truths and they don't hold that evil truth.
But they come from connection with it and if we read that.
And even though we don't believe it ourselves, we are very dangerously close to being in that very position where the the leavened one from Plymouth was. We should not, the scripture says touch not the unclean thing. I remember speaking on this once and I spoke to a young girl that was in the front row and I said here's 100 chocolates. One is deadly poison, the others are all good. Have one.
She said no thank you.
And that's the principle. We don't read ministry. We shouldn't read ministry that contains, or the author of it has written to deny fundamental truth, like the eternal sonship of Christ. I won't touch that. I might have some of those books in my library locked up so no one can get to them. So if I have to refer to them, I will. But I don't read them because they've got poison in the. And I think that's something we should be very careful about.
I was wondering, could you read Hagee Eye 212 and 13?
Haggai, 212 and 13.
Now he wants me to read it, because I've got the microphone. Haggai 212 and 13. If one bare holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage or wine or oil or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priest answered and said no. Then said, Hey, guy, if one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priest answered and said it shall be.
Unclean. And here we have the principle that association with evil defiles.
Only one side of open Bradronism, the association with evil, does not defile. The other side is that they reserve the right to judge for themselves matters that have been adjudged in another assembly, and that's characteristic of them. And we will not accept, and should not accept that principle.
That's the principle of independent, autonomous meetings. Each one answers to God, to the Lord, the head, but not to one another. But we answer to one another. So when an assembly takes an action, it does it for the whole body, doesn't it? And if there are objections and they voice those in a scriptural way, that assembly should respond and gives scriptural answers for why it's acted as it has, but still it has the authority to maintain or to change.
Its decision no one else has.
00:30:03
The number we have right here sometimes is 1 and when you do what open brother, do you go to 2-3 or two or three thousand? It's division.
I still did.
Now, yeah.
The number we have read here 7 times is 1.
That's unity. There is one body, and so on. The principle of open brethren, as we have just heard, is this assembly can do one thing, that one can do another and that one another, and that is division. That's more than one. We have one Lord. He doesn't say one thing in this assembly and another thing over at Aberdeen. It's one Lord.
These things that are being said are extremely important.
And understanding Christianity. I hope that everyone, especially the young people, young men especially, are listening to what's being said and not resentful for anything that is being said, as though it's not important. Listen. And if you have let your mind wander, I suggest you get a tape and listen to it at home.
Brother Hendrix, you mentioned the house God. Would it be helpful to explain the difference between the house and the body?
Gordon will help us out.
Well.
Well, I was just going to say in the beginning, I expect there was no difference because there was reality, and so the House of Profession and the body of Christ would have been the same. But when Profession came in, then it became, as it's described in Second Timothy, a great house where there were vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor. And so when we come to Second Timothy.
All those in Asia had departed from Paul. That doesn't mean that they had given up Christ.
But they had given up Paul's doctrine, and so Paul has to say the Lord knoweth them that are his. He was not saying they were not in the House of profession. They might have been real believers, but separating from the vessels to dishonor was separating from their evil teaching, which was attacking really the foundations of the faith, saying that the resurrection had passed already. And so in the body of Christ there's only reality, and that's what we have in our chapter here. There is one body.
That's the fact that's always true, because everyone who has received the Lord Jesus as his savior.
Had received the Spirit of God is baptized by 1 spirit into one body, so that's untouched. It's always true. But the thought of responsibility comes in, in connection with the house, and so when it becomes a great house, there is responsibility as to who we associate with and that's what our brethren are bringing before us. I also was thinking too in connection with what is said. Some may think that's a matter of pride.
It's a matter of submission. It's not a matter of pride. I believe it's pride to exercise my own will.
It is submission to act and obedience to the Word of God if I decide to act contrary to the Word of God.
Saying that my will is more important than what God has said in His word, and I think we need to realize this because.
Sometimes there is the feeling that, well, I don't want to be proud. Well, I am proud if I make my own will, the guide of my conduct. I'm submissive if I make the word of God the guide of my conduct. And God requires that of us. Let's turn to a passage in Second Corinthians.
00:35:03
I think it's the 10th chapter.
Two Corinthians 10.
And verse 5.
Might just read the first one.
As it is in the margin, casting down reasonings and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, So we have to have our minds subject to the word of God. That's the path of blessing The human reason is always trying to find a way of avoiding.
The path of obedience.
But that is not what brings blessing or is to the glory of God.
Attempt to answer this question, Brother Gordon, about the difference between the body and the house. In this way, Brother Gordon has brought out some differences already. But what I feel the difference is, is that the body has to do with our edification of building up ourselves in law. Discipline is not so much the function of the body.
That is the function of maintaining order in God's house. It's his house. Holiness become a sign house for God forever. So discipline and oversight is connected with the house aspect of the church. We wouldn't alienate or separate that aspect from the body of Christ because we are one body. We recognize whatever has been done for the glory of God to maintain order in any local assembly. We recognize it everywhere.
But I believe there is one distinct difference that when you, for instance in Timothy read of the House of God in order you have oversight there, you know you have the elders there. They take the lead in disciplinary matters. They watch over the souls they're responsible to answer to God. That is connected with the house aspect, not with the body. You see, the truth of the body of Christ has been used, misused in this recent trouble to justify interference.
That we say that we do not want and recognize members of the body of Christ. But it was a misuse because the body function is primarily for the edification, encouragement and comfort of the Saints are building ourselves up in love. And the gifts have to do with the functioning of the body like we have here in the 4th chapter, those 3 gifts that we still have that's in connection with the body truth.
Of the Church and the House of God. Since it is His house, since he is holy holiness, become a thine house. Discipline has to be exercised in that aspect of the truth of the Church.
15X15 We have a good case to call our attention to, and that is these Jews. Some Jews came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and they said, except you be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses, you cannot be saved. That was doctrinal error trying to put the Gentiles under law. Now there were two apostles up at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas. There was a competent assembly there gathered to the Lord's name.
It could have decided the issue there, but it didn't. Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem, the very place from which the error had come, and it was decided at Jerusalem that maintained unity in the early church. Had it been decided at Antioch, a Gentile church, the error came from Jerusalem, a Jewish church, a division would have come in.
And you would have had a Jewish and a Gentile church. God prevented that by this decision being made down at Jerusalem from where the error had come, and it was decided in the power of the Holy Spirit. Another case in point is when the Samaritans heard the word of God was preached and they were in John and Peter went there.
And preached to them they did not receive the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans didn't until.
There were those that had come from Jerusalem and laid their hands on them. That is, God prevented A Samaritan church being separate from Jerusalem, the Jewish church, and that there was enmity between the Samaritans and the Jews, and he prevented that. So two apostles went from Jerusalem to Samaria and the Samaritans when they received the Holy Spirit. They couldn't say we received the Spirit independently of Jerusalem.
00:40:12
Nor could those at Jerusalem say they are an independent church. There was that fellowship that was expressed by the apostles going there to Samaria. So how careful God was to maintain unity in the early church? These are examples that we should take heed to in in in the decisions that are made, so that unity is maintained and division does not result.
We were told this morning that there is one body with an absolute.
The antithesis, or the opposite view of oneness is, as we've had pointed out this afternoon, many bodies.
In the first chapter of First Corinthians, where sectarianism is taken up.
In verse nine it says God is faithful by whom we were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ. That is the one body.
And now we have in verse 10 the highest authority that can be named upon us.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
I beseech you, brethren, that by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you speak the same thing, that there be no division among you, that you'd be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. So if we bow to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ invested in the local assembly, we are going to avoid the sectarianism and the division that is a result of man having his own way in passing his private judgment.
On that which an assembly has done, the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ called upon us to speak the same thing. And if we do not speak the thing, same thing, we have missed the mind of God.
We have these three circles then here don't we endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. And there is one body that's reality as it was mentioned, and one Lord, one Faith 1. Baptism Profession 1. God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all that is in the sense in which it is found in Acts 17. It says in Acts 17 for we are also his offspring. He doesn't mean that unsaved people are in a relationship to God as their father.
But it's the thought of God being the source of life to mankind. He's not the He is the source of life to the lower creation. But he has never spoken of as being in relationship to the lower creation. But he is in relationship to man. God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. And so man has a God conscious part to his being.
His life is from God himself and he is God conscious. That's what it means here when it says one God and Father of all. But then when the verse ends by saying in you all, when we are born into the family of God, no God is our father, then it says in you all that's only believers that it's talking about in the latter part of the verse. Because by the Spirit of God indwelling us we can say have a father.
We can know God as Father. I've also enjoyed this little thought. I just mentioned it in connection with these three verses.
That it's beginning an introduction of what follows. The testimony that God has raised up and the provision that he has made is in relationship to these three circles that we read of. That is, there are those who are gathered to give expression to the truth of the body of Christ. There is the mass of profession, and then there is all mankind. And God has made provision. He has laid the foundation of the truth.
He has given apostles and he has given pastors and teachers. He has also given evangelists and the Lord Jesus said, go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And so I think it's very beautiful the way it's brought in here, bringing us these relationships which we can know and the responsibilities connected with them, but also the testimony to the truth of God.
00:45:09
In this whole world, whether it be to those who know who are really in the body of Christ, have a measure of truth what their actions should be. To those who are in the sphere of profession, what their responsibility is, because that everyone that name is the name of Christ depart from iniquity, and then the responsibility of those who have the knowledge to spread it and spread the gospel that others might be brought in, I think there's a beautiful.
Unfolding here that.
Shows us what the Church really is in the world and its response.
Many spirits, many hopes.
They all say 1, Lord.
Many faiths, different baptisms.
How that would contrast with what we have here. It's still true. There's only one, as Clem was saying before.
One is repeated over and over and over again, and that's how we can test what we see around us, the confusion that has come in.
Into the House of God.
Not the Great House. There's no such an expression found in Scripture as the Great House.
The House of God has become like unto a great house. It's still the House of God in Second Timothy, but it's become like unto a great house confusion. Whereas in First Timothy it's the House of God in order, in Second Timothy it's the same house in disorder, and it's like to a great house. We had that before us last year when we were here.
Lord loves these people.
And he's given what's necessary to go on and walking according to the vocation with which we are called. So he says in verse 7 Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. He doesn't give a gift, and then not give grace to use it rightly.
Not only does he not give grace.
Give the gift without giving the grace. The gift itself is an act of God's grace. Who are we? We are those that were nothing bankrupt 500 pence debtors and had nothing with which commend ourselves to God. His grace picked us up. So if one has been given.
A line that is helpful to the Saints of God. It's God's grace that gives it to him, and that's the character in which that gift of grace should be administered.
And, I might add, if my heart is in communion with the heart of the giver, I'm going to rejoice in the gift.
Regardless of who it is and where it's exercised, communion with God's heart rejoices in the blessing of God amongst men, regardless of through whom it comes.
God has called us to do something well, He'll give the grace to do it.
And that's why it says no man goes to warfare at his own charges. I've always enjoyed the thought not to ask ourselves, can we do it? But does the Lord want us to do it? Because we might measure our own strength and say, I think I can do this or that and utterly breakdown if we're trying to do things in our own strength, but if God has really called us to do something?
He's not going to say I want you to do it, but I can't give you the grace and strength to do it. He is going to supply that, just as when one joins the services, immediately he becomes the charge of those who have taken him to be a soldier. Isn't that a lovely thing? So to every one of us sitting in this room, whether brothers or sisters, we can ask ourselves, what is the place that I have been given to fulfill in the body of Christ?
And if the Lord has given us that place, He's going to give the grace needed to fulfill that place in a way that honors him.
Whatever the service may be, difficult or otherwise, he's able to give the grace that's needed to carry out that service.
00:50:06
That makes us dependent on him and rely on him. Keeps us from boasting, keeps us humble because we know we can never do these things if God didn't supply the grace needed to do them.
This instruction about using that gift.
From brethren we get it. From Christ he is the head.
And he's the one that gives a gift and the grace to use it, and we are to go to him.
For the place that we are to fulfill.
Being sent forth by the Holy Spirit went forth. The assembly does not send anyone out, it's the Spirit of God that does.
Ask the Lord about John. What shall this man do?
He just said, if I will, that he tear till I come. What is that to thee? Follow thou, me, Peter. You don't need to have to. You don't need to know what John is going to do.
Think that when Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem already the scripture referred to in Acts 15 that they got their marching orders from the church. But Bill War here corrected me on that some time back, he says. We never find that anybody gets marching orders from the church. We don't find that in Acts 13. You know they were sent out by the Holy Spirit.
And we do not really read.
That they were sent by the church in Antioch to the church in Jerusalem and from Galatians chapter 2.
We know that Paul went up to Jerusalem by revelation. You see, he got his marching orders from the Lord. You know, by revelation he went up there, and we read that they went up to see the apostles and elders.
And he took the matter up with the apostles and elders in verse 6.
Not with the assembly.
In other words, not everybody in India simply is supposed to get involved in the argument. That's for those whom God has raised up to be in the place of lead and responsibility. Now the assembly is not kept out of these matters because we read in verse 22 That it seemed good to the apostles and elders and the whole church. When exactly the church was brought in is not clear, but from verse 22 it is clear that the church was brought into.
The situation and the important point I want to stress is that the matter was not taken up by the church, that was taken up by the apostles and elders. You read that clearly that they were going there to see the apostles and elders, and it was taken up in verse 6 by the apostles and elders. So this democratic idea that exists in Christendom has been picked up, unfortunately sometimes among those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, and they think that everybody has the right to give his opinion.
And it leads to a lot of confusion and unprofitable discussions. And they even think sometimes that it is spirituality to have hours and hours and hours of discussions with everybody there. That is, I do not believe in order that we see in the word of God. It's the responsibility primarily of those who God has raised up in the position of oversight. And although we don't have official ones today, we still have those.
Who serve in that capacity? And you can see how that use is used by the enemy. Unestablished babes in Christ get thrown into the conflict. No wonder that they're being scattered far and wide. It's the enemy's suggestion to bring everybody into the discussion of these matters. That is not godly order.
But then when the decision is arrived at the churches involved, it says.
In Acts 1522, then pleased at the apostles and elders with the whole church.
To send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas surname, Barsabbas and Silas chief men among the Brethren, and they wrote letters by them. After this manner the apostles and elders and Brethren send greeting to the Brethren, which are of the church Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Celestia, and so on. So the assembly is brought into the decision, but it isn't involved in all the details and the making of it.
00:55:25
Right. We also have, though that the assembly does not teach right. It doesn't add its authority to the truth of God.
Say though that the ones who went out there, Barnabas and Paul, it says in the 13th of Acts, and when they had faster than prayed they and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost. It's true they were sent forth by the Holy Ghost, but they received with the laying on of hands the fellowship of their brethren in what they were doing.
And so in the end of the 14th chapter, when they returned, we can see that again.
Acts, chapter 14 and verse 26. And these are the same two persons, Paul and Barnabas, and sent sail to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
And there a bold day. There they abode long time with the disciples, so they went out with the fellowship of their brethren. And when they came back it says that they had gone forth being recommended by the brethren. So there's no such thing as independence in the things of God, is there? It's a great and important thing that we should walk in harmony. As long as the truth of God is maintained, of course.
It isn't the unity of the Spirit if there is any sacrificing of the truth of God.
But we see a godly order that God has established, even as to those who go and serve in fellowship with their brethren in their work.
Together, you know, we do not all preach.
We do not all preach the gospel or teach and give ministry to the Saints, but in having the fellowship of our brethren, we are laborers together, You know, We all have fellowship in what the Lord is doing.
Through whoever he raises up.
Very important that we emphasize that the Church does not teach.
To tie a tire of the Lord's complaint is thou sufferest that woman Jezebel to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, sacrifice to idols. There was a wicked woman system there which teaches we we often hear. What does your church teach? Well, the Church doesn't teach, it is taught. It is taught by the gifts that Christ gives through the word of God and the authority.
When you talk about the authority of truth, it is the word of God. That's the authority of truth, that the assembly is the pillar and ground of it. It is to maintain the truth as it is taught the truth by by the Lord himself, the head of the Church. He teaches to gifts that he gives, and then the Church is responsible to maintain that truth and to uphold it, and to exercise discipline where necessary, where that truth is violated. But the Church does not establish what the truth is. The Word of God does that.
I think it's important what has been said about.
Going out committed from one place like Barnabas and Paul.
Because.
Those who go out, they might have as evangelists, save souls. And where are they going to lead them? Commonly in some big parts of the house, it's it's taught go to the Church of your choice. Well, that's contrary to the teaching of the Spirit of God.
So God's order is to, as we have here, the gifts to be given from the ascended head on high to go out from a local assembly and if there are converts, they can bring them back to that local assembly. It's very important principle, I believe independency would say, well, you just go where you please after you're saved. But that's not, that's not the keeping the unity of the spirit at all.
01:00:28
Nothing. To have one foot in an assembly and then you can go where that assembly is exercised and help. But just to go out yourself, I don't believe. And as you say, then they can be brought in and into the truth. The Lord may send you on a longer trip and you may have opportunities, but you don't deny that. But still, when the real work is done, it's.
We're responsible to an assembly, but I don't like to work without an assembly or out from assembly. Just had our brother John Kemp with us, and I'll say that I look upon him as an evangelist with the feel of the whole world, and I like that. But he used a simple illustration. He said in a drawing class in your school, your children will have a compass, and when they want to make a circle, they put the point in one place and the other thing goes all the way around the full circle.
That's what you're saying. One put in the assembly and the world is the field.
For the evangelist, and then to bring into that assembly and in the assembly.
Be nourished and cared for by the pastors and teachers that are there. And in this list we have 5 gifts which we will have until the Lord comes. But the first two we only have. I refer to the the apostles and prophets. We only have them in the New Testament writings. There are no living apostles and prophets as such.
The prophecy we have in a different basis but.
The apostles are gone and the writers of this book are gone, but they have laid the foundation and pull himself, says I, as a wise master builder have laid the foundation. Now Christ, who is the builder, saying I will build my church.
Doesn't keep on laying the foundation. He has got that work done. That's basic.
And then you have falling down the left evangelist, and that's a worldwide work, but connected with the local assembly. Then when souls are brought in, you have the two succeeding guests, the pastors and teachers. This is.
Christ's way, building the church and nourishing and cherishing it. It's very simple if if you want to study the model of the Tabernacle.
And I recommend it to everybody because it is true, typical teaching.
And that building was made of boards that were stood up on.
Sockets of silver.
Now the boards were covered over with pure gold.
And they were placed on 2 sockets of silver. It's a it's a good figure of everyone of us.
Who have been cut down from the world like those trees were, and give it a new standing. And it's on the basis of redemption that we are able to stand at all. And in this book stand withstand having done all to stand, but not alone, because those boards had on each side 5 bars and you study it out. There were two bars at the lower part of those boards which correspond to the apostles and prophets who laid the foundation.
Now you study out the wording of those bars.
And the middle one was the one that went all the way through the sides.
Each side had them, and everyone of us has been touched by an evangelist.
Whether we realize it or not, by reading the book, I just delight and I've often found.
People who have been saved by just reading a Bible. But where did they get that Bible? Somebody printed it and then somebody sold it or gave it to them. And there are those who preach too. And every one of us have been touched by an evangelist. That bar went all the way through the whole side. Then up at South of that building with the boards, there were two more bars there, the pastors and teachers, and they're the ones to teach the teachers and the.
01:05:06
Pastors to shepherd so that these five gifts is sufficient. We have the three that are living.
I was thinking as in our verse 11 you're mentioning the evangelists and pastors and teachers and so on.
In Acts 11 it's interesting to see the order there, and this goes on in verse 20 of 11. Some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch, spake under the Grecians preaching the Lord Jesus.
Now these are evangelists. This is the gospel preaching. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned under the Lord. And then the tidings of these things came under the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. And now we have the follow up work. You know, it's nice to see that happen. Some when the seed is sown, follow up that word.
And then it says, Who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Now we have the pastor's work right here, purpose of of the work among the Saints that are saved. And then it says in verse 25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul. Now we're going to have the teacher.
The work of the Teacher coming in and verse 26. When he had found him, he brought him under Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the assembly or church and taught much people and the disciples were called Christians, first at Antioch. And so then you have all of them involved in this, first the Evangelist and then the I like the thought of follow up work.
And the pastors and the teachers and finally prophets are brought in.
Which is a gift which passed in that sense, but the prophecy today.
I was wondering if we just noticed a little bit about what went before there in that passage. When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. We know that there is a teaching that when the Lord Jesus died, he went down and took the Old Testament Saints out of Hades and brought them into a place of blessing. But that's not the point in the passage at all, is it? He thought is that the Lord Jesus went into death?
And I was if we turn to Judges, we see in the 5th chapter of Judges the mention of this. I'd just like to notice a couple of verses.
Judges chapter 5 and verse 12.
Awake. Awake. Deborah. Awake, awake. Utter a song. Arise, Barack, and lead thy captivity. Captive thou son of a Benoit. And then if you would turn to the 68th Psalm, you would find.
Where the IT mentions this in the 18th verse of the 68th Psalm.
Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast captivity captive. Thou hast receive gifts for men. Yeah, for the rebellious also that the law, that the Lord God might dwell among them. And could we turn to just one other Scripture in Hebrews chapter 2.
And verse 14 For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood.
He himself likewise took part of the saying that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death.
And deliver them who through fear of death, where all their lifetimes subject to *******.
I believe this is what the spirit of God is taking up here. First, it's applied to barracks. The children of Israel were in captivity under this king who was oppressing them. And then the Lord raised up Barack and Deborah, and they went out and delivered them. And the very man who was keeping them in captivity was himself taken captive and put to death. And so the people were delivered.
01:10:06
And this is applied to the Lord Jesus in the 68th Psalm, that he led captivity captive, and then it's extended he gave gifts unto men. We can see the thought in this, I believe, from the passage there in Hebrews that Satan was the one who kept men in captivity. He got Adam's ear in the garden of Eden, and he kept manning captivity through his lust. And when he presented himself to the Lord that he said, all the kingdoms of the earth are mine and dooms whoever I will, I give it.
He was the one who was holding men in captivity. But the Lord Jesus went into Satan's strongholds. He went right down into death. He bore our sins. He rose triumphant. And now isn't it wonderful who was going to proclaim the victory that had been won in Israel? That they might know that the one who held them in captivity was himself taken captive and was banished? He was dead. Why?
Unbearable with this song and tell the people that a victory has been won and they could all rejoice in the liberty that was theirs.
I think it's very lovely the way this is taken up in Ephesians chapter 4, where he shows that the Lord Jesus has has gone into death. He's risen again, he's at the right hand of God. And who has he provided to proclaim his victory? Rebellious sinners like you and I, saved by his grace. Now he has given that and not only the evangelist could tell of salvation.
But everything to tell the results of that victory, the apostles and prophets who laid the foundation, the teachers, the everything that is necessary, the shepherding care. This is all from the person who has won the victory. And he has raised up gifts to rebellious people like we were saved us by His grace, like he saved the apostle Paul. And now we have the privilege of proclaiming this victory. I think it's lovely, the context in which that comes in, in our chapter, because.
Before introducing the gifts that we have been speaking about. It tells us how all this was accomplished through the one who has gone into death. And now we're not afraid of death. Death is ours. It belongs to the believer. We'll never meet God as a judge. Our sins are gone. What a place of blessing we've been brought into. Well, the Lord would have us to know and enjoy these things, wouldn't he?
Question I'd like to put forth it. Brother Buchanan, you mentioned that the.
Evangelists, the pastors and teachers remain, but the apostles and prophets do not. And in First Corinthians chapter 14.
We have that expression verse 29. Let the prophets speak two or three and the other judge. Maybe you could help us there to understand the difference.
Yes, it's quite important.
Profits in First Corinthians 14.
Is identified what they do in verse three, First Corinthians 14 Three the prophecy we're talking about in this chapter 14 is this. He that prophecy us speaketh unto men through edification, exhortation, and comfort. And we have this prophecy today, and it's telling forth, rather than foretelling and laying a foundation that ought to be clear to us and.
Rest the supply that we have.
From the pastors and teachers and prophets.
In First Corinthians 14, whereas the.
Prophets and apostles that we're talking about in the 4th chapter of Ephesians are found in Ephesians 3.
Ephesians 3.
Beginning to read with verse 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery that Christ in the Church, as I write, wrote a four and few words, whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge. And the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known under the sons of God, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
01:15:27
Now, these are the writers of the New Testament. They're not Isaiah and Elijah and so on.
But they are apostles. The Lord chose 12 of them when he was on earth, and then he chose Paul from heaven to bring us the Church truth so that we're clear on the apostles but the prophets.
In my own thinking, might be Luke and.
James and Jude who were not.
Apostles. At any rate, the foundation is the New Testament writings which we have which.
Which Paul was really the last of the apostles and completed the subject matter of the book. Let's go to Colossians chapter one and see how.
Paul was really the last of the apostles. He had to be because he says he feels full the word of God. There's no more subject matter to write after Paul.
And so in Colossians 125, Paul says we're of I am made a minister or a servant according to the dispensation of God, which has given me for you to fulfill or to fulfill the word of God. So going back to what we were saying in Ephesians 4 with these foundation gifts, they were the apostles and prophets.
Who completed the word of God and they don't run on. Someone commented about the fathers in first John Two that maybe we should turn to that you can't go beyond Christ and Christ is fully revealed.
First, John two and verse 14. I have written unto you Father, because you have known him that is from the beginning. The full revelation of Christ that God has given is complete by the New Testament writing. And that's foundation truth, and it's not to be added to but on that.
The evangelist goes forth and brings into that foundation.
And the foundation is.
Lee and the Great House that.
A great house has been mentioned, seems to run beyond the foundation. We must stay on the foundation. But Christ in his goodness on that foundation which is laid in the New Testament writings, uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to nourish and cherish the Church.
That from Ephesians 220. You may have read it and I missed it, but are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And that's the same ones you read about in the third chapter. And whenever the prophets are mentioned with the apostles it's a foundation gift. And like you mentioned Luke and James and Jude, they with the other apostles wrote the New Testament. That's the foundation. But in First Corinthians 14 you don't get any apostles ever mentioned.
The prophets there are of a different character than foundation gifts.
It might be also helpful to compare, or to at least distinguish between the nature of the gifts here in Ephesians 4 that they are to the entire Church of God where the gifts recorded in the 14th of First Corinthians function within the local assembly.
Could we also say in one John four and verse four we have what you've just been Speaking of in connection with the authority connected with the ministry of the apostles and prophets, First Corinthians, first John four and verse four. We are of God. He he that know of God heareth us. He that knoweth not God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. There's no brother or sister here that could say that of himself.
01:20:13
But the apostles minister the truth of God, inspired by the Spirit of God.
It has been written down for us and we receive it with divine authority. To reject it is to reject the authority of God, isn't it?
Saw that what is spoken of in first John four and verse six, these are the apostles and prophets. We hear them. That's the word of God to us, the New Testament foundation of truth. But today, as in First Corinthians 14, as our brother has said, we're thankful for those who minister the truth, but they only do it on the authority of the written word. We have no personal authority.
As apostles and prophets today.
Thing in First Corinthians 14 that we do not have today and that when anyone received a revelation, the others had to be silenced and had to be given precedent. In other words, they didn't have the word of God complete in those days and things were communicated to the church by revelation and we don't have that today.
And knowledge we still have, like Paul says in First Corinthians 14, If he wouldn't speak by revelation or knowledge and so on, he couldn't be of any profit to them. Now this is important for us who do not have revelations. You know, we have to familiarize ourselves with the truth of God. We have to take the truth in for ourselves and thus gain knowledge of the truth of God. And then at any given time the Spirit of God can use that for blessing.
To others.
So if we want to be of help to our fellow believers, and especially when we come together to have a reading over the word during midweek meeting, if we don't know that scripture, that is going to be up for reading. We better familiarize ourselves with it so that we have something to give. Because sometimes we have the mystical notion connected with the leading of the Spirit, as if the Spirit can open things up to us that we have never.
Occupied a mind with and have made a diligent effort to familiarize ourselves with. And this is important for us to understand. If the Spirit of God wants to use us or should use us. He can only use us if we have made the truth of God our own so that we can pass it on for blessing to others. And that doesn't necessarily mean that we read ministry before the reading, but at some time in our life.
We have had to be in that passage in order that we can expound it and pass it on for blessing to others.
Could we could could we just say too that in connection with these gifts that Christ gives these gifts to men and so these men are gifts and so would it be right to say I just like the correct crap? One thing I think it's important to see that to have the fellowship of the assembly is nice, very nice, but not necessary. God the defended Christ gave these gifts.
They were not dependent upon the assembly to send them out. They were responsible to Christ and Christ alone, and I think that's important to see.
Assembly doesn't send them out. The assembly can have fellowship with them in their service, but they they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost. But it is nice that we have the fellowship of our brethren and we see two things. I think that showed that they had the fellowship of their brethren in Acts chapter 13. That is, it says they had already approved themselves. There was in the assembly, not as there was in the assembly. That was at certain prophets and teachers.
And we find that Paul and Barnabas were 1/2 of these. They had shown that they were fitted by how they had exercised their usefulness in the local assembly. Their godliness had been shown by their what now? The assembly is happy when they go.
01:25:01
And they have fellowship with them, but they don't send them out.
Necessary, but it's nice.
But this way we are not the servants of the Church, but we serve the Church. If led by the Spirit, we become their servants, but we are not hired by them. We don't receive our marching orders by them. We are not the servant of the Church, but we serve them if we are led by the Spirit and by the Lord Jesus to provide spiritual needs to the same.
And I believe someone has made this distinction and that might be helpful for some to understand the difference between the.
Teacher, the Shepherd and the Prophet.
The teacher directs himself to the intellect.
To the spiritual intelligence of the person, the shepherd directs himself to the heart.
And the prophet to the conscience, you know, prophecy.
As we have it today, deals with the needs and conditions of God's people and gives ministry food in season. That is, I believe, the way we have to understand prophecy today. That has to do with the condition and needs of the people that is being met by the prophet. And it might be correction, you know, but it also might be encouragement and comfort, you know, and it might be and we.
Certainly know from Scripture that the fool despises correction. We already need that at one time or another that we need to be corrected, and the profit is the most difficult gift to exercise amongst God's people today. You know, a teacher might come and teach in an assembly certain truth, not so much meeting the needs of local conditions and local needs.
But the Prophet, I believe is discerning the need and gives meat in season and it is not popular because many times he has to expose a worldliness and spiritual needs that exist among God's people. And we should not suppress prophecy, you know, we should accept it. It's not a popular thing, but it is a very needful thing. But these gifts mentioned in Ephesians.
Are men that are given as gifts to the church by the exalted Christ. Their sphere of service, if they have such gift, is universal. You know we find more the local church functioning in Corinthians. Not that we do not have more than the local church, but primarily the local church functioning in its spiritual manifestations within the church. But Ephesians 4 gives us gifts that have the.
Sphere of.
Ministering wherever the Lord leads them in any assembly. Now that is even important for the shepherd. Just imagine a shepherd coming to an assembly and has the gift of a shepherd and how he can help individuals in that assembly without taking over the administration of that assembly, but He can help them in their spiritual needs. What an important gift that is.
The teacher linked together in this portion.
That really these two things belong together, but they are not necessarily together in the same person. But Paul certainly had them all. You know, he was an evangelist, he was a shepherd, and he was a teacher. But I think we all readily admit that what we need more than anything else is the shepherd. See is really discernment by the Spirit of God.
It doesn't mean you know the needs of the problems, but many times if it is prophecy of the spirit of God, there's a suspicion that someone told you, which isn't true, but that's the way it is and someone told you the problems and it's it's good that we do not know all the problems, but the spirit of God does. That would bring in prophecy doesn't to meet those needs and touch their conscience, can we sing #256?
Lord, Lord, or keep us pleading to thyself, and still believing till the hour of our receiving promised joys with thee, #256 Parades the Savior.