God's Assembly
Gordon Henry Hayhoe
Table of Contents
God's Assembly: Endeavoring to Keep the Unity of the Spirit
"For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt. 18:20.
"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles." 1 Cor. 12:13.
"For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." 1 Cor. 10:17.
"Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God." Rom. 15:7.
"The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Tim. 3:15. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."
1 Cor. 5:6, Gal. 5:9. (In one of these Scriptures it is applied to moral evil, and in the other to doctrinal evil.)
"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matt. 18:18.
"Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph. 4:3.
When we go back to the day of Pentecost we find in Acts 2, the beginning of the church of God on earth, as foretold by the Lord, Jesus in Matt. 16:18. There were about 120 believers together in Jerusalem waiting for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, who came down on that occasion and baptized them by one Spirit into one body. As others were saved the Lord added them to the church. "and they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:47,1-3. When the enemy first attempted to bring in evil, the Lord Himself dealt with it, and Ananias and Sapphira were smitten dead (Acts 5:5,10). The Lord showed His mind about evil in the assembly in this, but now it is the responsibility of the assembly to put away evil from among themselves. (1 Cor. 5:13).
As those in other places were saved through believing the gospel, that oneness was carefully maintained (1 Cor. 12:13), so that the Samaritans did not receive the Holy Spirit independently of the assembly at Jerusalem. Even though they had believed and been baptized, it was not until Peter and John came down from Jerusalem that they received the Holy Spirit. This same happy oneness was maintained in the bringing in of the Gentiles, for God ordered that they should hear the gospel through Peter, and then upon believing, the Spirit of God fell upon them. The assembly at Jerusalem, at Samaria, and then at Caesarea in the house of Cornelius, each became a local expression of the one body of Christ. The Church of God on earth is one, and each local assembly, if Scripturally gathered, becomes a local expression of it. The Spirit of God, who by indwelling believers, unites them to one another and to Christ the Head in glory, would (if God's order were maintained) lead them to give expression to this blessed truth in breaking bread as members of that one body.
To be Scripturally gathered the Lordship of Christ must be owned, (Matt. 18:20) the truth of the one body be the ground of gathering, (1 Cor. 10:17) the apostle's doctrine must be maintained (1 Tim. 3:15), and evil (moral or doctrinal) must be judged. There may be weakness and failure in carrying out the truth, but this is the Scriptural ground of gathering.
Now we may be sure that the enemy will do all he can to spoil such a testimony. He will use any means he can to introduce evil, to use men who are leaders to draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:29-31), and to discourage those who seek to maintain God's order in His assembly. What a powerful testimony there was to the glory of Christ in the early part of the Acts, when they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and sought to honor the Lord Jesus Christ in their midst, and proclaim His worthiness, and His alone, to others. Could we imagine them thinking then, of any other Name for salvation, or as a gathering center, than the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Surely not!
Alas we know that in the history of the Church the enemy soon succeeded in bringing in error, and the assembly as a candlestick ceased to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Saved and unsaved met together for common worship, evil doctrines were allowed, and the teachings of men were accepted instead of the authority of God's precious Word. Christianity became (as the Lord had foretold) a great tree in the earth with the birds of the air (Satan's messengers) lodging in the branches of it. (Matt. 13:31,32). Men as builders brought in "wood, hay, and stubble" (1 Cor. 3:12,13), and "vessels to dishonor" (2 Tim. 2:20), and it became a "great house." Godly men, used of God, sought to restore some of the truth that had been lost or given up, and some began religious systems with more truth than others, but not gathered according to the first principles of God's Word. We rejoice at the energy of such, but it is so important for us to realize that God's Word furnishes us with instructions for these days when the house of God has become a great house with vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor in it.
(2 Tim. 2:19-22).
The Spirit of God therefore stirred up the hearts of some about 150 years ago to go back to the first principles of His Word, and to meet as members of the body of Christ "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." We are not exhorted to keep the unity of the body, for this is formed by the Spirit of God and cannot be broken, but we are exhorted to keep the unity of the Spirit. If only two or three are gathered, not as members of a sect, but as members of the body of Christ, they can give expression to the truth of the one body. If truly gathered by the Spirit of God, the Lordship of Christ will be owned, that is His authority in their midst. Such a gathering would not be in independence of other companies who are gathered on the same ground, nor would it deny that discipline which is necessary that the holiness of God's house might be maintained. Then too, God's truth must be the ground of its existence, for God's assembly is to be the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).
We can see then, as mentioned at the beginning of the paper, that each local assembly is but the local expression in any place, of the one body of Christ, but if moral or doctrinal evil is allowed unjudged, such a company would cease to be an expression of the assembly of God. It Is therefore responsible to judge and deal with evil, and such actions will be acknowledged by all those who seek to meet on Scriptural ground.
In these last days it is important to see that, while fully owning the Lord's authority in the midst in each assembly, He has given us divine principles so that we may endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, even in difficult cases. God knew beforehand about these last days, bringing the added joys of being able to meet together, but sometimes sorrows because of how a matter is spread with travel and communications as they are, but He has not left us without divine instruction. We need never fear He will fail us if we seek to act according to His Word, for "Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it." Eph. 5:25. He is far more interested in maintaining what is for His glory and for the blessing of His people than we are, and we can count upon Him if we follow the light and wisdom of His Word. How much peace and joy we miss, individually and collectively, when we do not make His Word our guide. How often we find the apostle pleading that we "be of the same mind in the Lord." Phil. 4:2, and that we "be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" 1 Cor. 1:10, and that we "may approve the things that are excellent." Phil. 1:10. He did not mean by these exhortations that we just come to a human agreement, but that together we follow the precious Word of God as taught by the Spirit, for wisdom's ways are "ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Prov. 3:17. While fully acknowledging the authority the Lord has placed in the assembly where He is in the midst, let us not forget the solemnity of using this authority, and acting in His Name. The very thought of it ought to humble us. knowing how easily we can miss His mind if we are not in true humility and dependence upon Him, having His Word as our guide. "The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way." Psa. 25:9. What a great responsibility it is to "bind on earth" what shall be "bound in heaven", and how ready and willing we should be to have the light and wisdom of God's Word before us, to teach us His way. We also need the "supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:19), so that faithfulness and love may be combined, as grace and truth were perfectly seen in the Lord Jesus Christ in whose Name the action is taken, and in whose Name we are gathered. Undoubtedly such actions, carried out in His fear, will truly be for His glory, and at the same time they will, as the Scripture says, commend themselves "to every man's conscience in the sight of God." (2 Cor. 4:2). We are living in days of selfwill and independence, and we need to be careful that we are not affected by the spirit of the age and forget our responsibility to the Lord and to one another. It is the same Lord in the midst in each local assembly and He is able to give oneness of mind in these matters. Let us seek to keep the truth in its proper balance so that, with His coming so near, "we may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless." 2 Peter 3:14. The beloved apostle Paul mentioned on two occasions how he desired to use his God-given authority for edification and not for destruction, (2 Cor. 9:8,13:10). May we too ever have the Lord's glory and the blessing of His dear people before us! Now the Scripture shows us that a local assembly may need help in matters that come before it, and we find a beautiful example of this in 1 Cor. 7, for the Corinthians had written to the apostle Paul about certain questions (verse 1). He answered some of these questions very emphatically as the commandments of the Lord, while there were other matters on which he gave his advice (verses 12 and 25). No doubt this is a principle for us today, for a godly brother may point out some verse of Scripture as giving divine authority, while in another matter he may give godly counsel. Such help can be a real blessing to an assembly, and may be used of the Lord to clear up a difficulty.
Then again there may be a situation where an assembly may require the help of another assembly in a special problem. We find this principle in the case of which the Lord spoke in Matt. 18 which at first only involved two people. Then since those two could not settle it, one or two more were brought in, and if this failed it was told to the assembly who had power to bind or loose. This means that God's assembly has the authority to maintain truth and holiness among them. We notice however that the Lord in speaking of this authority says, "For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20). It is in His Name that any action is to be taken, and it is also very clear from the case which the Lord had just described, that more than two or three were already involved in the matter. Surely this shows us that there are cases where the help of another assembly should be sought in order to settle the case. It is the New Testament counterpart of Deut. 17:8-13, and is in accordance with divine principles. In the Old Testament God's center was a city, Jerusalem, but now in Christianity we are gathered by the Spirit to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Each local assembly, if Scripturally gathered, is only the local expression of the whole, and therefore any matter should be settled in accordance with the truth of "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph. 4:3. If the case arises where another assembly is called in to help, then the action should be carried out in harmony with that assembly as members of the one body. How could the Spirit of God lead to a different decision in one gathering than another on the same matter? If acting in the unity of the Spirit He would guide in the matter for the glory of God.
There is a definite case in Scripture which is full of interest in this connection. In Acts 15 there were some from the assembly at Jerusalem who came down to Antioch teaching that the Gentiles should be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. The assembly at Antioch could have settled this matter with the Lord in the midst, but they desired "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace", and so there were some from their gathering who went up to Jerusalem to settle it in harmony with the assembly there. They knew that if they sought the Lord's mind together (for He is in the midst of His gathered saints) He would give the right decision that would be for the glory of God and for the good of His people, and above all, in accordance with His Word. How wonderfully the Lord came in, and that happy unity of the Spirit was maintained in the decision that was made. Needless to say, if it is a question of the Person or work of Christ, and the holiness of God's house, it could not be called "the unity of the Spirit" to settle it in any other way but to faithfully defend the truth of God.
We now come to another principle in the Word as to a leprous house as found in Lev. 14:33-53. It is the provision the Lord made for His people Israel so that a house, where the owner suspected leprosy was working, could be preserved through God's gracious provision for cleansing, instead of being torn down. It would of course have to be torn down if the leprosy continued to work after the necessary steps had been taken. We are, however, speaking here of the application of these principles to the assembly and one feels there is helpful instruction for us here. We notice that the Lord in His governmental ways allowed the leprosy in the house, and it is a very solemn evidence of our low state when there is not spiritual power to deal with evil in the local assembly. However there was an exercise about this sad situation, and the godly Israelite came to the priest and expressed his concern about the matter. He said, "It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house." (verse 35). He was the owner of the house so it was his exercise, his concern. In applying this to the assembly we can easily see how godly ones in an assembly where they fear there is some unjudged evil, feel the necessity of the Lord's Name being cleared and the evil removed. In their exercise they appeal to another assembly, for we are gathered on the ground of the one body, (the same principle as in Deut. 17:8,9 only a more serious matter) and desire to have the matter cleared up. The assembly that is called in, for it is the call from the assembly in question that gives them Scriptural authority to go in, feels the gravity of the situation in much exercise before the Lord, and closes the "house" for investigation. The evil, when established, is dealt with in a faithful and godly way, and after deep searchings of heart in the Lord's presence the house is cleansed and opened again to continue as God's assembly.
If on the other hand there is no exercise in an assembly as to known evil being allowed, and no call for help to have the Lord's Name cleared such a company could not be owned as an assembly of God. Of course great patience is needed, with much godly remonstrance, and space given to repent (Rev. 2:21) before such an action should be taken.
Surely it is a blessed privilege to be gathered to the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ in these last days when the Lord is about to come, but we need to remember that there were as many porters (door keepers) as there were of those who praised the Lord in the temple. (1 Chron. 23:5). If the enemy is allowed to come in, the enjoyment of the Lord, of His presence, and praise to Him will be hindered. May we walk in humility and self judgment before Him, not following man's wisdom, nor peace at the expense of truth and holiness, but rather the wisdom of God as found in His Word. This is only learned as we are willing to bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ", in communion and dependence on the Lord.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16,17.
"Thus may we abide in union
With each other and the Lord,
And possess, in sweet communion,
Joys which earth can ne'er afford."
G.H.H.
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