We have endeavored to look at three several presentations of God's unity, and three several presentations of man's union. We have seen that God has always had a unity to which He would gather His people; and have seen also that man makes attempts of his own at union, or confederacy.
There has, perhaps, already been seen enough of contrast in the two to reveal their difference in principle. We would now, however, a little more show this difference in principle, and then consider the responsibility and duty imposed upon all who would be really obedient to God's will (2 Cor. 10;4:5).
The principle of the one is separation from evil and gathering to God on the ground of God's unity; the principle of the other is allowance of evil and confederacy on the ground of expediency. The one is Godward and centers in God; the other is manward and centers in man. The one is unity which God has constituted and established; the other is union which man, in confusion, confederates. The Holy Ghost is worker in the one; man is worker in the other.
Historically, and in fact, believers were all gathered as one upon the ground of the unity, at the setting up of the church of God as we see it in The Acts. Sadly soon, as we see by the Epistles, error came in, and confusion prevailed, ecclesiastical Babylon was set up and God's truth was lost. Spiritual darkness covered the earth. Long was it so.
God's grace came upon the scene and gave there from anew-restoration of the truth of justification by faith. Luther and others were used for this. A century ago opened the evangelistic or missionary period. A Jew men of God were used for this. Near half a century ago God restored church truth the ground of His church in the unity of the spirit, and a few of His children were used for this.
The word and Spirit of God were the power in the three restorations, and the restorations were in the reverse order of the departure-the church truth being the first lost and the last restored. So now God in grace has offered renewed, distinct testimony to His unity, and has gathered a small company-a little remnant-in acknowledgment of the name of Jesus as implying what He has done, where He is and what He is, for His redeemed people, on the ground of the unity. A precious restoration this is, out of the ruin and rubbish of the ages, and bringing to the light of day once more the ground of God's church. This stands in testimony on the one side; and on the other, the sects, and systems, and churches of man's organization, divided, yet occasionally as we have seen, allied, in a strangely confused order.
God wants His people to congregate as His unity in recognition of the corporate relationship into which by the baptism of the Holy Ghost they are brought. But they will have divisions, and disperse into sects. God says there is one body, one spirit, one endeavor, one table and one loaf as symbol of the unity; and one church. But man practically discredits all this. How great the change God presents His word as guide and the Holy Ghost as interpreter. Man sets up traditions, councils, articles, ordinances, polities, systems and synods of his own. The children of God thus refuse God's ground. It is the old characteristic. When God said "disperse," man said " confederate," " lest we be scattered; " when God bade Israel put its neck into Babylonian political yoke, God having given dominion to Nebuchadnezzar, Israel refused (Jer. 27). God now forbids His people to put their neck into the yoke of the ecclesiastical Babylon, but that is the very yoke into which His people now put their necks. So it is, "ye do always resist the Holy Ghost."
But it is replied there are divisions amongst these brethren. Not so. There has been discipline within, which has led to sectarianism without. Holding to Paul's doctrine of the church, to the entire scriptures-to the person of Christ-to the presence of the Holy Ghost-the table to which they gather is the Lord's table, not brethren's, and it is open without let or hindrance to all believers whencesoever they come, who hold the truth and walk morally. We can not go to such, and fellowship with them in their churches and systems, for that would be off God's ground and would be sectarianism-but they may all come to us, for that would be on God's ground and not sectarianism.
We wish to hold nothing more distinctly than the entire simplicity of the ground we are on, and its openness to all believers, and the title of all believers to it and to come up on it and occupy and enjoy it as we do. It is God's establishment; not ours. The ground is divine. We set up no barriers to exclude from it. We make no conditions. We are ready to own failure, low moral condition, evil of spirit and ways. But our failure thereupon does not invalidate God's ground. But those who come upon this ground are liable to the discipline that pertains to it. There must needs be soundness in fundamental truth, and there must be moral walk. So when the one or the other has come in, there has been discipline and exclusion according to 1 Cor. 5:3-53For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:3‑5).
Though 2 Timothy shows failure and ruin, we hold that the remnant, taking the ground of the unity, in the endeavor to keep it are, through grace, placed upon the ground of 1 Timothy and have the power and responsibility of 1 Cor. 5:3-53For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:3‑5).
Therefore when evil in doctrine came in notably,' it was judged, and those who were put out, or went out in consequence of this discipline, left behind them those who were on the ground of! the unity in the true fellowship of the endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4;3), those remaining being still in the place of 1 Cor. 5:3-53For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:3‑5). Schismatics or sectarians are those who are outside; non-sectarian are those who remain. Those who are out from them, are really not of them.
Suppose an assembly at Washington, one at Philadelphia and one at New York gathered to the name of Jesus on the ground of the one body and one Spirit, in the endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in fellowship with other assemblies all over the world upon the same ground. Evil doctrine comes in at New York and is tolerated there, not disciplined or put away. Washington and Philadelphia judging this evil and seeing denial of discipline at New York, in loyalty to the Lord and His truth and the due discipline and purity of the assembly refuses meanwhile to receive any one from New York assembly, or to go to its table. New York has thus broken the unity and is out. But time passes on; Philadelphia relaxes, and in the exercise of love to saints merely as such, receives one of the New York assembly who personally disowns the evil doctrine and is individually clear, though his assembly is not clear. Washington holding to the truth and to discipline, now refuses Philadelphia also, and comes to be obliged to hold Philadelphia out also. Thus Philadelphia comes to be neutral. So that New York in the first degree and Philadelphia in the second degree, have failed as to truth and discipline and have put themselves out of the unity upon which Washington stands in fellowship with assemblies the world over. New York and Philadelphia having broken the unity, Washington only remains upon it really, in the general fellowship of the gatherings of those who are really upon God's ground.
Now as to those that are neutral-how affectionately one would speak of them as members of Christ-but avowedly in denial of the ground of God's unity-gathered to Christian as Christians-man to man-Erastianism, confederacy. Hence it is that where this question of discipline has not arisen, Christians from the denominations can be received, occasionally to the Lord's table, while these neutral brethren can not be received, with whom the question is up and open, and pronounced open. They have taken their stand on the ground of gathering to Christians; not on the ground of loyalty to the Lord. Two ways meet. They take the one directly pointing to love to Christians, we that pointing to loyalty to the Lord, and we believe that by this latter way we most truly reach, first, the Lord's center, and then love to Christians, and they do not reach the Lord's center at all, by their way of love to Christians. Man's old principle of confederacy is here in its most specious and subtle form. Denial of discipline is at the bottom of it all. Thus we own in practice what we know to be fact-God's unity, in separation from evil, what in its simplicity all His people would acknowledge. Discipline flows out of this and the power of discipline we claim to be here, which neutral brethren deny.
This is owned or disowned; so there can really be no neutrality. Are not responsibility and duty to come upon the ground of God's unity in separation from evil, thus imposed upon all God's people? No amount of service or of usefulness therein, justifies disobedience. See Saul's case. " Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice." Read 1 Sam. 15 No service will weigh in the scale against disobedience. We do believe that in these days of confusion, confederacy and evil, the sweetest, most acceptable title of service and testimony an honest soul can render is just this ecclesiastical obedience-coming humbly unto God's own ecclesiastical ground. Who will be obedient ones? This obedience is joyous. With acknowledgment of abounding failure amongst us, and with outgo of love to all, who are the Lord's everywhere, we hold, through grace, to the ground of God's unity-Christ, the Son of the living God, Object, Center, Head, and the power and presence of the Holy Ghost, who would have us all keep the unity which he has established. T. M. T.