We have already seen from God’s precious Word that God’s purpose was that all those who belong to Christ —who have been made members of the body of Christ and members one of another by the indwelling of the Spirit of God — should manifest this oneness in a very practical way by being gathered together by the Spirit of God to the name and around the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus gathered, we are to partake of one loaf together as we remember Him in death and, in thus partaking of that one loaf, to express that we are indeed one body. We are also to express the oneness of the body of Christ in a care one for another because each one is precious to Christ.
Now we find that God had the same plan in the Old Testament in that Israel was given their center at Jerusalem. There they manifested their oneness as a nation by going up to Jerusalem and there worshipping together where the Lord had placed His name. They, too, were called upon to have a care one for another to provide for the poor. In the New Testament, however, there is one marked difference. The presence of the Spirit of God as a divine Person, dwelling on the earth, not only forms that link that joins every believer to one another in the body of Christ and to their Head in heaven, but the Spirit of God is also the One who leads and directs in all the functions of the body of Christ.
Let us read first of all in 1 Corinthians 12:49,11:
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. . . . But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.”
Turn over to chapter 14:26-34:
“How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”
We see here that not only has God by His Spirit gathered to the name and the Person of Christ, but the Spirit of God is there to direct. The Spirit of God divides severally as He will. To one He gives the word of wisdom; to another He gives the word of knowledge. At Corinth a great deal of confusion had come in. They were all speaking together. One was jumping up while another was speaking and saying he couldn’t refrain from speaking, and the Apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, writes to say that this is not of God, because “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”
Where the Spirit of God is given the liberty to lead, you will have peace. You will have order, but it will not be man-made order. You can have a form of order by appointing one man to perform all the functions that have been mentioned here. You can appoint one man and set him as the head over all, and you can say, “Now we have order,” but it is man-made order, not the order that comes from the leading and direction of the Spirit of God. Where the Spirit of God is given liberty, He will lead and He will occupy hearts with Christ. He will unfold the truth. But the Spirit of God very jealously, very earnestly brings before us here that He is to be given that place of liberty.
Thus, we find that God gives the outline of how His people should gather together. It is as members of the body of Christ, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and taking no other name, having no humanly-appointed leader, but simply waiting upon the Spirit of God to lead, and having the Word of God as the guide for all decisions. How lovely! How precious it would have been if such a state of affairs had continued. This was what God wanted. This is what He established in the beginning. This is what the Lord Jesus prayed for in John 17, but we find that it did not continue. Problems and difficulties arose, and I would like to look now at some of those problems and difficulties.
Turn first of all to 1 Corinthians 5:1113:
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one, no, not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
Before commenting on this chapter, I would like you to turn back to Leviticus 20:1010And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10): “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Verse 26: “And ye shall be holy unto Me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine.”
The reason I read this verse in the Old Testament is for us to see that that which is morally suited to God does not change when dispensations change. God was gathering by His Spirit a people around Himself in the Old Testament, and He reminded them that He was holy. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus is gathering a people around Himself by the Spirit of God, and He reminds us afresh that we are being gathered by the Spirit of God around the Person of One who is holy. At Corinth, the consciences of the saints of God had become so dulled and they were so insensitive to what was suited to the Person of Christ that wickedness was being allowed there of such a nature that the Spirit of God has to tell us that even the heathen had not practiced it.
Now we are told that when evil which is contrary to the holiness of the Person of Christ comes in among the people of God, it must be put outside. In 1 Corinthians 5:46, we read, “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
Now, we cannot deliver unto Satan. That is an apostolic function, and we don’t have apostles today. The fact remains, however, that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” You put leaven into baking and it spreads through the whole baking. Evil in an assembly contaminates the whole assembly. It isn’t isolated. It isn’t kept to one person. That which is true of one contaminates all, and, consequently, it must be put outside. So the Spirit of God has to address these words to the Corinthian saints, and in doing so refers to one who is “called a brother.” Why does it say that? When someone is put away, for the glory of Christ, he is not disciplined or set aside as a brother; he is set aside as a wicked person. This is something that is largely ignored in Christendom today. Evil is allowed. It is tolerated under the excuse, “There’s nothing we can do about it.” It is tolerated under the excuse of love for all the people of God. It is tolerated under the excuse of, “Who am I to judge someone else?” But subjection to the Word of God leaves no choice. The name of Christ is identified with that testimony gathered to His precious name, and faithfulness to Christ demands that the wickedness be put out.
We further learn here that there is a “within” and there is a “without.” “What have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth.” Now, brethren, back in the days of Acts 2, the “within” and the “without” were very obvious. Here in the city of Jerusalem were three thousand believers who met together. To be put outside was a very obvious thing. But the truth of God has not changed. The fact that Christendom has been divided up into a multiplicity of pockets has not invalidated in any way the truth of God. There is a “within” and there is a “without.” But to be able to practice the truth contained in the word “within” and the word “without,” there must be, first of all, a recognition that there can be only one testimony, raised up and maintained of God, to the truth that there is one body.
Let me illustrate what I mean. Suppose, for a moment, a brother is guilty of one of these particular things listed here. (I might say in passing that this is not an exhaustive list; it is intended as an indication of the nature of the things that call for discipline by exclusion from the Lord’s table.) Suppose, for a moment, there is a brother in this city that is guilty of one of the offenses listed here. In faithfulness to Christ, those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ must put him away from the Lord’s table as a wicked person. Now, is he within or is he without? I have no doubt you would say immediately that, obviously, he is without. If there were another company gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ here in this city, and he immediately were to go and be received there, would he be within or would he be without? Would you be prepared to say, “Well, obviously he is without here, but he is within there”? Brethren, if that is true, then God is the author of confusion — and He is not! The Spirit of God would never introduce such a thought to our hearts that there can be someone within and without at the same time. Here, in faithfulness to Christ, they are told to put him without.
To be an assembly gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must act upon the instruction given to us here and, in acting upon it, recognize that the one put away is now without, and he is without wherever there are those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the same holy Spirit of God. If the person is without in Corinth, he is without in Ephesus, he is without in Philippi, and he is without wherever there are those gathered to the same name by the same Spirit of God and who are endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Perhaps I should add, before I leave this epistle, that the person put away from the Lord’s table in 1 Corinthians 5 was put away, not as a brother, but as a wicked person. But when you come to 2 Corinthians 2, you find there that he was indeed a brother, a true brother in the Lord. What manifested that he was a true brother in the Lord was his repentance — his acknowledgment before God of what he had done. Thus, the Apostle Paul can write and say, “Confirm your love toward him.” Welcome him back. It has been manifested that he truly was a child of God, but at the time he was put away he was dealt with as a wicked person. The Word of God makes it explicitly clear — it could not be clearer — that one who has been put away from the Lord’s table is to receive no fellowship, no encouragement from those who are endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, until the assembly has judged that there has been repentance and has extended assembly forgiveness.
There may be some who say, “That is not showing love.” Brethren, it is faithfulness to the Word of God, and we are never wiser than the Word of God. “No, not to eat”! No fellowship!
Would you turn now with me to 2 John 911:
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed: For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
Turn also to Haggai 2:11-1311Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12If one bear 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 priests answered and said, No. 13Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. (Haggai 2:11‑13):
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear 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 priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.”
We have here in Haggai a simple illustration of how association with evil defiles. As it says, “If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment,” if he touch the bread or the pottage or the wine, will it become holy? The answer is, “No.” But “if one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean?” The answer is, “Yes.”
In 1 Corinthians 5 the principle is given in the words, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” In 2 John, the principle is given by the words, “He that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.” Association with evil defiles. In 1 Corinthians 5, the evil is moral in nature. Not only the practice of it, but association with those who do practice it defiles in the assembly. In 2 John the subject is doctrine —the doctrine of Christ. The evil is the result of those who come and bring something other than the doctrine of Christ. Brethren, what is the doctrine of Christ? I suggest to you that it is anything that concerns the Person or the work of Christ. There may be differences of opinion as to some fine points of prophecy, though if all were led of the Spirit entirely, we would be of one mind on every subject. Where that which is contrary to the doctrine of Christ is maintained or where association with such as hold this false teaching is maintained, the result is defilement.
To go on in fellowship with those who hold false doctrine concerning the Person or the work of Christ is defiling. Not only is the one who holds the doctrine defiled, but so are those who bid him Godspeed. Those who express fellowship with him in any way are defiled by that same evil doctrine.
Brethren, how are we to avoid the contamination of evil doctrine? By the exercise of prayerful and diligent care to insure that those who hold, in any way, that which is contrary to the Word of God concerning the Person or the work of Christ are kept without or put away if found within. How are we to keep ourselves separated from the defilement of moral evil in the assembly? By ensuring that those who practice it are kept without or put away if found within.
I trust we all recognize that we stand only by grace and that there isn’t one of us that can read 1 Corinthians 5 and say, “I would never do that.” It is the grace of God, and only the grace of God, that preserves us in any measure, but don’t let us ever use the excuse of weakness or the excuse of our failures to justify indifference to that which is demanded by the presence of the holy Son of God in the midst of those gathered to His precious name.
Turn now to 2 Timothy 2:1922:
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
This was probably the Apostle Paul’s last epistle. He had seen things develop to a point where that which he had spoken of as “the house of God” in the first epistle had become a “great house” because there had been introduced into the profession of Christianity much that was not real, spoken of here as “vessels . . . of wood and of earth.”
Now he begins by saying, “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.” So it is, beloved brethren, we cannot always tell, but the foundation of God remains, and while we cannot tell, God knows! He knows those who are His! “The foundation of God standeth sure . . . . The Lord knoweth them that are His.” The obvious suggestion by the natural heart is that if this is the state of confusion that has arisen, if this great house of professing Christendom has become such a melting pot of those who are real and those who are false, of those who are truly children of God and those who have simply made a profession, of those whose names are written in heaven and those whose names are written on some church register, and there only, then there is nothing we can do and we must all simply go on together. The Word of God, however, very quickly shows us that this is not true. “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” The better reading here is, “Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord,” because what is being brought before us is subjection to the lordship of Christ, and the instruction given to every one that names the name of the Lord is to depart from iniquity. It may mean separation from some who are true children of God, and that is sad. I trust our hearts will feel it, but we must depart from iniquity!
I had occasion a few months ago to talk with a young couple. This young couple was in one of the evangelical systems of men. They acknowledged that there was moral evil known and allowed in the company where they were, but there were many children of God there, and they didn’t feel they should leave. Now, brethren, were they right? The Word of God says, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” and, “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver” — true children of God, saved by the precious blood of Christ, indwelt by the Spirit of God and members of the body of Christ — “but also of wood and of earth” — those who profess, but do not possess eternal life. They will tell you, “I am a Christian,” but what they mean is, “My name is recorded on some church roll, somewhere.” The Word of God tells us here that in the great house of Christendom, where the Spirit of God works, there are those who are real children of God and those who are only putting on a profession.
We then read, “Some to honor, and some to dishonor.” Now, the gold and the silver are one class, and the wood and the earth are the other class. They represent those who are true children of God and those who are not, respectively. The vessels to honor and to dishonor represent a different division entirely. We are given an explanation as to who the vessels to honor are. “If a man therefore purge himself from these” — that is, from the vessels of wood and of earth — “he shall be a vessel unto honor.” Here is the way to be a vessel unto honor. It is by separation from those vessels of wood and of earth. What fellowship has light with darkness? “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” We are told that separation from those who are not real will enable us to be vessels unto honor, sanctified, set apart, meet for the Master’s use. It then adds these words: “Prepared unto every good work.” Why does it say that? It is only as we walk in separation, whether it be separation from unbelievers or from moral or doctrinal iniquity, that we are then going to be prepared “unto every good work.”
Let me give you two illustrations: There is a brother, known to me, who was a minister in a recognized system of men. He was reading the Word of God and, as he searched the Word for himself, the Spirit of God unfolded more and more truth to him. He began preaching it from the pulpit, and, as he told me himself, he preached himself right out of a job! As he brought the truth more and more before his congregation, two things happened. The first thing was that he began to realize he was in the wrong place. How could he, for example, one man, appointed by his congregation to lead and direct everything connected with that congregation, stand up and say the Spirit of God is to be the one that leads in everything? He realized that he was not “prepared unto every good work” and that if he were going to remain in that position, there was truth he must either ignore or deny.
On another occasion, I was invited to speak at a luncheon attended by a number of businessmen, most of whom were Christians. When I was asked, I said, “I assume it is clearly understood that I am free to stand up before all those men and speak according to the Word of God on whatever subject the Spirit of God gives me to speak on.” I was immediately told, “Oh, no! We will give you in advance a list of subjects on which we do not speak.” Brethren, we cannot compromise with the truth or refuse to separate from unbelievers or from iniquity and still be “prepared unto every good work.”
The Word of God makes it very clear that we stand only by God’s grace. If separation from evil is maintained, it is only because God gives the grace for it. The fact remains that the responsibility rests with those gathered to such a holy name as the Lord Jesus Christ to depart from iniquity, to separate from that moral evil, doctrinal evil, ecclesiastical association, or whatever it may be that dishonors the name of Christ or displaces the function that the Spirit of God jealously keeps for Himself.
There was a brother here in this city years ago that some of the older brethren will remember very well. I had occasion to visit this dear brother in his home on a number of occasions. One day he gave me an account of how he came to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He belonged to a certain denomination, and it was their regular practice to have a Bible reading every Wednesday night. They had some happy times together, but then it occurred to him one day that every once in a while the minister, who was a true child of God, was not able to be present at the Bible reading, and he noticed they had a far happier time. There seemed to be far more liberty; each one around the circle took part, and they found the Word of God was unfolded to them. He began to look to God for an explanation as to why it was so. He found the answer in 1 Corinthians 12 and in 1 Corinthians 14. The Spirit of God on those occasions was free to use whom He would, and He opened up the Word of God to them. Our dear brother started out then to seek where he could be gathered only to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, where the Spirit of God was given full liberty.
“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” What is the thought in “a pure heart”? It is not some kind of intrinsic purity, but it is the thought of unadulterated hearts, or, in other words, unmixed motives. One desire — Lord, where do You want me to be? One desire—to be gathered with those who alike seek only to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in separation from iniquity.
Now, it tells us specifically, “With them.” Am I entitled to decide, “Well, I am really not very happy with brother so-and-so. He doesn’t treat me very kindly. I think I’ll go and start my own meeting on the other side of town”? The Word of God says, “With them.” “Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
I know of no truth more important — more precious — to the heart of Christ than that there should be, even today, in the midst of all the ruin, a testimony, raised up and maintained of God, to the truth that there is one body. Such a testimony requires that the truth be not only acknowledged but acted upon, discipline be exercised in recognition that there is a “within” and there is a “without,” and separation from evil maintained in recognition of the holiness of the Person to whom we are gathered.
I would like to close by turning to Galatians 2:1818For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. (Galatians 2:18): “For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” The subject in Galatians is that of going back to law. It is going back to that which the Apostle Paul had already abandoned, and in abandoning it, as far as he was concerned, he destroyed it.
Now, brethren, God has, by His Spirit, raised up a testimony to the truth that there is one body. He has, by His infinite grace, gathered around the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the multiplicity of systems of men, many who, in leaving those systems, in the language used here, destroyed them. For me, the system that I left is destroyed —it is a dead thing. If I go back, if I in any way build up again that which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. There is nothing more sad than to see beloved saints of God who have, by the infinite grace of God, been gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, going back to that which is not the truth, which stands on what is false, which allows that which displaces the name of Christ, and that which sets aside the exclusive function of the Spirit of God. Oh, you say, “I only went to one of their meetings.” The effect is, however, to encourage that which is so contrary to the very expressed desire of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gathers by the Spirit of God around Himself, and any time I walk into any of the systems of men, regardless of how much truth is there, I build again that which has for my own soul been destroyed and, in doing so, make myself a transgressor.
May God keep us, beloved brethren, valuing this precious truth, walking in it, and rejoicing in it, while owning how dependent we are upon God by His grace to keep us and upon the Spirit of God to make the truth good to our hearts and consciences. I have no doubt that God is going to preserve a testimony to the truth of the one body for the glory of Christ until He comes. May we earnestly pray that we might be preserved and found gathered to that precious name when the Lord of glory comes for us. Even at Jerusalem there were a few who were waiting for the presentation of the Son of God from heaven.
Beloved brethren, we want largeness of heart to love all the saints of God, to seek the good and the blessing of all the saints of God, to pray for all the saints of God, to do good unto all men and especially unto the household of faith, but let us walk in the narrow path, marked out by the Word of God, for that is what constitutes faithfulness to Christ.