Address—Jim Hyland
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This afternoon with 330 in the little flock.
What raised the wondrous thought? Or who did it suggest that we the Church to glory brought should with the sun be blessed? 330 Someone started, please.
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Well, we're going to go on now and continue our subject in connection with these various spheres that we've been Speaking of. Before we leave this chart #4, I want to read one further portion of scripture, just an extremely brief comment on it and then we will quickly move on. This is our last talk together on this subject, Matthew, Chapter 16.
OK.
Matthew Chapter 16.
And I won't read all of this. We know the context. Peter has just made a wonderful confession. He has just said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And now I want to notice the Lord's response to it in verse 18. And I say also, this is Matthew 1618. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter. And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now if Matthew 18 was all we had to go on.
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We might well think that the rock that the Lord built his church on with Peter.
But, you know, it's interesting that Peter is the one who is used later on to clarify who the rock really is. You can take time. But if you will go over to first Peter chapter 2, and read that chapter carefully, you will find there that Peter himself later on clarifies the fact that the Lord Jesus is the rock that he was Speaking of here, and that it is the Lord Jesus as the cornerstone that the church is built upon. The church was not built upon Peter. It was built on the confession that Peter made. Thou art the Christ.
The Son of the living God and the Lord Jesus was introducing here in Matthew the subject of the Church.
Very significant that Matthew of all the four Gospels, is the one that's most Jewish in its character.
It is the gospel that presents the Lord Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the Jewish King. There are things in Matthews Gospel that you don't have in some of the other Gospels in keeping with that character of things. And yet it is the only gospel. It is the only gospel where the Lord Jesus specifically introduces the subject of the church.
And it's twice. It's here in the 16th chapter and in a few minutes we'll look at the other time he speaks of it. What I want to point out here is that in introducing the subject of the Church in anticipation of its formation on the day of Pentecost, he introduces it as a building, not a physical building unlike what we see today. The church in the New Testament sense is never referred to as a physical building, except for the places like someone's home, where the church met, where the those who are members of the Church of God met the.
You know, they talk about people going to church, and I understand what they mean. But really, this morning when we met here, the church came to the place it was members of the body of Christ, members of the Church of God, and we met together as gathered to the Lord's name to remember the Lord Jesus. And so the church in the New Testament sense is always in connection with the spiritual building. And again, Peter brings this out in his epistle. You can read it, that we are living stones in the Church of God, and God is building a building. And as we notice this morning, he's adding to the church daily.
Such as should be saved.
Now we're gonna go on now and we're going to look at this next chart, Chart #5.
And I want to make a comment to introduce this before we read some scriptures.
Because it's really the bridge between what we've just said regarding chart #4 and chart #5, and that is that sometimes we hear the expression, I've said it myself, that the church is in ruin, but that's not quite accurate. That needs to be qualified. If I say the church is in ruin, I'm really saying that the Lord Jesus has failed in regard to the statement that we just read.
In Matthew 16 on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. There is nothing that the devil or man can do to prevail against the Church of God or to bring in any ruin to the Church of God. What is in ruin is what we have on the next page, the testimony. As to the truth of the one body, that's what is in ruin and that's what's in weakness. You know, often we speak about a testimony.
And I understand that, and I trust we are a testimony and when we meet together to remember the Lord Jesus.
At the Lord's table we show forth the Lord's death till he come. It's a testimony to the world and so on. But really, in a sense, if we're a testimony to anything, it's a testimony to ruin and weakness. Because outwardly we see things fragmented and broken up. We see Christians today in various pockets and fellowships of Christendom in various so-called churches and denominations, and they are wonderful believers and we're gonna speak of that in a in a moment.
And we're thankful for them. I'm thankful for every brother and sister that I have in Christ.
On the face of this earth, in fact, it's interesting. I know we pointed it out last year and taking up the subject of the church, but this camp is called Basics, and it actually is called Basics because it stands for brothers and sisters in Christ. I thought when we first rented this camp, that was rather neat, that that was the name of the place that we're able to have you young people together. But it shows that whoever named this camp understood very clearly.
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That every believer I trust they did. That every believer is a brother and sister.
In Christ. There are many brothers and sisters in Christ in this world that I'm not in fellowship with at the Lord's table.
But they are brothers and sisters in Christ. There's many brothers and sisters in Christ that I have never met here in this world. I'm going to see them another day in the Father's house, but nevertheless they are brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, I mentioned earlier that there are really 7 distinct aspects of the Church in the New Testament. There may be some others too, but I don't want to be dogmatic on it. But to me at least, there are 7 very distinct aspects of the Church, and one is.
The Body of Christ. We've just spoken of it as a building, but it's also brought before us on a number of occasions and Epistles as the body of Christ, and I'd like to speak of that for a moment. Let's introduce this by going to 1St Corinthians chapter.
Chapter 10.
First Corinthians chapter 10.
And verse 17.
For we, being many, are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one breath. Now you realize this morning when we came together to remember the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread.
To partake of the Lord's Supper at the Lord's Table, there was one loaf on the table.
And that's the way we always celebrate it. It's not crackers, it's not wafers. It's one loaf. And that one loaf in its unbroken state represents to the heart of God. And I trust to us as well every believer alive on the face of the earth at that time, because there is one body, and when we break bread in that way, we are given it giving expression to that.
Every believer this morning alive on planet Earth was represented in that loaf that we had on the table.
That loaf this morning did not just represent those who were here this morning. It didn't just represent those who break bread and practically express the truth of the one body in the breaking of bread from week to week. That loaf represented every member of the body of Christ. Now, it's true that when we broke the bread, it had a little different significance. Just point out we don't have time, but we just point out that in the 10th chapter.
Of one Corinthians we have the subject of the Lord's table. That's confirmed by verse 21.
And what is the our title to be at the Lord's table? It's the blood of Christ. That's why again, in these verses, if we were to back up to the 16th verse, the cup is mentioned 1St and as a result of being washed in the blood of Christ, which the cup represents, we are members of the body of Christ. That's our title to be there. Then when we partake of the Lord's Supper, which is the next chapter, and that's confirmed by the 20th verse of Chapter 11.
We find that the order is reversed because the loaf has a little different significance there. This is the way the Lord instituted the Supper. This is the way we always celebrate it. We break the bread first because the bread broke. When we break the bread, it is to be a reminder of the Lord's body given in death for us on Calvary's cross. Then we have the cup second, because on the cross the separation of the blood from the body was the proof of death.
After the Lord Jesus had died, given his own life, commended his spirit to the Father, No man took his life from him. He had power to lay it down. He had power to take it again. And after he did that, a soldier with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out blood and water. And so again it's separate. The loaf is separate from the cup. It's not all combined in one. There have been those who have taught down through the ages that it's all combined in a wafer or whatever. But that is not the truth of Scripture. The Lord gave it separate and in that order.
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And that is the way we always celebrate it. So we, being many, are one bread and one body. Now we're gonna look at some scriptures very quickly. Let's go to the 12Th chapter.
Chapter 12.
Of First Corinthians and verse 12.
For as the body is 1 and half many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by 1 Spirit, we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Now here we find that again he's bringing before us the fact that so we are all separate members, we're all individuals, yet we are one body. And I want you to notice there's a little article put in by Mr. Darby in his translation that I believe belongs.
Just before the last word of the verse, Christ, so also is the Christ. Because I believe what we learn from this is that the Lord Jesus has the head in heaven, the head of the body, and we the members on earth make the body of Christ complete. He is incomplete without us and we are incomplete without him. And you get that in Colossians and Ephesians and we'll look at that in a moment. But what I want to also notice here very quickly is that he speaks of being baptized into one body.
I believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit took place.
On the day of Pentecost, and it's a collective thing.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is never an individual thing in Scripture. People say Have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit?
It's not an individual thing, and it took place on the day of Pentecost, Never in that sense to be repeated, except there was a little extension or addendum to it, as I mentioned this morning, when the Samaritans were brought in in the 8th chapter, and when the Gentiles were brought in in the 10th chapter to guard, lest we ever think there was more than one church. But as such, the baptism of the Holy Spirit took place.
Once and for one time only on the on the day of Pentecost and it when the when the Church of God was formed. Now I want to go to Colossians chapter one.
Colossians Chapter One.
And verse 18. And he is the head of the body, the Church.
Who is the beginning? The first born from the dead, that in all things.
He might have the preeminence, just a couple of little differences between Colossians and Ephesians.
Many of the expressions in Colossians and Ephesians at face value at quick reading seemed to be the same, but there are some little marked differences. This is just a little aside from our talk, but that's why when we read the scriptures, we need to read it slowly, carefully and with prayerful exercise and notice a little differences that there there are. They're there with for a purpose. And in Colossians it's more the subject of what Christ is to the Church.
And what is he to the church? He's the head of the body. He's the head of the church.
And I don't want to sound crude or mundane, but if I can put it this way, what we learn in Colossians is that a body without a head is an incomplete unit. I think, yeah, I again, I don't want to sound crude, but we understand this In natural things. A body without a head is an incomplete unit. It cannot function. And you and I as members of the body of Christ, cannot function properly in a spiritual sense.
Without direction from our head, he's the head of the body.
That's why, and I think perhaps we mentioned it before at the beginning of these talks. That's why in the book of the Acts, when there was after the Church was formed, whenever there was a difficulty or a question arose amongst the body of Christ, the Church of God, they came and in prayer and looked to the head for their direction, you know, as gathered to the Lord's name. And we seek to express these truths. Let's remember the thoughts why the assembly or an assembly gathered to the Lord's name is not a democracy.
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It's not where the majority rules. We are to take our direction directly from the head, from the Lord Jesus. So that's what you have here in the book of Colossians. But now let's go to Ephesians and we'll see a little difference. Ephesians, chapter one.
And.
He's Speaking of the Lord, Jesus having ascended. And then he says in verse 22 Concerning the Lord and has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all. So here it's more what the church is to Christ. In Colossians, it's what Christ is to the Church. He's the head of the body. But here it's what the Church is to Christ and what is the Church to Christ. He's the the Church is the fullness of him that filleth. All in all, we are.
Wonder of wonders, marvel of marvels, we are the completion of Christ.
So in Colossians a body without a head is an incomplete unit. But to me this is even more wonderful, because here in Ephesians, a head without a body is an incomplete unit. To think that the Lord Jesus as the head in heaven is incomplete without you and me isn't that tremendous. To think of the position that we have been brought into. We noticed in Ephesians chapter 2 The other day what we were by nature.
And how far away we were from God and without hope and so on. But now we have been brought into the closest relationship with the Lord Jesus that anyone has ever known and enjoyed on planet earth. Because remember what we said earlier, that the church is unique to the New Testament and there was no such thing as the Church of God on earth.
Before the descent of the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost.
The Lord Jesus, as we noticed, spoke of it in the 16th of Matthew.
But it was in anticipation. On this rock I will build my church. It hadn't been built and it hadn't been started yet. It did not start to the day of till the day of Pentecost. And it's very, very important for us to understand and get a hold of this. And very important to realize that every person saved by the grace of God from the day of Pentecost until the Rapture is going to be part of the Church of God.
Now, having said that, I would like to say this too, that the Church of God is taken up in three different contexts.
In the New Testament, I'm not talking about different aspects like the body, the bride, the lamb's wife and so on. I'm talking about context.
Now remember what I said earlier. Context in scripture is very important.
And I believe there has been much confusion as to our position and responsibility in Christianity by taking.
Scripture concerning the Church of God out of its context and applying it to another context. And here's the three contacts. Sometimes when it's the Church of God, it has to do with every believer from the day of Pentecost when the Church was born.
Until its completion at the rapture. Because when the rapture takes place, it will be the proof that the Church of God is completed that the last living stone has been put in. And I know they'll be the gospel of the Kingdom and they'll be blessing on earth and so on after the rapture, but the church will be completed. There will be nobody blessed after the rapture who will be part of the Church of God.
OK, there will be those who have a heavenly portion, the tribulation martyrs, and they're taken right to heaven because they have their part in the first resurrection. And to have a part in the first resurrection denotes that they have a heavenly blessing. So there's a little addendum to the first resurrection after the rapture, but they're not going to be part of the Church of God. They're going to be another one of those groups, those families that are going to be in heaven that we alluded to this morning. So the Church of God is sometimes looked at as every believer from.
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Its birthday where there were about 120 believers in the upper room till it's completion at the at the rapture. And that's what the Lord was talking about.
In Matthew 16, that's the context. On this rock I will build my church. That's the context every believer from Pentecost to the Rapture. Sometimes the church is taken up in the aspect of every believer alive on the face of the earth at anyone given time. And that's really the aspect of the body of Christ.
You know my father, who?
Was a believer gathered to the Lord's name much of his life as a member of the body of Christ. He functioned here on earth, but he is no longer functioning as a member of the body of Christ on earth. The body of Christ has to do with the function of believers in this dispensation on earth. Now my father is going to be part of that bill. He's part of that building that the Lord was Speaking of. He's going to be part of the bride, the lamb's wife, the city, and described in her millennial glory in the end of Revelation reigning with Christ.
The church coming down from God and so on is going to be all part of that because those are contacts of the church in its broad sense. But as a member of the body of Christ, my father is no longer functioning as such, nor is any other believer saved in this dispensation who is now with the Lord. They're waiting for the end result, the final thing when the church is displayed in her completion and in her glory with Christ. And if you read Corinthians very carefully, you'll find, like the 12 Chapter, that that is the context every believer alive on the face of the earth at anyone given time. So the loaf this morning I didn't see my father in the loaf.
Because that is not the context of the body of Christ.
I saw I trust by grace every believer alive on the face of the earth.
But I did not see my father in the loaf or my mother. They have been with the Lord now for several years. But then we find sometimes the church is taken up in its local expression or aspect. And so again we find when Paul wrote to the brethren in the province of Galatia, there were a number of areas where the Brethren were meeting to break bread at the Lord's Table, no doubt for prayer and ministry for what we sometimes refer to as the assembly meetings.
And he wrote to the churches or assemblies in Galatia. There were a number of them in that province. When he wrote to a specific city like Ephesus or Colossi or Thessalonica, it was always in the singular. But when it was a wider territory and he was speaking to different areas where they were meeting in that way, then and only then was it was it plural.
And so this is what we want to speak of then, for a few moments.
This little circle I have put in. Again, please don't fault me if this chart isn't exactly what we're trying to convey. I struggled with what to put in this smaller circle, and I put the testimony because, as I say, there is a testimony given in being gathered to the Lord's name. And when we come together to break bread on the ground of the one body, we give testimony in a world that is still at enmity with Christ.
A world that not only cast him out, but a world that still hates Christ. We give testimony that we an expression that we honor Christ, the request he made, and we seek to go on. In spite of the failure and ruin around us. We seek to go on in some measure, at least according to the to the truth of God. Now remember, if we find ourselves gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, if we find ourselves at the Lord's table, it's nothing of us.
It is only by the grace of God, and we are going to see that from Scripture in a moment. But there's nothing to be proud of, because in Christianity the onus is never on me. As far as things like this, that is we mentioned this morning, The keeping of the unity of the body is not committed to man. If we find ourselves going on in the truth of God, I know there's responsibility. That's another side of things.
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But if we find ourselves with a desire to please the Lord and going on in the truth of God, it's only the grace of God. It's God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure, if I find myself at the Lord's table where the Lord is in the midst.
It's only by the grace of God that I'm brought there, and only by the grace of God that I am preserved. But there is God always gives us a way that we can give testimony and expression to the truth.
You know there are two great institutions given to us in Christianity whereby we can give expression to the truth.
And give expression to what's in our hearts. And the desire by the grace of God to honor the Lord one is Baptism.
When a person is baptized, they are giving expression. When a true believer is baptized, they are giving expression.
To the truth that they want to own the lordship of Christ in their lives. That's what baptism does as far as its testimony. And then there is the privilege of being gathered to the Lord's name and breaking bread at the Lord, partaking of the Lord's Supper at the Lord's table, to again give expression and testimony to I trust what is really in our hearts. But let's go to Matthew's Gospel again.
I mentioned there are are two times where the Church is introduced. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 18.
Now what we're going to find here is that it's not the church in the context that we had in the 16th chapter. In the 16th chapter, it's the broad sense of the church. But here, what the Lord Jesus does is he gives provision, truth to make provision to go on in the new position. God doesn't bring us into a position and then leave us to wonder how to operate.
Within that position, no. He always gives instruction. Now I know we need more than Matthew 18 and these 5 verses from verse 15 to 20 to function as those gathered to the Lord's name. But the seed of it is here. It's developed later on in the epistles, but we have to go back and get the seed of it. Now I would just say from verse 15 through verse 20 we have.
The the function and administration of the local expression of the church or assembly. And it's really the same word. The King James translators chose to use the word church. It's really assembly or called out ones. You know, again, it's like what we said at the beginning of these meetings. We don't belong to this world. We're called out from this world and so the word church is really assembly or called out one.
But let me read verse 20 for the sake of time for where two or three?
Are gathered together in my name. There am I in the midst of them. And so he sums up what has gone ahead before with this verse that we often quote. Now notice he doesn't say where. Two or three hundred or two or three dozen? No, he brings it down to the smallest corporate testimony possible. I suppose it's in keeping with what was established in the Old Testament.
In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. And so he brings it right down. Why? Well, I want to make this little suggestion, at least it's been precious to my own soul. And that is that the Lord Jesus. When he uttered these words, he looked beyond the days of Pentecost, when there would be about 120. He looked beyond the days of the early Gospel, when there were 3000 saved and 5000 saved, and multitudes gathered to the Lord's name. You know, in Acts 15 the assembly came together in multitude. There were many.
Because it's normal Christianity to be gathered to the Lord's name. It's normal Christianity to be at the Lord's table. Thought from the New Testament is what normal Christianity is. But the Lord looked beyond that. He looked beyond the revival of things after the Dark Ages, when truth was recovered and God raised up men, and you heard their names. Mr. Darby and Mr. Cronin and Mr. Kelly and Mr. Ballot and Mr.
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Miller and and those early brethren who writings are still published today and I trust read and valued, but he looked beyond.
Rate down to 2015, and he made provision to go on to the very end. You see, God never asked us to do anything that He doesn't make provision to the very end. You know, when it says you do show the Lord's death till He come? He wouldn't say till he come if he wasn't gonna provide a scriptural ground on which to do it. The Lord never asked us to do anything.
Without providing A scriptural ground on which to do it. Because people say it doesn't matter anymore. It's all in ruin and it just it's wherever Christians meet and it's whoever group we like the best and it's wherever it's most convenient. That is not the teaching of the word of God. And so he says where two or three and you know as they and I have opportunity to visit in England and throughout Western Europe and other parts of.
Even North America and around the world, we often find two or three here. You know, we often quote this verse about two or three being gathered, most of us. I know there's probably some here, perhaps, but most of us are still at the eights and 10s. Most of us still have more than the literal two or three and three at the breaking of bread or at the assembly meetings from which we come. But, you know, there are many brethren in the world today who understand in a very practical way.
And appreciate the fact that the Lord brought it right down.
To two or three. I remember when we had the first conference in Emmelord, Netherlands, about three years ago.
And there was a a that we had a baptism and a couple received at the Lord's table. You know what the local brother in in the Netherlands said to me? He said Jim the assembly has grown 100% this Lord's day. It went from 2:00 to 4:00. You know that was pretty thrilling to me. I thought that was pretty neat and they appreciated it. They value it and they are very thankful for the these words where two or three now I want you to notice this are gathered.
Let's be careful when we pick up a translation of the Bible. And I'm not being dogmatic about translations, but let's be careful.
That when we turn to a verse like this, they haven't destroyed the real meaning of this verse by saying something like this, Where two or three meet together, where two or three come together, where two or three gather together. Be very careful because we find here again the onus is not on us. There's a force outside of ourselves that gathers where two or three are gathered. Now I've ministered on this and I've had people say to me after well.
You talk about the gathering power of the Spirit of God. I I don't get the Spirit in there at all. Well, you can't separate or.
Divorce, Divorce this verse from other scriptures that bring before us the work of the Spirit of God in every aspect of our lives. Let me use a simple illustration. You know, up where I come from in the wind, in the autumn, in the fall, when the cold winds start to blow and the snow is predicted, birds gather together.
And sometimes in great numbers, in the wires and the trees, they gather together, ready to migrate to a warmer climate.
But eggs are gathered. If you find 12 eggs in a basket, you know those eggs had no power to gather themselves.
Some outside force somebody else had to take those eggs and gather them together in the basket. And if you and I find ourselves at the Lord's table, gather to the Lord's name. It was nothing of ourselves. And if we're preserved there from week to week and year to year, it is nothing of ourselves. It is the Spirit of God that gathers to the name of the Lord Jesus at his table, and it is the Spirit of God that preserves us there by the grace of God.
And so where two or three are gathered together, that's God's word, isn't it? You know, God doesn't desire to see his people scattered. He didn't desire that this morning. He looked down on this earth and see Christians who weren't in fellowship with one another and breaking bread in different places and going on with things that weren't according to his word and so on. No, that wasn't God's desire, you know, in the early days of Christianity.
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You didn't go to Corinth and say, where are the Christians gathered to the Lord's name meeting?
You would have simply said where are the Christians meeting? Because initially they were all together.
They were all in fellowship together. You didn't go to Jerusalem in the early days of the church and say.
Where is such and such a group of Christians meeting? No, they were all together, you'd say. Where are the believers meeting in? In Jerusalem or any other city? Now we know from Paul's epistle to the Corinthians that things were coming in very quickly that have led to the many sad divisions that we see outwardly amongst the people of God. But remember, in spite of the outward fragment fragmentation of things.
What we see today in the world, there is one body. We won't take time to turn to it. But Ephesians chapter 4, verse four says there is one body. God looked down this morning and he saw in that loaf, as I say, one body. It's the outward testimony of it that is broken up and fragmented. So he makes provision here to go on together. And then he says in my name.
Why is it in my name or under my name? Because the name is the person. You can. You can't separate the name from the person. If I say the name of some celebrity or politician or some famous, some famous individual that would be known to everybody here, immediately you envision in your mind everything you know about that person. The name is the person, and to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus is to be gathered to the person.
Of Christ. And then he says, There am I in the midst of them Now I wish I had time to develop this.
But just to put it very simply, there is a difference in scripture.
With the Lord being in the midst collectively and with us individually.
You know the Lord is with every believer and wherever Christians met today.
For worship, for to break bread or whatever reason it was. Wherever Christians met today, the Lord was with them. Because he says, Lo, I am with you always, even under the end of the age. But that is quite different than the Lord being in the midst collectively. I want you to do a little homework sometime and read through Luke 24 in that regard you find at the beginning of the chapter.
That there were two who were discouraged. They left the other disciples who were in Jerusalem in the upper room, where they were to remain together, and they had were going away to their own home in Emmaus. They were very discouraged and they were going the wrong way, and the Lord didn't forsake them. And notice the language. Jesus himself drew near and went with them, and when they got to Emmaus he went into Terry.
With them. And as he sat at meat with them, he was with them. He's with every believer. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
As soon as they recognized him, he disappeared. Why? Because they shouldn't have been at Emmaus. They should have been back in Jerusalem with the others, and so he immediately disappears. When they when they recognize who it is, they get up, they return to Jerusalem, and now the language changes for the rest of the chapter. Then and only then came Jesus, and stood not with them any longer, but in the midst they were back where the others already were, in obedience to the word of the Lord. And now for the rest of the chapter, He is in the midst, because we cannot claim to have the Lord in our midst collectively.
Unless we are where he has already established that place.
You know, sometimes I hear Christians say I want to be where the Lord, where I I hope I'm where the Lord wants me.
I think it's better to say I want to be where the Lord is, because as soon as you say where the Lord is, you recognize that there is already a place established on earth where the Lord Jesus is in the midst, and it's not wherever we choose to be. Just like in the Old Testament, it wasn't where they they weren't to bring their sacrifices to every center and altar and so on. And it became a great beginning with King Jeroboam when they went to different.
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Different places.
To Dan and Bethel, to offer their sacrifices, and so on. No, they were to come up to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem. It was never given to them to decide.
Where they were to come up to worship and where the name of the Lord was, and where He dwelt with His people collectively, which is very different. Again, context, it's very different than the Lord being with His people individually. Well, if you and I are really exercised and pray about it, then the Lord can lead us there because as I say, that's what He wants. It's normal Christianity for a Christian to be at the Lord's table. But why did I draw the circle so small here?
Because while it's true, every believer is a member of the body of Christ, and every believer's place is there.
Yet how few there really are who by the grace of God are at the Lord's table. And remember this it is there are many who break bread. There are many who partake of a loaf and a cup.
But there that is very different, I believe, than partaking of the Lord's Supper.
At the Lord's Table there's only one place to partake of the Lord's Supper, and that's what the Lord's table. There are many who break bread, There are many who remember the Lord, and I'm thankful for it. But that is different, I say, than partaking of the Lords Supper as the Lords Table. Now, for the few minutes that are left, I want to go to the 6th chart and I want to speak of something a little different. I want to speak of this very, very carefully. And that is the subject of the camp.
Let's go to introduce this to the 13th chapter of Hebrews.
Hebrews, chapter 13.
And verse 10.
We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat, that serve the Tabernacle for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high Priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Now I first of all want to put it in the context.
Of what we have here in Hebrews. And then I want to show that there's an application for you and for me today.
Because I've had people come along and say and I've even read that the camp there's a it's not a brethren writer. We we we read a lot of and he was never gathered to the Lord's name. He was with another group of so-called Brethren. But when he he Co it comes to his commentary on Hebrews and he makes a comment on these verses he says it is presumptuous to think that the camp is anything.
In application beyond Judaism.
OK, we'll leave that for a moment and we'll come back to it in a strict context here being written to Jewish believers. That is exactly what the apostle Paul was. I believe it was Paul, but the apostle was writing about. We don't have a name attached to this epistle, but I believe there are some little hints that it probably was Paul. Nevertheless, what the writer is pointing out to these Jewish believers, believers, these were not Ephesians saved as Gentiles and brought into the Church of God. These were Jews that were saved and brought into the Church of God and he is exhorting them to separate.
From that which was of the old system, that is the old ceremonies and rites and the physical building and the incense and the robes and the all that, the circumcision and all the things that went with Judaism. They were to now separate from that. Because that though it was a picture by type and shadow of Christianity and what was and and Christ and so on. Yeah, that had all been set aside now and they were to leave that.
And they were to come out from it. However, it does say, let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp. And Scripture always has an application for us, a present application. And if we say that the camp in its strict application only applies to Israel or to Judaism, then what are we to separate from? There's got to be some application for you and for me.
Now I'll try to put it as simply as possible. And then we're going to go to two instances in the Old Testament that I hope will help us to understand this stand this, that is the camp for Israel for the Jewish believer was Judaism.
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But in application for us, I believe, if anything today.
In the Christian world, that has taken on the characteristics of Judaism.
And I don't think I have to explain too far what I'm saying. You understand this very, very clearly. Because in Judaism, there was the beautiful building, there was the temple, there were the beautiful robes that the priests wore, there was the incense, there was the music. Everything was for the natural senses.
But in Christianity that has been set aside, we are not of the Circumcision that worship Christ in the flesh. The Old Testament was worshipped for man in the flesh. Yes, there were those who were real and whose hearts truly responded. But a man could be stirred up in his religious being. He could be stirred up in his soul by simply walking into that beautiful temple, smelling that beautiful incense, all the wonderful things that he saw and heard there.
But in Christianity it is not religion for the flesh. And so we find as we go through the New Testament that all that is set aside. The Lord said they that worship the Father must worship him in spirit and in truth. You know tonight we're going to have again if we have a sing some music like we did last night and we appreciate the young people that brought some instruments but this morning we didn't have that because to introduce that in our worship is.
To go back to the camp, it's to go back to that which takes on the characteristics of of Judaism. Now I want to go back 'cause I wanna make this very clear. I wanna go back to two instances in the Old Testament that I believe bring before us what the camp really is and those in the camp and outside the camp. Exodus Chapter 33.
Exodus Chapter 33.
And verse 7. And Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, a fire off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that everyone that thought the Lord went out under the Tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass when Moses went out under the Tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses till he was gone into the Tabernacle. And it came to pass.
As Moses entered into the Tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the Tabernacle. And the Lord talked with Moses, And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the Tabernacle door, and all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his tent door. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp but his servant Joshua.
A young man, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man departed not out of the Tabernacle. So here we have an introduction to, I believe, what the can't what is referred to in the book of Hebrews as the camp. And we find here that sin had come in to the people of God, and it required that there be a very real degree of separation, because as we said earlier in these meetings, God's way of blessing and fellowship is always separation from evil.
That's why in the verses we read in Hebrews on the Day of Atonement, when the question of sin was taken up, the sacrifice had to be taken outside the camp and burned. What God was really teaching his people was that sin was a thing that was not fit for his presence or the presence of his people. And you know, in taking the Lord Jesus outside the gates of Jerusalem and having him nailed to a Roman cross, that's really the way they treated the Lord Jesus.
They treated him as sin itself. They said he's not fit for our society, and they took him outside that city, that holy city that deteriorated to such a point that it had religion without Christ. And they nailed him to A to a Roman cross. But what I want to point out here is that every man stood up and worshiped in his tent door. There were not many evidently who separated and went outside where those the Lord was.
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There the Lord was no longer in the camp collectively. Now he was outside. They pitched it away from the camp outside a far off from the camp. But what I want to notice is every man stood up and worshipped in his tent door. It didn't mean that those who were in the camp were not, were not the people of God. They were. Nor did it mean that there wasn't worship. There was. And you know, there are many today.
Who worship who came together on this Lord's day and worship the Lord. Every man stood up and there was worship in their tent door. And there were are many true believers, my brothers and sisters in Christ. I love them dearly. I have as much fellowship as I can with them when I meet them from time to time with Gospel literature supply for which you were doing text work today. Most of that literature it we make available to our brothers and sisters. If I can put it this way in the camp. And we're thankful that we can provide good sound literature for them. They are true believers.
They worship the Lord, but we find there was a special blessing here.
For those that went outside the camp, a special sense of the Lord's presence. And I think it's beautiful that Joshua, this young man, he he goes outside and he departs not out of the Tabernacle. He valued that special place. Yes, it was separation from many of his dear brother, perhaps even from family. Maybe there's somebody here and you have family members that are not happy you're here with other believers.
Gathered to the Lord's name. There was a very real degree of separation here with Joshua and others. But what a blessing there was to go out where the Lord was at the in the Tabernacle of the congregation. Now we find that Moses. Then he goes back into the camp. Why? Because he's a picture of the Lord Jesus, and the Lord doesn't forsake his people in the camp. You know, wherever there is an individual appreciation of the person and work of Christ.
There's going to be worship, and the Lord doesn't forsake his people. Again, as I mentioned, He is with every individual believer. He'll never leave them nor forsake them. And so wonderful privilege to go outside the camp, to be separated to the Lord's name and the Lord's name alone, to be gathered to his name, to give testimony, give expression to the truth of the one body, and so on. But remember, there are many of our brothers and sisters.
Who either know nothing about this precious truth or for one reason or another are walking a little different path and not in fellowship with us. Let us go then for the other example to Numbers Chapter 11. I know our time is gone, but we just take another few minutes and finish this subject Numbers Chapter 11.
And verse 24.
And Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the 70 men of the elders of the people.
And set them round about the Tabernacle. And the Lord spake, and I'm sorry. And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him.
And took of the Spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the 70 elders.
And it came to pass that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and did not cease.
And there remain two of the men in the camp, the name of the one with Eldad and the name of the other Me Dad.
And the Spirit rested upon them, and they were of them that were written, but went not out under the Tabernacle.
And they prophesied in the camp and there ran a young man and told Moses and said Eldad and me dad do prophecy in the camp.
And Joshua the son of none, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My Lord, Moses forbid them.
And Moses said unto him, Envious thou for my sake would God, that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them. And Moses got him into the camp, He and the elders of Israel, I want to speak of this in connection with, if we can put it in our language for today evangelical work and the going forth of the truth in various ways. Now we find here that what happened? If you started back in the 14th verse, you'd find that Moses complained about the work the Lord gave him to do, And he said, Lord, I'm just not able to do it.
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And so the Lord allowed that there would be 70 elders appointed, and he took some of the Spirit off Moses, and he distributed it amongst the 70 elders. In other words, there was more machinery, but there was no more power. Moses had been given all the power that he needed for the service God had raised him up for. And when God calls us to a service, whether it's little or great, and everyone of us here who know Christ have a service, it's not a question of.
Can you do it? It's a question of is this the service the Lord has given you to do? If it is, He's given you everything you need to do it all. The power is there. So there was more. There was no more power, but there was more machinery because Moses complained. And what was the result? Eldad and me dad prophesied in the camp. Immediately we find these two prophesying and a young man runs and he tells Moses what Moses What's going on in Joshua's.
Oh, no, rebuke rebuked them. Oh, Moses says no. I'm glad for those that are prophesying in the camp. In other words, in our language, Moses said, I'm glad for anybody, anywhere that's telling forth the truth of God that has a message from God. And I am too. Again, most of the literature that is distributed through our book rooms in the Caribbean and South America, it goes out to those who are prophesying in the camp.
They're giving out the gospel and to some degree the truth of God too, and we're thankful for it. And you and I need to rejoice for every effort there is.
Both to reach the lost and to encourage and teach the Saints of God. I want to say this carefully, but if the gospel effort depended on those gathered to the Lord's name, it would be a very feeble effort at best. Now I'm not saying there isn't much done amongst those gathered to the Lord's name, and percentage wise too, and so on, but nevertheless, aren't we thankful for the eldads and the me dads? You know, there's so much tons and tons and Joe knows this Working at Bible Truth, there's just tons and tons of literature.
That goes out around this world every day and through many organizations, Bibles and good solid literature distributed every day through many who've never been gathered to the Lord's name. They're not in fellowship with us as far as the Lord's table. But here's what the Apostle Paul said. He said, whether in truth or pretense, Christ is preached. And I therein do rejoice. Yeah, and will rejoice when the disciples saw.
Others casting out demons.
That weren't walking with the disciples, they said, Lord rebuke them, bring down fire from heaven. The Lord said no.
They that are not against us are for us. And so how wonderful it is that we have brothers and sisters out there in the camp, out in the in other Christian fellowships who are prophesying, telling forth the word of God. Because that's what prophecy very simply is. It's speaking for God. It's a message from God for others 1St and and God has given us every believer a message for others, whether it's to the lost in the gospel.
Or whether it's in ministry to the Saints. But again, notice that Moses doesn't encourage Joshua to go and join them.
He doesn't tell Joshua you go and prophecy. In the camp Joshua was responsible to stay.
Where there was a special sense of the Lord's presence outside the camp and young people, we don't have to join up with that which is not according to the word of God, to have opportunities to speak for God. There are many who have so much work to do for the Lord they can hardly get it done and they keep 1 foot in the assembly, if I can put it that way, and one foot out giving out the gospel and encouraging.
Their brothers and sisters in Christ be like the compass that you use from the math set in school. Keep that. Keep the one end of the compass firmly planted at the center where God, where the Lord is, where He has promised to be in the midst. And then go out and in a in a circle and meet the needs that you see around you. You don't have to leave the Lord's table or to go other places to be useful for the Lord.
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You know you don't have to get up in the morning and ask the Lord for opportunities as much as you need to get up in the morning and ask the Lord.
That you would be sensitive to the opportunities that arise and avail yourself of them because there are certainly no shortage of opportunities. The young people. We've covered these six charts very, very quickly. We certainly have not given an exhaustive explanation of the truth that we have tried in a very feeble way to illustrate through these circles. But again, I trust you'll take these charts with you. Go over some of the scriptures you've jotted down if you have any questions.
There are many who would be happy to explain further things to you. I know we've run a lot by you in these meetings this weekend, but we trust you've got something for profit and blessing.