November 27th: Friday, 3:00 P. M.
Hymn 82 L. F. Prayer.
EPHESIANS 4:4-164There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:4‑16)
Q. I would like to ask what the expressions mean "above all, and through all, and in you all"? (verse 6)
A. God is supreme, God is everywhere; but with the Christian God dwells in him—"in you all." So, "in you all" refers to ourselves, to the Church. God dwells in us. "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." 1 John 4:1515Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15).
It is emphatic; it comes from the widest circle, (all creation), to the individual believer, and says "in you all"' not simple "all", in general, but it is limited to the believer—"in you all." In 1 John 4:1515Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15), the blessed truth I believe is this: The believer has found a dwelling place, a home, in God; and God has found a dwelling place in him, not merely salvation, or forgiveness. "God dwelleth in him, and he in God" is judicial, and is the climax. A wonderful contrast, that these poor hearts of ours should have a home, a dwelling place in God, and then God finding a dwelling place in us. That is what God has sought, i.e., the possession of man's heart. He lost man's confidence in Eden, and ever since He has been at work to regain it, and the heart that shrank from Him at the thought of having to do with Him, now finds a dwelling place in Him, and he finds a dwelling place in the believer.
That was the work of Christ. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. This is a manifestation of the fact that God is so different to what man thought He was. This is another phase of our nature, i.e,. alienation. These are all different phases of the results of man's falling away from God. He is unholy, alienated, and they are all met in the Lord Himself. New creation covers them all.
"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God", but now "we joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the reconciliation."
Then there is another very beautiful thing, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." Rom. 5:1-111Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:1‑11). But peace with God, and joy in God are two different things; and God does not stop short of the latter. Peace with God, in itself, is not worship nor adoration: but joy in. God is worship, and that is when the deepest phase of man's alienated condition is brought before us. We have now received the reconciliation (not the justification.)
Here it is general; it is the widest scope coming down to the unit. And "in you all" is the same thing in effect in Col. 3:1111Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11), where "Christ is all, and in you all." He not only fills the shere and place, in everything, but is in you, in the individual; only in Colossians it says "Christ," where as in Eph. 4:66One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:6), it is "God".
In Eph. 3:1919And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Ephesians 3:19) we have another phase of it, and there it is the blessed realization of the love of Christ in our souls, i.e., "that ye might be filled even to all the fullness of God." There we get the heart entering into it; there we get our minds possessed by it, so that we are filled unto all the fullness of God. The prayer in the 3rd chapter is for the realization of it; the prayer in the 1st chapter is for the knowledge of it.
Referring to the last clause of Eph. 4:1010He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:10), ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things." When Christ entered heaven, ascended into the heavens, passed above them all are in Scripture-He filled everything with a new glory. What glory was that? It was redemption glory. When He returned to heaven after doing what He came to do, i.e., glorify God, having finished the work God had given Him to do, He went back to heaven in a new way. He went back, not only in the worth of His person, but He went back for what He had done; and He fills all things now in that way. When the new creation is fully consummated, what glory will fill heaven and earth? Redemption glory. That is the glory that shall remain. Creation glory, He lost through sin. Redemption glory will remain throughout eternity.
The new song is a song of triumph, through the work of Christ. What a wonderful thing is the resurrection and ascension of Christ.
A. No. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of God, is personal. All the fullness of God dwelt in Christ. There is reconciling all things to the fullness of Godhead, but there is no thought of the companion there. If you read that passage slightly different it might help some of us in that way.
We have God's object of all in the close of Col. 1:1818And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18). The object is that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. The "all things" there include creation and redemption. The glory of creation is His. Well, there" is the glory of redemption, and that is His, too. So in the passage we referred to, Col. 1:1919For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (Colossians 1:19), you will see the words "the Father" are in italics. There is nothing about the Father in here. I don't doubt but that in a certain sense it is true, but that is not the sense of the passage. "For in Him God was pleased to dwell"—i.e., the fullness of Godhead found its delight in this One. “And, having made peace through the blood of His cross"—now that reaches very, very far; there is a ground laid for reconciliation—reconciliation in righteousness—by "Him to reconcile all things unto Himself." All became separated from God, alienated from Him, by sin. Now, all is brought back to God, on the ground of the blood of Christ, i.e., it is brought back on the ground of reconciliation and redemption, the basis of which is the blood of Christ. All goes back to God as such, and so we can see there is no thought of Him as Father. Well, He is to "reconcile"—mark that—"all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether things in. earth, or things in heaven." There is scope in this. That is what God is going to do by way of reconciliation. What has He done by way of reconciliation? "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now" (that is not future) "hath He reconciled." That is what God is doing now, i.e., reconciling individuals. The ultimate and everlasting result of the work of the cross will be, everything brought back, restored to God, reconciled to God, upon the ground, not of almighty power, but of sacrifice. And now God is reconciling individuals; "We pray you, be ye reconciled to God." We may say, now God has had to give up the effort (I speak fittingly) to reconcile this world unto Himself. God has been defeated in that effort. God did at one time endeavor to reconcile the world unto Himself. What was the result? The Son of God comes into the world, in love, in power; meets every form of evil not a form but has to give way before His word—and what for! Seeking to win back poor man. But they crucified the Reconciler; so God had to give up, and God is not seeking to reconcile the world now. The world has shut God up to do one thing with it; it left Him with but one course to pursue, individuals i.e., to execute righteous judgment. Well, what is He doing now? He is reconciling individuals before He takes that course which the world has shut Him up to. So that gives us another phase of what was spoken of.
Now mark another thing about 2 Cor. 5:19, 2019To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:19‑20). God is seeking and reconciling individuals now, and how is that? "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." It is the continuation of the ministry of reconciliation, but continuing on another basis, and with another result; God appealing to man now individually, from what was done by Christ who offered Himself as a sin offering for Him. Not merely that He sent a Savior into the world, but the love that made that Savior, when He had been rejected by the world, made that Son a sin offering.
What a number of things this part of Eph. 4 brings before us, and it is beautiful to see that that line of truth in Colossians, as to the person of Christ, stands alone. In the next chapter (Col. 2:99For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)) it states, "In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead."
How had they received Christ Jesus, the Lord? (Col. 2:66As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (Colossians 2:6)). As an all-sufficient Savior for sinners; and now they are to learn that He is an all-sufficient Savior for saints—"so walk ye in Him." There is enough for you sinners, and there is enough for you saints. "Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanks giving"—don't forget the thanksgiving.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him."
A. It means His body; in Him as a man. If we had lived when the Lord Jesus was here on earth, and could have viewed with the natural eye, as we do by the eye faith now, that man that sat at the well, we would have seen the One in Whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead—that is what is meant by bodily; not something vague. The works of the Spirit were manifested in Him, and the works of the Father were all seen in Him. If you want to see the Father's character, look at the Son.
Then refer to John 1:1414And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14). See what there is about the Word in the first part of the chapter, and then what we have about the Word in the 14th verse: "And the Word was made" (or became) "flesh"; "we have heard,—we have seen with our eyes—our hands have handled, of the Word of life." (1 John 1:11That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (1 John 1:1)).
Philip said, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us", and Jesus said, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake." That is bodily isn't it? When we look at Him, what a wonderful person He is!
A. Whose does it say? His servants, the throne of God and the Lamb of God shall be in it. "His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads—and they shall reign forever and ever." That is all connected with the description of the Bride, the Lamb's wife; for what you have just called our attention to is all a part of the continuation of the description of the Bride, the Lamb's wife.
What does that mean "They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads"? Well, there are different thoughts connected with "name" in Scripture; one is individuality,—"He calleth His own sheep by name." The other thought is intimacy. "Yet Thou hast said, I know thee by name", and "He has said, I do know thee by name." So here there is this relationship, in all its fullness and outstanding character.
The forehead in Scripture, when used figuratively, is always that which is prominent, outstanding; where you can see it; and their relationship to God in service will be outstanding.
What is the character of relationship of those that reign forever and ever? It is that of servants; not children. Rev. begins and ends with it. There is nothing in it about the Father's house nor the Father’s mansions, for that is another line of truth. Rev. starts out, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants—signified unto His servant John." That is the character. It speaks of "His Father", but never of "our Father."
When the sun will go down here presently, if it were not for the moon, stars, etc., it would all be dark; but switch on the electric lights, and we are flooded with light. That is just the way it will be there. There will be no temple there—a temple is a confinement—but all will be filled with glory, and all that glory concentrated in and radiating from the Lamb.
A. I don't know; but where did that voice come from? It came from heaven. "Behold",—is not that a kind of expression of surprise?—"The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them." I don't know, but I had thought God changed His dwelling place in that new creation; and that it is God's final and everlasting victory over Satan. God came to visit Adam in Eden, in the cool of the day, and found His poor creature hiding away from Him; "I heard Thy voice—and I was afraid." But in the end, God does not come to visit, but to dwell.
It is God come to dwell, through redemption, with man. God looked forward to redemption, from the very first. Now the full triumph has come, for that is the eternal state here. From the 9th verse of Rev. 21 to the 5th verse of chapter 22, it is the millenial scene, but this is the eternal state.
I would like to make a remark in regard to the words, "It is done." In what sense can it be said "It is done"? It is a settled purpose of God. It is recorded, "Write". Who is He that says such a thing? I sometimes put together nine words, On the cross the blessed Lord said, "It is finished". When the seventh vial was poured out, He said, "It is done", and here where the eternal state is before Him, He says "It is done". Three words the same, in three connections. We all know what is meant when the blessed Lord upon the cross asked for the drink; that the last word in Scripture concerning His sufferings might be fulfilled, He said, "I thirst". One Scripture to be fulfilled as to His sufferings, and then all was fulfilled. He received the vinegar, bowed His head, and gave up His spirit—that is a divine act. We all know what that was. He lays down His life,—all is done. But when, in Rev. 16:1717And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. (Revelation 16:17), the seventh vial was poured out into the air, and there came a great voice out of heaven, saying, "It is done", What is done? Well, to me it is this: What pleasure had God in pouring out those vials of wrath, one after another, upon the earth? He had no pleasure in it. Man's sin, of course, made it a necessity; and those words in Rev. 16:1717And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. (Revelation 16:17) to me convey this: It is a relief to know that the last one is poured out. What an insight into the love of God! Like a parent who is correcting a child, and the correction has to be severe, how glad the parent is when the last one is given. We all understand that it was a relief, and it is done. Those seven vials were filled up with the wrath of God, from Rev. 15:11And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. (Revelation 15:1). That was God's strange work, and He is glad it is over.
Another thing is conveyed in Rev. 21. That new and eternal state passes in vision before Him, and it is a settled, accomplished purpose, and He says to record it. It is Alpha and Omega who is to accomplish it.
Then He goes to a different line of things—"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life." Here we have the results, Verse 7 is the full triumph of all who are His. Verse 8 gives the doom of the lost,—the lake of fire.
"And He gave" (It is an ascended, glorified man; who has received "in manhood", as we saw from Psa. 68:1818Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. (Psalm 68:18) this morning) "some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors, and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ"—that is what the one body is, i. e., Christ's body—"till ve all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
We cannot say that we have apostles and prophets now in the sense spoken of here, can we? If we refer to Eph. 2:2020And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Ephesians 2:20), we shall see where they come in. You don't build the foundation upon the top of a house; the foundation comes first. So now we don't need apostles and prophets, because the foundation is finished; and we now have evangelists, pastors and teachers, the gifts of God come down from Christ on high, to men.
There is nothing at all in Scripture about ordaining gifts. There was appointment of elders and deacons, but nothing about gifts. You do not find a man over a congregation in Scripture; a pastor is a pastor wherever he is; an evangelist, an evangelist where he is. These are gifts that Christ has given from the glory. And these three, i. e., those of evangelists, pastors and teachers, comprise the ministry that is needed nowadays' the shepherd looking after the flock; the teacher opening up the Word of God to them, and the evangelist going out with his Gospel to the unsaved. In other words, in the order in which they are given in Eph. 4:1111And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (Ephesians 4:11), the evangelist goes out and gathers the material, and brings it in; then the pastors build it up and the teacher teaches it, and all of this is done without any organizing. The organization was formed at Pentecost.
It is divine order that stands, and for all time, whether any obey it or not. However, if we are walking according to Scripture, we shall seek the original ground where it was given, and search it out.
Q. The apostle Paul had all these gifts, and I suppose some servants of Christ, have more than one.
A. There is nothing to hinder it. "Covet these things." In these days, it is a question of how I can fit in, whether teaching, shepherding, or giving the Gospel; especially in the day of the remnant, we should help. Ezra was a help. His name means "help" (Ezra 7:1010For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. (Ezra 7:10)). First he prepared his heart, he sought the law of the Lord, to do it and to teach it. Helps are much needed today.
Q. These gifts can be combined, can they not? that is, Timothy was exhorted to do the work of an evangelist.
A. It is often strangely misunderstood, as if the apostle meant Timothy to do an evangelist's work, when he had not that gift, and consequently was not really an evangelist! For such a construction there is not the shadow of a sound reason. The danger rather was that the increasing difficulties and troubles of the assembly might distract the young and sensitive laborer, calling him to forego the exercise of that which was truly his gift without, though not his only one, because of the demands from within. Work so blessed to which the Lord had called him must not be intermitted. The evangelist is not a preacher only: work of faith and labor of love in quest of souls characterize him who presses the glad tidings on souls individually as well as publicly.
You don't wait to preach until you are sure you have a gift. Philip was not called an evangelist until after he had been speaking twenty-five years; and then the Spirit of God felt free to call him an evangelist. We don't need to label ourselves at all.
Today in the systems of schools and denominations, a person first chooses to be this or that, and then he starts to work. What you often find is that a young man gets saved, and is very earnest, and God develops him' so that the school or college He puts him through is altogether a different one; he is taught by the Spirit of God through the Word and circumstances. Saul of Tarsus went to college before he was converted (Acts 22:33I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. (Acts 22:3)), but after he was converted he had to go through another college. He had to go down to Arabia (Gal. 1:17, 1817Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. (Galatians 1:17‑18)). Not a word is given us of what happened there. Then he goes back to Jerusalem, to his work. God has a way of putting us through a school. Moses went through one school in Egypt, but the other he went through on the backside of the desert. And all this about true ministry and service is that we learn to go on with God. He opens the door, whether to go out to preach the Gospel, or whether it is to teach the children of God, locally. In such a case you find ability often shows itself in teaching the saints, and also in preaching the Gospel. None of us are shut up to just one kind of work, and we don't graduate in the Lord's school at all until the Lord comes.
Timothy was told to stir up the gift that was in him, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." This was special. Paul prophesied to Timothy that God gave him a gift. He laid on his hand in confirmation of that, and God gave him that gift through prophesy, so that he was in a special place. He and Titus were marked out to go out to every assembly.
There was no ceremony called ordination. After the apostles, you don't hear of ordination of elders or deacons, not once. There is no intention of carrying it on, as if one had authority to appoint a man now. From beginning to end, it is a deviation from the truth. It is departing from the Word, for a man to assume an authority for which there is no Scripture at all. The nearest you get to that is in 2 Tim. 2:22And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2), and there it is just handing on the truth; and was not an appointment. Offices and gifts are quite different. A gift is that given from Christ on high; deacons and elders (officers) were local.
Q. The work that the Lord Jesus gave Peter to do, was the foundation work, was it not?
A. Peter was a special man; to him were given the keys of the kingdom,-not the keys of heaven. Heaven has no keys, at all. Authority was now given him by God, he uses that authority in Acts 2 and opens the kingdom door to the Jews; and in Acts 10 he uses his authority of the keys, and opens the door to the Gentiles. Peter wrote two letters to the Jewish sheep; Paul wrote only one. There is no name to the Epistle to the Hebrews, but 2nd Peter seems to tell us that it was Paul who wrote it; "Our beloved brother Paul" has written an Epistle unto you. These servants of God were appointed by the Lord Jesus alone.
The only man that was ordained in Scripture that I know of was Moses' grandson, and he was ordained a priest over Miciah's graven images.
Timothy is a special case, and for a special reason. Timothy was, we gather from Scripture, weak in body, and perhaps a timid man, easily discouraged; indeed, we see it in the 2nd Epistle. He might say, in face of all the discouragements seeing no fruit of his labors—perhaps no answer to his prayers —"I am not called to the ministry", but he could not do that, for God had guarded him in that way. There is a stirring up of the gift that is in him by the putting on of hands, laying on of hands by the presbytery, and the word by prophesy.
This is a special case; nothing like it; and for that reason how many a devoted servant of God has been discouraged and has given up because he has seen no results. I think it very important to see that. (Col. 4:1717And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. (Colossians 4:17)).
We have seen so often, dear brethren who have preached the Gospel, and they did it effectually for a time, but they became so much engaged with the things of the world that they let the preaching go. They needed this exhortation "Take heed to the ministry, which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it;" we all need it more or less. It is beautiful to see God's consideration of the weakness, the natural weakness, of the vessel, and His guarding against it in the ordering of his path. That is what I see in God's way in dealing with Timothy. You can't say there is not gift; first there was the putting on of Paul's hands, and then the hands of the presbytery, but that is a special case. The laying on of hands now, save in the way of fellowship or of identification, is all mockery. The word presbytery means elder hood. "Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work where—unto I have called them." Well, these servants of the Lord were praying and fasting about their ministry, and while they wait, the Holy Ghost speaks,—never mind how He spoke, but He spoke,—(those how's bother us a good deal), the point is that the Holy Ghost said, "Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." Then they laid their hands on them and let them go, so they were being sent forth by the Holy Ghost. There it was just fellowship and identification with the Holy Spirit in sending them forth. It came, too, from those who had been in prayer and fasting for sometime. You see, we can't send men; but when men go, we can express our fellowship with them; that is the difference. Barnabas and Paul were not sent by their brethren. We find that these servants, having gone out, had to get their orders daily. In Acts 16:66Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, (Acts 16:6) they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach in Asia. In the one place they were forbidden to go; in the next place they could not go because of hindrances. Then when they went to Philippi and preached, they were beaten and thrown into prison. I dare say, when they got into prison, for a few moments they might think to themselves, "Did we make a mistake?" However, God soon spoke to them in that prison, and their sufferings were turned into prayer and praise. That was a new phase of the work,-an open door, and new adversaries. So the door was opened, and it was closed. They had done their work in the little while that remained. They would not leave the city until they were asked. They went down to the house of Lydia, "and when they had seen the brethren they comforted them, and departed." The work went on without them after that, and we find from Phil. 1:11Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: (Philippians 1:1) that in a little while there was a meeting of such size as to need bishops and deacons—that means overseers—these men of God had to be appointed by the apostles or their delegates, to supply what was necessary, so the work of God was completed, to look after the work of the assembly. That is the only appointment we get in Scripture.
The formation of that assembly was simply the work of the Spirit. They had no name, just gathered to His name. It was a little company of some from heathenism and from Judaism, and this was a new thing to them. There they were, the company of God. Assembly always means a company—it never means a building. They were left behind without any organization at all, with the Spirit, and Christ in the midst. It was as in Matt. 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20).
There is a nice word in Acts 14:21, 2321And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, (Acts 14:21)
23And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. (Acts 14:23), "They returned again"; what for? "Confirming the souls of the disciples" (those that had been converted when they first went there), "and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." That is very blessed, their care; first they came and preached, then they return, and the second time it was to care for them, and in doing that they gave them caretakers; they "ordained them elders in every assembly." An elder is just a caretaker; they care for the little companies in that way.
Each one of these assemblies, whether small or large, was the local representative of the body of Christ, at that time; so that Paul, writing to the Corinthians could say, "Ye are the body of Christ", and "the assembly of God". That was the ground on which they were gathered. We could not say that now. We could not take the ground of being the assembly of God. No company on earth could do that now, in any given place.
The 5th verse of Eph. 4 covers a far larger area than the 4th verse. The 5th verse takes in all Christendom. So that now, in the midst of all this, it is broken into fragmentary pieces, and they all have their different names and societies to which they have attached their own names, and they call themselves the name of Christ underneath, but their own name is on top; but in Matt. 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20) you have "Where two or three are gathered together unto My Name, there am I in the midst of them." We could not say that we are the assembly of God; but we could say, we are on the ground of the assembly of God, where all Christians should be. In our place and in our behavior, we have to bow our heads with shame and own the failure connected with it. So it becomes our part, brethren, to be ever broken and humble before God, and if we seek to say that we are gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ought to have His character stamped upon us. To carry that Name without Christ's character, is a shame.
Hymn 243 L. F. Prayer