November 28th; Saturday, 10:30 A. M.
Hymn 99 L. F. Prayer
Ephesian 4:8, 11-16
All true ministry comes from the Head on high, Christ. It is not of man, nor by man, though it comes through man.
What is the object of ministry? "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." We have the unity of the Spirit, before we have the unity of the faith.
Q. What is "the faith"?
A. It is the faith of God's elect. The unity of the faith is the revelation of truth as given by God as a whole; and every part of that faith forms a part of a whole, a unity.
Take the truth as to creation. If we give up this truth, and take up Evolution, we break the unity of the faith. It is composed of many parts, but includes the whole Word of God.
God in counsel has set up a certain system, for His own glory first; and then for the glory of His Son... was set up from everlasting" (Prov. 8:2323I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. (Proverbs 8:23)).
"Set up" in what way? Set up in counsel. Why we refer to that here in regard to this passage is because of the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God... well, that is the Son of God in manhood... He is the center and head of this unity of the faith that is brought before us here. A most important thing for us to see: The knowledge of the Son of God, in the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ. The faith is what we believe. The faith is what we have faith in. The faith is the truth.
I think it is most important to see that it is the unity of the faith here; not exactly the truth of the faith; and that unity has a center, and that center is the Son of God, but the Son of God in manhood. So we come to the knowledge of the Son of God. We shall not come to that knowledge until the Lord comes. But, then, it is given in this verse as a proof of the Lord's not going to fail to give these gifts, until He comes, as you see from the object, stated in the 12th verse, and until that is accomplished, the gifts continue; these gifts are given until we all come to a full knowledge, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit (in 1st Cor.) were what were given then, but some of the gifts have passed away. What the Lord sees is necessary for the building up of His Church here on earth till He comes, He supplies. We will need the shepherds, the evangelists, the teachers, until He comes; we can't do without them. The Lord has not left us alone. He takes care of His own, and supplies all that is needed on the journey home.
Here it is not only the building up of the assembly, but the body as a whole. There is no mention of evangelists in the gifts of 1st. Cor. because the place of the work of an evangelist, properly, is outside the assembly.
Verse 26 gives us what the Lord is doing now, i. e., sanctifying and cleansing it with the washing of water by the Word, by means of these gifts.
Notice the order; the evangelist brings them in, and then you get the teacher and pastor looking after them. The teacher comes last. If there is no pastoral work, there would be no need of teachers. It is the pastoral work that keeps the saints together. Then when they are together, we have teachers to teach them.
The order is divine; first, gathering the material; then the caring for it, then building it up. The word pastor is "shepherd" in the other translation.
There is so much lack of visiting and pastoral work among the saints. Sometimes I am asked the question; What should we do with those who stay away? Shall we give out their names as not being in fellowship? Well, I try to tell them that there is a lot of pastoral work to be done before they do that.
Q. Won't some one tell us of the duties of a pastor? Maybe pastors would like to know some of the things in the scope of a pastor's work.
"I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
It is a flock there, without an enclosure, and they go in and out. That means liberty, Christian liberty. Of course, there is liberty to go out and serve Him, but in John 10:99I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9) He is represented as a shepherd, and there His flock follows Him, and He leads them unto still waters and green pastures; but then, some stray far out. He does not keep dogs, but under-shepherds, to look after them and try to keep them near. There might be wolves, or they might get into thorns. So the under-shepherds are those who seek to present Christ to them, and that is the shepherd's work.
If you minister Christ to one who has been at fault, he will say, "O, I see I was wrong in that thing." The ministry of Christ does the work, and he clears himself from the evil. Pastoral work is getting their souls close to Christ, occupied with Christ. Then the chief Shepherd will bring them back.
There is a nice word as to Jacob. In the King James version, it is translated, "The God that fed me all my life long"; but in another translation it is "The God that shepherded me", not merely fed. Jacob realized at the end of his course, that he had been the object of God's shepherd care all his life long. I like that alteration. In John 21:1616He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:16) it says, "Shepherd My sheep." How sad in regard to the shepherds in Ezek. 34:1-161And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 8As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 10Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 11For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. (Ezekiel 34:1‑16). We are all to be shepherds, in our measure, nowadays; we can't get along without shepherd work.
A. It is because they gather and keep the flock around the chief Shepherd. The work of the shepherd is pretty much unseen work; consequently, in that day, it would be, as it were, more publicly known. The evangelist, every one knows. The work of the teacher is not like that of the shepherd; but the work of the shepherd is, as it were, painful toil, unseen work; it is the house-to-house work, as it were. I believe that is why the crown of glory is spoken of in connection with the shepherds. Anyone who has tried to do a little shepherd work knows what unseen work it is.
I was very much struck when I noticed the other translation as to Jacob. (Gen. 48:1515And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, (Genesis 48:15)) That was the end of Jacob's course, and what a course Jacob's had been. "And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk." He does not say "God, before whom I walked," but "before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk," "the God that shepherded me all my life long." What a growth there had been in Jacob's soul! "O", he says, "Abraham, my father, and Isaac, my father, walked with God. That is the God that shepherded me." It is something like Peter, in the passage we have just referred to, (1 Peter 5:11The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: (1 Peter 5:1)) he won't say he had been "a partaker of the sufferings of Christ"; but "a witness of the sufferings of Christ." I don't think Peter ever forgot that he denied the Lord, and he never forgave himself, though the Lord forgave. Just as with Paul. The Lord forgave him, but he never forgave himself. And such a thing leaves its mark all through one's course.
We are apt to overlook the love of Christ to the sheep, and His tender care of them, and how He appreciates that which is done to His glory, of course, for the sheep. Often we think that the only thing necessary is to be very wise and very much instructed in the Word of God, etc., and we forget often how the Lord looks after all His sheep, and how He notices every one of them; "He knoweth them by name."
How He prepared Peter for that position He gave him. He allowed Peter to pass through all that he passed through. And every time that Peter humbled himself, the Lord gave him a new charge. And then at the last, "Lovest thou Me?.... Feed My lambs." "Lovest thou Me?.... Shepherd My sheep." "Lovest thou Me?... Feed My sheep." Love to Christ is what brings about the shepherd care. There is no display in pastoral work. In teaching, the flesh may have a part, and you have to be on guard against it for teaching is done publicly, but in pastoral work the flesh can have very little part.
We have those two lines of service in 2 Cor. 11. There the apostle Paul speaks of what he suffered without, ... ..this might be the evangelistic side.
Then he says, "Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the assemblies,".... that would be the pastoral side; what he suffered within.
Some one has said, If you want joy, preach the Gospel; but if you want sorrow, try to serve the saints, i. e., do pastoral work.
"Shepherd the lambs" comes first because the lambs have the first place. The sheep, in a certain sense, can look out for themselves, but these little lambs are mentioned first because they need His care. You have that same order in Isa. 40:1111He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11). The lambs get the bosom and the arm there. The Lord has some tiny lambs and I wonder how they are faring.
There is something I think it is so blessed to see in our Lord... how He comes down, and condescends to the little lamb that can't stand up, and shows his care over such. It is something I think we often forget, i. e., the constant care, and the thought, the Lord has for each one of His lambs and His sheep. King David learned this among the lambs and the sheep that he attended; and the Scripture says, "He chose David also His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young He brought him to feed Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands." Psa. 78:70-7270He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: 71From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 72So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. (Psalm 78:70‑72). He had skill in doing so.
A Christian is never looked at as perfect until he is with and like a glorified Christ (Col. 1:27, 2827To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:27‑28); Col. 4:1212Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12); 1 Cor. 2:6,76Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: (1 Corinthians 2:6‑7)).
In Eph. 4 it is the carrying on of the work of the ministry, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." It takes in the whole scope of ministry, not only to get the saints to a certain point, but to keep them going on in it continually.
Q. Do you not think that the reason the pastoral work is neglected, is because some may feel they are not equipped for it; i. e., a brother who has a gift for giving out the Gospel, goes to a place where the Gospel is not preached much, and God gives him souls; and he leaves that place; though he feels they need a teacher. But in Acts 14:21, 2221And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, 22Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:21‑22) they went back, and confirmed the souls. Perhaps we know of places where souls have been saved, and then left to their own resources, and the end of it was that they were led into something wrong.
"They returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls" (Acts 14:21, 2221And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, 22Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:21‑22)) is an important part of the work and requires lots of patience. If God gives us the joy of leading a soul to Christ, we should not stop at that point, but follow on and seek to nurture that one.
What God wrought in Paul especially, was care for the saints, so as to "present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." And in Col. 1:99For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (Colossians 1:9), Paul says to them that he and Timothy "desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." There is really pastoral care and prayer for the saints.
But for an evangelist to leave the souls uncared for is bad work; I was going to say, it is almost cruel. They have been born again, have a new nature, they have an appetite for things not of this world, and if left alone, with no one to care for them, the natural result is no growth, or a stunted growth.
When the certain Samaritan took up that man who had fallen, and went to him, bound up his wounds, and poured in oil and wine, did he leave him there? No, he took him to an inn. That is shepherd care. Salvation care was binding up his wounds, and pouring in the oil and wine.
Then we have, of course, in that certain Samaritan the perfect servant. "Go and do thou likewise."
We need to pour in oil and wine. If we meet an anxious soul, we have the joy of pouring in the oil and wine, and binding up his wounds, and showing him what Christ has done. But we don't stop there, for then there is another part of the service before us, and that is to do the part of the host, and minister to them the two pence, and the two pence, we might say, are the ministry of Christ to their souls.
We look up to Christ in heaven, and see Him as our Great High Priest. That is one penny. Then the other penny is, "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father." So the second penny's worth is the ministry of Christ in our failures, to keep us in communion with the Father as we journey along. All that is, "Go and do thou likewise."
There are three kinds of ministry, the first, the evangelist; the second, the teacher; and the third, the shepherd care over them, nursing them along as the Spirit of God leads us to do.
The Spirit of God is the host, and he applies the truth of the advocacy and the priesthood of Christ.
There is another thing I would like to call attention to, i. e., the Gospel of Luke gives things in their moral character, while Matthew gives them in their dispensational character.
So when you read the parable of the Samaritan, read also what follows it, about Mary at the feet of the Lord, hearing His Word. The tenth chapter ends here, which is a pity, for the story does not. He gives a discourse on prayer (chapter 11). The moral connections are very beautiful in that way.
"And whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee" applies to any of us. Do not be afraid to go to any amount of trouble for the saints. "When I come again I will repay thee."
In Gen. 24 you have the same thing. The servant there, typifying the Spirit of God; also shows us the earnest servant walking in the power of the Spirit, in dependence about his charge, praying about it as He goes along.
I have thought that perhaps no service will receive such a hearty reward from the Lord as the work of the shepherd. "Whatsoever thou spendest more" is shepherd care. It is very beautiful, "When I come again, I will repay thee." How familiar are those words, "When I come again."
Look again at the two pence. Take another meaning. The poor man might say, "He is not going to be gone long, for he left only the expense for today and tomorrow, and said, 'I will come again.' “The longing of that man's heart would be for that "certain Samaritan.' "He won't be gone long, and He is coming again." It is very sweet language, "Behold, I come quickly." He left the word that He would not be gone long. However, He says, to the host, "You take care of him, and if I am long in coming, whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you." I think we fail at that point so often. When the two pence give out we are ready to cease in our care for them, if they are any trouble to us.
That our two pence can never fail, is blessed to know. The provision Christ has made for His Church is given in such a way that it is sufficient for the day. The number two is sufficiency, and while it is not enough to lay up a store, there is always enough. The supply never runs dry, but it is given in such a way that we are looking for our Lord Jesus Christ. Dependence is the way in which the Lord keeps his own, and it is just the path the flesh does not like.
Take the picture of the inn, what is that? It is God's house, and in God's house is where God dwells, and the host is the Holy Spirit. It is the habitation of God through the Spirit. It is just like the Lord, the competent Servant, and there is really nothing lacking.
Hymn 230 L. F. Prayer Hymn 64 L. F.