Beloved Mother,
There are few truths more solemnizing than that of the personal presence of the Holy Ghost, when rightly apprehended.
Every simple-minded Christian accepts it as a reality that God was once manifest in the flesh, and dwelt with men upon earth, moving among them, and conversing with them as a man. Nothing could have been more real, to those whom He admitted to association with Himself, than His presence with and His acting among them. How vividly does John set this forth in the opening of his first epistle: "That 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." Hearing, touch, and sight gave testimony to the reality of the Presence with which they had communion. As to this, they walked not by faith but by sight. Not the fact of His presence, but the character of Him who was there, was then the subject of faith. To be able, in the carpenter's son, who ate and drank and slept in their presence, to recognize the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord of glory, the true God and the eternal life, this was the test of a faith that could only be exercised in the power of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 16:16, 1716And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:16‑17); 1 Cor. 12:33Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (1 Corinthians 12:3); 1 John 5:2020And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)).
That blessed and heavenly Stranger is no longer here; He has "ascended up on high," and the heavens must retain Him "until the times of restitution of all things."
Before He quitted the earth He gave a promise that He would send another Comforter that He might abide with us forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom "the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him" (John 14). Our Lord having died, and risen, and ascended on high, Pentecost came, and with it the promised One. Sensible signs accompanied His advent, but no bodily presence appealed to ear or eye. The actings were there; the Agent was invisible. Faith was called to a different exercise now in respect of the present One. The demand on it was no longer belief in the Divine personality of One present in human guise, but belief in the presence of One to whom sight bore no direct testimony. Of course you understand that I am not speaking now of the question of salvation, which is, and always was, by faith in Christ.
The Holy Spirit is here, a resident among us: not an occasional visitant coming and going between us and the courts above, but One abiding with and in us, whose permanent dwelling-place (while the dispensation lasts) is here on earth. He has an habitation in reality here now, as He had in figure and shadow in the tabernacle or the temple of old. The "house of God is the Church of the living God," writes Paul to Timothy; and to that Church, again and again he says, "Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them I and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." "For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit"(1 Tim. 3:1515But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15); 2 Cor. 6:1616And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16); 1 Cor. 3:1717If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Corinthians 3:17); Eph. 2:20-2220And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20‑22)).
Does God indeed dwell with men on the earth? He does. Stupendous and amazing as is the thought, it is God's simple truth; a fact as real as the presence of the sun over our heads or the earth beneath our feet. Yes, the Holy Ghost is here, as really here as Jesus was of old; and His dwelling-place is the assembly. Do you and I believe it?
We cannot be said to believe a thing any further than as it affects our action. The man who professes belief in anything, but whose acting is uninfluenced by what he professes to believe, does not really believe it: hence James' principle: "Faith without works is dead, being alone." Show me thy faith without thy works (if thou canst), and I will show thee my faith by my works. A man shows me a bank-note and asks me if I believe it genuine. I say, "Yes." He then offers it to me in payment of a debt, and I decline it. Did I believe the note to be genuine? No. I have proved by my action I did not. So long as I felt no personal interest I was carelessly willing to admit its genuineness; but when a practical test was proposed, that required me to stake my interest on my belief, my faith was lacking. The sincerity of our belief of any truth of God is tested in the self-same way. It is an easy matter to give assent to doctrines, but the touch-stone of faith is, our readiness to act on the truths professed as being realities to us—as though that which is true to faith were just as real as if it were manifest to the senses.
If we believe in the actual presence of the Holy Ghost, a Divine person, in the assembly what is the course of action to which that belief ought to conduct?
It is quite evident that if a Divine person is present in the assembly of the saints, that fact ought to mold all its actions. Every act ought to be done with a distinct reference to that presence—the action itself is to be of suitaable character, and performed in a suitable manner. When God is present, He must rule. The ordering of everything must be according to His mind. If He has announced Himself present for the express purpose of directing, regulating, and acting in His own way, then anything that interferes with His so doing is an offense and a sin.
Scripture tells us that the Holy Ghost may be resisted (Acts 7:5151Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)), may be grieved (Eph. 4:3030And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)), and may be quenched (1 Thess. 5:1919Quench not the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)); thus our actions in the assembly have great solemnity. The injunction, "Quench not the Spirit," is very commonly urged upon the unconverted as a warning not to trifle with the convictions wrought by the Spirit in their souls. I have preached from it many times in that sense. But, however true the warning thus founded on it, such is not really the meaning of the passage.
The words are not addressed to unbelievers, but to the Church; and they are coupled with another injunction "Despise not prophesyings," which shows that it is the actings of the Spirit in ministry that are in contemplation. It is a warning to a Christian assembly, in which the Spirit of God was present, to beware of stiffing, by any counter action of theirs, His action in ministry through the members.
Every godly evangelical clergyman or minister believes that he may and ought to expect the help of the Holy Spirit in preaching and in preparing for the pulpit, even if it be in the matter of writing a sermon.
He asks in prayer for, and according to the measure and simplicity of his faith expects to obtain, divine guidance and help. I can speak for myself that, during fifteen years' experience in preaching the gospel, I cannot recall an instance of my standing up to preach, or setting myself to prepare for it without seeking for, and in some measure counting on, such aid; apart from such belief I should never have entered a pulpit at all, and I feel quite certain that in this I was no exception. It used to be pressed upon the students at the seminary where I studied theology, and is, I feel sure, the practice and belief of thousands, as I know it to be of many. It is this that originally lay at the bottom of the familiar Scottish horror of "the paper " in the pulpit; the thought that such preparation was a hindrance to the spontaneous action of the Spirit. I am satisfied that such expectations of divine help are right and well-founded, and are always met by the Lord according to the measure of faith; and if that faith went further, and basing itself on God's divinely-given warrant, expected His aid up to the promised measure, it would be met.
This is what we endeavor to do, and find the Lord true to Himself and our expectations.
"Brethren" are sometimes accused of pretending to inspiration. It is a baseless charge. None are, I believe, farther from any such claim. Understanding that "inspiration" is speaking or writing under the power of God; so that the utterances by mouth or pen bear the divine authority, and are consequently the word of God, "Brethren" repudiate in toto such pretensions. The prophet of old could write, "Thus saith the Lord;" and the apostle could say, "The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord;" but if any man nowadays should so profess, or in any other way pretend to speak with divine authority, we should not hesitate to say to him, "Anathema."
We believe firmly that there is but one inspired standard of divine truth now—the Bible—to which nothing is to be added, nor taken from, according to Rev. 22:18, 1918For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18‑19), and by this standard we are bound to "prove," to "try," and to "judge" (1 Thess. 5:2121Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21); 1 John 4:11Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1); 1 Cor. 14:2929Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. (1 Corinthians 14:29)) all teaching, when, where, or by whomsoever put forth.
When God has been pleased, at any time, to avail Himself of the instrumentality of imperfect and frail man, in order to reveal His own truth, He has come in with such power as to completely restrain the natural man, and the Spirit has acted in such entire command of the instrument, that the perfect mind of God, and that alone, has found expression; as a Balaam was made to prophesy his own ruin. But when it is a question of responsible ministry, though the same Spirit be there, not for the revealing of new truths, but for the unfolding or application of truths already revealed, then the measure of His action will be in proportion to the faith and faithfulness of him through whom He is pleased to minister. The flesh in self-will, or careless walk, may hinder, or in a measure mar, the Spirit's testimony, or may even "grieve" Him into silence, and ministry in the flesh may usurp the place of ministry in the Spirit; hence the necessity and the obligation laid upon the saints to judge, to try, and to prove what is presented by the one who speaks.
We believe that if the flesh be kept under, and the Holy Ghost allowed free and unhindered action, He will use the members of the body according to the gifts He has bestowed for that end, and will thus guide and direct the assembly in its worship and action to His own glory. Is this an extravagant or fanatical pretension? Or is it the simple soberness of a genuine faith, that takes God at His word, counts on Him, and acts with a due sense of its own responsibilities? In the practical expression of our faith in the presence, power, and rule of the Holy Ghost in the gatherings of the assembly, pre-arrangements as to ministry are abstained from; while waiting on the Lord in silent prayer, each member should seek to place himself in His hands, expecting Him to divide to every man severally as He will (1 Cor. 12:1111But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. (1 Corinthians 12:11)); to one a psalm (or hymn), to another a doctrine, to another an interpretation (1 Cor. 14:2626How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. (1 Corinthians 14:26)). One may feel led to read a passage of Scripture, another to offer a word of exhortation, and another to lead in worship or prayer, another to break the bread, giving thanks. Now, on such occasions there is opportunity for the flesh to come in, if there be not a godly watchfulness, and a spirit of self-judgment. Nothing short of a Divine presence and power could, I am well convinced, keep such assemblies from falling into confusion and disorder. As in Corinth when they grew unwatchful, the same would it be to-day.
We may expect to see at times indications of the presence of the flesh, and some of longer experience than myself have told me of such things; but I am happy to bear testimony that during eighteen months that I have now been frequenting gatherings of "Brethren" in Germany, France, Scotland, and England, I have not met with a single instance of even a tendency to disorder; on the contrary, I have found a sobriety, a solemnity, and a reality such as I have not met elsewhere; and although I have not always been sensible of equal power, I have ever felt a sense of the Divine presence.
When any one has received of God any spiritual gift, as that of an evangelist or teacher, he exercises it freely both in and out of the assembly, and in responsibility to the Giver alone, so long as he does so in soundness of doctrine and as comports with the Lord's honor. The evangelist preaches the gospel when, and where he will, and as he alone is responsible to the Lord for the conduct of his meetings, he orders them in any way he deems most suitable to his object. The same is the case with the teacher: he convenes the saints for lectures or Bible readings on his own responsibility; while the pastor is concerned as to the state of the flock; his visits from house to house are unchallenged and unhindered. No parish boundaries restrict the freedom of the gifts the Lord has imparted. There is the utmost freedom for ministry within the divinely-marked limits of sound doctrine and practice.
I have laid before you, beloved mother, an outline, though a very imperfect one of the principles I have embraced in the matter of Church order. Connected with them, I have found a much wider and precious unfolding of Divine truth, as contained in the Scriptures; but I forbear to speak of that now. I also abstain from speaking of the people. Principles are to be judged of by their conformity to God's word, quite apart from the consistency or inconsistencies of those who hold them. After the truth of the principles is recognized, and it becomes a question of having fellowship with those professing them, then the question of their procedure has its legitimate place; and I have not neglected it, nor found occasion to hesitate on that score.
The principles I have embraced with my whole heart, satisfied that they are God's own truth; and I commend them to you in the hope that the Lord may use my simple exposition, to the leading of yourself and other dear ones, into the same blessed pathway. The Lord is at hand, and it becomes those who "love His appearing" to stand with loins girt and lamps burning, uncontaminated by any known disobedience, hopeful, and trusting in the grace of God. One look from Him, one approving word of His lips, what will it not be worth! Let us so act, so walk, that we may hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
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