Let us examine in 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), the character which the Apostle gives to the assembly on earth. Paul wrote, hoping to come soon, but in case he might tarry long, it was necessary that Timothy should know how to conduct himself. Paul then tells us what the assembly is.
1. House of God
God dwells in it upon the earth (compare Eph. 2:2222In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)). It is viewed as on the earth, because the Apostle is speaking of how to behave in it. This truth gives a character to the assembly of the highest importance with regard to its responsibility. It is not a vague thing, composed of the dead and of the living-a thing which we know not where to find, because one part of it is alive on the earth and another part consists of souls in heaven. It is the house of God here below, in which we have to behave (whatever other position we may hold) in a manner that becomes the house of God. God dwells in the assembly upon earth. We cannot remember this fact too earnestly.
2. Assembly of the Living God
God, in whom is the power of life, in contrast with men and with dead idols, has an assembly, not of the world, which He set apart for Himself. It is not a nation like Israel. The Israelites were the assembly of God in the wilderness. The assembly is now the assembly of the living God.
3. Pillar and Support of the Truth
Christ on earth was the Truth. (He is so always, but He was so on earth.) He is now hidden in God. The assembly is not the truth; the Word of God is the truth. His Word is truth. Truth exists before the assembly; it is faith in the truth which gathers the assembly together. But the assembly is that which maintains the truth on earth. The assembly does not teach. Teachers teach the assembly, but by faithfulness in holding fast the truth taught, the assembly sustains the truth in the world.
When the assembly is gone, men will be given up to strong delusion. There may be few of those who call themselves Christians who maintain the word of truth, but it is not the less true that the assembly—as long as it remains here below—is the only witness for the truth upon the earth. It is God's witness to present the truth before men. At the end, that which God owns as such will be the feeble flock at Philadelphia, and then that which is in the responsible position of being the assembly (Laodicea) will be spewed out of the mouth of Christ, who Himself takes the character of Amen, the faithful and true Witness.
But the assembly as planted by God on the earth is the pillar and support of the truth. Authority is not the question here, but the maintenance and presentation of the truth.
The presence, then, of the living God, and the profession of the truth are the characteristics of the house of God. Wherever this assembly of the living God is, wherever the truth is, that is His house. It is the truth, clear and positive truth, given as a revelation from God in words clothed with His authority. He has given the truth a form, communicating the facts and the divine thoughts which are necessary for the salvation of men, and for their participation in divine life. This it is which we are to hold fast.
The Truth As God Has Given It
We are only sure of the truth when we retain it as God has given it, in His own words in the revelation He has made. By grace, I may speak of the truth in all liberty. I may seek to explain it, to communicate it, to urge it on the conscience, according to the measure of light and spiritual power bestowed on me. I may endeavor to demonstrate its beauty and the connection between its various parts. Every Christian, and especially those who have a gift from God for the purpose, may do this. But the truth which I explain and propose must be the truth as God has given it in His Word. I hold fast the form of sound words which I have received from a divine source and authority: it gives me certainty in the truth. And here it is important to remark the assembly's part when faithful.
The Function of Ministry
She receives, she maintains the truth in her own faith; she guards it, she is faithful to it, she is subject to it, as a truth, a revelation, which comes from God Himself. She is not the source of the truth. As an assembly she does not propagate it—does not teach it. She says, "I believe," not, "believe." This last is the function of ministry, in which man is always individually in relationship with God by means of a gift which he holds from God, and for the exercise of which he is responsible to God. This is all important. Those who possess these gifts are members of the body. The assembly exercises her discipline with regard to all that is of the flesh in them, in the exercise or apparent exercise of a gift, as in all else. She preserves her own purity without respect of persons as to their outward appearance, being guided therein by the Word of God (for this is her responsibility): but she does not teach, she does not preach. She is the pillar and ground of the truth.