The Assembly of God
or
The All-sufficiency of the Name of
Jesus
In a day like the present, when almost every new idea
becomes the centre or gathering-point of some new association, we cannot but
feel the value of having divinely formed convictions as to what the assembly of
God really is. We live in a time of unusual mental activity, and hence there is
the more urgent need of calm and prayerful study of the word of God. That word,
blessed be its Author, is like a rock amid the ocean of human thought. — There
it stands unmoved, notwithstanding the raging of the storm and the ceaseless
lashing of the waves. And not only does it thus stand unmoved itself, but it
imparts its own stability to all who simply take their stand upon it. What a
mercy to make one's escape from the heavings and tossings of the stormy ocean,
and find a calm resting place on that everlasting Rock.
This, truly, is a mercy, Were it not that we have
"the law and the testimony," where should we be? Whither should we
go? What should we do? What darkness! What confusion! What perplexity! Ten
thousand jarring voices fall, at times, upon the ear, and each voice seems to
speak with such authority, that if one is not well taught and grounded in the
word, there is great danger of being drawn away, or, at least, sadly unhinged.
One man will tell you that this is right; another will tell that
is right; a third will tell you that everything is right; and a fourth
will tell you that nothing is right. With reference to the question of
church position, you will meet with some who go here; some who go there;
some who go everywhere; and some who go nowhere.
Now, under such circumstances, what is one to do? All
cannot possibly be right. And yet, surely, there is something right. It cannot
be that we are compelled to live in error, in darkness, or uncertainty. “There
is a path," blessed be God, though “no fowl knoweth it, and the
vulture's eye hath not seen it. The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the
fierce lion passed by it." Where is this safe and blessed path? Hear the
divine reply: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom: and to
depart from evil is understanding." (Job 28)
Let us, therefore, in the fear of the Lord, in the
light of His infallible truth, and in humble dependence upon the teaching of
His Holy Spirit, proceed to the examination of the subject which stands at the
head of this paper; and may we have grace to abandon all confidence in our own
thoughts, and the thoughts of others, that so we may heartily and honestly
yield ourselves up to be taught only of God.
Now, in order to get fairly into the grand and
all-important subject of the assembly of God, we have first to state a fact;
and, secondly, to ask a question. The fact is this, There is an
assembly of God on the earth. The question is, What is that assembly?
I. And, first then, as to our fact. There is
such a thing as the assembly of God on the earth. This is a most important
fact, surely. God has an assembly on the earth. I do not refer to any merely
human organisation, such as the Greek Church; the Church of Rome; the Church of
England; the Church of Scotland; or to any of the various systems which have
sprung from these, framed and fashioned by man's hand, and carried on by man's
resources. I refer simply to that assembly which is gathered by God the Holy
Ghost, round the Person of God the Son, to worship, and hold fellowship with,
God the Father.
If we set forth upon our search for the assembly of
God, or for any expression thereof, with our minds full of prejudice,
preconceived thoughts, and personal predilections; or if, in our searchings, we
seek the aid of the flickering light of the dogmas, opinions, and traditions of
men, nothing is more certain than that we shall fail to reach the truth. To
recognize God's assembly, we must be exclusively taught by God's word, and led
by God's Spirit; for, of God's assembly, as well as of the sons of God, it may
be said, “the world knoweth it not."
Hence, then, if we are, in any wise, governed by the
spirit of the world; if we desire to exalt man; if we seek to commend ourselves
to the thoughts of men; if our object be to gain the attractive ends of a
plausible and soul-ensnaring expediency, we may as well, forthwith, abandon our
search for any true expression of the assembly of God, and take refuge in that
form of human organisation which most fully commends itself to our thinkings or
our conscientious convictions.
Further, if our object be to find a religious
community in which the word of God is read, or in which the people of God are
found, we may speedily satisfy ourselves, for it would be hard indeed to find a
section of the professing body in which either or both of these objects might
not be fully realized.
Finally, if we merely aim at doing all the good we
can, without any question as to how we do it; if Per fas aut nefas,
“right or wrong," be our motto, in whatever we undertake; if we are
prepared to reverse those weighty words of Samuel, and say that, “To sacrifice
is better than to obey, and the fat of rams better than to hearken;” then is it
worse than vain for us to pursue our search for the assembly of God, inasmuch
as that assembly can only be discovered and approved by one who has been taught
to flee from the ten thousand flowery pathways of human expediency, and to
submit his conscience, his heart, his understanding, his whole moral being to
the supreme authority of “Thus saith the Lord."
In one word, then, the obedient disciple knows that
there is such a thing as God's assembly: and he it is, too, that will be
enabled, through grace, to understand what is a true expression of it. The
intelligent student of scripture knows, full well, the difference between that
which is founded, formed, and governed by the wisdom and the will of man, and
that which is gathered round and governed by, Christ the Lord. How vast is the
difference! It is just the difference between God and man.
But we may here be asked for the scripture proofs of
our fact that there is such a thing on the earth as the assembly of God,
and we shall, at once, proceed to furnish these; for we may be permitted to say
that, without the authority of the word, all statements are utterly valueless.
What, therefore, saith the scripture?
Our first question shall be that famous passage, in
Matthew 16, When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said,
Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or
one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And
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. And
I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my
assembly [The words “church" and “assembly" are both from the same
Greek word.] (ekklesia); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
(Vers. 13-18)
Here our blessed Lord intimates His purpose to build
an assembly, and sets forth the true foundation of that assembly, namely,
“Christ the Son of the living God." This is an all-important point in our
subject. The building is founded on the Rock, and that Rock is not the poor
failing, stumbling, erring Peter, but Christ, the eternal Son of the living
God; and every stone in that building partakes of the Rock-life which, as being
victorious over all the power of the enemy, is indestructible.
{It is of the utmost importance to distinguish
between what Christ builds, and what man builds. "The gates of hell"
shall assuredly prevail against all that is merely of man; and hence it would
be a fatal mistake to apply to man's building words which only apply to
Christ's. Man may build with “wood, hay, stubble," alas! he does — but all
that our Lord Christ builds shall stand for ever. The stamp of eternity is upon
every work of His hand. All praise to His glorious name.}
Again, passing over a section of Matthew's Gospel, we
come to an equally familiar passage: “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass
against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall
hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then
take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it
unto the assembly; but if he neglect to hear the assembly, let him be unto thee
as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth,
shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say unto you, that if two of you shall
agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:
15-20)
We shall have occasion to refer to this passage
again, under the second division of our subject. It is here introduced merely
as a link in the chain of scripture evidence of the fact that there is such a
thing as the assembly of God on the earth. This assembly is not a name, a form,
a pretence, an assumption. It is a divine reality — an institution of God,
possessing His seal and sanction. It is a something to be appealed to in all
cases of personal trespass and dispute which cannot be settled by the parties
involved This assembly may consist of only “two or three" in any
particular place — the smallest plurality, if you please; but there it is,
owned of God, and its decisions ratified in heaven.
Now, we are not to be scared away from the truth on
this subject, by the fact that the Church of Rome has attempted to base her
monstrous pretensions on the two passages which we have just quoted. That
church is not God's assembly, built on the Rock Christ, and gathered in the
name of Jesus; but a human apostasy, founded on a failing mortal, and governed
by the traditions and doctrines of men. We must not, therefore suffer ourselves
to he deprived of God's reality by reason of Satan's counterfeit. God has His
assembly on the earth, and we are responsible to confess the truth of it, and
be a practical expression of it. This may be difficult, in a day of confusion,
like the present. It will demand a single eye — a subject will — a mortified
mind But let the reader be assured of this, that it is his privilege to possess
as divine certainty as to what is a true expression of the assembly of God as
in reference to the truth of his own salvation through the blood of the Lamb;
nor should he be satisfied without this. I should not be content to go on for
an hour without the assurance that I am, in spirit and principle, associated
with those who gather on the ground of the assembly of God. I say, in spirit
and principle; because I may happen to be in a place where there is no local
expression of the assembly, in which case I must be satisfied to hold
fellowship, in spirit, with all those on the ground of the assembly of God, and
wait on Him so to order my way that I may enjoy the real privilege of being
present in person with His people, to taste the blessings as well as to share
in the holy responsibilities of His assembly.
This simplifies the matter amazingly. If I cannot
have a true expression of God's assembly, I shall have nothing. It will not do
to point me to a religious community, with some Christians therein, the gospel
preached, and the ordinances administered. I must be convinced, by the
authority of the word and Spirit of God, that it is, in very truth, gathered on
the ground and marked by the characteristics of God's assembly, else I cannot
own it. I can own the children of God therein, if they will permit me to do so,
outside the bounds of their religious system; but their system I cannot own or
sanction in any one way whatever. Were I to do so, it would just be tantamount
to the assertion that it makes not a whit of difference whether I maintain the
principles of the assembly of God, or take up with the systems of man — whether
I acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, or the authority of man — whether I bow
to the word of God, or the opinions of man.
No doubt, this will give offence to many. It will be
pronounced bigotry, prejudice, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and the like.
But this need not discourage us. All we have to do is to ascertain the truth as
to God's assembly, and cleave to it, heartily and energetically, at all cost.
If God has an assembly — and scripture says He has — then let me be with those
who maintain its principles, and nowhere else. It must be obvious that where
there are several conflicting systems, they cannot all be divine. What am I to
do? Am I to be satisfied to take the less of two evils? Surely not. What then?
The answer is plain, pointed, and direct — the principles of God's assembly or
nothing. If there be a local expression of that assembly, well; be there in
person. If not, be content to hold spiritual communion with all who humbly and
faithfully own and occupy that holy ground. It may sound and seem like liberality
to be ready to sanction and go with everything and everybody. It may appear
very easy and very pleasant to be in a place “where everybody's will is
indulged, and nobody's conscience is exercised" — where we may hold what
we like, and say what we like, and do what we like, and go where we like. All
this may seem very delightful — very plausible — very popular — very
attractive; but oh! it will be barrenness and bitterness in the end; and, in
the day of the Lord, it will assuredly be burnt up as so much wood, hay, and
stubble, that cannot stand the action of His judgement.
But let us proceed with our scripture proofs. In the
Acts of the Apostles, or rather, the Acts of the Holy Ghost, we find the
assembly formally set up. A passage or two will suffice: “And they continuing
daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and
having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the assembly, daily, such
as should be saved." (Acts 2: 47) Such was the original, simple apostolic
order. When a person was converted, he took his place in the assembly: there
was no difficulty in the matter, there were no sects or parties, each claiming
to be considered a church, a cause, or an interest. There was just the one
thing, and that was the assembly of God, where He dwelt, acted, and ruled. It
was not a system formed according to the will, the judgement, or even the
conscience of man. Man had not, as yet, entered upon the business of
church-making. This was God's work. It was just as exclusively God's province
and prerogative to gather the saved, as to save the scattered.
{There is no such thing in scripture as being a
member of a church. Every true believer is a member of the church of God
— the body of Christ, and can therefore no more be, properly, a member of
anything else than my arm can be a member of any other body.
The only true ground on which believers can gather is
set forth in that grand statement, “There is one body, and one Spirit."
And, again, “We being many are one loaf and one body." (Eph. 4. 4; 1 Cor.
10: 17) If God declares that there is but one body," it must be contrary
to His mind to have many bodies, sects, or denominations.
Now, while it is quite true that no given number of
believers in any given place can be called "the body of Christ," or
"the assembly of God;" — yet they should be gathered on the
ground of that body and that assembly, and on no other ground. We call the
reader's special attention to this principle. It holds good at all times, in
all places, and under all circumstances. The fact of the ruin of the professing
church does not touch it. It has been true since the day of Pentecost; is true
at this moment; and shall be true until the church is taken to meet her Head
and Lord in the clouds, that “there is one body." All believers
belong to that body; and they should meet on that ground, and on no other.}
Why, we may justly inquire, should it be different
now? Why should the regenerated seek any ground beyond, or different to, that
of the assembly of God? Is not that sufficient? Assuredly. Should they rest
satisfied with aught else? Assuredly not. We repeat, with emphasis, “Either
that or nothing."
True it is, alas! that failure, and ruin, and
apostasy have come in. Man's wisdom, and his will; or, if you please, his
reason, his judgement, and his conscience have wrought, in matters
ecclesiastical, and the result appears before us in the almost numberless and
nameless sects and parties of the present moment. Still, we are bold to say,
that the original ground of the assembly is the ground of the assembly still,
notwithstanding all the failure, the error, and the confusion, consequent
thereon. The difficulty in reaching it practically may be great, but its
reality, when reached, is unaltered and unalterable. In apostolic times the
assembly stood out, in bold relief, from the dark background of Judaism on the
one hand, and Paganism on the other. It wars impossible to mistake it; there it
stood, a grand reality! a company of living men, gathered, indwelt, ruled and
regulated by God the Holy Ghost, so that the unlearned or unbelieving coming
in, were convinced of all, and constrained to acknowledge that God was there.
(See carefully, 1 Cor. 12, 14 throughout.)
Thus, in the gospel, our blessed Lord intimates His
purpose of building an assembly. This assembly is historically presented to us
in the Acts of the Apostles. Then, when we turn to the Epistles of Paul, we
find him addressing the assembly, in seven distinct places, namely, Rome,
Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica; and finally, in
the opening of the book of Revelation, we have addresses to seven distinct
assemblies. Now, in all these places, the assembly of God was a plain,
palpable, real thing, established and maintained by God Himself. It was not a
human organisation, but a divine institution testimony — a light bearer for
God, in each place.
Thus much as to our scripture proofs of the fact that
God has an assembly on the earth, gathered, indwelt, and governed by the Holy
Ghost who is the true and only Vicar of Christ upon earth. The Gospel
prophetically intimates the assembly; the Acts historically presents the
assembly; and the Epistles formally address the assembly. All this is plain.
And if it be broken into fragments now, it is for us to be gathered on the
ground of the one assembly of God, and to be a true expression of it.
And let it be carefully noted that we will listen to
nothing on this subject but the voice of holy scripture. Let not reason speak,
for we own it not. Let not tradition lift her voice, for we wholly disregard
her. Let not expediency thrust itself upon us, for we shall give it no place
whatever. We believe in the all-sufficiency of holy scripture — that it is
sufficient to furnish the man of God thoroughly — to equip him perfectly for
all good works. (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17.) The word of God is either sufficient or it
is not. We believe it to be amply sufficient for every exigency of God's assembly.
It could not be otherwise if God be its author. We must either deny the
divinity or admit the sufficiency of the Bible. There is not a single hair's
breadth of middle ground. It is impossible that God could have written an
imperfect, an insufficient book.
This is a very grave principle in connection with our
subject. Many of our Protestant writers have, in assailing popery, maintained
the sufficiency and authority of the Bible; but it does seem very plain to us
that they are always at fault when their opponents turn sharp round upon them
and demand proof from scripture for many things sanctioned and adopted by
Protestant communities. There are many things adopted and practised in the
National Establishment and other Protestant communities, which have no sanction
in the word; and when the shrewd and intelligent defenders of popery have
called attention to these things, and demanded authority for them the weakness
of mere protestantism has been strikingly apparent. If we admit, for a moment,
that, in some things, we must have recourse to tradition and expediency, then
who will undertake to fix the boundary line? If it be allowable to depart from
scripture at all, how far are we to go If the authority of tradition be
admitted at all, who is to fix its domain? If we leave the narrow and well
defined pathway of divine revelation, and enter upon the wide and bewildering
field of human tradition, has not one man as much right as another to make a
choice? In short, it is obviously impossible to meet the adherents of Roman
Catholicism on any other ground than that on which the assembly of God takes
its stand, namely, the all-sufficiency of the word of God, the name of Jesus,
and the power of the Holy Ghost. Such, blessed be God, is the impregnable
position occupied by His assembly; and however weak and contemptible any
expression of that assembly may be in the eye of the world, we know, for Christ
has told us, that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Those
gates shall assuredly prevail against every human system — against all those
corporations and associations which men have set on foot. And in no case has
that triumph been, even already, made more awfully manifest than in that of the
Church of Rome itself, although it has arrogantly laid claim to this very
declaration of our! Lord as the bulwark of its strength. Nothing can withstand
the power of the gates of hell, but that assembly which is built upon “the
living Stone;" and the local expression of that assembly may be “two or
three gathered in the name of Jesus;" a poor, feeble, contemptible handful
— the filth of the earth, and the off-scouring of all things.
It is well to be clear and decided as to this.
Christ's promise can never fail. He has, blessed be His name, come down to the
lowest possible point to which an |assembly can be reduced, even “two."
How gracious How tender! How considerate! How like Himself! He attaches all the
dignity — all the value — all the efficacy of His own divine and deathless name
to an obscure handful gathered round Himself. It must be very evident to the
spiritual mind that the Lord Jesus, in speaking of the “two or three"
thought not of those vast systems which have sprung up in ancient, medieval,
and modern times, throughout the eastern and western world, numbering their adherents
and votaries, not by "twos or threes," but by kingdoms, provinces,
and parishes. It is very plain that a baptised kingdom, and “two or three"
living souls, gathered in the name of Jesus, do not and cannot mean the same
thing. Baptised Christendom is one thing, and an assembly of God is another.
What this latter is, we have yet to unfold; we are here asserting that they are
not, and cannot be, the same thing. They are constantly confounded, though no
two things can be more distinct.
{The reader will need to ponder the distinction
between the church viewed as the body of Christ," and as “the house of
God” He may study Ephesians 1: 22, 1 Corinthians 12 for the former, Ephesians
2: 21; 1 Corinthians 3; 1 Timothy 3 for the latter. The distinction is as interesting
as it is important}
If we would know under what figure Christ presents
the baptised world, we have only to look at the “leaven" and the
"mustard tree" of Matthew 13. The former gives us the internal, and
the latter the external character of "the kingdom of heaven" — of
that which was originally set up in truth and simplicity — a real thing, though
small, but which, through Satan's crafty working, has become inwardly a corrupt
mass, though outwardly a far-spreading, showy, popular thing in the earth,
gathering all sorts beneath the shadow of its patronage. Such is the lesson —
the simple but deeply solemn lesson to be learnt by the spiritual mind from the
“leaven “and the “mustard tree" of Matthew 13. And we may add, one result
of learning this lesson would be an ability to distinguish between “the kingdom
of heaven" and “the assembly of God." The former may be compared to a
wide morass, the latter to a running stream passing through it, and in constant
danger of losing its distinctive character, as well as its proper direction, by
intermingling with the surrounding waters. To confound the two things is to
deal a death-blow to all godly discipline and consequent purity in the assembly
of God. If the kingdom and the assembly mean one and the same thing, then how
should we act in the case of "that wicked person" in 1 Corinthians 5?
The apostle tells us “to put him away." Where are we to put him? Our Lord
Himself tells us distinctly that “the field is the world;" and
again, in John 17, He says that His people are not of the world. This makes all
plain enough. But men tell us, in the very face of our Lord's statement, that
the field is the assembly, and the tares and wheat, ungodly and godly, are to
grow together, that they are on no account to be separated. Thus the plain and
positive teaching of the Holy Ghost in 1 Corinthians 5 is set in open
opposition to the equally plain and positive teaching of our Lord in Matthew
13; and all this flows from the effort to confound two distinct things, namely,
"the kingdom of heaven" and “the assembly of God."
It would not by any means comport with the object of
this paper to enter farther upon the interesting subject of “the kingdom."
Enough has been said, if the reader has thereby been convinced of the immense
importance of duly distinguishing that kingdom from the assembly. What this
latter is we shall now proceed to inquire; and may God the Holy Ghost be our
Teacher!
II. In handling our question as to the assembly of
God, it will give clearness and precision to our thoughts to consider the four
following points, namely: —
First, what is the material of which the assembly is
composed?
Secondly, what is the centre round which the assembly
is gathered?
Thirdly, what is the power by which the assembly is
gathered?
Fourthly, what is the authority on which the assembly
is gathered?
1. And, first, then, as to the material of which
God's assembly is composed; it is, in one word, those possessing salvation, or
eternal life. We do not enter the assembly in order to be saved, but as those
who are saved. The word is, “On this rock I will build my church." He does
not say, “On my church I will build the salvation of souls." One of Rome's
boasted dogmas is this — "There is no salvation out of the true church."
Yes, but we can go deeper still, and say, “Off the true Rock there is no
church." Take away the Rock, and you have nothing but a baseless fabric of
error and corruption. What a miserable delusion, to think of being saved by
that! Thank God, it is not so. We do not get to Christ through the church, but
to the church through Christ. — To reverse this order is to displace Christ
altogether, and thus have neither Rock, nor church, nor salvation. We meet
Christ as a life-giving Saviour, before we have anything to say to the assembly
at all; and hence we could possess eternal life, and enjoy fall salvation,
though there were no such thing as an assembly of God on the earth. [The reader
will do well to note the fact that, in Matthew 16 we have the very earliest
allusion to the church. and there our Lord speaks of it as a future thing, He
says, "On this Rock I will build my church." He does not say,
"I have been, or I am building." In short, the church
had no existence until our Lord Christ was raised from the dead and glorified
at the right hand of God. Then. but not until then, the Holy Ghost was sent
down to baptize believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, into one body, and unite
them to the risen and glorified Head in heaven. This body has been on the earth
since the descent of the Holy Ghost; is here still, and shall be until Christ
comes to fetch it to Himself. It is a perfectly unique thing. It is not to be
found in Old Testament scripture. Paul expressly tells us it was not revealed
in other ages; it was hid in God, and never made known until it was committed
to him. (See carefully, Rom. 16: 25, 26; Eph. 3: 3-11; Col. 1: 24-27) True it
is — most blessedly true — that God had a people in Old Testament times. Not
merely the nation of Israel, but a quickened. saved. spiritual people, who
lived by faith, went to heaven. and are there “the spirits of just men made
perfect But the church is never spoken of until Matthew 16, and there only as a
future thing. As to the expression used by Stephen, "The church in the
wilderness" (Acts 7: 38). it is pretty generally known that it simply
refers to the congregation of Israel. The termini of the church's earthly
history are Pentecost (Acts 2), and the rapture. (1 Thess, 4: 16, 17)]
We cannot be too simple in grasping this truth, at a
time like the present, when ecclesiastical pretension is rising to such a
height. The church, falsely so called, is opening her bosom with delusive
tenderness, and inviting poor sin-burdened, world-sick, and heavy-laden souls
to take refuge therein. She with crafty liberality, throws open her treasury
door, and places her resources at the disposal of needy, craving, yearning
souls. And truly those resources have powerful attractions for those who are
not on “The Rock." There is an ordained priesthood, professing to stand in
an unbroken line with the apostles. — Alas! how different the two ends of the
line! — There is a continual sacrifice. Alas! a blood-less one, and therefore a
worthless one. (Heb. 9: 22) — There is a splendid ritual. Alas! it seeks its
origin amid the shadows of a by-gone age — shadows which have been for ever
displaced by the Person, the work, and the offices of the eternal Son of God.
For ever be His peerless name adored.
The believer has a very conclusive answer to all the
pretensions and promises of the Romish system. He can say he has found his all
in a crucified and risen Saviour. What does He want with the sacrifice of the
mass? He is washed in the blood of Christ. What does he want with a poor,
sinful, dying priest, who cannot save himself? He has the Son of God as his
priest. What does he want with a pompous ritual, with all its imposing
adjuncts? He worships in spirit and in truth, within the holiest of all,
whither he enters with boldness, through the blood of Jesus.
Nor is it merely with Roman Catholicism we have to do
in the establishment of our first point. We fear there are thousands besides
Roman Catholics who, in heart, look to the church, if not for salvation, at
least to be a stepping-stone thereto. Hence the importance of seeing clearly that
the materials of which God's assembly is composed are those possessing
salvation or eternal life; so that whatever be the object of that assembly, it
most certainly is not to provide salvation for its members. seeing that all its
members are saved ere they enter its precincts at all. God's assembly is a
houseful of salvation from one end to the other. Blessed fact! It is not an
institution set on foot for the purpose of providing salvation for sinners, nor
yet for providing for their religious wants. It is a saved, living body formed
and gathered by the Holy Ghost, to make known to "Principalities and
powers in the heavenlies, the manifold wisdom of God," and to declare to
the whole universe the all-sufficiency of the name of Jesus.
Now, the great enemy of Christ and the church is well
aware of what a powerful testimony the assembly of God is called and designed
to yield on the earth; and therefore he has put forth all his hellish energy to
quash that testimony in every possible way. He hates the name of Jesus, and
everything tending to glorify that name. Hence his intense opposition to the
assembly as a whole, and to each local expression thereof, wherever it may
happen to exist. He has no objection to a mere religious establishment set on
foot for the purpose of providing for man's religious wants, whether maintained
by government or by voluntary effort. You may set up what you please. You may
join what you please. You may be what you please; anything and everything for
Satan but a practical expression of the assembly of God. That he hates most
cordially, and will seek to blacken and blast by every means in his power. But
those consolatory accents of the Lord Christ fall with divine power on the ear
of faith: “On this Rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it."
2. This conducts us naturally to our second point,
namely, What is the centre round which God's assembly is gathered? The centre
is Christ — the living Stone, as we read in the Epistle of Peter, “To whom
coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and
precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy
priest hood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ." (1 Peter 2: 4, 5)
It is around the Person of a living Christ, then,
that God's assembly is gathered. It is not round a doctrine, however true; nor
round an ordinance, however important; but round a living divine Person. This
is a great cardinal and vital point which must be distinctly seized,
tenaciously held, and faithfully and constantly avowed and carried out. “To
whom coming." It is not said “To which coming." We do not come
to a thing, but to a Person; “Let us go forth therefore unto him."
(Heb. 13) The Holy Ghost leads us only to Jesus. Nothing short of this
will avail. We may speak of joining a church, becoming a member of a
congregation, attaching ourselves to a party, a cause, or an interest. All
these expressions tend to darken and confuse the mind, and hide from our view
the divine idea of the assembly of God. It is not our business to join
anything. When God converted us, He joined us by His Spirit to Christ, and that
should be enough for us. Christ is the only centre of God's assembly.
And, we may ask, is not He sufficient? Is it not
quite enough for us to be “joined to the Lord?" Why add aught thereto?
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them." (Matt. 18: 20) What more can we possibly need? If Jesus is
in our midst, why should we think of setting up a human president? Why not
unanimously and heartily allow Him to take the president's seat, and bow to Him
in all things? Why set up human authority, in any shape or form, in the house
of God? But this is done, and it is well to speak plainly about it. Man is set
up in that which professes to be an assembly of God. We see human authority
exercised in that sphere in which divine authority alone should be
acknowledged. It matters not, so far as the foundation principle is concerned, whether
it be pope, parson, priest, or president. It is man set up in Christ's place.
It may be the pope appointing a cardinal, a legate, or a bishop to his sphere
of work; or it may be a president appointing a man to exhort or to “pray for
ten minutes. The principle is one and the same. It is human authority acting in
that sphere where only God's authority should be owned. If Christ be in our
midst, we can count on Him for every thing. Now, in saying this, we anticipate
a very probable objection. It may be said by the advocates of human authority,
“How could an assembly ever get on without some human presidency? Would it not
lead to all sorts of confusion? Would it not open the door for everyone to
intrude himself upon the assembly, quite irrespective of gift or qualification?
Should we not have men popping up on all occasions, and worrying us with their
empty twaddle and tiresome rodomontade?"
Our answer is a very simple one. Jesus is
all-sufficient. We can trust Him to keep order in His house. We feel ourselves
far safer in His gracious and powerful hand than in the hands of the most
attractive human president. We have all spiritual gifts treasured up in Jesus.
He is the fountain head of all ministerial authority. “He hath the seven
stars." Let us only confide in Him, and the order of our assembly will be
as perfectly provided for as the salvation of our souls. This is just the
reason of our connecting, in the title of this pamphlet, “The all-sufficiency
of the name of Jesus" with the “Assembly of God." We believe that the
name of Jesus is, in very truth, all-sufficient, not only for personal
salvation, but for all the exigencies of the assembly — for worship, communion,
ministry, discipline, government, everything. Having Him, we have all and
abound.
This is the real marrow and substance of our subject.
Our one aim and object is to exalt the name of Jesus; and we believe He has
been dishonoured in that which calls itself His house. He has been dethroned,
and man's authority has been set up. In vain does He bestow a ministerial gift;
the possessor of that gift dare not exercise it without the seal, the sanction,
and the authority of man. And not only is this so, but if man thinks proper to
give his seal, his sanction and authority, to one possessing not a particle of
spiritual gift — yea, it may be, not a particle of spiritual life — he is
nevertheless a recognized minister. In short, man's authority without Christ's
gift makes a man a minister; whereas Christ's gift without man's authority does
not. If this be not a dishonour done to the Lord Christ, what is?
Christian reader, pause here, and deeply ponder this
principle of human authority. We confess we are anxious you should get to the
root of it, and judge it thoroughly, in the light of holy scripture, and the
presence of God. It is, be assured of it, the grand point of distinction
between the principles of the assembly of God and every human system of
religion under the sun. If you look at all those systems, from Romanism down to
the most refined form of religious association, you will find man's authority
recognized and demanded. With that you may minister, without it you must not.
On the contrary, in the assembly of God, Christ's gift alone makes a man a
minister, apart from all human authority. “Not of men, neither by man, but by
Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." (Gal. 1:
1) This is the grand principle of ministry in the assembly of God.
Now, in classing Romanism with all the other
religious systems of the day, let it, once for all, be distinctly understood
that it is only in reference to the principle of ministerial authority.
God forbid that we should think of comparing a system which shuts out the word
of God, and teaches idolatry, the worship of saints and angels, and a whole
mass of gross and abominable error and superstition, with those systems where
the word of God is held up, and more or less of scriptural truth promulgated.
Nothing can be further from our thoughts. We believe popery to be Satan's
master-piece, in the way of a religious system, although “many of the people of
God have been, and may yet be, involved therein.
Further, let us at this stage most clearly aver that
we believe the saints of God are to be found in every Protestant community,
both as ministers and members; and that the Lord uses them in many ways —
blesses their work, service, and personal testimony.
And, finally, we feel it right to declare that we
would not move a finger to touch any one of those systems. It is not with the
systems we have to do; the Lord “ will deal with them. Our business is with the
saints in those systems, to seek by every spiritual and scriptural agency to
get them to own and act upon the divine principles of the assembly of God.
Having said thus much, in order to prevent misunderstanding,
we return with increased power to our point, namely, that the thread of human
authority runs through every religious system in Christendom, and that, in good
truth, there is not a hair's breadth of consistent standing ground between the
church of Rome and a true expression of the assembly of God. We believe that an
honest seeker after truth, setting out from amid the dark shadows of popery,
cannot possibly halt until he finds himself in the clear and blessed light of
that which is a true expression of the assembly of God. He may take years to
travel over the intervening space. His steps may be slow and measured; but if
only he follows the light, in simplicity and godly sincerity, he will find no
rest between those two extremes. The ground of the assembly of God is the true
position for all the children of God. Alas! they are not all there; but this is
only their loss and their Lord's dishonour. They should be there because not
only is God there, but He is allowed to act and rule there.
This latter is of all-importance, inasmuch as it may
be truly said, Is not God everywhere? And does He not act in various places?
True, He is everywhere, and He works in the midst of palpable error and evil.
But He is not allowed to rule in the systems of men, seeing that man's
authority is really supreme, as we have already shown. And in addition to this,
if the fact of God's converting and blessing souls in a system be a reason why
we should be there, then we ought to be in the church of Rome, for how many
have been converted and blessed in that awful system? Even in the recent
revival we have heard of persons being stricken in Roman Catholic chapels. What
proves too much proves nothing at all, and hence no argument can be based on
the fact of God's working in a place. He! is sovereign, and may work where He
pleases. We are to be subject to His authority, and work where we are
commanded. My Master may go where He pleases, but I must go where I am told.
But some may ask, “Is there no danger of incompetent
men intruding their ministry upon an assembly of God? And in the event of this,
where is the difference between that assembly and the systems of men?" We
reply, assuredly there is very great danger. But then such a thing would be despite,
not in virtue, of the principle. This makes all the difference. Alas! Alas! we
have seen mistakes and failures which are most humiliating.
Let no one imagine that, while we contend for the
truth concerning the assembly of God, we are at all ignorant or forgetful of
the dangers and trials to which any carrying out its principles are exposed.
Far from it. No one could be for twenty-eight years on that ground without
being painfully conscious of the difficulty of maintaining it. But then the
very trials, dangers, and difficulties only prove to be so many proofs —
painful if you please, but proofs of the truth of the position; and were there
no remedy but an appeal to human authority — a setting up of man in Christ's
place — a return to worldly systems, we should without hesitation pronounce the
remedy to be far worse than the disease. For were we to adopt the remedy, we
should have the very worst symptoms of the disease, not to be mourned over as
disease, but gloried in as the fruits of so-called order.
But, blessed be God, there is a remedy. What is it?
“There am I in their midst." This is enough. It is not, “There is a
pope, a priest, a parson, or a president in their midst, at their head, in the
chair, or in the pulpit." No thought of such a thing, from cover to cover
of the New Testament. Even in the assembly at Corinth, where there was most
grievous confusion and disorder, the inspired apostle never hints at such s
thing as a human president, under any name whatsoever. “God is the author of
peace in all the assemblies of the saints." (1 Cor. 14: 33) God was
there to keep order. They were to look to Him, not to a man, under any name. To
set up man to keep order in God's assembly is sheer unbelief, and an open
insult to the Divine Presence.
Now, we have been often asked to adduce scripture in
proof of the idea of divine presidency in an assembly. We at once reply, “There
am I;" and “God is the Author." On these two pillars, even had we no
more, we can triumphantly build the glorious truth of divine presidency — a
truth which must deliver all, who receive and hold it from God, from every
system of man, call it by what name you please. It is, in our judgement,
impossible to recognize Christ as the centre and sovereign ruler in the
assembly, and continue to sanction the setting up of man. When once we have
tasted the sweetness of being under Christ, we car never again submit to the
servile bondage of being under man. This is not insubordination or impatience
of control. It is only the utter refusal to bow to a false authority — to
sanction a sinful usurpation. The moment we see man usurping authority in that
which calls itself the church, we simply ask, “Who are you?" and retire to
a sphere where God alone is acknowledged.
"But, then, there are errors, evils, and abuses
even in this very sphere." Doubtless; but if there are, we have God to
correct them. And hence, if an assembly should be troubled by the intrusion of
ignorant and foolish men — men who have never yet measured themselves in the
presence of God — men who boldly overleap the wide domain over which common
sense, good taste, and moral propriety preside, and then vainly talk of being
led by the Holy Ghost — restless men, who will be at something, and who
keep the assembly in a continual state of nervous apprehension, not knowing
what is to come next — should any assembly be thus grievously afflicted, what
should they do? Abandon the ground in impatience, chagrin, and disappointment?
give all up as a myth, a fable, an idle chimera? go back to that from which
they once came out? Alas! this is what some have done, thus proving that they
never understood what they were doing, or, if they understood it, that they had
not faith to pursue it. May the Lord have mercy upon such, and open their eyes
that they may see from whence they have fallen, and get a true view of the
assembly of God, in contrast with the most attractive of the systems of men.
But what is an assembly to do when abuses creep in?
Simply look to Christ as the Lord of His house. Own Him in His proper place.
Bring the name of Jesus to bear upon the abuse, whatever it be. Will; any say
this is not enough? Has it ever been tried and proved ineffectual? We do not,
and cannot, believe it. And, most assuredly we can say, if the name of Jesus is
not enough, we shall never betake ourselves to man and his miserable order. We
shall never, God being our helper, erase that peerless name from the standard
round which the Holy Ghost has convened us, to place the perishable name of a
mortal in its stead.
We are fully aware of the immense difficulties and
painful trials connected with any expression of the assembly of God. We believe
its difficulties and trials are perfectly characteristic. There is nothing
under the canopy of heaven that the devil hates as he hates such an assembly.
He will leave no stone unturned to oppose it. We have seen this exemplified
again and again. An evangelist may go to a place and preach the all-sufficiency
of the name of Jesus for the salvation of the soul, and he will have thousands
hanging on his lips. Let the same man return, and, while he preaches the same
gospel, take another step and proclaim the all-sufficiency of that same Jesus
for all the exigencies of an assembly of believers, and he will find himself
opposed on all hands. Why is this? Because the devil hates the very feeblest
expression of the assembly of God. You may see a town left for ages and
generations to its dark and dull routine of religious formalism — a dead
people, gathering once a week, to hear a dead man go through a dead service,
and all the rest of the week living in sin and folly. There is not a breath of
life, not a leaf stirring. The devil likes it well. But let some one come and
unfurl the standard of the name of Jesus — Jesus for the soul and Jesus for the
assembly — and you will soon see a mighty change The rage of hell is excited,
and the dark and dreadful tide of opposition rises.
This, we most fully believe, is the true secret of
many of the bitter attacks that have been recently made on those who maintain
the principles of the assembly of God. No doubt we have to mourn over many
mistakes, errors, and failures. We have given much occasion to the adversary,
by our follies and inconsistencies. We have been a poor blotted epistle, a
faint and feeble witness, a flickering light. For all this, we have to be
deeply humbled before our God. Nothing could be more unbecoming in us than
pretension or assumption, or the putting forth of high-sounding ecclesiastical
titles or claims. The dust is our place. Yes, beloved brethren, the place of
confession and self judgement becomes us, in the presence of our God.
Still, we are not to let slip the glorious principles
of the assembly of God because we have so shamefully failed in carrying them
out: we are not to judge the truth by our exhibition of it, but to judge our
exhibition by the truth. It is one thing to occupy divine ground, and another
thing to carry ourselves properly thereon; and while it is perfectly right to
judge our practice by our principles, yet truth is truth for all that, and we
may rest assured that the devil hates the truth which characterises the
assembly. A mere handful Of poor people, gathered in the name of Jesus to break
bread, is a thorn in the side of the devil. True it is that such an assembly
evokes the wrath of men, inasmuch as it throws their office and authority
overboard, and they cannot bear that. Yet we believe the root of the whole
matter will be found in Satan's hatred of the special testimony which such an
assembly bears to the all-sufficiency of the name of Jesus for every possible
need of the saints of God.
This is a truly noble testimony, and we earnestly
long to see it more faithfully carried out. We may fully count upon intense
opposition. It will be with us as it was with the returned captives in the days
of Ezra and Nehemiah. We may expect to encounter many a Rehum and many a
Sanballat. Nehemiah might have gone and built any other wall in the whole world
but the wall of Jerusalem, and Sanballat would never have molested him. But to
build the wall of Jerusalem was an unpardonable offence. And why? Just because
Jerusalem was God's earthly centre, round which He will yet gather the restored
tribes of Israel. This was the secret of the enemy's opposition. And mark the
affected contempt. “If a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone
wall." And yet Sanballat and his allies were not able to break it down.
They might cause it to cease because of the Jews' lack of faith and energy; but
they could not break it down when God would have it up. How like is this to the
present moment! Surely there is nothing new under the sun. There is affected
contempt, but real alarm. And, oh! if those who are gathered in the name of
Jesus were only more true in heart to their blessed centre, what testimony
there would be! What power! What victory! How it would tell on all around.
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I." There
is nothing like this under the sun, be it ever so feeble and contemptible. The
Lord be praised for raising up such a witness for Himself in these last days.
May He greatly increase its effectiveness, by the power of the Holy Ghost!
3. We must now very briefly glance at our third
point, namely, what is the power by which the assembly is gathered. Here again
man and his doings are set aside. It is not man's will choosing; nor man's
reason discovering; nor man's judgement dictating; nor man's conscience
demanding: it is the Holy Ghost gathering souls to Jesus. As Jesus is the only
centre, so the Holy Ghost is the only gathering power. The one is as independent
of man as the other. It is “where two or three are gathered." It
does not say “where two or three are met." Persons may meet
together round any centre, on any ground, by any influence, and merely form a
society, an association, a community. But the Holy Ghost gathers souls to Jesus
on the ground of salvation; and this is the principle of the assembly of God.
An assembly may not embrace all the saints of God in
a locality, but may yet be really on the ground of the assembly of God, when
nothing else is. It may consist of but "two or three," and there may
be hundreds of Christians in the various religious systems around; yet the
"two or three" would be on the ground of the assembly of God.
This is a very simple truth. A soul led by the Holy
Ghost will gather only to the name of Jesus; and if we gather to aught else, be
it a point of truth, or some ordinance or another, we are not in that matter
led by the Holy Ghost. It is not a question of life or salvation. Thousands are
saved by Christ that do not own Him as their Centre. They are gathered to some
form of church government, some favourite doctrine, some special ordinance,
some gifted man. The Holy Ghost will never gather to any one of these. He
gathers only to a risen Christ. This is true of the whole church of God upon
earth; and each local assembly, wherever convened, should be the expression of
the whole.
Now, the power in an assembly will very much depend
upon the measure in which each member thereof is gathered in integrity of heart
to the name of Jesus. If I am gathered to a party holding peculiar opinions —
if I am attracted by the people, or by the teaching — if, in a word, it be not
the power of the Holy Ghost, leading me to the true centre of God's assembly, I
shall only prove a hindrance, a weight, a cause of weakness. I shall be to an
assembly what a waster is to a candle, and instead of adding to the general
light and usefulness, I shall do the very reverse.
All this is deeply practical. It should lead to much
exercise of heart and self-judgement as to what has drawn me to an assembly.
and as to my ways therein. We are fully persuaded that the tone and testimony
of an assembly have been greatly weakened by the presence of persons not
understanding their position. Some present themselves there because they get
teaching and blessing there which they cannot get anywhere else. some come
because they like the simplicity of the worship. Others come looking for love.
None of these things are up to the mark. We should be in an assembly simply
because the name of Jesus is the only standard set up there, and the Holy
Spirit has gathered" us thereto.
No doubt ministry is most precious, and we shall have
it, in more or less power, where all is ordered aright. So also as to
simplicity of worship, we are sure to be simple, and real, and true, when the
Divine Presence is realized, and the sovereignty of the Holy Ghost fully owned
and submitted to. And as to love, If we go looking for it we shall
surely be thoroughly disappointed; but if we are enabled to cultivate and
manifest it, we shall be sure to get a great deal more than we expect or
deserve. It will generally be found that those persons who are perpetually
complaining of want of love in others are utterly failing in love themselves;
and, on the other hand, those who are really walking in love will tell you that
they receive ten thousand times more than they deserve. Let us remember that
the best way to get water out of a dry pump is to pour a little water in. You
may work at the handle until you are tired, and then go away in fretfulness and
impatience, complaining of that horrible pump; whereas, if you would just pour
in a little water, you would get in return a gushing stream to satisfy your
utmost desire.
We have but little conception of what an assembly
would be were each one distinctly led by the Holy Ghost, and gathered only to
Jesus. We should not then have to complain of dull, heavy, unprofitable, trying
meetings. We should have no fear of an unhallowed intrusion of mere nature and
its restless doings — no making of prayer — no talking for talking's sake — no
hymn-book seized to fill a gap. Each one would know his place in the Lord's
immediate presence — each gifted vessel would be filled, fitted, and used by
the Master's hand — each eye would be directed to Jesus — each heart occupied
with Him. If a chapter were read, it would be the very voice of God. If a word
were spoken, it would tell with power upon the heart. If prayer were offered,
it would lead the soul into the very presence of God. If a hymn were sung, it
would lift the spirit up to God, and be like sweeping the strings of the
heavenly harp. We should have no ready-made sermons — no teaching or preaching
prayers, as though we would explain doctrines to God, or tell Him a whole host
of things about ourselves — no praying at our neighbours, or asking for all
manner of graces for them, in which we ourselves are lamentably deficient — no
singing for music's sake, or being disturbed if harmony be interfered with. All
these evils would be avoided. We should feel ourselves in the very sanctuary of
God, and enjoy a foretaste of that time when we shall worship in the courts
above, and go no more out.
We may be asked, “Where will you find all this down
here?" Ah! this is the question. It is one thing to present a beau
ideal on paper, and another thing to realize it in the midst of error,
failure, and infirmity. Through mercy, some of us have tasted, at times, a
little of this blessedness. We have occasionally enjoyed moments of heaven upon
earth. Oh! for more of it! May the Lord, in His great mercy, raise the tone of
the assemblies everywhere! May He greatly enlarge our capacity for more
profound communion and spiritual worship! May He enable us so to walk, in
private life, from day to day — so as to judge ourselves and our ways in His
holy presence, that at least we may not prove a lump of lead or a waster to any
of God's assemblies.
And then, even though we may not be able to reach in
experience the true expression of the assembly, yet let us never be satisfied
with anything less. Let us honestly aim at the loftiest standard, and earnestly
pray to be lifted up thereto. As to the ground of God's assembly, we should
hold it with jealous tenacity, and never consent for an hour to occupy any
other. As to the tone and character of an assembly, they may and will vary
immensely, and will depend upon the faith and spirituality of those gathered.
Where the tone of things is felt to be low — when meetings are felt to be
unprofitable — where things are said and done repeatedly which are felt by the
spiritual to be wholly out of' place, let all who feel it wait on God — wait
continually — wait believingly — and He will assuredly hear and answer. In this
way the very trials and exercises which are peculiar to an assembly will have
the happy effect of casting us more immediately upon Him, and thus the eater
will yield meat, and the strong sweetness. We must count upon trials and
difficulties in any expression of the assembly, just because it is the
right and only divine thing on this earth. The devil will put forth
every effort to drive us from that true and holy ground. He will try the
patience, try the temper, hurt the feelings, cause offence in nameless and
numberless ways — anything and everything to make us forsake the true ground of
the assembly.
It is well to remember this. We can only hold the
divine ground by faith. This marks the assembly of God, and distinguishes it
from every human system. You cannot get on there save by faith. And, further,
if you want to be somebody, if you are seeking a place, if you want to exalt self,
you need not think of any true expression of the assembly. You will soon find
your level there, if it be in any measure what it should be. Fleshly or worldly
greatness, in any shape, will be of no account in such an assembly. The Divine
Presence withers up everything of that kind, and levels all human pretension.
Finally, you cannot get on in the assembly if you are living in secret sin. The
Divine Presence will not suit you. Have we not often experienced in the
assembly a feeling of uneasiness, caused by the recollection of many things
which had escaped our notice during the week? Wrong thoughts — foolish words —
unspiritual ways — all these things crowd in upon the mind, and exercise the
conscience, in the assembly! How is this? Because the atmosphere of the
assembly is more intense than that which we have been breathing during the
week. We have not been in the presence of God in our private walk. We have not
been judging ourselves; and hence, when we take our place in a spiritual
assembly, our hearts are detected — our ways are exposed in the light; and that
exercise which ought to have gone on in private — even the needed exercise of
self judgement, must go on at the table of the Lord. This is poor miserable
work for us, but it proves the power of the presence of God in the assembly.
Things must be in a miserably low state in any assembly when hearts are not
thus detected and exposed. It is a fine evidence of the power of the Holy
Spirit in an assembly when careless, carnal, worldly, self-exalting,
money-loving, unprincipled persons are compelled to judge themselves in God's
presence, or, failing this, are driven away by the spirituality of the
atmosphere. Such an assembly is no place for these. They can breathe more
freely outside.
Now, we cannot but judge that numbers that have
departed from the ground of the assembly have done so because their practical
ways did not comport with the purity of the place. No doubt it is easy, in all
such cases, to find an excuse in the conduct of those who are left behind. But
if the roots of things were in every case laid bare, we should find that many
leave an assembly because of inability or reluctance to bear its searching
light. “Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, for
ever." Evil must be judged, for God cannot sanction it. If an assembly
can, it is not practically God's assembly at all, though composed of
Christians, as we say. To pretend to be an assembly of God, and not judge false
doctrine and evil ways, would involve the blasphemy of saying that God and
wickedness can dwell together. The assembly of God must keep itself pure,
because it is His dwelling-place. Men may sanction evil, and call it liberality
and large-heartedness so to do; but the house of God must keep itself pure. Let
this great practical truth sink down into our hearts, and produce its
sanctifying influence upon our course and character.
4. A very few words will suffice to set forth, in the
last place, “the authority" on which the assembly is gathered. It
is the word of God alone. The charter of the assembly is the eternal word of
the living and true God. It is not the traditions, the doctrines, nor the
commandments of men. A passage of scripture, to which we have more than once
referred in the progress of this paper, contains at once the standard round
which the assembly is gathered, the power by which it is gathered, and the
authority by which it is gathered — “the name of Jesus" — "the Holy
Ghost" — “the word of God."
Now these are the same all over the world. Whether I
go to New Zealand, to Australia, to Canada, to London, to Paris, to Edinburgh,
or Dublin, the centre, the gathering power, and the authority are one and the
same. We can own no other centre but Christ; no gathering energy but the Holy
Ghost; no authority but the word of God; no characteristic but holiness of life
and soundness in doctrine.
Such is a true expression of the assembly of God, and
we cannot acknowledge aught else. Saints of God we can acknowledge, love, and
honour as such, wherever we find them; but human systems we look upon as
dishonouring to Christ, and hostile to the true interest of the saints of God.
We long to see all Christians on the true ground of the assembly. We believe it
to be the place of real blessing and effective testimony. We believe there is a
character of testimony yielded by carrying out the principles of the assembly
which could not be yielded were that assembly broken up, and each member a
Whitefield in evangelistic power. We say this not to lower evangelistic work.
God forbid. We would that all were Whitefields. But then we cannot shut our
eyes to the fact that many affect to despise the assembly, under the plea of
going out as evangelists; and when we trace their path, and examine the results
of their work, we find that they have no provision for the souls that have been
converted by their means. They seem not to know what to do with them. They
quarry the stones, but do not build them together. The consequence is that
souls are scattered hither and thither, some pursuing a desultory course,
others living in isolation, all at fault as to true church ground.
Now, we believe that all these should be gathered on
the ground of the assembly of God, to have “fellowship in the breaking of bread
and in prayer." They should 'come together on the first day of the “week,
to break bread," looking to the Lord Christ to edify them by the mouth of
whom He will. This is the simple path — the normal, the divine idea, needing,
it may be, more faith to realize it, because of the clashing and conflicting
sects of the present day, but not the less simple and true on that account.
We are aware of course, that all this will be
pronounced proselytising, prejudice, and party spirit, by those who seem to
regard it as the very beau ideal of Christian liberality and
large-heartedness to be able to say, “I belong to nothing." Strange,
anomalous position! It just resolves itself in this: it is somebody
professing nothingism in order to get rid of all responsibility, and go
with all and everything. This is a very easy path for nature, and amiable
nature, but we shall see what will come of it in the day of the Lord? Even now
we regard it as positive unfaithfulness to Christ, from which may the good Lord
deliver His people.
But let none imagine that we want to place the
evangelist and the assembly in opposition. Nothing is further from our
thoughts. The evangelist should go forth from the bosom of the assembly, in
full fellowship therewith; he should work not only to gather souls to Christ,
but also bring them to an assembly, where divinely-gifted pastors might watch
over them, and divinely-gifted teachers instruct them. We do not want to clip
the evangelist's wings, but only to guide his movements. We are unwilling to
see real spiritual energy expended in desultory service. No doubt it is a grand
result to bring souls to Christ. Every soul linked to Jesus is a work done for
ever. But ought not the lambs and sheep to be gathered and cared for? Should anyone
be satisfied to purchase sheep, and then leave them to wander whithersoever
they list? Surely not. But whither should Christ's sheep be gathered? Is it
into the folds of man's erection, or into an assembly gathered on divine
ground? Into the latter unquestionably; for that, we may rest assured, how ever
feeble, however despised, however blackened and maligned, is the place for all
the lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ.
Here, however, there will be responsibility, care,
anxiety, labour, a constant demand for watchfulness and prayer; all of which
flesh and blood would like to avoid, if possible. There is much that is
agreeable and attractive in the idea of going through the world as an
evangelist, having thousands hanging on one's lips, and hundreds of souls as
the seals of one's ministry: but what is to be done with these souls? By all
means show them their true place with those gathered on the ground of the
assembly of God, where, notwithstanding the ruin and apostasy of the professing
body, they can enjoy spiritual communion, worship, and ministry. This will
involve mach trial and painful exercise. It was so in apostolic times. Those
who really cared for the flock of Christ had to shed many a tear, send up many
an agonising prayer, spend many a sleepless night. But, then, in all these
things, they tasted the sweetness of fellowship with the chief Shepherd; and
when He appears, their tears, their prayers, their sleepless nights will be
remembered and rewarded; while those who are building up human systems will
find them all come to an end, to be heard of no more for ever, and the false
shepherds, who ruthlessly seize the pastoral staff only to use it as an
instrument of filthy gain to themselves, shall have their faces covered with
everlasting confusion.
Here we might close, were it not that we are anxious
to answer three queries which may possibly suggest themselves to the reader's
mind.
And, in the first place, we may be asked, “Where are
we to find this thing that you call 'A true expression of the assembly of God,'
from the days of the apostles up to the nineteenth century? And where are we to
find it now?" Our answer is simply to point to the words of Christ —
"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I." It
matters but little to us if Neander, Mosheim, Milner, and scores of
ecclesiastical historians besides have failed, in their interesting researches,
in discerning a single trace of the true expression of God's assembly, from the
close of the apostolic era to the opening of the current century. It is quite
possible there may have been here and there, amid the thick gloom of the middle
ages, “two or three" really "gathered in the name of Jesus," or
at least those that sighed after the truth of such a thing. But, be this as it
may, it leaves that truth wholly untouched. It is not on the records of
historians that we build, but on the infallible truth of God's word; and
therefore, although it could be proved that for eighteen hundred years there
were not even “two or three gathered in the name of Jesus," it would not
in the smallest degree affect the question. The word is not, "What saith
the ecclesiastical historian?" but “What saith the scripture?"
[The vast gold fields of Australia and California lay
concealed from man's view for thousands of years. Does this fact render the
gold less precious to those who have now discovered it?]
If there be any force in the argument founded on
history, it would apply equally to the precious institution of the Lord's
supper. For how did it fare with that ordinance for over a thousand years? It
was stripped of one of its grand elements, wrapped in a dead language, buried
in a sepulchre of superstition, and bore this inscription, “A bloodless
sacrifice for the sins of the living and the dead." And even when, at the
time of the Reformation, the Bible was once more permitted to speak to man's
conscience, and pour its living light upon the sepulchre in which the Eucharist
lay buried, what was produced? Under what form does the Lord's supper appear before
us in the Lutheran church? Under the form of consubstantiation. Luther denied
that there was any change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of
Christ; but he maintained, and that, too, in fierce and unbending opposition to
the Swiss divines, that there was a mysterious presence of Christ with
the bread and wine.
Well, then, should we not have the Lord's supper
celebrated in our midst, according to the order laid down in the New Testament?
Ought we to lend our countenance to the sacrifice of the mass, or
consubstantiation, because the true idea of the Eucharist seems to have been
lost to the professing church for so many ages? Surely not. What are we to do?
Take the New Testament and see what it says on the point — bow in reverent
submission to its authority — spread the Lord's table in its divine simplicity,
and celebrate the feast according to the order laid down by our Lord and
Master, who said to His disciples, and therefore to us, “This do in remembrance
of me."
But, again, we may be asked, “Is it not worse than
useless to seek to carry out the principles of the assembly of God, seeing that
the professing church is in such complete ruin?" We reply by asking, “Are
we to be disobedient because the church is in ruin? Are we to continue in error
because the dispensation has failed?" Surely not. We own the ruin, mourn
over it, confess it, take our share in it, and in its sad consequences, seek to
walk softly and humbly in the midst of it, confessing ourselves to be most
unfaithful and unworthy. But though we have failed, Christ has not failed. He
abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself. He has promised to be with His people
to the end of the age. Matthew 18: 20 holds as good today as it did eighteen
hundred years ago. “Let God be true and every man a liar." We utterly
repudiate the idea of men setting about church-making, or pretending to ordain
ministers. We look upon it as a pure assumption, without a single shadow of
scripture authority. It is God's work to gather His church and raise up ministers.
We have no business to form ourselves into a church, or to ordain
office-bearers. No doubt the Lord is very gracious, tender, and pitiful. He
bears with our weakness, and overrules our mistakes, and where the heart is
true to Him, even though in ignorance, He will assuredly lead on into higher
light.
But we must not use God's grace as a plea for
unscriptural acting, any more than we should use the church's ruin as a plea
for sanctioning error. We have to confess the ruin, count on the grace, and act
in simple obedience to the word of the Lord. Such is the path of blessing at
all times. The remnant, in the days of Ezra, did not pretend to the power and
splendour of Solomon's days, but they obeyed the word of Solomon's Lord, and
they were abundantly blessed in their deed. They did not say, “Things are in
ruin, and therefore we had better remain in Babylon, and do nothing." No;
they simply confessed their own and their people's sin, and counted on God.
This is precisely what we are to do. We are to own the ruin, and count on God.
Finally, if we be asked, “Where is the true
expression of this assembly of God now?" We reply, “Where two or three are
gathered in the name of Jesus." And be it carefully noted, that in order
to reach divine results there must be divine conditions. “ To lay claim to the
latter without the former is only an empty conceit. If we are not really
gathered in the name of Jesus, we have no right to expect that He will be in
our midst; and if He be not in our midst our assembly will be a poor affair.
But it is our happy privilege to be assembled in such wise as to enjoy His
blessed presence amongst us; and having Him, we do not need to set up a poor
mortal to preside over us. Christ is Lord of His own house; let no mortal dare
to usurp His place. When an assembly is convened for worship, God presides in
its midst, and if He be fully owned, the current of communion, worship, and
edification will flow on without a ripple and without a curve.* All will be in
lovely harmony. But if the flesh be suffered to act, it will grieve and quench
the Spirit, and spoil everything. Flesh must be judged in the assembly, just as
it should be judged in our individual walk from day to day. But we have to
remember that errors and failures in the assembly are no more to be used as
arguments against the truth of the divine Presence there, than are our
individual failures and errors to be used against the admitted truth of the
indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the believer.
{*We must remember there is a very material difference
between those occasions on which the assembly is gathered for worship, and
other special services. In these latter the evangelist or the teacher, the
preacher or the lecturer, serves in his individual capacity, in responsibility
to his Lord. Nor does it make any difference whether such services are
conducted in the rooms usually occupied by the assembly or elsewhere. Those
forming the assembly may be present or not, as they feel disposed. But when the
assembly, as such, is gathered for worship, for one man however gifted, to
assume a place, would be to quench the Spirit.}
“Are you the people, then?" some one may say.
Well, the question is not, Are we the people? but are we on divine ground? If
we are not, the sooner we abandon our position the better. That there is a
divine ground, notwithstanding all the darkness and confusion, will hardly be
denied. God has not left His people under the necessity of abiding in
connection with error and evil. And how are we to know whether we are on divine
ground or not? Simply by the divine word. Let us honestly and seriously test
everything with which we stand connected by the standard of scripture, and if
it cannot abide the trial, let us abandon it at once. Yes, at once. If we pause
to reason or weigh consequences we shall surely miss our way. Pause, certainly,
to make yourself sure of the mind of the Lord; but never pause to reason when
once you have ascertained it. The Lord never gives light for two steps at a
time. He gives us light, and when we act on that He gives us more. “The path of
the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect
day." Precious, soul-stirring motto “More and more." There is no
halting — no standing still — no resting in attainment. It is “more and more,"
until we are ushered into the full-orbed light of the perfect day of glory.
Reader, are you assembled on this divine ground? If
so, cling to it with your whole soul. Are you in this path? If so, press on
with all the energies of your moral being. Never be content with anything short
of His dwelling in you, and your conscious nearness to Him. Let not Satan rob
you of your proper portion by leading you to rest in a mere name. Let him not
tempt you to mistake your ostensible position. for your real condition.
Cultivate secret communion — secret prayer — constant self judgement. Be
especially on your guard against every form of spiritual pride. Cultivate
lowliness, meekness, and brokenness of spirit tenderness of conscience, in your
own private walk Seek to combine the sweetest grace towards others with the
boldness of a lion where truth is concerned. Then will you be a blessing in the
assembly of God, and an effective witness of the all-sufficiency of the Name of
Jesus.
C. H. M.