5. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS ON
THE MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF THE SAINTS,
IN MEETINGS FOR MUTUAL EDIFICATION,
AND ON OTHER SUBJECTS
Beloved Brethren,
My remarks in this will be of a more
desultory character than in the preceding letters, my object being to gather up
several points which could not be so well embraced in the subjects of my former
communications.
And first, may I remind you, that whatever takes place
in a meeting for mutual edification ought to be the fruit of communion. That
is, if I read a chapter of the word, it is not that I have to look through my
Bible to find a suitable chapter; but being more or less acquainted with the
word, the Spirit of God brings to my mind the portions He would have me read.
So if a hymn is to be sung, it is not that I feel the time is come for singing,
and so look through the hymn book for a nice hymn to sing. No; but out of the
measure of acquaintance with the hymn-book that I have, the Spirit of God
reminds me of a hymn, and leads me to give it out. The idea of half a dozen
looking through their Bibles and hymn-books to find chapters and hymns suitable
to read or give out, is as subversive of the real character of a meeting for
mutual edification, in dependence on the Holy Ghost, as can well be conceived.
I may, indeed, have a given chapter laid on my heart, and may need,
from imperfect acquaintance with my Bible, to look for it; and so of a hymn;
but this is clearly the only object one can rightly have, in turning over the
pages of either when assembled on the ground of mutual dependence on the Holy
Ghost for mutual edification. Then, secondly, if this were well understood, it
would follow, as a matter of course, that when any one was seen opening his
Bible or his hymn-book, it would be known to be with the thought of reading a
portion of the word, or giving out a hymn. The word, "Wherefore, my brethren,
when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another", 1 Corinthians 11: 33,
would then quite preclude the thought of anyone else taking part in the
meeting, till the brother who had evinced his thought of doing so had either
carried it into effect or laid it aside.
This brings me fairly to the
subject of mutual dependence, on which we may well and properly meditate for a
little while. The question as to the Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 11, was not
as to ministry, but as to eating the Lord’s supper. The question of
ministry comes on in 1 Corinthians 14. But the moral root of the disorder in
both cases was the same. They failed to discern the body of Christ, and so each
was occupied with his own individual self. "For in eating every one taketh
before other his own supper", 1 Corinthians 11: 21. The result was, "And one is
hungry, and another is drunken". The principle of self was here permitted to
produce fruits so glaring and so monstrous, as to shock one’s natural
sensibilities.
But if I come to the meetings, and sit in the meetings,
thinking only of the chapter I am to read, the hymn I am to give out, the part
I am to take, self is as entirely in spiritual things the hinge on which my
thoughts and solicitudes turn, as though, like the Corinthians in natural
things, I having a supper, brought it and ate it, while my poor brother who
could not afford this, went away without. It is in the fellowship of the one
body of Christ quickened, actuated, taught, and governed by the one Spirit,
that we meet together; and surely the thoughts of our hearts in thus assembling
should neither be the supper I myself have to eat, or the part I myself have to
take, but the wondrous bounty and grace of Him who has committed us to the
keeping of the Holy Ghost, who will not fail, if humbly waited on, to assign
each his proper place and part, without any restless anxiety in us to know what
it is.
In the body of Christ each one is but a member and surely if the
Corinthians had discerned and realized this, the one who had a supper would
have tarried for those who had none, to share it with them. In like manner, if
my soul realizes this precious unity of the body, and my own humble place in
it, as but one individual member of it I shall not be in such haste to act in
the assembly as to prevent others acting: and if I feel I have a word from the
Lord, or a call from Him for some service, I shall still remember that others
may have the same, and so leave room for them: and most of all, if I see
another with his book open to read a portion or give out a hymn, I shall wait
till he has done so, and not be in a hurry to get the opportunity before him.
"Tarry ye one for another", will surely apply to this as well as to the
breaking of bread.
And in the fourteenth chapter we find that when
prophets were speaking in the meeting by immediate revelation, there was to be
so much deference of one to another, that in the very act of speaking, if
anything was revealed to another that sat by, the first was to hold his peace.
Besides, the general, moral bearing of such a word as "Let every man be swift
to hear, slow to speak", James 1: 19, would teach us thus to tarry one for the
other.
Then, thirdly, the object of our assembly is edification. This
is the point pressed in 1 Corinthians 14. In 1 Corinthians 12 we have the body
of Christ in subjection to Him as Lord, and the witness here of His Lordship,
by virtue of the indwelling and inworking of the Holy Ghost, who divides to
every man severally as He will; closing with the catalogue of gifts, apostles,
prophets, etc., set of God in the church in their several places of use, or
service, for the whole. To covet earnestly the best gifts is enjoined, but a
more excellent way referred to, namely, the charity, or love, of 1 Corinthians
13, without which the most splendid gifts are nothing, and which must regulate
the exercise of all gifts if edification is to be the result.
This
latter is the subject of 1 Corinthians 14. The gift of tongues was what seemed
to man the most wonderful, and the Corinthians delighted in displaying it.
Instead of love seeking the edification of all, it was vanity seeking to
display its gifts. They were real gifts – gifts of the Spirit. And here,
beloved brethren, is the solemn thing for us to weigh, that there may be the
power of the Spirit for service, without the living guidance of the Spirit in
its exercise. The latter there can only be where self is crucified, and Christ
everything to the soul. The object of the Holy Spirit is not to glorify the
poor earthen vessel which contains His gifts; but by the humble, gracious,
self-renouncing use of these gifts to glorify Christ from whom they flow; and
this is accomplished in the edification of the whole body. How beautiful is
this self-renunciation in Paul! Possessed of every gift, with what singleness
of heart he sought not to exhibit his gifts, but to exalt his Lord, and edify
the saints. "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: yet in the
church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I
might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue".
How forcible from the pen of such an one, those words of the Holy
Ghost, "Let all things be done unto edifying". "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are
zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the
church". Then again, every servant to be faithful must act under his
master’s directions. Hence the importance of what was so much pressed in
my last, that if I act in the assembly of the saints, it must be on no lower
ground than that of a full and solemn persuasion in my own soul before God,
that it is my Master’s present will I should so act. "For I say, through
the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as
God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith", Romans 12: 3. The measure of
what I do is to be the measure of faith God has given me; and God will take
care that His servants know thus what He would have them do. Nothing less than
a firm and solemn conviction that it is His will, can be a warrant for my
acting in the assembly, or indeed anywhere besides, as the servant of God.
In the assembly, however, there is a divine check or guard on the abuse
of this principle, namely, the provision made in such a word as "Let the
prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge", 1 Corinthians 14: 29. It
is for my own soul in the first place to judge, and know whether the Lord calls
me to speak or to act in the assembly; but when I have so spoken or acted, it
is for my brethren to judge, and in the vast majority of cases it must be by
their judgment that I abide. The case is a rare one indeed in which I should be
warranted in continuing to take a part in the meetings, if my doing so were not
approved by the brethren. It is quite evident, that if God has called me to
speak or pray in the meetings – if it be really from Him that my
conviction of being led to do so proceeds – it is as easy for Him to
dispose and prepare the hearts of the saints to receive my ministry, and unite
in my prayers, as it is to dispose my own heart for such service. If I am
really led of the Spirit thus to act, the same Spirit who leads me and acts by
me dwells in the saints; and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the Spirit
in the saints, will respond to ministry or worship in the Spirit on the part of
any.
Ordinarily, therefore, if I found saints burdened and troubled by
my taking part in the meetings, instead of being edified thereby, I should be
warranted in concluding that I had mistaken my place, and that I was not called
thus to act. In the second place, suppose that what made the ministry of any
one for a time unacceptable was to be found in the state of the assembly, not
his own state: suppose that he is so much more spiritual than the assembly,
that they cannot enter into or appreciate what he ministers to them, what of
such a case as this? It is not a very common one, and when it does arise, it
may be for such a servant of Christ to enquire whether he has not to learn to
be like his Master, and to teach and "to speak the word unto them, as they are
able to hear"; whether he does not need a little more of Paul’s spirit,
who could say, "we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her
children"; who says, too, in another place, "I have fed you with milk, and not
with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye
able". If, with such discriminating care and tenderness as this, his ministry
is still not received, it must indeed be trying to the faith of such a servant
of the Lord; but seeing that edification is the object of all ministry, and
that saints cannot be edified by a ministry that does not commend itself to
their consciences, there could be no good in forcing it upon the saints,
whether they can receive it or not.
The general weakness and disease
of one’s body may produce the dislocation of some particular joint. The
body in such a case will not be benefited by forcing the dislocated joint into
action. It may be deplorable that it cannot act; but the only way for its use
to be restored is to give it perfect rest for the time being, while the general
health of the body is sought to be restored by other means. So in the case
supposed, continued ministry where it is not received, even if the cause be the
low state of the assembly, only adds irritation to the generally bad condition
of things, and thus makes it worse. The servant of the Lord in such a case will
find that to be silent is his wisdom, or it may be to him the intimation of his
Master’s will that he should serve elsewhere. On the other hand, let me
earnestly warn you, beloved brethren, against what probably enough Satan may
now seek to make a snare to us, the spirit of criticism on what takes place in
the meetings. His effort is always to urge us from one extreme to another; and
if we have erred on the side of indifference, as though it made no matter what
took place if only the time was filled up, it is more than likely we shall now
be in danger on the other side. The good Lord in His mercy keep us. Nothing can
be more deplorable, as to the state of heart it indicates, and nothing can be a
greater hindrance to blessing, than a captious, criticizing spirit. We assemble
to worship God and edify one another, not to occupy ourselves in determining
who ministers in the flesh, and who prays in the Spirit. Where the flesh does
manifest itself, let it be judged. Sorrowful and humiliating work it is to
discern and judge it, in place of our own proper, happy privilege of mutually
enjoying the fulness of our blessed Saviour and Head.
Do let us beware
of a spirit of fault-finding. There are lesser gifts, as well as greater ones,
and we know who it is that has bestowed more abundant honour on the parts that
lacked. The actings of a brother in the assembly are not of necessity all
fleshly, because he acts in the flesh to some extent. On this point, it would
be well for us all to ponder the words of one most highly honoured amongst us,
"There is great need of this, namely, that we attend first to the nature, and,
secondly, to the measure of our gift. "While on this last, that is, the measure
of the gift, let me say that I do not doubt that many a brother’s gift
would be recognized, if he did not go beyond his measure in it, ‘If he
prophesy, let him prophesy according to the proportion of faith’. "All
beyond that is flesh, and putting himself forward, and this is felt, and his
whole gift rejected; and this because he has not known how to confine himself
to it; and therefore his flesh acts, and his speaking is attributed to it
– and no wonder. "It is also true as to the nature of a gift; if a man
sets himself to teach, instead of confining himself to exhorting – if he
exhorts – he will not, and cannot, edify. "I would especially desire the
attention of every brother who ministers in the word to this remark, which,
from lack of faithfulness in his hearers, may never reach him in any other
way".
It is to brethren who minister that these words are addressed, but I
quote them to you, beloved brethren, that we may learn not to condemn
everything that any one says or does, because something of the flesh is
discernible in it. Let us thankfully own what is of the Spirit, distinguishing
it from all else even in the ministry or actings of the same
individual.
There are still two or three points of minuter detail on
which, in the confidence of brotherly love, I would add a word or two. As to
the distribution of the bread and wine at the Lord’s table. It is, on the
one hand, most desirable that this should not be uniformly and exclusively by
one or two individuals, as though it were some clerical distinction; while, on
the other hand, I can see no warrant in scripture for any one breaking the
bread, or giving the cup, without giving thanks. In Matthew 24: 26-27; Mark 14:
22-23; Luke 22: 19; and 1 Corinthians 11: 24, we are told that the Lord Jesus
gave thanks when He broke the bread and took the cup; while in 1 Corinthians
10: 16, the cup is termed the cup of blessing or of thanksgiving. If, then,
scripture is to be our guide, how plain that any one who breaks the bread or
takes the cup should at the same time give thanks; and if any of us do not feel
power to do this, may we not rightly question whether we are called to
distribute the bread and the wine? Then as to rule or oversight in the church,
and indeed as to the qualifications to be looked for in any who act in
ostensible service amongst saints, 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 ought to be
prayerfully studied by all of us.
There is one particular in 1 Timothy
3: 6, which it may be well to be reminded of. "Not a novice, lest being lifted
up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil". It is possible for
the call of God and the gift of Christ to be found with a young man like
Timothy – or if we go back to the Old Testament, with a Jeremiah –
and "let no man despise thy youth" would apply to any such in the present day,
even as to Timothy of old. But it is to Timothy the words quoted "not a
novice", etc., were addressed. His youthfulness was to be no encouragement to
those to act who had neither the gift nor the grace which had been bestowed on
him. And there is even a natural fitness and beauty in the young taking the
place of subjection instead of rule, which seems to me to be sadly overlooked
sometimes. "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of
you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth
the proud, and giveth grace to the humble", 1 Peter 5: 5. The Lord in His
mercy, beloved brethren, grant us to walk humbly with Himself, and thus may no
hindrance be presented to the working of His blessed Spirit amongst us.
Yours, in unfeigned affection, W. Trotter.