ENRICHMENT AND CONTRIBUTION
Ephesians 4: 7-16
DAB In a recent occasion locally we sang hymn 251 and one of the lines in verse 4 is:
The rich one Thou - for us made poor
In singing this it made me think of 2 Corinthians 8: 9: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sakes he, being rich, became poor, in order that ye by his poverty might be enriched”. There is a wonderful glory conveyed in that verse as to the Lord Jesus, “that ye by his poverty might be enriched”. What I have in mind therefore for this reading is that we might appreciate the blessed enrichment that has come to us from Christ Himself and through that enrichment we might know what it is to contribute. The tabernacle system was set up according to the pattern (Exod 25: 9), and the pattern was given by God Himself. The ‘working’ of the tabernacle system involved that persons brought material which was available on the basis of exercise and it is on the basis of exercise that we are enriched. This led me to the passage in Ephesians. Chapters 1-3 is where Paul sets out so fully the whole counsel of God and the blessed height of the truth, and the working of it out is to come into our souls in a substantial way and this is really brought out in the section of scripture which we have read together.
For our interest and encouragement, we started reading at verse 7 where it says, “But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”. We cannot really elect ourselves outside of this matter of what God has given, through Christ, as it is for “each one of us”. It is also for the enrichment of the body. My exercise is that we arrive at what we have in verse 16: “works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”. While we have the gifts brought out in verse 11, there is the merging in the body, and the gifts are given in view that they might have their place in the body. The result of the giving of the gifts and what we derive from Christ in heaven is what is found in the body of the saints. It has been said that the giving of the gifts is really in view that the saints might become independent of them! There is that substantially wrought in the saints for the glory of God so that what we have at the end of chapter 3 of this epistle is really the result of the enrichment of the saints; there is response Godward. It has all come from this One who has ascended up above all heavens and therefore what has come from an ascended Christ is for the enrichment of us all.
AEM I think that is very good. Maybe you could just help us in verse 7 as to being “given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”. We are familiar with the thought of having a measure of faith. God starts His work by doing that.
DAB Firstly, it is “to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”. Quite clearly there is the measure of faith, but I think this means that what has come from Christ is according “to the measure”. There is what is measured that is given, but it is to each one and for our building up, according to the grace given.
AEM It has been given. It has been demonstrated in that blessed Man. It is not an abstract thought; it has been seen superlatively and gloriously in Him.
DAB As coming into manhood we might think it is an unusual expression that “by his poverty” we have been enriched. That poverty really relates to Him coming into manhood. I was impressed by it:
The rich one Thou - for us made poor.
We can surely say that Christ is rich and we have everything in Him. That really is the glory of the incarnation and as coming into manhood He has bestowed upon us every blessing that God has in mind for His creature.
IMcK Can you open up the link between enrichment and contribution?
DAB We have all been given something. That is why when Christ went on high, the Spirit was given so that we might not be left to our own resources. As being enriched in the fulness of these gifts and what has come from Christ we then become equipped to participate in the greatness of these divine things. I am reading through Mr Darby’s letters and what he said in one of them was ‘Christianity works by what it brings, not by what it finds’, Letters vol 3 p137. Clericalism encourages persons to come on the basis of what they find, not exactly what they bring. The working of the body, and the inward power of the Holy Spirit, encourages persons to bring, through exercise, so that we all might participate for the functioning of the body. What has been given to us then is fulfilled in the last verse, “the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”.
RDP Your illustration from the tabernacle is interesting. If you go back to Exodus 35: 10, it was the “wise-hearted” who contributed. It speaks about “every one whose heart moved him, and every one whose spirit prompted him; they brought Jehovah’s heave-offering”, Exod 35: 21. With the description of a heave-offering you see a swelling of affection in relation to it.
DAB We see it particularly in Exodus, and also in Leviticus with the offerings, the sin-offering, the peace-offering, the meat-offering, the burnt-offering; and all were to participate. They were all to bring. God speaks of a “handful” in relation to the oblation. It is what is contributory. That is why I began in verse 7, “But to each one”. It begins on an individual basis. At the end of the section it is what is collective. We then are all merged together and working and participating together and that practically is how it works.
RDP You have already mentioned that the pattern of the tabernacle was from God. It must have been a tremendous movement of heart that brought all that material. That chapter in Exodus brings out the spirit of it.
DAB It does. Where did they get all that material from? Where do we get our substance from? I appreciate older brethren who have been faithful in and supportive of the testimony (this has also stimulated my exercise); are we contributors in helping forward what there is for the divine pleasure while we await our final participation in glory? This section of scripture is really the filling out of the blessed truth which Paul had in his heart for the Ephesian saints.
DAB-r That verse in 2 Corinthians 8 is part of a long section about a collection. We have been reading those chapters at home and seen that the money was not the main point: it was to give everyone, givers and recipients, a practical understanding of the one body. Paul says, “if the readiness be there” (v 12), and “God loves a cheerful giver”, chap 9: 7. I am glad to see the link with these two passages that they illustrate practically that the one body is developed and edified by giving.
DAB I realise 2 Corinthians is to do with the practical giving of the saints, but you think of the giving of Christ. That really is what that verse means; the coming into manhood, the blessed incarnation.
DAB-r We felt it could not just be the point to have three or four chapters about a collection. We then saw that the brethren who might never see each other would understand that they were in one body, and the practical means to that end was to stimulate giving. I wonder if that linked with your exercise. That is the “grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”. It produces Christ-like activity in His body.
DAB Exactly, so that we are taking character from that blessed One. We are kindred in nature to the Lord Jesus. Therefore we give as He gives; that is what it means here when it says “to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”. It is really of that blessed One, what we are given.
AJMcK Is there something of the measure where we get later “that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”, and then, “He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens”. Is that the measure of the Christ? I was thinking of what has been drawn attention to, the giving of Christ is in one sense beyond calculation, but the measure is there.
DAB That is helpful. It is there so that we can understand it and appreciate it. There is no part of the created sphere that Christ has not been into. He has “ascended up on high”, and then it says “above all the heavens, that he might fill all things”. That is beyond the created sphere. The greatness of who Christ is and where He is gone is really beyond us, but the measure brings that into expression in appreciation in our souls.
AJMcK This is a huge encouragement to us. A simple impression of the greatness of the gift of the Christ and of this measure really sets us in the right position for this all to start. In the light of that we find our place in contributing: is that your exercise?
DAB Yes it is. You can think that the one here who has “ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive”, He is the blessed Victor; He has also “descended into the lower parts of the earth”. That really is lower than any man has ever gone and refers not only to His death, but to His burial, as I understand. We were speaking about measure; Mary was the only disciple who really appreciated the burial of Christ. It says, “She has beforehand anointed my body for the burial”, Mark 14: 8. She could not do it after; so she did it beforehand and she would be in sympathy with what we are talking about.
QAP Does this flow out of John 1, “for of his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace”, v 16. His fulness is immeasurable; with us there is a measure, but not with Him.
DAB I think we have that in verse 13: “at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”, and is something that is arrived at in a collective way. What is individual leads to what is collective. I was thinking of Psalm 51 in that connection. The character of the sin-offering in an individual way leads to the character of the burnt-offering, and we can see this whole matter deriving from Christ, the One who has ascended up on high. He is filling all things and filling us with the blessedness of His love so love really is greater than gift.
QAP The unity of the Spirit in this chapter is linked with the inward affections between the saints whereas the unity of the faith in this section is linked particularly with doctrine and holding the same teaching.
DJW The verse you quoted, ‘for us made poor’ was His own act. I was thinking of this expression here, “Having ascended… has given gifts”. It is His own act. If we have received a measure of grace, it is His own act, a gift from Him. It might help if you say something as to how we identify what Christ has given me. Is it an impression of Himself?
DAB It says in verse 11, “and he has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers”. The Lord gave apostles and He filled the apostles with His ministry, but it awaited the Spirit for the fulfilling of what came from the apostles. There was that in the apostles which was enlarged by the Spirit coming here. You ask what has Christ given us? I think this all works because the Spirit is here. We are in the day of the Spirit’s power, the Spirit’s dispensation; so I think the Spirit comes into this and brings from Christ impressions of Himself and imparts them to us. That is really the working of the body.
DJW 1 Corinthians 12 confirms that. What Christ has given He has given through the actions of the Spirit.
RHB Does the parable of the talents illustrate this thought of what Christ has given, and the measure: each was given a different amount, but they were given it with a view to using it, Matt 25? Is that what you had in mind?
DAB Exactly, so that it is for the benefit of all. What each one of us receives is for the benefit of the whole body. I think that is how things work out with this matter of trading. Christianity is a wonderful system because what you share you actually gain by. In material things if I have a pound in my pocket and I share it with you, I have fifty pence and you have fifty pence, but in divine things there is an increase by sharing.
RHB We tend perhaps to think of measure as something limiting. You often hear it said that something is beyond my measure, but the scripture thinks of measure as something to be filled out. Timothy was told to “fill up the full measure of thy ministry” 2 Tim 4: 5. There is almost the suggestion that he had more than he was using.
DAB Paul could say of Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion”, 2 Tim 1: 7. That would really encourage him to fill out what he had.
PJW We are either enriching among the brethren or making poorer. It was so in connection with Gideon who “threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure it from the Midianites”, Jud 6: 11. I was thinking about what you said at the beginning about what is individual. He worked it out in restricted circumstances in exercise in view of the enrichment of God’s people.
DAB It was; it began with an individual exercise. Then it spread out to the whole nation. It began with Gideon’s desire for the food supply to be maintained, through exercise. That is another matter which is important: that we should be maintained in exercise. Young men are asked to preach, and I trust they are exercised to participate in the reading meetings as well. I would also encourage them to have exercise for and liberty in the meeting for prophetic ministry, but we should really be in exercise all the time. We should desire to be filled according to the measure that Christ has given us. That is why there is grace given so that our measure might be filled to capacity. As we move according to the Spirit then it is like light. If we move according to light we are given more light and if we move according to the grace we are given we will be given more so that there is substance formed in the soul which is used in this self- building up in love.
PJW The supply of grace is limitless but the question is whether we use it effectively. As you have been speaking a poem came to mind
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again
Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932)
It is His unbounded grace that is in mind. For us it is to work with that grace to enrich the saints.
DAB There is what is given by Christ as the ascended, exalted Man through these gifts. What we receive from Christ is to be formed in us through the power of the Holy Spirit so that as these other things come into evidence and become workable we almost become self-sufficient. So we are not dependent on any external power, but we are dependent on Christ in heaven and the Holy Spirit here.
GCB I realise you have helped us to dwell on what each has been given. Would you be free alongside of that to speak of what Christ has given distinctively in the following verses? We are not to divide the thoughts, what each has been given, and what has been given distinctively in these gifts. You referred to the clerical system; may be in the second century that is what began to happen. The saints separated what is apparently distinctive from what each had been given, do you think?
DAB I could use the illustration from the Acts. Men like Peter and John were distinctive men, they were apostles clearly. They go into the temple through the gate called Beautiful and come across the lame man. As taking that person up Peter says, “Silver and gold I have not; but what I have this give I to thee”, Acts 3: 6. That really was what they were given individually and was the means whereby that man came in and merged with them in the company. If we stand in the grandeur of our own service we introduce what is clerical. While there is what is distinctive, it is to be used in the working out in a mutual way amongst the saints for the building up of the body.
NJH Your reference in Corinthians to “ye by his poverty might be enriched”. Not in glory. This is a whole spiritual order of things as we get through to “who is the head, the Christ: from whom the whole body”. It is a spiritual order of things; the contributions must be spiritual.
DAB Do you think this whole sphere speaks of what is spiritual? We should not be afraid of that word because it means that Christ is everything to us, and the Spirit is free in our souls and affections, so that contributions made are “for the perfecting of the saints; with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ; until we all arrive at the unity of the faith”. It is all in view of this building up and edification so that we might be persons who are enriched and therefore contribute. We might be endowed by the blessing of what we have in the spiritual realm so that our localities continue in a vital way.
RDP Paul says at the end of his life, “I am already being poured out” (2 Tim 4: 6), but earlier in Philippians he says, “if also I am poured out as a libation on the sacrifice and ministration of your faith, I rejoice”, chap 2: 17. That is a really lovely touch. “I rejoice, and rejoice in common with you all”. It was not a pouring out in view of an answer or a return like man’s business dealings, where you make an investment in view of what comes back; “poured out as a libation and on the sacrifice and ministration of your faith”. That brings in the whole gospel.
DAB That is not philanthropy. Men can be philanthropic, but they have themselves in mind. Paul was a libation. He did not have himself in mind at all but the blessing of others. Paul had that in his in mind in Ephesians 4; the blessing, edification and filling up of these persons with full thoughts of God for the assembly as we have in chapters 1 to 3.
DAB-r It is important to understand that grace is never measured by the need it meets. If you had a need and God gave you enough grace to meet that need, you would have nothing to enrich anyone else. Grace is always spoken of as abounding. I was thinking of that verse in 2 Corinthians; it was not simply that the Lord had grace for the work He undertook: the grace enabled Him to enrich many. Is that the character of grace? If we seek grace we should seek something that will enrich others as well as what our own need might be.
DAB Yes, exactly. Grace is love in operation. While we have these gifts mentioned here, the working out of what they give is really in love and love remains. Gifts are going to be done away with, but love remains. As to grace, as we are filled with the preciousness of what we find in Christ and as it is formed through exercise in our souls, we are then able to contribute. It is very easy to come along and just sit. My desire is that there might be that formed in us which is contributory to this whole system of grace.
DAB-r Grace was needed for the Lord Jesus to take the place He has on high. That was a movement of grace on His part. What is the first thing He does? Give. That is because He loves His body, He loves His assembly, He loves His people; and that grace which has installed Him in the highest place in glory means He is still a Giver.
DAB Exactly. What lies behind this then is the blessed One who has gone on high and given of His Spirit. The Spirit is given in order that what there is in Christ might be known here below. We are not in any disadvantaged position. It has been referred to recently that the giving of the Spirit was additional, not instead: the Spirit was not given in place of Christ; the Spirit was given additionally to Him.
AEM This expression “with a view to the work of the ministry” is very interesting as to what you say as to it being easy just to sit. The work of the ministry is not just a job today. The Lord gives you something and the Spirit helps you to set it out, but the work of the ministry includes everyone here and the Spirit’s work in everyone here. It is a very inclusive and full thought.
DAB That is it. I had in mind that the gifts and “the work of the ministry” and “the edifying of the body” are in view of “the perfecting of the saints”. You might think, “How can we be perfect?”. We are human creatures; we are in bodies of humiliation. This is in view that there might be no hindrance to divine operations in the soul, so that everything is removed and divine persons have free flow and free scope in our affections. This is what is going on now. It is for everyone in this room to become involved; so it is an inclusive service.
AEM I was thinking that as to this gift of grace: if there is any barrier to this reaching into my heart it is put there by me not by God.
DAB We are all called to serve: “if anyone serve me, him shall the Father honour”, John 12: 26.
AM Reference was made earlier in the reading to what was brought for the tabernacle to make it. There was also what was needed to keep it functioning. The oil had to be supplied and the incense and the wood too. Solomon says, “Where no wood is, the fire goeth out”, Prov 26: 20. It had to be supplied.
DAB Absolutely. It says in Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (chap 4: 6): that relates to the functioning of the tabernacle. What causes lack of knowledge? Is it a lack of exercise or a lack of desire? I feel the greatness of what is brought into this scripture, “the perfecting of the saints; with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body”. That is a functioning system. That is what is in view. We do not have apostles, but the authority of the Lord is with us. There are those who can bring in a prophetic word, and the mind of God comes in so that we might be gathered up into appreciation of Christ. There are evangelists, and there are indeed shepherds and teachers. It is all a blessed functioning and living system.
AM There will never be a time when what is needed is not available from the divine side. It has been provided. The testimony will go through; the question is whether I am having part in providing that.
DAB Surely. I feel the exercise of this self-building up line. It has substantially been given; it is there; we appreciate it, and the testimony is moving forward. Are we going to have a living part in it?
DJW The standard is very high. I was thinking of Paul’s word, “stretching out”, Phil 3: 13.
DAB We have here “the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”. The full-grown man is what we are collectively according to God. That was what Paul had in mind in writing the first three chapters. “The measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ” is in a blessed and glorious Man. How we arrive at it is through “the knowledge of the Son of God”. He is at the centre of the circle and we are brought into that.
DJW It is not an impossibility.
DAB I feel that. John wrote for the last days. John was very old when he wrote his gospel; like him, we are certainly in days of failure, but is there any reference to the public failure of the church in John’s gospel? There is absolutely none!
IMcK I was thinking about John 12 after Lazarus had been raised. You have already referred to Mary’s distinctive service and that was important, but before that it says, “they made him a supper”, v 2. They were working together to contribute.
DAB Yes, they were indeed and that contribution really came from love. There was the circulation of love in that family. They appreciated who Christ was and they were ready. They were not scrabbling around trying to provide; it was there already. We read of Abigail recently; she had that provision. I know it is in a different setting, but it is a question of what we have available.
AMcK It is “until we all arrive”, not ‘if’. There is a certain confidence about that.
DAB I do not think there is any dubiety when it comes to the operations of divine Persons in the soul. I feel the need for spiritual maturity amongst us, and I do not say that critically. I feel it myself that there is that which is wrought through the gifts, through “the work of the ministry”, through “the edifying of the body of Christ” and then it says “until we all arrive”. There is no if or doubt at all about that. It is “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”. I was thinking of these two things running together. We have “the unity of the Spirit” in Eph 4: 3. Here is “the unity of the faith”. I think that is the fulness of Christianity. Then you have “the knowledge of the Son of God”. That really is the Man of another world.
AMcK In verse 15 it says that “we may grow up to him in all things, who is the head, the Christ”. That is the great attraction; things are growing in that direction. It does not make anything of me; it is what is of God that responds and grows up to Him.
DAB The question is - what progress are we making? That is the exercise. I raise that with everyone in this room: what spiritual progress are we making? Are we really drawing from the blessed resource that is in Christ Himself?
ADP Could you say a word as to “the work of the ministry”? Different age groups in this room may view “the ministry” in different ways. What do you see as the work of the ministry?
DAB We are all called upon “with a view to the work of the ministry”. Paul possibly had the view of others in mind, but we are all involved in this. You function in your locality in Birmingham as exercised to contribute to what is proceeding. That is all part of the work of the ministry. It is to do with the functioning of the body. We come from a much larger locality, but there are many small localities down here and it is a question of whether the work of the ministry is continuing. Is this functioning amongst us or are we just taking a back seat?
ADP That is what I was trying to get to. Sometimes we think ministry, which can just be books on the shelf, but this is different. This is “the work of the ministry” which involves all of these gifts, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers, and the demonstration. Then there is this key word after the list which says, “for the perfecting of the saints”. If you look at the note f to ‘for’ it suggests ‘the object’. That is the work of the ministry and is all-enveloping in true Christian behaviour.
DAB Yes, and it includes the fulness of the glad tidings. It is to do with “the perfecting of the saints”, and that means the removal of anything fleshly and of nature which would hinder the operations of the Holy Spirit. That is what “the perfecting of the saints” means.
GJR It says of Elisha that he had “poured water on the hands of Elijah”, 2 Kings 3: 11. He would become a prophet himself; so do you think he had part in the work of the ministry?
DAB He did. What is your understanding about pouring water on the hands of Elijah?
GJR I might become set in my ways and I might repeat myself and readily revert to certain themes of the truth. The brethren might find that a little bit trying, but somebody can pour water on my hands and refresh me. I am just following the question that has been asked as to how wide is “the work of the ministry”? Maybe a sister receives a gift for something she does for the Lord; she writes a letter of thanks, that is part of the work of the ministry.
DAB I was thinking of the part the sisters have in this, and I am glad you refer to it. You might say this is all to do with brothers. It is not. The work of the ministry also includes the sisters and what they contribute; not that they speak in the assembly, but they can contribute in a very vital way in their spirits.
GJR The women spun the thread for the curtains in the tabernacle, Exod 35: 25, 26.
RDP The material brought for the tabernacle was of all kinds. “And they came, both men and women; every one who was of willing heart brought nose-rings, and earrings, and rings, and bracelets, all kinds of utensils of gold”, Exod 35: 22. That was not the tabernacle but was the material. Then you come to the next phase which was about Bezaleel and it describes it as “all manner of workmanship”, v 31. Is that not a bit like the way this chapter develops: “all manner of workmanship”? Persons must have carried things, others were skilled in cutting, skilled in sewing, cutting stones and setting them, and carving wood. All this was executed; all this material was worked. Is that not the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers, all part of “all manner of workmanship”?
DAB That is a fine suggestion. That is exactly what I had in mind so that all the variety in unity is contributing to the functioning of the tabernacle system; and so it is in our own day. We are all here together through the grace of Christ, the Spirit operating in us so that there might be this “fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply”.
DAB-r What was available for the tabernacle was never measured. It was cut off in mid-flow: there was much more, v 35. God never had to compromise His design to accommodate some limitation in what was available. He knew what was among the people, and that the “fulness” as is spoken of here could be expressed by what was among the people.
DAB God does not limit His thoughts because of our inadequacies.
DAB-r Perceived inadequacies; He sees the fulness of what is actually there. Maybe we need to have eyes to see it in one another.
DAB I feel that; the architect when he is designing a building sees the finished article, and Paul was a great architect. There is the foundation, the structure, and then the finished work. The divine pattern is always there in the divine mind. I feel that this section is almost like the filling out of that.
DAB-r I like this idea that it is able to work “for itself”. The body cannot function if it is not complete. God had a complete thought in His mind, but He never entertained the idea that it could not be realised.
DAB He does not work in glorious impossibilities. He provides the wherewithal for this to operate according to the divine pattern and at the divine level.
NJH They had to restrict the material being brought in the wilderness, but not in Solomon’s temple. It suggests the superiority of what is provided in the hearts of the saints during this dispensation.
DAB Yes, I wondered that. What there is in the assembly, and what is contributing to it. We are in the Spirit’s day and there is no restriction. There was before the Spirit was given but we have nothing of that here. This is really the fulness of the divine operation in order that “the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part”. I would like some help as to “works for itself”. It becomes almost independent; not independent of the Head but independent of any fleshly or natural thought or activity.
PJW In connection with that we often think of Joseph’s dream, his sheaf “remained standing”, as applying to the Lord Himself, Gen 37: 7. I notice Mr A J Gardiner speaks of it as the assembly remaining standing in this dispensation where all other bodies perhaps have failed (Piety and Other Addresses p386). Does that link with your thought that it is self-sufficient in the sense it remains standing of its own power and working inwardly from the Spirit?
DAB I think that. It involves our links together “according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body”. It is a question of what we are drawing on. Are we drawing from Christ and also from one another? Are we drawing not only from Christ, but also from one another? That really is why these gifts have been given, “with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ” in order that what is referred to in verse 16 works. There is no disconnection or restriction.
NJH Is it partaking of the same order of man as Christ?
DAB Yes it is. I wondered if the meaning of “holding the truth in love” is really holding it as Christ is. It is almost like the divine nature experienced amongst us and holding that truth in love. It is a very spiritual idea, but very attractive; so that we hold it for all. We hold the truth as Christ loves it.
NJH A brother in Glasgow who remembered a visit of Mr Raven said that what changed his life was what Mr Raven said, that we are kindred nature with Christ. It made me think a little as to the fact that if anything was brought out of the tabernacle it required the wood-offering, Neh 10. Everything operationally hung on that matter. The wood-offering was supplied; Nehemiah required it. It is the order of man that was there. Everything ascends from that order of man for the pleasure of the heart of God.
DAB Exactly, so that God’s delight in Christ underlies all this and everything flows from that order of man. We might say the character of the body derives from Christ Himself. The saints have a living part in the divine economy. That glorious circle of love that exists in heaven has touched the earth and touched every true heart, bringing us together and therefore contributing to the working of the body.
AEM It says here, “grow up to him in all things”. That does not leave anything out. I was thinking about what you were saying about not only feeding on Christ but drawing from one another. If we see Christ in one another then in all things we can grow up to Him.
DAB Yes. There is wonderful contribution here, growing up to Him. What there is ascending to Christ is of Himself, and what is in the hearts and souls of the saints, has been imparted by the blessed Holy Spirit for the pleasure of divine Persons.
AEM My impression is very simple. If you are growing up to Him in all things your eyes have to be on Him all the time, not going looking sideways at things here in this world.
DAB No, we need to be single-eyed for Christ and if we are single-eyed for Christ we will find that there are others who are also single-eyed for Christ, and that is the link that we have together.
STE The Lord says of one, “What she could she has done” (Mark 14: 8); she was a full contributor. The divine eye saw everything she did. That is not just what we see of others; it is what heaven sees of what we do.
DAB We should not minimise what we have nor minimise what God has given us. Bring it in because it contributes to the functioning of what we have here. That really is what we have in the previous chapter: “to him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”, Eph 3: 21. What we bring is contributory to the working out of that.
TJH Does the fine flour of the oblation (Lev 2: 1), help in what you have in mind? I was thinking of the evenness as seen in Christ and that we are to be in accord with that. You gave the analogy of a building; if one piece was too big it would stick out and it would not be in accord with the architect’s specification. The whole body has to be “fitted together”.
DAB Yes, this is a living matter, “the whole body, fitted together”. You are reminded of the stones taken out of the quarry. They were hewn in the quarry before they were brought and every piece fitted exactly together. I feel the brethren are united together, and I had that experience as coming into this room today. We do not have any other Head but Christ and everything flowing from that blessed One and then flowing out in the power of the Holy Spirit results in that which is flowing back to Him. God has operated from His own side. Christ has come in love to this scene and He has gone back in love to that scene in order to give to us that which is of His character and of His order.
AAC Can you help us in our vision in a day of breakdown? We look around and we get confused. We have to hold on to the few verses before you read where everything is in oneness and it remains so. We cannot see the fulness of it, but as we take our entire source from Christ then we can continue and what we experience, is it not something of eternal life?
DAB Are you referring to the section about “the unity of the Spirit” and the “one body and one Spirit”, Eph 4: 3, 4?
AAC Yes, and “one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father”, v 4, 5. That remains. We must hold on to these things in a day of breakdown. What results from taking our direction from Christ is not individuality, far from it, but the exact opposite. It is what we will enjoy eternally now; liberty and working together.
DAB Absolutely. There is no division or disunity in anything that is connected with the divine system. Christ as the Son of God is the centre and there is “one body and one Spirit”, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all”. What could be more complete or blessed than that?
AAC Could we contemplate heaven being silent?
DAB No.
AAC Therefore, it should not be so now either; which is exactly your exercise.
DAB We are contributing to what is proceeding in heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to have our eyes lifted to see the appreciation that divine Persons have in what we can contribute to. Christ has no other vessel for His satisfaction but the assembly, and we trust there will be many more that come into the appreciation of what the assembly means to the heart of Christ. We often draw from Him and seek to take all the blessings, but there is what is much greater than that, a divine circle of love that has drawn us, livingly, into that blessed sphere above.
QAP His title “the Christ” is mentioned in every chapter in this epistle, and so is the Spirit, and the Father, and love. It shows the wealth of this epistle as to what comes in at every point.
DAB Yes it does, and it is to affect our hearts. This is not a picture on the wall; it is workable, and it is to work in our affections.
Witney
23rd February 2019
Key to initials:
D A Brown, Grangemouth; R H Brown, East Finchley; D A Burr, London; G C Bywater, Buckhurst Hill; A A Croot, London; S T Eagle, Dorking; T J Harvey, East Finchley; N J Henry, Glasgow; A Martin, Buckhurst Hill; A J McKay, Witney; I McKay, Witney; A E Mutton, Witney; A D Plant, Birmingham; R D Plant, Birmingham; Q A Poore, Swanage; G J Richards, Malvern; P J Walkinshaw, Strood; D J Willetts, Birmingham