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these, and many more questions need to challenge us in days
when we deplore the apathy and indifference of
unbelievers – yet we too can be guilty of the
same failings with regard to the Lord’s assembly. It
is not always a healthy exercise to keep looking back to
the past. However, we can and should learn lessons
from previous generations. Men and women of spiritual
quality, who knew their God, and their Bible, worked
ambitiously and tirelessly, saw souls saved, and
assemblies planted and established. They
also faithfully served in their generation, and left a
precious legacy of which we are the current
custodians. In the world of sales and commerce, there
are some companies that operate on a principle of ‘added value’.
It is a form of assessment which is applied to those in
positions of responsibility. The purpose is to seek
to estimate the positive contribution made by each
individual and thus to enhance and benefit the
whole department or company. Ours is a far greater
responsibility than any earthly attainment – ‘we serve
the Lord Christ’, Col. 3. 24. How much of value am I
contributing to the assembly where the Lord has placed
me? With this in mind we need to consider another
matter before we try to quantify our
responsibilities. We will never feel the weight of
our responsibilities until we appreciate the
inestimable privilege of belonging to an assembly of
the Lord’s people. A local assembly is a very
precious thing! A company of Christians who meet
together in a manner outlined in the New Testament, owning
no denominational status and giving allegiance to the
authority of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. It is a
microcosm of that great company of believers who
comprise the church, which is His body. To be a part of
such a living vital reality, ‘pillar and ground of
the truth’, 1 Tim. 3. 15, is a privilege beyond
measure. And yet there are some believers, both young and
not so young, who are associated, sometimes for many
years with a company, which has never grasped the
delightful, simple truth of what a local assembly really
is! It is possible that children of believers, brought
up within such a fellowship, may not appreciate
the distinct and dignified character of a New
Testament assembly. There are those who would readily
claim association with ‘the Brethren’ or ‘the
Brethren Church’, as compared with the Baptist, Methodist
or Pentecostal Church. Such thinking only serves to
add a denominational tag, which finds no authority
in Scripture. Praise God! We are brethren and
sisters, linked together in Christ by salvation, with
many other brethren who own a variety
of denominational names. Yet we cannot condone nor
support the position they adopt nor, in some cases,
the practices they allow. assembly, 1 Cor. 3. 16, 17. In
both the Lord should have full authority. Every time
we pray, speak or act in His name, we are
acknowledging submission to His authority. The whole
concept of a local church or assembly is in essence
based upon New Testament teaching. There are, however,
some helpful illustrations in the Old Testament which
give us an understanding of the character and dignity of
that to which God has called His people. You will
recall that throughout Scripture from Exodus 25
onwards, we find a number of tangible structures,
which God was pleased to own as His dwelling place.
There was the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the
temple built by Solomon. Then there was the temple
built by Zerubbabel after the captivity. This was later
extended and embellished by Herod, but even so, the
Lord Jesus owned it as ‘my Father’s house’, John 2.
16, until such time as His final rejection, when it
became to the nation of Israel ‘your house’, Matt. 23.
38, and was pronounced ‘desolate’. In this present
day of God’s grace, there is no physical building
which God owns as His house. Yet where there is a
desire to be obedient to the word of God in doctrine and
practice, the Lord is pleased to grace with
His presence the gatherings of His people. Paul
assures the believers at Corinth that both individually, 1
Cor. 6. 19, 20, and as an assembly, 1 Cor. 3. 16, 17,
they were the temple (the sanctuary) of God, and, as such,
His dwelling place. In Psalm 27. 4, 5 we find
four references to the place where God dwells.
Although written in an Old Testament context, they
illustrate beautifully what a New Testament assembly
really is. 1
THE HOUSE OF
THE LORD, Ps. 27. 4. As such it is His possession.
It belongs to Him. At a simple, practical level, we
would not expect to take liberties and behave
inappropriately when dealing with that which
clearly belongs to someone else. So with the local
assembly which is part of, and represents that which was
purchased at immeasurable cost, Acts. 20. 28. Ours is
a position of stewardship for which each will be
accountable in the measure in which the Lord has
given opportunity and ability to fulfil His commands.
Again, we can look to Old Testament illustrations
which teach us that it is not within our jurisdiction
to modify the word of God in relation to His house. We
note that in Exodus 40, ‘the glory of the Lord
filled the tabernacle’ only when everything was
constructed and completed ‘according to the pattern’. Remember
too, when David sought to bring up the Ark of the
Covenant to Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 6, his first
efforts resulted in judgement upon Uzzah who ‘died
before the Lord’. David later understood the reason for
what at the time seemed unduly harsh, ‘We sought him
not after the due order’, 1 Chron. 15. 13. In Ezekiel 43,
where the prophet is given ‘the law of the house’,
he exhorts the nation to ‘measure the pattern’, v. 10,
and to be ashamed at their former mishandling of that
which belongs to God. Other illustrations could
be given, but these will suffice to show that the
assembly, of which you and I are privileged to be a part,
belongs to the Lord!
2 HIS
TEMPLE, Ps. 27. 4. This speaks of the place of His power,
or His authority. Recall again that when Isaiah saw
the vision of the Lord, ch. 6, a scene of majestic splendour
and power – ‘his train filled the temple’. In Isaiah
66. 6 it is a ‘voice from the temple’ which brings
judgement upon His enemies. As Malachi closes the Old
Testament he announces that ‘the Lord (the One
having authority) . . . shall suddenly come to his temple’. When
Paul writes to Corinth, an assembly which had many lessons
to learn about the Lord’s authority, seven times in
the first letter he refers to ‘the temple’. Sometimes
he means the believer’s body, 1 Cor. 6. 19, 20,
other times he refers to the
3. HIS
PAVILION, Ps. 27. 5. This reminds us that the assembly is
the place of His protection. It speaks of a place of
safety. A place where one is sheltered from so many of
the enemies’ attacks, Ps. 31. 20. It was also a
place of rest for soldiers engaged in a battle campaign, 1
Kgs. 20. 12; Jer. 43. 10. We cannot overemphasize this
aspect of the local assembly, particularly for
younger believers, when it seems that the world has so
much to offer. That which first gains our attention
will capture our affection if we think lightly of the
safety found among the Lord’s people. Remember
the salutary lesson of Lot! It was after he left the
security of Abram’s company, that he started a downward
pathway which ultimately cost him so dearly. Recall
also the words of Boaz to Ruth, Ruth 2. 8, ‘go not to
glean in another field, neither go from hence’. In
the following verse her safety is assured. Maybe we
will understand some day how many pitfalls and
heartaches might have been avoided if we had really
appreciated this aspect of the assembly.
4. HIS
TABERNACLE, Ps. 27. 5. The place of His presence. In Exodus
25 the instruction given in respect of the tabernacle
was for a sanctuary ‘that I may dwell among them’, v.
8. Throughout the wilderness journey the tabernacle
was uniquely the place where the Lord’s presence
was known. We are often reminded, too, that in John 1.
14, the Word ‘dwelt’, speaking of the presence
of the Lord Jesus, is the word which means a tent or
tabernacle. So it is with the assembly. How
precious those occasions when we are so conscious of
His presence as we gather together. In the light of
this privilege we will in future articles seek to
consider our responsibilities within the
local assembly.
(to
be continued)
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