John Martin - Class 6: Body of Christ and Its Members

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   It is now our pleasure to ask our brother John to come forward and lead us in the consideration of the body of Christ and its members. Well, brethren and sisters, it truly is a privilege, of course, to gather together once more around the word. And may I take this opportunity just to add to Brother Roger's welcome to Sandra and to Graham.

2. 0:23

   I might add a few personal details about them, which they won't tell you, of course, because they're a very shy couple. You would have noticed that Sunday morning with Graham. But Graham, of course, until about a year or so ago, was the secretary of what they call the Family Bible School in England.

3. 0:39

   And that's the school to which, of course, some of the brethren from here have gone, Brother Paul, myself, and of course, Brother Johnny Knowles and a few others from Australia have gone to that school. And Graham had the very onerous task of organising that. So that'll probably tell you something about his activities.

4. 0:54

   He also organised our tour through England when 12 of us landed on his doorstep and gave him no end of headaches in trying to organise not only our tour of England, but also the accommodation angle, which wasn't easy. And we did appreciate his labours. As for Sister Sandra, you may or may not know, but she happens to be the daughter of Brother Arthur Pennington.

5. 1:16

   If you look very closely, she does resemble him in everything but one aspect. She's not, she's a nice little lady, but she looks like Arthur. And of course, she's Arthur Pennington's daughter. So I know that they'll probably somewhat embarrass me telling you that, but that'll probably give you some idea who they are.

6. 1:32

   And I know, brothers and sisters, that as far as the spirit of our knights are together, the spirit of unity, we would have all been thrilled to hear Graham on Sunday morning when, of course, he spoke to us. And I heard many brothers and sisters say, well, he not only says what, you know, we all think, he not only expressed how we all think, but he didn't even say it like an Englishman.

7. 1:52

   So I think that says volumes about the same spirit of faith that dominates, I suppose, all the brotherhood, irrespective of their nationalities, however they sound. If the love of the truth is in anyone, brothers and sisters, it creates that family spirit.

8. 2:10

   Something you just cannot express. And for Graham and Sandra to bring that here with them and to disseminate that amongst us, I think in itself, is an illustration of what we're trying to say in these little chats together. The value of ecclesial unity we tried to emphasise last week, brothers and sisters, showed from Psalm 133 that it's one of the highest virtues, one of the highest forms of good among the brethren and sisters of Christ, among the family of God.

9. 2:39

   Truly, we must see it that way. And if we can only see it as a good, of course, that's wonderful. But not only so, we try to point out, brothers and sisters, that the unity of this meeting is your defence and my defence. It's in our own interests to maintain that harmony of mind, both for ourselves and for our children, especially our teenagers.

10. 3:02

    And what brother and sister who hasn't had teenagers come up through this Sunday school in the ecclesia, who have been baptised, what brother and sister isn't thankful? For the other families in this meeting. Try and imagine sometimes, brothers and sisters, if we were at odds with one another and bitterness arose. Try and imagine how difficult it would be to explain to your teenagers why you don't talk to uncle and auntie so-and-so.

11. 3:27

    And the devastation that that would affect their mind as far as their attitude to the truth is concerned. You're just trying to imagine that. And we want to emphasise, brothers and sisters, that in these talks together about unity, I don't think anyone here would misunderstand us. Because this ecclesia has never been known to preach unity at any price.

12. 3:48

    But sometimes, you know, because we say that, you know, no one wants peace at any price and we don't want unity at any price. Sometimes we deprecate unity itself by so saying. Let's never do that. It's a wonderful and a marvellous thing to move around this ecclesia and to feel at one with your brethren and sisters.

13. 4:07

    That's something, brethren and sisters, I think we ought to value. Now, in trying to emphasise the need for unity, remember the covenant of the rainbow. We made the point about the rainbow. And just to emphasise again the two aspects, the two things we noted about that rainbow. And that in the context of when it was given in Genesis chapter 9, it was not given, brothers and sisters.

14. 4:30

    It was not given as a symbol of earth's perfection. But if you read carefully, it was given as a symbol of God's determination to save man despite his weaknesses. And you read that carefully. Man's heart is evil from his youthful awakening. Nevertheless, as God, I will work among mankind. I will save some of those people despite their weaknesses.

15. 4:58

    And that's what that arch in the sky tells us, brethren and sisters, that God would never destroy the earth with a flood again. And that there is his covenant to save all flesh. Not all flesh in the totality of every man, woman and child. But every living thing or all flesh, as it's repeated seven times, in the sense that every kind of person, irrespective of their background, of their hereditary factors, of whatever may enter into their life, God will and can save them.

16. 5:28

    And they will make up and constitute that rainbow which will arch in the political heavens in the future age. Not one of them perfect. Because they need the seven colours to make the white. So if we can keep two things in our mind, and these two things are these. One, that that rainbow is telling us that God is determined to save us, if we will allow him, from ourselves.

17. 5:56

    And secondly, that if we're going into the kingdom of God as part of the rainbowed angel, we won't be there without our brothers and sisters. Because it's going to need the ecclesia of God, the house of God, together to reflect that white light. Now if we can keep that in our mind, and when that symbol appears, think of your brothers and sisters, your reds, your oranges, your yellows, your greens, your blue, your indigo and violets, wherever you might fall, in the facets of God's wisdom.

18. 6:26

    Ephesians 3. Think of the facets of God's wisdom, reflected in the brothers and sisters with whom we have to do in this place. Now if we can think about that, I think it will do us a lot of good. Now, this evening we want to continue that theme, brethren and sisters, and it had been suggested at the end of our last class by some of the brethren here, that it would be rather disjointed if we had the class on roof, and then the final night again on this unity night.

19. 6:53

    It didn't matter to me one way or the other what happened, but I could see the wisdom of that. So we decided that we'd have these three nights together, and we'd sort of add another one to it, just to make the three. So what we want to do tonight is go on with our theme of unity, illustrating it from several passages of scripture, monumental passages of scripture, I might add.

20. 7:11

    And then on our final night, I don't really know what we're going to do yet, but I hope we'll be able to talk about how we're going to live together in the kingdom of God. A little vision of the future. Now, Brother Jim Cowrie's coming down, of course, in February, and we're going to get a classic effort, I believe, on the future age and all the events that will happen subsequent to Christ's return.

21. 7:31

    We won't impinge upon anything he's got to say. But what I hope to do, brethren and sisters, is to talk about what you and I are going to do together forever in God's kingdom. And in that way, I hope we will be able to impress each other that if that's what we want to do forever, well, then we ought to want to do it now.

22. 7:50

    Now, of course, as we pointed out, these things were not said because it happened to be an interesting subject. But as you know and I know, the evils of the day are creeping up on us. Nay, they are rushing up on us, brethren and sisters, and they do affect the ecclesia. And you know what happens, that when you get immorality coming to the meeting and you have problems arise, you're going to get diversities of opinions as to how to handle it.

23. 8:13

    And if we're not careful, as I said, what would happen is that good and sound brethren and sisters can become easily divided over a matter of immorality to the point where immorality is almost, you might say, is forgotten and imbiddenness arises over a difference of opinion how to handle it. Now, that, I believe, is a very great danger.

24. 8:35

    It's already been illustrated in the past few weeks that that can really happen. And we've got to be on our guard against that. We need to be of one mind, sound mind. We need to be strong and zealous for the true principles of God. And we need to have the wisdom, brethren and sisters, to know how to apply that.

25. 8:52

    Now, they are the dangers that are coming. And as far as the urgency of the times, if you want current affairs, you wouldn't want more than what you've got in the news at the moment with America and Syria fronting each other up. What a situation that is. Look, brethren and sisters, when you're talking about the Middle East, you're talking about, really, there are all the Arab countries in Israel.

26. 9:14

    But of the Arab countries, I suppose the one that would represent the strongest of them all is the Syrian country, is Syria. Now, here's USA confronting Syria. That's serious. It really is. That's really getting serious. Because now you've got a country there that the only country, really, in the Middle East that you could say that is almost totally backed by Russia is Syria.

27. 9:36

    And here is America now, head on with Syria, over Lebanon. Oh, this is an incredible situation. And of course, Israel watching on the sidelines, I believe, dearly loving to have a crack at Syria, not just a simple skirmish, but an all-out row that they might finally bring that problem to an end. And you know, on top of the Golan Heights, where Israel sits today, brethren and sisters, it's about a 30-minute drive all downhill to Damascus.

28. 10:02

    So Israel has a geographical advantage. Not only that, but Syria itself has internal problems. The whole thing is fraught with the gravest dangers. Look, President Assad of Syria belongs to a Shiite minority, a very small minority in Syria. The largest section of his population are all Sunni Muslims. And of course, in the Muslims, you have the Shiites and the Sunnis.

29. 10:27

    Most of the Shiites, the majority, are in Iran. That's why you've got that mad situation in Iran, because most of them are Shiites, and the Shiites are the more fanatical of the Muslims. The Sunnis are the more liberals. Now, Syria is mainly made up, very largely, of Sunni Muslims. But the President, and his brother, and those two together, virtually rule the country, belong to a very small minority.

30. 10:51

    Matter of fact, it's almost a family minority. And they endeavour to run that country. So when it comes to a head-on collision with America, they're not going to find very much support from the Arab world, because they won't know who to support. But they'll be looking to Russia, my word they will. And so we have, therefore, an urgency about the situation, brethren and sisters.

31. 11:12

    An urgency to get into the Kingdom of God. And I know this, that we won't make it on our own. And therefore, there's an urgency about this situation. We need to realise the value of each other. You know, in our prayers, how do you pray to God? In our prayers, especially in our family prayers, when we do our daily readings, we should always pray for God's ecclesia.

32. 11:35

    We're praying for ourselves when we do that. Pray for the strength of every brother and sister who names the name of Christ, that their strength will become our strength. And it's true. That is so true. Now, tonight we want to have a brief look at some of these, I think, some of these wonderful passages of Scripture that deal specifically with our unity together.

33. 11:56

    Some of them extol the virtues of that unity and several of them point out the pitfalls, brethren and sisters, that can overcome us and cause disharmony, bitterness and wrangling and all those products of the flesh. Now, we're all familiar, of course, with the 1 Corinthians 12, the body of Christ. Used, I suppose, on many occasions, brethren and sisters, to illustrate the need for unity.

34. 12:22

    Now, in the 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14, you have the Apostle Paul's dissertation on the spirit gifts. Now, I've used this expression several times. I'll use it again. Don't misunderstand me. I'll explain. We don't have today the spirit gifts. But I believe that we have to exercise the spirit of the spirit gifts.

35. 12:50

    By which I mean this. we haven't got the spirit to point out that there are nine different people in our meeting or nine different groups of people in our meeting who do different things. And there were nine different groups of people. Two of those were related. So that really, there were seven groups.

36. 13:09

    There were two related groups. But basically, the ecclesia was divided into those groups so that the spirit said, you are a doer of such and such. You are a doer of such and such. Now, we haven't got that. But we have got this, brethren and sisters, that every one of us have varying abilities.

37. 13:26

    To quote the Lord Jesus Christ, every man according to his several ability. We got that. We can't help that. We have that by accident of birth. We have varying abilities. Now, we bring them into the ecclesia of God. Apart from the word of God, those abilities are useless. But with the word imbibed through our mind, developing our characters, those abilities can be channeled to very profitable channels.

38. 13:58

    And they won't be the same. And that's what I mean by having the spirit of the spirit gifts. We're not all doers of this or that. We're doers of various things, but we don't all do the same things. We have speaking brethren. We have those who can exhort better than they can lecture and those who can lecture better than they can exhort.

39. 14:18

    We've got those who neither lecture or exhort but are wonderful Sunday school teachers. There are those who can do neither of those three things but who can help out in the practical administration of this ecclesia using their hands and their practical abilities and their organisational abilities that others haven't got. And we can go on ad infinitum of all the kaleidoscope that's in this meeting whereby we are able to show the various facets of God's wisdom.

40. 14:43

    Now in the exercising of those abilities there we have that spirit of the spirit gifts because really we are what we are by the grace of God to quote the Apostle Paul. Whatever abilities we have we are what we are by the grace of God and we bring that into this meeting. Our job brethren and sisters is to be honest with ourselves to find out what is our ability not to superimpose something upon ourselves for which we're not fitted but to be honest with ourselves to find out what it is that we are suited for irrespective of our personal aspirations and then to work diligently at that that we might cooperate together for the common good.

41. 15:22

    Now unity brethren and sisters is organic. It's not that we're all the same. Paul makes that point. We are the bodies of Christ but members in particular. You look at the human body every member of it is different. I don't think my hand looks anything like my face or my feet. They're all different.

42. 15:42

    You look at each member separately and the body looks all different but combined together it cooperates to make a cohesive whole. Now if we were all the same if we were all cast in exactly the same mould we would be forever squabbling because there would be no facet complementing the other and that's what the body's like.

43. 16:06

    It's made up of different components that it might cooperate together. The hand can do what the feet can't do. I've never written a letter yet with me toes and the feet and I don't see people walking around on their hands except when they want to show off in front of their children or something like that but we use our members for what they're best suited and we don't force them into circumstances to do things that they can't do.

44. 16:29

    We allow the body to do what it's best suited to do and the body operates beautifully. Now in verse 7 of this chapter Paul said this he said the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit with all. Now that's rather a poor translation I suppose although it does convey the sense but the RSV says it this way the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man for the common good.

45. 17:05

    Now that's a wonderful expression and that's what the Greek means. So when God gave the nine gifts brothers and sisters it wasn't that he might elevate nine separate groups in the ecclesia. He didn't do it for that reason. He gave the nine gifts that when they exercised those gifts it would be for the common good everyone's welfare.

46. 17:30

    So if we're exercising an ability in God's ecclesia to demonstrate that we have that ability then it's not being done for the common good and we can be assured brethren and sisters that we're not exercising that ability in the way that God intended because he intended it to be done for the common good.

47. 17:48

    Now never let us forget that. And do you know in this chapter we have an infallible test of our motives? It's very good to have an infallible test of your motive. I was talking to a brother last night, a very worthy brother at this meeting, and we were both talking about old times together.

48. 18:06

    And one of the things we agreed upon, very much agreed upon, was the fact that looking back over the years one never is really, can we say, fully aware of one's own motive, why we do things. We sometimes think that we have very high ideals, that our motive is very perfect. And then we have our nagging doubts, well perhaps we really didn't do it for that reason after all.

49. 18:31

    And when one gets older you look back and think, well yes, I thought I did that for that reason, but now I can see a little bit more clearly there were somewhat baser reasons perhaps than what I really thought at the time was occupying my mind. But in this chapter we have an infallible guide as to have feelings.

50. 18:50

    You know what it is, it's in verse 26. And this brothers and sisters is something that you can apply and I can apply in our private lives and we can constantly come to this test. The point is that Paul says whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. Or, one member be honoured and all the members rejoice with it.

51. 19:20

    they're easy words to read, but they constitute brethren and sisters, an infallible test, a personal test that you can apply and I can apply in the privacy of our mind without anyone telling us about how we feel. Now, I find with myself, and I know I speak for many of you, it is easier to suffer with a brother when he suffers, or a sister.

52. 19:52

    But it's not so easy to rejoice when somebody else is honoured and you're not. Sometimes, have you ever had those feelings, you know, you're a bit peeved, that you're left out and someone else seems to be in the limelight and that they have a certain honour, an aura attaching to that honour that isn't sort of shining around you, and yet your heart ought to be bubbling over with joy that they are so honoured.

53. 20:20

    It's the same, of course, in the sense with those who suffer, although it's easier, because you see, suffering, it induces a sympathy, doesn't it? You can't help it. You see a person break down and cry, it induces out of you a sympathy that almost is irrepressible. It isn't so when you see a member honoured.

54. 20:41

    You know, you put that test sometimes to yourself. Ask yourself the question, was I really glad that that person was honoured? Was I really? Or was I peeved about it? And if the answer, brothers and sisters, is the latter, then there's something wrong with your attitude, something wrong with my attitude, something seriously wrong with attitude.

55. 21:00

    And that's a test that you can all apply. Now we have had, unfortunately, in one sense, some very big suffering in this meeting. You know what I'm referring to when I say that. And I don't think anyone here was exempt in entering into that suffering. It was good for our soul, as sad as it was.

56. 21:22

    There's a reason for that, brothers and sisters. Never let that be lost upon us. And I want to remind you all that that suffering is not over, and never will be until God's kingdom comes. Never forget that. If that is dim in our hearts, then we're lacking in the spirit of that chapter.

57. 21:38

    We ought to remind ourselves about that. We ought to have that constantly in our mind. There's something missing here, and it will be missing until Christ comes. And there's something missing in a lot of people's lives that will be missing until Christ comes. Let's miss it with them. Now let's keep that. Let's keep that into the forefront of our mind.

58. 22:00

    Now, of course, there are dangers, which the apostle deals with in this chapter, of how we can easily divide. And he does this in the most interesting way. He really does. You see, he says in verses 15 and 16, if the foot shall say, because I am not of the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?

59. 22:20

    But if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?

60. 22:26

    Now, you look at verse 21. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of thee. Now, if you think the Apostle Paul is saying the same thing in those verses, then you're wrong, he's not. He's giving us a little illustration, brethren and sisters, of the two things that can divide a meeting.

61. 22:49

    Now, you look at what he's saying. He's first of all saying this verse 15. The foot is not of the foot shall say, because I am not of the hand, I'm not of the body. So, a foot is talking to a hand and is really upset that it doesn't come quite up to the ability of the hand.

62. 23:12

    And it feels that nobody wants me, because I'm not as good as the hand. But you come down to verse 21, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I've got no need of you. Here you've got a brother who thinks he's clearly superior to the other one. And because he thinks he is, he has the other one in contempt.

63. 23:34

    So you find by a very skillful blending together of parts of the body, Paul points out the great dangers that exist as far as our unity is concerned. Now having said that in as many words, we'll try and show it to you, what he's saying. Now he says that we are the members, we are the body of Christ, of members in particular.

64. 23:57

    Now we make an idea that the apostle points out that members with similar abilities are liable to demonstrate envy. So you've got the foot and the hand. Now they're both members of action. They are similar members. But the foot is not just as important as the hand. And because it's a similar member and he just doesn't come up in comparison to the other, he feels he's not wanted.

65. 24:29

    I'm not wanted here. I am not of the body. Nobody wants me. Now similarly, he points out the ear and the eye. Now they're both members of sensation. They are members of our senses. We sense things with the ear and the eye. And because they are similar, the same thing happens. But clearly of course, the eye is a little bit superior to the ear.

66. 24:55

    And so the ear says, nobody wants me. And you can see what the apostle is saying there. So you've got members in your meeting who have similar abilities. So Roger and I may have a similar ability. But if it came to a choice, you know, to do something special, well they'd say, oh we'll have Roger.

67. 25:20

    Clearly, it's pretty obvious what they don't want. And that's the attitude that happens, brothers and sisters, when you've got members in an ecclesia who have similar abilities. They are liable to demonstrate envy. Now of course we've got to guard against that. You know, there's a very simple remedy. As I've mentioned to you, 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says, I am, by the grace of God, I am what I am.

68. 25:47

    He was no more or no less. He did the best with what he had and with the gift that God had given him. And of course, with the apostle Paul, that was an extraordinary gift. But by the grace of God, that's what he was. And we will not be rewarded, brethren and sisters, because we are slightly better than the other.

69. 26:07

    Brother Hank won't be rewarded because he's got a slightly better ability than Brother Paul. They will be rewarded in accordance with the percentage with which they used the ability they got. That's the point. Whatever abilities we have, we won't be rewarded according to the ability, but how we use that ability and with what diligence and care and dedication that we use it.

70. 26:34

    And it could well be, in this particular case, you're taking a hypothetical case, it could well be that Brother Foot may be in the kingdom of God superior to Brother Hank. Not because he had lesser ability, but because he used that ability better. So there we have members who are similar. They are liable to demonstrate envy.

71. 27:01

    But where you've got members that are disdainable, this is what happens. Again, with the body of Christ and members in particular, but here are members with superior abilities, and they are liable to demonstrate content. So this time, you haven't got members of action or members of sensation, you got an eye and a hand.

72. 27:26

    One member of sensation, one member of action. dissimilar, and that one, brothers and sisters, is by far the superior to that one. And it says, who did you? And it treats its brothers and sisters with absolute contempt. Now we might not say it like that, but you know, we say it in other ways.

73. 27:54

    We talk about the rank and fire. Don't we? Often that expression you hear, the rank and file, by which we mean those below us. Or similar expressions. We may not even mean it that way, but that's how we talk sometimes, and the connotation's there. So we've got to be extremely careful that if we are superior, or think we're superior, don't treat other people with contempt.

74. 28:22

    Similarly here, you've got the head, same to the foot. And again, you've got a member of sensation, this time, the whole head, and of course a member of action, the foot, and clearly the head is superior, isn't it? I'd rather get around with one leg without one head. And I mean, obviously this is the most superior member.

75. 28:39

    And again, the attitude is, I've got no need of you. attitude. And so what do you find in an ecclesia? You find that attitude expressed between the various groups. Either a brother and sister feels, I'm not wanted, or a brother thinks, really we can get on quite well without everybody else, but I'm indispensable.

76. 29:00

    So there are your two attitudes. You know, brothers and sisters, we've got to guard against those attitudes creeping into our lives because they are going to be destructive of ecclesial unity. Let me tell you something else, an error I committed just recently, which I preach everywhere, I tell everybody not to commit this error, and have been careful to this point of time not to do it, but which everyone makes mistakes.

77. 29:25

    But never treat anyone with contempt. For example, if you're a member of an ecclesia and you're a member of any committee, irrespective of what that committee is doing, be it from the arranging brethren down to the sisters class committee, never treat anyone with contempt. If you have a few brethren and sisters that have been elected in a democratic way by the ecclesia to do whatever, and you want to do something, go and talk to all of them.

78. 29:57

    Now you may think to yourselves, well, you know, I've got this idea in my head, I know it's a good idea, one or two of the brethren think it's a good idea, and the rest, well, they wouldn't really know at any rate. And whatever their opinions might be, well, it's not going to add materially one way or the other to what we're going to do, so we won't bother to talk to them.

79. 30:16

    But they have been elected by the ecclesia, and I'll tell you, brethren and sisters, if you forget them, they will be hurt and justifiably so. Whatever you do, don't treat each other with contempt. And you know, there are brethren and sisters, not only in our meeting, but wherever I've been, I've seen that in action, it isn't done maliciously, it isn't done deliberately, but it's done thoughtlessly.

80. 30:43

    And I've seen the hurt that has resulted, where somebody feels that they have at least been given the confidence of the ecclesia to do something and have just been left right out of the consideration because someone thoughtlessly went ahead and did something because they felt that their opinion wasn't worth asking.

81. 31:03

    And I think that's a very great mistake. I remember the early days of this ecclesia when we were very, very amateurish, a little bit less amateurish than we are now perhaps, we're pretty amateurish now. But I knew then that we were very, very united together and we had many decisions to make, but you know, brethren and sisters, we used to go from house to house, sometimes getting home until nine and ten o'clock at night for tea because we didn't want to do anything without the other one not knowing.

82. 31:29

    And even though sometimes the opinions may not have been valuable, nonetheless, they were solicited, nobody was treated with contempt. And as I say, when I use the word contempt, I don't say we would deliberately do that. But we do that when we just leave people out of our calculations. And you know, you'll be surprised how much hurt that causes.

83. 31:50

    You may never hear about it. The offender very seldom does. But those, brethren and sisters, do get hurt and sometimes that runs pretty deep. And all it requires is a little bit of thought as to who is involved in this, find out, and solicit everyone's opinion. There are those who believe, of course, that you keep things to yourselves, you've got the best opinion, and others only clutter up the matter.

84. 32:17

    But you know, the Bible says, in the multitude of counsellors, there wanteth not wisdom. You know, when you take people into your confidence that you can have a measure of trust in, because the ecclesia certainly has, because they put them in office, then you can take them into your confidence, express your mind to them, solicit their opinion.

85. 32:36

    You'll be surprised, brethren and sisters, that whilst all the opinions gathered may not add materially to your own, there will be a solidarity of purpose and a gratitude that you've asked them that will cement that group together. And if we can have the whole ecclesia like that, then I believe we've achieved a very great deal.

86. 32:55

    So we're either going to be people who have similar abilities, and our problem will be envy, or we're going to be people who have superior abilities and our problem's going to be treating people with contempt. Now we're going to be aware of both of those things. Just beware of it. Now let's come to another very wonderful passage in Philippians.

87. 33:19

    Oh, absolutely wonderful. We've been through this before, I think it's sometime or another, but it won't hurt us to go over again. You know, in Philippians chapter 2, there is a very passionate appeal by the Apostle Paul for the unity of the Philippian ecclesia.

88. 33:38

    You know, brethren and sisters, the spirit of these verses is not very far from our motive in presenting this matter to you this evening, because we're all members of the Enfield ecclesia, and some of us have been so for many, many years. And I think we have a deep love and respect for each other.

89. 33:53

    And it's for that reason that we make this appeal tonight, because really we have enjoyed a very wonderful period, and we want that to continue to God's kingdom. And there are reasons why we want that, and there are reasons why we should exercise those principles to each other, and that's what the Apostle Paul had here.

90. 34:10

    This ecclesia was a gem. To quote the Apostle, it was his joy and his crown in the Roman world. There was nobody quite like them, but they had their problems. And you know what their problems were? When you read between the lines of that chapter, or that book, their problems were that there were members who were similar, who were envious, and there were members who were superior, who were treating others with contempt.

91. 34:39

    And they were in this meeting. There were two sisters named in this epistle. Two sisters actually named in a letter. And they were both put down as labourers in the Lord. Obviously two sisters, highly talented, who were giving themselves over to the service of God. Fine sisters. Divided. Why? Because they probably were similar.

92. 35:03

    And there was a little bit of envy perhaps got between them. But they were fine sisters. So the dangers don't only exist, brethren and sisters, with the weak in the meeting. The dangers exist with anyone with human nature. Be they classified in their own mind as weak or strong. We're all human. And that was the problem here in this ecclesia.

93. 35:22

    Now Paul makes an appeal. Let's read it first of all. Then we'll put on this transparency. He makes an appeal to this ecclesia in chapter 2. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any vows of mercy, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

94. 35:50

    In other words, brethren and sisters, there has been a fourfold benefit received which should solicit from us a fourfold response. Let this mind be in you as the theme of that epistle, of that chapter. And you know we have received consolation from God, encouragement, comfort of love. We've had the incentive of God's love.

95. 36:16

    We've had a fellowship of the Spirit. We are sharers of the Word of God which is the Spirit. There's been vows of mercy. There's been deep feelings. Now all of that has come from God. We ought to be like minded. Because we've been encouraged we ought to have the same sort of thinking for each other.

96. 36:37

    If we've had the incentive and the comfort of God's love, we ought to be united in love. It's only common sense. If we've been sharers of the Word, in the fellowship of the Spirit, we ought to be in one accord, which in the Greek is joined as one soul.

97. 36:54

    Absolutely indivisible. And if there's been deep feelings expressed towards us in the death of God's Son, then there ought to be one objective in the minds of every brother and sister in this ecclesia. Now there is your fourfold benefit and there's your fourfold appeal. It opens up chapter 2 of Philippians. It's a very wonderful appeal.

98. 37:20

    Now, what are the dangers that we mitigate against brethren and sisters manifesting that mind? Verse 3. Look what they are. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. Now, who would strive together in a good ecclesia? We're not talking now strife between good and evil. We're talking about strife in a good ecclesia.

99. 37:55

    Who would strive together except those who have similar abilities? They're the ones likely to fight. And who would be vain glorious in an ecclesia but he or she who thinks they're superior? You know, the apostle was a wonderful student of human nature. If you look carefully at his writings, brethren and sisters, he doesn't give a lot of detail about human nature.

100. 38:20

     He gets to the pith and marrow of the problems. He very often epitomises the real issues. Strife and vain glory. They're our problems, aren't they? Trouble between those who are similar. The Diaglot renders that word strife as party factions. And vain glory or empty glory as the Greek is. The RV and the RSV rendered that as conceit.

101. 38:46

     As I say, running it back to Corinthians, you're either similar and there's envy or there's superiority and there's contempt. And they are the problems. Now, how do we overcome that? Well, look. Read at the end of verse 3. Let each esteem other better than themselves.

102. 39:12

     Now, how could you do that? Well, it's fairly easy, brethren and sisters, I think. But first of all, let's just get this out in our mind. The word better than themselves, in the Greek, the word really means to be more excellent. And although we don't want to dwell upon Greek words and because we're not all Greek experts, there is this about this word, brethren and sisters, that it's a word which is used of dignitaries, of officialdom, of kings, of lords.

103. 39:41

     So what the apostle here is saying, let each esteem each other to be excellent or superior or a lord, a king over themselves. Not very difficult because I'm in the truth, you're in the truth. There's no way you're going to tell me that I'm not going to be in the kingdom of God and I wouldn't dare tell you you wouldn't be.

104. 40:06

     If therefore we wouldn't dare express that sort of an opinion, then it must be because we think that there's a great possibility that we will be in that kingdom. And if I get into the kingdom of God, brethren and sisters, or if you get into the kingdom of God, you are going to be a king and a priest.

105. 40:28

     And that's how I've got to see you now. I've got to treat you as a dignitary. And you think about that. Now, here's something that's very hard to think about.

106. 40:41

     When the apostle goes on with this chapter, he sets forth the Lord Jesus Christ as being the supreme example of that. Look at verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in a form of God, he never thought of the thing to be grasped at, to be equal with God, which is the correct rendition, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.

107. 41:15

     Now, I want to try and get you, I know I've said this before, somebody came up to me, I remember, and said that was really, they got the point, they appreciate it. Whether everybody, I don't know, but if you don't, you tell me after the meeting. Here we have an exhortation to brethren and sisters to consider themselves, consider each other better than themselves.

108. 41:39

     And then, in the context of that, we've got the example of Jesus Christ. Let this mind be in you. how on earth could he ever truthfully consider anyone better than himself? There's no way that he could truthfully do it. Let's face it, the only way that, in the sense that we're talking about, that the Lord could do that, really, was to believe a lie.

109. 42:10

     And yet he's in that chapter as an example of that thinking. How can that be when he's perfect? And he knows he is. Which of you convinces me of sin? And he knows that nobody else is. Well, the answer, brethren and sisters, is this, that he considered himself as a man. That's the emphasis.

110. 42:36

     He was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man. And as the Lord considered his humanity and he was human. No untruthfulness about that. And he considered the reason why he was going to die to make you and me kings and priests. He was prepared not only to die to make us kings and priests but to die the death which symbolised that he was the worst form of criminal.

111. 43:11

     So there he is up there not only suffering and agony but up there as it were like a neon light I am the worst form of criminal. And I'm doing it to make you a king and a priest. And although the Lord could never have believed anyone was better than himself in that sense as a fashion as a man dying for humanity he could see those who would become his brothers and sisters the children of God he could see them elevated as the excellencies of the coming age and in that sense he was prepared to align himself in the eyes of man at least with a criminal's death that others might be elevated.

112. 43:54

     Let that mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so you just apply the example. Say for example we really did think we were superior to the brothers and sisters so we had difficulty with that and thinking to ourselves well how could I consider others better than myself because really they're not.

113. 44:19

     And all you've got to do brothers and sisters is ask yourself the question you can't do it but he could. How is it that a perfect man was able to have that frame of mind and I can't get to that frame of mind because there's conceit somewhere in us and we've got no reason to be conceited.

114. 44:41

     There was none of it in him and yet looking at it from a human viewpoint there was every reason for him to be conceited if he wanted to be.

115. 44:50

     But he couldn't you see because he knew it was all of God. He knew it was all of his father. He knew that. There were things in his mind which precluded that but humanly speaking looking at it from a human viewpoint there was every reason why others would have been conceited. And here we are finding it difficult to consider each other better than ourselves and the example is none other than Jesus Christ the righteous.

116. 45:15

     I find that incredible brothers and sisters that is an incredible thing and when we consider that then why can't we because of the fourfold benefits received of the encouragement the love the sharing of the word and the deep feelings of God can't we have the same thinking be united in love joined as one soul and have one objective that's common sense based upon reason and they are the positive things in life.

117. 45:42

     Now let me give you a little practical illustration of how that you consider you can consider others better than yourself. I've said this before those of you some of you may not have heard me say it but I've adopted a practice I don't say I've done it deliberately but I found myself doing it many years ago and I encouraged it because I just found it to be an instinctive thing first of all and then I used to encourage it in myself because we always had children of various ages Vern and I it was always our lot to sit either in the back hall if we didn't have a back hall in the early days at least near the back of the meeting and it was Sunday morning when we got here reasonably early which sometimes we did and sometimes we didn't but in any case we used to sit there and I would look at the backs of the heads of the brothers and sisters as an exercise before that meeting and I would think to myself about those brothers and sisters what they were doing for Christ not what I what they did that I objected to but I used to think to myself you know you take that sister she don't say much she's a shy sister you know and very embarrassed when you talk to her but she goes out of her way to do certain work which puts her in the limelight which must really be a very great embarrassment to her but that's what she does or a brother over here he hasn't got a lot of ability to do certain things

118. 47:05

     but you can see a constant endeavour constant endeavour in his life to curb certain tendencies in him that he might not be an irritation to the meeting that he might be a help to that meeting and you can see him trying desperately to do that though everything in nature is against him and you know by the time that meeting started you've filled your mind with whatever virtue you can see in that meeting you haven't covered it all but you've covered some of it and then of course by reason of the exercise of your mind in that way working from brother to sister to sister to brother back to that meeting you eventually come to that table and there you see it all epitomised and not only that but you see the reason why they are doing what they're doing and in that way you can esteem each other better than yourselves you try that I think it would be a very poor and miserably minded brother or sister who couldn't sit in this meeting and look around them and find some inspiration in what others are trying to do for God very easy to find for but it's a miserable person who can't see in others something that's better than themselves fairly miserable person and that's all the apostle was saying and here is the example of our Lord Jesus Christ a servant first of all he took upon himself the form of a servant what's that but considering others better than himself he was serving them considering them better than himself in that sense and finally dying as a criminal to make them kings and priests

119. 48:44

     in the age to come wonderful example brethren and sisters and that's the call we have for unity as far as our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned Galatians 5 and 6 another one of these unity passages over the years we've traversed these epistles in a sort of a detailed study of each epistle but you come across these passages which have of course most of them all of them really the writings of the apostle Paul which have the same characteristic thinking in them but put in different ways now in this chapter in chapters 5 and 6 of Galatians running around about verse 13 through to about chapter 6 and verse 10 you have I believe the theme of that our personal responsibility is a collegial cooperation now you think about that I think if you wrote that as a heading of that section of Galatians that wouldn't be far wrong our personal responsibility is a collegial cooperation so that's why we say earlier that to say that salvation is an individual matter can be true or untrue it can be true if we mean that our individual responsibility is to work with and for the ecclesia but if we mean that salvation is an individual matter that we can live the truth irrespective of ever brothers and sisters then that is false so that our personal responsibility in this section of Galatians is our ecclesial cooperation you know it's beautifully illustrated you look at the way he does it you take in verse 16 he says this I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh now the word walk

120. 50:57

     there really literally means what it says to walk so as an individual would walk but then he says in verse 25 if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit and that word walk there isn't to walk as an individual it means to walk in line so the point he's making is this walking in the spirit as an individual is to walk in line with everyone else now if you don't think that's what he means listen to this chapter 6 bear ye one another's burdens verse 5 for every man shall bear his own burden which by which he means that every man's individual burden is to bear everyone else's now if that doesn't mean that then I'm a blind man so you've got people walking individually and only so doing because they're walking in line you've got people accepting their personal responsibility in the ecclesia but only so doing because they're accepting the responsibility for others that's what the apostle is saying in that section now let's illustrate it here on this transparency our personal responsibility is ecclesial cooperation note about that so walking in the spirit personally chapter 5 verse 16 ecclesially verse 25 there are two divisive evils end of chapter 6 what are they verse 26 let us not be desirous of vain glory provoking one another envying one another what are the two evils brethren and sisters again vain glory envy remember envy the result of people who think they're similar but one's a little bit superior to the other and he becomes envious or those who think they're clearly superior and there's a little bit of

121. 53:16

     contempt envying one another vain glory same as the ones in the other two chapters in Philippians of course and in Corinthians so there you're the divisive easel out they come again bearing our burdens personally verse 5 pleasurally verse 2 and then Paul gives a practical demonstration of what he means in Galatians 6 and verse 6 he says this let him that is taught in the word communicate koinonia cooperate with share with him that teacheth in all good things so there's two classes that need to cooperate and those two classes again are not just two separate classes but Paul is taking just the two classes to illustrate virtually the whole ecclesia because we fall somewhere in those classes we're either teachers or pupils now I don't mean by that we're literally teachers or literally pupils but there are people in this meeting who are apt to teach whether they teach from here or standing in that hall or in Sunday school or wherever they can teach they can convey they can communicate the word in some way or another there are those brothers and sisters who through no fault of their own have to depend upon them they have to come to classes they have to be in convicibility of people who know the word because they just simply can't get it for themselves there are such people in the world our ecclesia is made up of those two general classes we either have ability to glean and disseminate the word or we haven't we need to gather it from others but whatever there needs to be koinonia cooperation between teachers and pupils pupils definitely so we go

122. 55:11

     to a study class fellow that sits up the front he's obviously the teacher because we're sitting in the audience for the moment we may be pupils we may be teachers also but there are a lot of people here who are not teachers but they are pupils doesn't mean to say that there is a teacher here and there are pupils there it means that there are a group of brothers and sisters in which God is active in their lives using each one severally as he will and they ought to realise that and there ought to be a communication or koinonia a sharing together irrespective of their status according to their ability so that alright we have personal responsibilities and we have ecclesial responsibilities so for the sake of illustration I happen to be tonight the teacher you happen to be sitting out there the pupil it may be reversed as we go through our ecclesial year my personal responsibility as a teacher is to cooperate with you and your personal responsibility is to cooperate with me that's what Paul says so it's a practical demonstration of the point that he's making in Galatians so we walk in the spirit when we walk ecclesially we walk in rank the two things that are going to break rank is vain glory and envy now look assuming that glass of water is the head of the line a rank of people maybe half a dozen or more and there's one down here and he's on the end of the line or on one end of the line and they're walking together like that as a line as walking in the

123. 56:48

     spirit ecclesially what's going to break that rank when this fellow up here thinks you know really when you look at the ecclesia I'm bothered if I know what they do without me he immediately out in front isn't he if you look down from the side he's no longer got a line he's out on his own the chap down here he's thinking of himself as he walks along who wants me I mean I've got certain abilities but not as good as him he falls back there so you no longer got a line that's what the apostle's talking about it's a military term really he's talking about walking in rank and anyone is going to break that rank when he gets out in front or he falls behind and envy or vainglory is going to do that it needs to be that way brothers and sisters nothing can be done that way if everyone esteems each other better than themselves striving to walk ecclesially that can only be done that way and if you think of the thousand and one ways in which you can get out of rank by you know not walking ecclesially together as I say just simply by thought thoughtlessness charging off to do something without thinking suddenly realising oh dear oh dear that brother was appointed to do that I should have told him what you've done you've russed off and you broke that rank he in turn could get upset to the degree where he becomes despondent and never recovers falls behind and so all sorts of things can happen and you can only make your application in your own mind

124. 58:25

     of how we can become so divisive in our thinking you know you can do that in so many ways you could have a summer school class of little kiddies and you could forget to send one of them an invitation to a birthday party whatever the case may be I don't know all the things that go on in life you may not upset their little kiddie because they're too innocent you might upset their parents you know brethren and sisters tragic as it is one of the great evils which causes division in ecclesia is the blindness of parents and their children not blindness in the sense of the parent to its child's evils but blindness in its loyalty to that child above the ecclesia that is a very great evil and rampant in every meeting and you know you can find sensitivity among brethren and sisters if not with themselves you can create that with their children a sensitivity which you didn't know existed but when you touch that centre of their life there's something there that is beyond explaining and you know we should never ever be blind to that aspect of things we should look yes family loyalty a wonderful thing no one's going to say anything different to that we should stand up for our families we should fight for our families encourage our families but never brethren and sisters never ever to the extent that we divide the ecclesia this ecclesia comes before my family make no mistake about that because if it doesn't then I'm saying this that my family is far more important than God's that's what I'm saying we look after

125. 1:00:09

     God's family he'll look after ours providing of course we meet our responsibilities but never let us forget that and always remember this brethren and sisters in this respect as much as you adore your child it may not come into the truth it may not be in God's purpose who knows there are brethren and sisters who know that tragically and sadly and yet you could put that child above God's family and you know that is done and it's done to a very great hurt and that's where a sensitivity needs to be exercised towards each other especially when it comes to our families a we should personally see to it as mothers and fathers that as much as we adore our lovely little perfect children that we do not put them above the ecclesia and b we should exercise as individuals responsibility towards those children that we don't upset their parents because we know that's a human failing and there's ever-present dangers in that respect and it's tragically true that blood is thicker than water and sometimes brethren and sisters blood becomes thicker than spirit and it's a tragic thing to see that so that you think about all the avenues of ecclesial life that's open to you and all the ever-present dangers also that you can fall into for reasons that you may not understand but they're always there be careful to walk in line always have a look either side of you am I in step with everybody else if you find yourself not in step find the reasons why and get back into step because that's the apostles exhortation a very wonderful exhortation you know

126. 1:01:53

     what he does brethren and sisters he says in verse 6 we've quoted this let him that is a pupil or that is taught in the word share with him who is the teacher and you know we say oh we'll do that and so brethren and sisters seemingly make a conscious endeavour to break down the stratas of society in ecclesial life and they say well we'll break down the stratas of ecclesial society and they seem to make a conscious endeavour to do that if they're not doing it in all good faith brethren and sisters then the next verse says be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man's sower that shall he reap that said in the context of ecclesial cooperation so we could be going along in this meeting with everyone seeming to make a conscious endeavour to get on together and to have fellowship with each other but if it's not true in the context of that statement don't be deceived God knows and what is the figure he's not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap when are we going to reap for the wrong attitude in this respect brethren sisters if we are being seen externally trying to get on to each other but harbour evil thinking bearing grudges envying or holding in contempt and we do that secretly God is not mocked it will be revealed when the seed comes to fruition in the kingdom of God because all of a sudden we will see the weak go into the kingdom and among that weak may be the brother or sister that we couldn't possibly

127. 1:03:50

     work with really even though we might have given external appearance of that for the moment but when the harvest comes and we see them as part of that harvest our heart will sink within us because the truth of it will all be revealed then and God is not mocked now that's the context of Galatians 5 and 6 let's just take one more in conclusion brethren sisters Romans 15 wonderful chapter oh boy this perhaps more than all others really illustrates the point of cooperation between classes of people two very basic classes here not teacher and pupil this time but weak and strong that's what Paul calls them Romans 14 verse 1 him that is weak in the faith Romans 15 verse 1 we then that are strong did you notice how he put it see how Paul put it him that is weak we that are strong that's how we think don't we him that is weak we that are strong that's not entirely all Paul's meaning there but that's very often how we think so there are your two classes now who are the weak and who are the strong in the context I'm dealing now in this context please understand that not now talking about us I'm talking about here in this case the Romans who were they well in the context they were Jew and Gentile basically they may not all have been Jews and all Gentiles but basically they fell into those two national characters Jew and Gentile the Jew was looked upon as weak because he was over scrupulous very careful wouldn't touch this wouldn't touch that wouldn't touch something else

128. 1:05:47

     forever living a life of very stringent very scrupulous about this and scrupulous about that giving an appearance of towering strength Paul said he's weak because he had a sensitivity about material and worldly things and because he was sensitive about lesser things and paying the attention of touch not taste not handle not though giving the appearance of a very strong and very upright brother he's weak because he the little issues were that which governed his life and the massive issues he had overlooked that was a weak brother the strong were those who came into the truth with none of those petty scruples of eat this or don't eat this touch that or not don't touch that but those who came into the truth brothers and sisters knowing the love of God and the power of God in their lives and the tremendous power of Christ's sacrifice and example and whose lives were governed by the massive things of the truth that little matters like that didn't care the belly for meats and meats for the belly says the apostle but I won't be brought under the power of anything you'll never bring under me to the petty power of those minute things the massive things of judgment of the love of God and of mercy these are the things the apostle stood for now those were the two classes but there was need nonetheless between those two classes for understanding because we are different and some people just can't see some issues and other people can't see other issues and we never seem to be able to get some principles into each other's minds we both think we're

129. 1:07:39

     right but we never seem to convince each other that we're right and there's a need therefore sometimes brothers and sisters not to give up in despair and say well to heck with you but to treat each other with a bit of toleration and I use that word in the sense within the bounds and the perimeters of good sound doctrine and moral principles but we do differ even in the bounds of those principles not in doctrine but we certainly differ in the bounds of some principles and in those bounds we need to exercise somewhat of a patient attitude towards each other or a long suffering attitude now this is the context of Romans 14 and 15 and he does it this way you listen to this in chapter 15 we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves for even Christ please not himself but as it is written the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me now let's pause there brothers and sisters we ought not to please ourselves let everyone please our neighbour for his good see Paul's not advocating toleration to the point of you exceeding to error or wrong he's not asking anyone to compromise but he says let us please his neighbour for good if that's the motive then that's high to his edification and the example who is the example notice who it is it's not Jesus it's not even Jesus Christ it's Christ and he leaves the title on its own because he wants to tell us that the one who set forth the supreme example is the supreme he is

130. 1:09:39

     the Messiah so he leaves off the name why does he because you see brothers and sisters he didn't please himself but as it is written the reproaches of them that reproached thee God fell on me so let's illustrate what Paul means he says to you and I let's not please ourselves let's please each other but we say oh wait a minute Paul look Paul that brother's abused me he's abused me he's called me all sorts of nasty names he's put around scurrilous rumours about me he said this or said that I won't have that well Paul's answer is this who are you in the first place you're a Mr Nobody consider the Christ whose insults did he put up with they didn't only insult him brethren and sisters they insulted his father the reproaches of them that reproached thee God fell on me and if a man could hold his peace for the sake of humanity in a situation like that and you and I go to God and say we couldn't excite that to you because they abused us oh for goodness sake what would you do on that cross with all the insults that were held not at him brethren and sisters he could bear with that but at his father he held his peace father forgive them for they know not what they do and he was the messiah and he put up with the insults to his father and you think of that that would have taken from him an enormous self-control and you know yourself but you can put up with insults to you they can call you for what they like

131. 1:11:39

     but when they start abusing your God and the Lord Jesus Christ that's when you react why because we have a love for the father a love for his son but brethren and sisters our love for the father is prophetic against the love he had and so the apostle says you live be very careful that you don't put that excuse up consider what he did now listen to this verse 4 and 5 for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope now the God of patience and comfort same Greek word grant you to be like minded one toward another according to Jesus Christ now let's sift this one out there were certain things written for our learning brothers and sisters now Paul says that Christ showed the supreme example not simply for what he did but for the reason he did it for Christ pleased not himself but as it is written so he did it for a reason that was a motive behind it it was written in his father's word that's why he did it now Paul says for whatsoever things were written were written for our learning that we might exercise patience and comfort do you know it was written in that verse of scripture brethren sisters the reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen on me that's only half the verse the other half says he was eaten up with the zeal of the house of God and John 2 verse 17 says they understood that half and they never ever considered that half in other words they were

132. 1:13:49

     comforted the zeal of iron house hath eaten me up they were comforted with that but they never showed an ounce of patience when the reproaches of them that reproach God fell on him and that was written for their learning they learned half of it the half that suited them the half that appealed to them isn't that incredible that that verse should be quoted in that context written for our learning two things brethren and sisters the zeal of the house hath eaten me up but the reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen on me that's what Psalm 69 and verse 9 says and so there's a need therefore to show patience and comfort now you take the two classes Jew and Gentile look at them you look at them in relation to God you take the Jew who wore almost wore God's patience out well it did wear it out on several occasions if I can use that expression of course as a figure of speech but it tried God's patience by all their disobedience to him and yet put on a front of all that the scrupulous way in which they jotted and tittled and as in coming and all the minor weights of the law giving all the appearance of being strong and wearing God's patience out and yet he patiently bore with them brethren and sisters if ever there was a class of people that needed patience it was the Jew what about the Gentile who languished in debauchery and immorality in hopelessness for years and God waited and waited till the day came when the door of faith was open to

133. 1:15:30

     the Gentiles and the comfort of the truth was offered to them and wasn't it a comfort wasn't that a comfort to all those people the Philippian jailer Lydia a seller of purple and all the others to the to the to those who were brought into the truth the Onesimus and all those faithful men Phoebe Priscilla and Aquila and all those others who are out there not so much Priscilla and Aquila they were Jews but those other Gentiles who were called to the truth what a comfort that was to them brethren and sisters so the apostles point is this we need to learn patience and comfort from the scripture because God is patient and he offers comfort and we need to be like-minded so when you epitomize the teaching of Romans 15 coming back to our point of ecclesial unity here it all is epitomized like this we've got to be like-minded toward each other why because we've got to exercise the attitude of God towards each other if that's God's attitude it's got to be our attitude like-minded is being like-minded with God this is how God thinks so in the two basic classes him that is weak we that are strong group one that is the weak were the over-scrupulous towards the over-scrupulous we've got to exercise patience now we've got the over-scrupulous in our meeting we've got people on special diets who believe that's the way God would help us to live we sometimes wear our patience thin a bit with all the way they keep insisting upon we ought to be eating this we ought to be drinking that we've got people who put a

134. 1:17:04

     lot of emphasis upon external matters we've got people who are very scrupulous over very minor things and sometimes it gets very irritating we've got to be prepared to exercise patience for Jews like that we have to be very patient with people that they've got their reasons we might not agree with them but they mean well that's how they see it it's not doing any harm to me or you they're not violating any scriptural principle nor are they violating any doctrine of course we're not talking about that but in the context of those things we've got those scrupulous people and they can be very irritating but exercise patience in group two we've got the semi-liberal now I want to explain what I mean by that I don't believe that we won't ever tolerate liberality liberal matters brothers and sisters are wild you're not having a bar of that but there are people who don't all together agree with those little matters either and sometimes they are brand as being liberal when they're really not because they take care of those things in their mind with the massive principles of the truth and they see they may seem to be liberal but you know those people sometimes suffer the greatest criticism they need their comfort and that was the Gentile and you take a Jew and Gentile Gentile comes into the truth and he came in second he didn't come in first to the Jew first then to the Greek he came in second and he took his place in the Ecclesia he sat down you look at him sitting next to the Jew boy and here he

135. 1:18:41

     is in the Ecclesia here is a brother over here the Jew who's got family traditions in the truth going way back when I say in the truth he's now in the truth of the gospel but at least his family were Jews and they had the form and knowledge of the truth in the law didn't they they didn't hold error in that sense they had the oracles of God and though they rejected finding the Messiah yet in the Old Testament scriptures they treasured him they were the custodians of the oracles of God so he would consider himself not exactly a new member of the Ecclesia but rather perhaps as a better directed one now with family traditions and comforts going back for years poor Gentile sits there and where his family is some of them wouldn't even know probably a lot of their Corinthians wouldn't even know who their family was anyway and perhaps many of them thousands of them throughout the Roman world were the only members of their family in the truth and they certainly didn't have any traditions going way back all they could think about perhaps was the only tradition of religion they might have had was some pagan idolatry a belief in the god Python or something like that and now ashamed of the stupidity of all that and feeling the loneliness of the of the fact that they'd once been estranged from God now were in the truth and yet they've got to come shoulder to shoulder with those who immediately started putting upon them got to do this got to do that got to do this you've got to be

136. 1:20:19

     circumcised you've got to drain your meat before you eat it because you can't eat blood you've got to wash your hands before the meals you've got to do this you've got to do that and you can imagine brethren and sisters the stresses and strains in an ecclesia like that now we haven't got that in its exaggerated form we've got in this meeting people who can name three if not four generations of Christian Elphiness and we've got people in this meeting whose families are destitute of the truth and who suffer from time to time when their relatives come to visit them as they ever do they suffer the severe and harsh criticism of the truth and of their so-called disloyalty to family unity we've all got to come and sit together now to one class we need to be very patient and the other class we need to exercise a great deal of comfort because God did and you know brethren and sisters he did it in this way in verses 8 and 9 now I say that Jesus Christ was a servant a servant as the word minister means of the Jewish people the circumcision he was a servant of the Jewish people for the truth of God to confirm the promises made under the fathers and and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy how did he do that well he dies upon the cross what did he die for he died to remove the curse of the law when the curse of the law was removed the blessing of Abraham of course came into full effect because though it was the

137. 1:22:20

     first to be given as brother Thomas says it was the second to come to force the new covenant so when he died upon the cross he did away with the curse of the law and the curse of mortality so the curse of the law cursed the Jews as well as the curse of mortality and the curse of mortality cursed the Gentiles he took away the curses that were holding them off from God and he put into effect the promises made to Abraham what did the promises made to Abraham teach it taught that Abraham see the Jewish people would be a great nation and it taught also that he would be the father of many nations so in one act of agony and suffering the long standing patience of the Jewish people was brought to finality that what they'd been patiently waiting for was now confirmed that the true seed of Abraham of which they had been the fleshly members has now come to fruition where they are now the spiritual household of Abraham and the mercy of God was shown to the Gentiles because that man's name means the father of many nations that's how like-minded God was towards that matter now the point is Paul says let us be like-minded toward each other and I suppose brothers and sisters we can say that we're going to fall into the category of either teacher or pupil so we're going to be people who have the ability to absorb and disseminate the word or we're going to be people who love the word just as much as they do but need the help of others we're going

138. 1:23:51

     to fall into one of those categories we're going to fall into the category of either being weak or strong whatever we might be a little bit over scrupulous we may have the honesty to recognise that I don't know we may also be in the sense free from those minor things and living up to grander and glorious principles I don't know but we're going to fall into those categories somewhere but whatever we're going to fall into brethren and sisters we've got to work together that is the burden of Philippians of Romans Galatians Corinthians wherever we look that's what the apostle is telling us and so as we come to the end of tonight's discussion brethren and sisters we do hope that's been helpful I'd like you to think about it I think it's a very very wonderful thing that we can work and live together in the truth as we do and I hope in God's mercy that when we come back next time we'll give a lot of thought to this I know the theme I want to take that passage in Hebrews 12 the spirits of just men made perfect which to my mind is one of the most delightful expressions in all Paul's writings the spirits of just men made perfect the word spirits I believe is used in the sense of the disposition the characteristics and disposition of people the word just of course used in the sense of a person that's justified by faith and the word perfect used in the sense of perfect in that context and what that is teaching is this that we're going to see brothers and

139. 1:25:32

     sisters this is the beauty of that verse we're going to see very shortly the end filled ecclesia in the kingdom of God and everyone in that ecclesia in the kingdom will have nothing left in them that irritates but that every good disposition and characteristic that is being developed now is all that will be left and so all we learn to admire in each other now is all will have to think about each other then the spirits of justified men made perfect !

140. 1:26:15

     to them to them