Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

by H. J. Vine.

It is important, in relation to the oneness of the saints of God, to understand the truth of the one body; to grasp in faith the fact of it “There is one body.” This is a fact whether we grasp it or not, but the Holy Spirit has given us the truth of it through Paul, in the Scripture, that we might be always kept in the sense of the necessity of every member of the body of Christ, for all are included in the body. Oh! that we may learn deeply and truly this blessed inclusiveness. That teaching of exclusiveness, which says that certain members are excluded on the principle of the one body, is not the truth of God. Indeed, it is very serious error. That teaching which maintains that wicked persons (those characterized by lawlessness in word or way) are to be excluded from Christian intercourse is according to the truth. The difference between the two is very great. To use the truth of the one body for the exclusion of members, is to act ignorantly, to misapply Scripture, and to injure the saints. To exclude wickedness and those characterized by it as unsuited to the holiness of God’s house, is to obey the Word and to preserve the saints, but for the latter other scriptures are needed.

As to the inclusiveness of the one body, we are told, no member can say to another, “I have no need of thee” (1 Corinthians 12:21). Every member is necessary. Exclusion is not to be thought of. “God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to the part that lacked.” And the reason for this divine wisdom and care is, “That there be no division in the body” (verse 25)! Inclusiveness is the truth here. The teaching of the “one new man,” and of access to the Father by “one Spirit” in Ephesians 2:15-18 has the same end in view; as also has the fact that we are “Joint heirs, and a joint body, and joint partakers” of God’s promise in Christ Jesus. Indeed, the very gospel-preaching of man was “according to the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25); and the right effect of that would bring all the saints to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one accord, with one mouth, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Wherefore,” continues the Apostle, “receive ye one another according as the Christ also has received you to the glory of God” (Romans 1:5-7). In this way the oneness becomes practical in the love and grace of the Truth.

For a Day of Failure

The outward failure and breakdown as to this very truth amongst those who claim to be the church, or of the church, could not be greater, but it was all foreseen and foretold in the Scripture, and provision has been made in view of the failure in the ministry given through John. So that those who are really “of the truth” may be preserved and maintained in fullness of joy, and according to the oneness of which we speak, in spite of the outward breakdown.

No outward divisions or separations are seen by John among the living company of true believers on the Son of God, for whom he writes. His Gospel is written that they may have life (John 20:31): his first Epistle that they may know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). He sees one family, all loved alike by one Father, indwelt by one Spirit in the Gospel he sees one flock, all having eternal life, and all safe in the hand of one Shepherd. The flock is identified with the assembly by Paul’s words in Acts 20:28. It is true that here, as well as in John 10, the Holy Spirit foretells trouble from those who should succeed the apostles. Grievous wolves are spoken of, and also those who would speak “perverted things”; but the one flock, the true assembly, remains.

John 10 tells of the thief coming to steal, to kill, and to destroy; but the Shepherd, the Son of God, holds all His own in the hand of omnipotence. Unlike the thief, the good Shepherd came that His sheep might have salvation, liberty, and life abundantly. The wolf worries and scatters the precious sheep of Christ, and the hireling’s heart is on his wages; he cares not for the sheep, and flees when danger comes; but the good Shepherd knows each sheep by name, and He loves each one with so great a love that He laid down His life for the eternal welfare of every one of them. Notwithstanding all the trouble the thief, the hireling, and the wolf cause, the one flock is safe, because it is in His hand, and in the Father’s hand; and He has said: “No one shall seize them out of My hand,” and “No one can seize out of the hand of My Father. I and My Father are one.” Every sheep is included in the grasp of love and omnipotence. He speaks of inclusive oneness.

Those who are excluded in John’s epistle exclude themselves—they go out. They apostatize (1 John 2:11). In the third epistle of John, Diotrephes “cast out” the brethren; this treatment was meted out to the best saints. He could only cast out of the assembly where he had usurped the pre-eminence which belongs to Christ; he could not cast them out of that of which we are speaking. But it should be a warning to us to see to it that we have more than mere talk about assembly, which is dangerous; for even in apostolic days the state in this connection could be such that an apostolic communication could be refused; and even apostles themselves: “I wrote something to the assembly; but Diotrephes, who loves to have the first place among them, receives us not” (3 John 9).

Certainly it was the work of an individual whose fleshly pride had made him Satan’s tool, and who took and loved the first place among them. It is a significant fact that the only mention of the assembly in John’s writings is in connection with this evil Diotrephesian conduct; doubtless this is to cast us back upon the living and inclusive oneness, to which prominence is given in his ministry by the Holy Spirit. The violent exclusiveness of Diotrephes was evil. It excluded the best. It is therefore said to Gaius: “Beloved, imitate not what is evil, but what is good. He that does good is of God” (v. 11). That is the path which is surrounded by the abiding blessings of God.

Intimacy

The ties of Divine love which bind the Lord to His own and His own to Him are close, and real, and living. Whether we view Him as the Head of His body, the assembly, and our oneness with Him thus, as the Spirit shows us through Paul, or as the risen Son of God who speaks of us as His brethren, made known through both John and Paul; or as the Shepherd of the flock of God, so vividly revealed in John 10; we are assured of the desire of His loving heart that we on our side should enter consciously into the close and vital oneness which actually exists between Himself and us, for it is no mere figure of speech.

In Ezekiel’s day the Lord said, “And ye, My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men: I am your God, says the Lord Jehovah” (34:31). Yes, and when Jesus rose from among the dead, He said to Mary, “Go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” They too were men, to whom this new message of Oneness with Himself, in risen life and relationship, was sent. So are we today, and He is not ashamed to call us brethren. In John 10:14-16 His words are thus recorded, “I am the good Shepherd; and I know those that are Mine, and am known of those that are Mine, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep which are not of this fold: those also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd” (New Translation). Here again the sheep are men, but what great and blessed things are said of them!—things not found in the Old Testament!—things that could only be brought to pass by the coming of the Son of God!—by His dying and rising again! Ezekiel spoke much of bad shepherds, but Jesus is three times designated the good Shepherd in this chapter; in the above passage, and when He said, “I am come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (verse 11).

His death as the good Shepherd, and His resurrection as the great Shepherd of the sheep, have secured life, and life abundantly, for His own. That explains how it is we know Him, and hear His voice, and can enter into the things connected with the present oneness. The life and nature for it are ours; and He came in view of our possessing this in abundance; not with undeveloped paucity, but with liberal profusion all the sheep and lambs of the flock have life, for He has said, “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (verse 28). He can therefore say concerning all, I “am known of those that are Mine,” however varied may be the measures of that knowledge in the living naturalness of new life—new to us at our conversion, but eternal nevertheless. It has been seen in all its deep perfection in the Son of the Father, and John says we “report to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has been manifested to us” (1 John 1:2); and again, “These things have I written to you that ye may know that ye have eternal life who believe on the name of the Son of God” (5:13, New Translation). All this plainly shows the way we are encouraged to an increasing understanding of the living bonds which unite us to Him.

The feeblest believer finds no difficulty when the Son of God says, “I KNOW THOSE THAT ARE MINE” and, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me!” We are sure that He knows us. He knows all things, and all men; and we have an inbred consciousness that He knows and loves His own. This is the blessed assurance and encouragement given to us in 2 Timothy 2, in view of the corrupt practices and teachings of Christendom, when “every one who names the name of the Lord” is told to “withdraw from iniquity,” and to “follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart,” for there we are strengthened with these words, “The Lord knows those that are His”! What a stay this is to all who trust in Him! Not one of His sheep ever escapes the vigilance of His watchful eyes! Not one is ever forgotten for one moment by His loving heart! His omniscience, His love, and His omnipotence ever tend the flock for which He died! Yes, He knows us all! Blessed be His name! Blessed be our good and great Shepherd!

But it is equally, true that “I am known of those that are Mine.” Mark He did not say, “I ought to be known by them” No, nor did He say, “I ought to know Mine own.” He said emphatically, He knows them, and just as emphatically, They know Him.

The simple explanation of this lies in the new life with its holy desires and capabilities. This life is in the Son of God. We know that He has come, and “has given us an understanding that we should know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). The sheep of His pasture know Him, and have the Divinely given ability to know Him increasingly. To the new life winch is theirs sin does not attach, nor does it turn to the corruptions of lust and pride, for “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4) which is made up of lust and pride (2:16). If a true believer does sin, provision for restored communion is made for him in the advocacy of Jesus Christ the righteous, but viewed as born of God he does “not practise sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God” (3:9, New Translation). The life that loves what is of God is his. On the other hand, a mere professor has inwardly nothing but the old life and nature. The Spirit uses the types of a dog and a sow to illustrate such, both in the Old and New Testaments. Washed in the waters of religion, and outwardly going in the right way, the dog turns back to his vomit, and the sow to her wallowing in the mire (2 Peter 2:22). The very nature of the sheep makes it avoid such things. The dog and the sow are unclean animals, but the sheep is clean.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but this new life and nature have become ours in the Son of God, through His death and resurrection. He could therefore say, I am known of Mine. As we said before, The measures may vary, but oh, how wonderful is the character of that knowledge—“as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father.” This is indeed glorious! The measure of the intimacy between the Father and the Son must necessarily be infinite—the character of it vital and holy and blessed. We could not have the same measure, but the same character of knowledge is ours, blessed be God. No wonder John speaks so often of our joy being full. “This is My beloved Son,” the Father said. “No one knows the Son but the Father,” said the Son; He alone could fully comprehend that One, who, like Himself, is infinite. Nevertheless His own truly know Him, as He said, even though their measure be limited. And then, what unspeakable love characterizes this intimacy. Could it be greater than it is? Let us ponder the good Shepherd’s words. “I lay down My life for the sheep.” Could His love for us be expressed more fully? And then He said, “I love the Father,” and as He had received commandment from the Father to lay down His life and take it again, so He did. This supplied a fresh motive for the Father to love Him, as He said, “Therefore doth My Father love Me.”

What a circle of life and love we are introduced into! There is the Father’s love for the Son, and the Son’s love for the Father; the Father’s love for us—“the Father Himself loves you,” and the Son’s love for us also; and then “we love because He first loved us.” It all began with Him, and Divine love produced a response, completing in this way the circle of holy intimacy, in living relationships, of which the Spirit is the power. It takes in all the saints, for Jesus added, “I have other sheep which are not of this (Jewish) fold: those also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be ONE FLOCK, ONE SHEPHERD.”

If the Holy Spirit of truth through Paul spoke of the one body composed of the out-called from Jews and Gentiles, and of the new, intimate and vital bonds which unite them to one another and to the glorious Head in heaven, of the “great mystery” of Christ and the assembly; here are the same persons seen as the one flock, brought into close and intimate and living relationships with their good Shepherd who died for them, with their great Shepherd who lives and cares for them with ceaseless love—Jesus, the Son of the Father.

This ends our reading for this session. Until next time, have a great day, and God bless.