A PORTION FOR ALL

(No. 37)

Grand Rapids, Michigan January 13, 1948

Beloved Congregation:

GLADLY I’ll comply with the kind request I received to say something in regard to the offices in the church of God.

The very first thing we have to point out and attend to is this, that the offices are instituted by God Himself. We have numerous Scriptures to prove that office bearers in God’s Church are called, and sent, and appointed by Him.

We read in Scripture that God is not worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything. He is the all-sufficient and blessed Being in Himself who is eternally glorified in Himself. Nevertheless, it has pleased God, through all times and ages, to employ men, not only in ruling the world, but also and especially in the midst of His Church.

There is a common providence of God, extending to the whole world and comprising everything; but there is also a special providence of God of which the Church, viz, the Church of God, is the object.

Why is the Church called with this choice name? First of all, because this Church is the portion of the Lord, according to Deut. 32:9. “For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.” This Church is God’s possession, chosen by Him according to His sovereign good pleasure in Christ Jesus.

God dwells in the midst of His Church. Heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool. The Lord dwells in Mount Zion, Ps. 74:2; His dwelling place is in Zion, Ps. 76:2; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever, Ps. 68:16. The Lord Jesus is, with regard to His Godhead, majesty, grace, and Spirit, at no time absent from His people.

Alas, there are times in which the brightness of this Godhead, majesty, grace, and Spirit is obscured to such an extent, that the glory of God approaches the threshold of the house of God, Ez. 9:3. — On the other hand; it is a great blessing if we may see and observe that God dwells in His Church, and causes us to behold His glory. It is a blessed time when Christ, as King of His Church, sways His scepter, and the work of His divine grace manifests itself in the conversion of sinners. On the day of Pentecost there were added unto the Church at Jerusalem, on that one day, about three thousand souls. And it is also mentioned in Acts 2, that the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved.

What a blessed season it is when the truth becomes effective upon the hearts of young and old, great and small, and when God by His Spirit works to the quickening of dead sinners and many wounded souls are brought at the feet of the Lord Jesus, there to experience the power of His blood to the reconciliation with God, and to the cleansing and sanctification of life. Oh! this redemption by the blood of the Lamb is indispensable in order to be a living member of the Church of God. We must be born again unto a lively hope, and become partakers of the life that lives in nothing but in the actual union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

But it is also to be considered a blessing when the Lord discovers hypocrites. I have heard of an old minister who for many years already rejoices before the throne of God, that during one of his first sermons a man whom he knew, left in the midst of the service. The minister stopped a minute and said, “Congregation, this is the first fruit of my ministry; a hypocrite leaves us-”

It did cause quite some agitation, and great fear came upon all, yet it was an advantage that Ananias and Sapphira were removed, however sad and wretched it was for the persons concerned.

These are shocking events; but then the Lord Himself purges His Church. And though the true people of God may be tossed and shaken by it, it is, on the other hand, profitable and useful. When Orpah left Naomi and returned to Moab, Ruth was confirmed in her choice.

In nature, the more violently the storm rages, the more firmly and deeply the roots of the tree that lives will penetrate into and take hold of the soil.

It is also to be regarded as a blessing when those who stand afar off are brought nigh, and when those who are bowed down with grief are raised up;—a blessing when God progresses His work in the hearts of His people and they, knowingly, in their own heart and life may enter into and pass over in Christ;—a blessing when God, through His Spirit, seals His work in the hearts of His people. And “those that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing, to show that the Lord is upright.

It is called the Church of God, because He Himself has purchased it; He protects it in the midst of the greatest danger, and He grants it an abundant ministration of His Spirit, that they may bring forth the fruits of righteousness unto the glory and praise of God.

Oh that God did thus dwell in His Church, and did make it a name and a praise among all people of the earth. It is, indeed, His inheritance, purchased with the blood of Christ.

Our days unmistakably reveal a state of serious declension. That God might return unto Zion with mercies, as in the days of old, and gladden our hearts with the visible signs of His favor. It would confound the devil, but magnify God.

The next time, D. V., I intend to say something in regard to the offices. Young and old, do appreciate the Truth. And may the Truth make you free and found your souls in it, that you may not be carried about with every wind of doctrine.

Hearty greetings to all.

Your minister,

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