Return Of The Remnant

by D. Smith, Lerwick | Category: General | Feb 1968

The history of Israel as a nation, commenced at Mount Sinai when God through His servant Moses delivered His law and judgements to the people whom He had redeemed from Egypt by blood and power, and who had all bean baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Their constitution as a holy nation, separated from all other people to occupy a unique" place in divine purpose and testimony, was conditional on their obedience to the word of God. "Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me from among all peoples: for all the earth is Mine" (Exodus 19.5).

When Moses told the people all the words of the LORD then all the people answered with one voice, "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do" (Exodus 19.8). After the children of Israel entered upon this covenant the LORD said, "Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25.8). This they did, and God continued to dwell in a tabernacle of curtains until Solomon built Him a house (1 Chronicles 28.11).

After alternating phases of declension and revival God finally brought judgement upon His people by sending against them Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who burned the house of God and br6ke down the walls of Jerusalem, and carried into captivity the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. When 70 years had been accomplished, as foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, a small remnant returned from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of God and restore again the service of Jehovah. Their spirits stirred by God, and their hands strengthened with precious things, some forty-two thousand captives accepted the opportunity to go back to Zion the city of their God. Leaving Babylon they made the long trek of 700 miles across the desert, arriving in Judah and Jerusalem every one unto his city. By the seventh month they we're ready to begin the arduous but glorious work for which God had brought them back, and to commence this work "the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem". "One voice" and "one man" are the figures used by the Holy Spirit to describe the essential and exemplary oneness seen at Sinai and at Jerusalem. They were a people together not only in the same geographical position but also together, one with another, linked in unity of mind and purpose with a common object in view, to fulfil the purpose of God relative to His dwelling among men.

Having set up the altar of God, they offered burnt offerings thereon according to the law of Moses, for no work is acceptable to God except it commences on the ground of sacrifice. In the second year the Levites were appointed, Joshua with his brethren and the sons of Judah, together as one, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the Lord. Thus a united oversight succeeded in bringing the house of God once again into existence. They encountered great opposition, and the adversary sought by every means to deter them in their purpose, but the encouragement which God gave them through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah stimulated their zeal and strengthened their conviction that the work of restoring God's dwelling-place was fully in accord with the mind of God for His people.

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord" (Haggai 1.7,8).

Could God declare His approval in terms more certain than these? No matter how much men might despise and disparage the feeble effort of this little company, God assured them that in such a work He would take pleasure and he glorified. Nothing is so satisfying to any godly-minded saint as to know that what he is doing is a pleasure to God. "Wherefore also we make it our aim... to be well-pleasing unto Him" (2 Corinthians 5.9). No promise was given of a great spiritual revival or of united support for their endeavour but with the command to build the house, God gave the exhortation,

"Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and My Spirit abode among you: fear ye not" (Haggai 2.4,5).

As God had been with Israel when they covenanted with Him in the wilderness, so truly was He now in the midst of this little remnant. The presence of God among a collective people is never at any time regulated by their numbers but by their desire to do His will.

Have these events of former times a voice for the believer today? Do they provide instruction for the wise and willing-hearted disciple who in these days would do God's will and worship Him in the place of His choice? The increasing demand today for Christian union has created in the minds of many people an indifference as to where and how they serve God in collective worship, and so the all-important words of the Lord Jesus that they who worship God "must worship in Spirit and truth" (John 4.24) are dismissed as unacceptable to the great movements of men. If, however, we are to fulfil the purpose for which God has saved us, then it is essential that we should take our instructions from His word, exercising obedience to the commands and example of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His apostles, as recorded for us in the Scriptures of truth. We have no authority to resort to any other source of guidance, secular or traditional.

The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the subsequent happenings recorded in the opening chapters of the Acts mark the beginning of a new dispensation and the constitution of a new holy nation. At the trial of the Lord Jesus the high priest had rent his garments, and at the death of the Lord Jesus the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27.51). Thus God withdrew His presence from the material house at Jerusalem, and brought to an end its ancient order of service. The kingdom He also took from Israel and gave to the little flock that had followed the Lord during the days of His sojourn and had received His word and had faithfully kept it. It was to this small company that the Lord appeared during the forty days after His resurrection, teaching them the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1.3); and it was to them He gave the commission "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations..." (Matthew 28.19-20).

When the day of Pentecost arrived and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the one hundred and twenty who "were all together in one place" in Jerusalem, Peter stood forth preaching remission of sins in the name of the Lord Jesus, commanding his hearers to repent and he baptized. In consequence some three thousand persons received his word, were baptized and added together. Thus the first church of God came into being that day in Jerusalem, and as such "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers". These seven principles show that the apostles were acting on the instructions given them by the Lord for the constitution and continuance of churches of God. As the word spread throughout Judea and Samaria, and into Asia and Europe, many churches of God were planted, all on the same basis. There is no record in the New Testament of believers gathering together on any other ground, not even on the ground of their being members of the Body of Christ. Each church of God was characterized by the same customs (1 Corinthians 11.16; 7.17), and the one Faith (Jude 3) obtained throughout all the churches which were linked together to form one definite thing for God, called "the Fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Corinthians 1.9).

Each church was viewed as a building of God, and "each several building, fitly framed together", grew "into a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2.21-22). They were as truly a habitation for God as was Solomon's temple, "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3.16), and, "We are a temple of the living God even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall he My people" (2 Corinthians 6.16).

The existence of God's spiritual house in New Testament times was conditioned by the conduct and behaviour of those who composed it (1 Timothy 3.15 and Hebrews 3.6). To maintain the standard of holiness required by God in each church, overseers fitted by the Holy Spirit were recognized to care for the flock and to carry out the rule of God among His people. These overseers were linked together, forming a united elderhood, who acted together in the furtherance of the Lord's work, and ensured that unity of doctrine and practice existed throughout the whole community.

By the time the apostle Paul wrote his last letter to Timothy a marked declension was in progress, wrong doctrine had been introduced by unfaithful men, causing some to err, and overthrowing the faith of others. That the apostle saw clearly how the tide was flowing is obvious also from the words he spoke to the Ephesian elders,

"I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts 20.29-30).

In the opening chapters of the Revelation we get the last glimpse of the collective testimony of the churches of God. At that time seven assemblies remained in Asia, and the condition of some was very low, although the Lord Jesus was walking in the midst of the golden lampstands. It was necessary for Him to speak sharp words of reproof, warning certain assemblies that unless they repented the lampstand would be removed from its place. The Scriptures are silent as to when this original order of New Testament times actually came to an end, but from history we learn that after the death of the apostles there was increasing declension. Superstition and evil supplanted the word of God and, fostered by the Romish church, a darkness descended which lasted until the light of the Reformation dawned with the vital gospel truth that a man is justified by faith apart from works. From then onwards more and more truth was recovered by godly men who searched the word of God diligently, and set their hearts to do God's will according to the light given them.

Late in the 19th century, however, certain brethren were exercised about such subjects as the Church, the churches of God, the house of God and the kingdom of God, and the way to worship and serve God according to the pattern of the New Testament. As this exercise developed some disciples of the Lord Jesus saw from God's word that despite the divisions and confusion of Christendom it was possible to restore the testimony of God as it had existed at the beginning. Thus as the Remnant had built the house of God in their day so now the house of God could he re-established if only saints were prepared to separate themselves from all that was contrary to Scripture, and together in the unity of the Spirit give effect to the will of God.

As a result we have today churches of God in many lands, and these churches are linked together in oneness of doctrine and practice, and seek humbly to give expression to the simplicity and purity that is in Christ, and to conform to the pattern of doctrine which has been delivered to us. May God be glorified in these days through a separated people together for Him, as a holy priesthood rendering to Him spiritual sacrifices acceptable through Jesus Christ, and as a royal priesthood going forth in testimony to men.

Should the reader desire to know more about the churches of God he may write to the address at the back of this magazine and literature will be gladly sent free of charge.

D. Smith, Lerwick | Feb 1968
General