Israel never worshipped in Egypt, and there is no
worship in Christianity apart from separation from the world.
I can see no reason to doubt that in the Bible
times new Christians were converted, baptised and ‘broke bread’ in
short order. Delay is what Christendom has produced, but I doubt it
is biblical.
The Lord was delivered into the hands of
sinners (see Mark 14: 41)—hardly what the Jewish hierarchy
would call themselves.
The Son of man is Lord of the sabbath (see Mark
2: 28) not simply because He is Jehovah, but because He is man.
If the Psalms are grounds for music in Christian
worship, then, to be consistent, we should also have dancing (see
Ps. 149: 3; 150: 4).
The standard is never ‘what has been brought out
in meetings’. If that is the case, then we have given ourselves
another authority besides Scripture.
Without abiding in Him, fruit is impossible; with
abiding in Him, fruit is inevitable.
If a Christian company divides, we cannot refer
to the two halves as each being an ‘assembly’. They are in schism,
and it is preposterous to think that if an assembly breaks up it
results in two assemblies.
Salvation & Separation
Salvation always involves
separation. Thus we have been “chosen” by God “from [the] beginning
to salvation in sanctification of [the] Spirit and
belief of [the] truth: whereto he has called you by our glad
tidings, to [the] obtaining of [the] glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(2 Thess. 2: 13, 14; my emphasis). The sanctification (setting apart
or separating to God) preceded and encompassed the salvation.
For the believer,
God has dealt with his sins, such that “As far as the east is from
the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps.
103: 12). Again, there is no possibility of facing the wrath of God,
for in the Lord’s own words, “he that hears my word, and believes
him that has sent me, has life eternal, and does not come into
judgment, but is passed out of death into life” (John 5: 24).
Wonderful separation!
After crossing the
Red Sea, Moses and the children of Israel sang a song that spoke of
how “My strength and song is Jah, and he is become my salvation”
(Exod. 15: 2). If the Passover delivered Israel from the judgment of
God by providing a substitute for the death of the firstborn, it was
the Red Sea that saved Israel from the Egyptians—separated them from
Egypt forever. Now Egypt is a type of the world, and from which the
Christian must also have salvation. Like Israel, water is prominent
in this—the baptism which “also now saves you” (1 Pet. 3: 21).
Baptism cuts me off from the world of which I was formerly a member
and is an essential accompaniment of the “confession” with the mouth
that is “made to salvation” (Rom. 10: 10). Sins are dealt with in
“with [the] heart is believed to righteousness” (v10), but the
believer has ongoing threats in his Christian walk thereafter. How
then does confession save? By separation! When the believer
confesses the Lord’s name, the world no longer sees him as ‘one of
them’. The effect of this is that friendships change, invitations
drop off, and the Christian is preserved from the temptation of all
that the world goes in for.
Scripture also
speaks of the salvation of the body (see Rom. 8: 23) when “our body
of humiliation” will be transformed “into conformity to his body of
glory” (Phil. 3: 21). This is the aspect of salvation that Paul is
referring to when he says, “now [is] our salvation nearer than when
we believed” (Rom. 13: 11). Will there be separation then too? Yes
indeed, for then we shall be forever free of sin in the flesh, the
cares of this life, the frailty of our earthly bodies and even death
itself. We shall be no longer here, where these things operate, but
forever with the Lord (see 1 Thess. 4: 17).
Table Committal
Fellowship is not merely sharing but partnership. Simon, James and
John as fishermen did not merely share a trade or go fishing
together in a companionable way. They were partners (koinwnoV)
in the fishing business—a word that implies responsibility to one
another. Thus what fellowship (koinwnia)
implies by its basic meaning of having in common is deeper
than many are prepared to admit. This shallow understanding works
itself out in practice, with many taking a selfish approach to what
they are prepared to put their shoulders to in support of the common
cause. To put it in simple terms that all can understand: if I can
get out on a Sunday but do not have any inclination to come to the
weeknight meetings then I am not really in fellowship.
Fellowship is more than just putting my hand to the bread and cup.
There is another
side to the question, however, for it is not merely a matter of
committal to the ‘company’ with whom I walk. This reduces my concept
of fellowship to what is local or sectarian. Certainly, I need to
have real fellowship with those in closest proximity to me, but my
commitment is not exactly to them. Paul exhorts us to “See Israel
according to flesh” and the lesson we learn there is “are not they
who eat the sacrifices in communion with the altar?” (1 Cor. 10:
18). What bound the children of Israel together was their fellowship
with the altar in Jerusalem: it was to that altar they were
committed, whether up in Dan or down in Beer-Sheba. The parallels
with Christianity are obvious: we are partakers of “[the]
Lord’s table” (v21, my emphasis), and have been “called into
[the] fellowship of” God’s “Son Jesus Christ our Lord”
(1 Cor. 1: 9, my emphasis). These are not mystical concepts but
realities—yes, even in the day of public breakdown in which we live.
It is one thing to be ‘committed to the brethren’ and quite another
to be committed to the Lord’s table—that is, to always act in the
light of the only fellowship that God recognises. I am to be
governed by the altar not by those who eat the sacrifices—not even
by those with whom I am linked in practical fellowship. A great many
of the difficulties among God’s people can be traced back to a
failure to take this elevated view of things, and to conceive
fellowship as being no more than a band of like-minded individuals.
Be thankful for any fellowship you have, but your loyalty is not to
that, but to the Lord. If you truly sit as His table—are in His
fellowship—then your links with every child of God will be put on a
right footing.
