(Continued from page 12.)

In looking at the application of leprosy in a house to the local assembly, the first thing to remark is that the "owner of the house," is clearly a type of Christ. It is He who by His Spirit produces in the souls of those who seek subjection to the word of God, a sense of a condition of things not in accordance with the Word. But there must be no hasty judgment. Christ in us, like Joshua of old, is dependent on Eleazar-that is, on the exercise of the priestly service of Christ in heaven. The "owner of the house" telling "the priest" speaks of this dependence. There is to be no dealing, even with evil, apart from this priestly work-no having to do with it in independency of Him in whose blessed hands God has put all the affairs of His beloved people.

If there is this dependence upon the priestly service of Christ, there will be due consideration of the spiritual state of all in the assembly in undertaking to deal with the evil. The priest was to "command that they empty the house before the priest go into it" to inspect it. There should be no unnecessary occupation with the evil-no hasty publication of it, no occupying the minds and hearts of the saints with it-without regarding their ability to have to do with it, and endeavoring to protect them from contamination and infection with the evil. This speaks of the need of the ministry of the Word by which a suited spiritual condition of soul shall be maintained or established.

This done, the evil of which there is suspicion can then be investigated:"And afterward the priest shall go in to see the house."

But in investigating the matter there is need for the same patient care that we have seen was enjoined in all the other cases of leprosy. It should be manifest whether it is a real case of evil. There should be no procedure to judgment on what is merely suspicion, or on a matter that has not been made perfectly clear, so that any conscience enlightened by the word of God will be clear about it. It must be manifest that it is a real case of present activity of evil.

If now this is ascertained through priestly exercise, (the ministry of the mind of Christ, of His attitude towards the evil) the next question is, Is the evil merely local-that is, in some individual, or a few individuals? Or, is it fundamental-that is, is it in the constitution of the house? Does it permeate and characterize the assembly, or is it characteristic of some individuals only? To ascertain this the first step is to deal with the individuals in whom the evil seems to be-the centers and sources of it-the persons who seem to be this. The command of the priest was to be, "Take away the stones in which the plague is." This, put into New Testament language, is, "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person."The character of the holiness of God, who dwells by His Spirit in the house of God, is such that no profane person can be owned as being proper material for that house. It is not merely that the person is to be rebuked, or put under discipline, or even denied the privilege of breaking bread. He is to be put "into an unclean place," which means much more than all this that we have spoken of. It means that, as characterized by the evil manifestly working in him, he is unfit material for a place in God's dwelling. He is to be denied all Christian fellowship. Liars, railers, blasphemers, and such like persons are not Christians. If a believer be such, it is not his profession that constitutes him a Christian in practice. Even he must be "put away," denied all Christian fellowship, treated as unfit for Christian intercourse. For those who heartily submit to the claims of divine holiness, his place is the "unclean place without the city,"-that is the place of judgment.

Having put away from among ourselves the individuals in whom the evil seemed to center, it devolves in us next to seek to remove the effects of the presence of evil. Submission to the priestly exercise of Christ will result in what is typified by "scraping the house within" and "pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place." This will be solemn work, yet necessary and whole-some. There will be need of freeing ourselves, by conformity to the claims of the word of God, from all the influence that an evil that has been among us has wielded over us. We have not done all when we have put away the wicked person. Exercise of conscience, examination of heart in the light of the truth should not end here, but go on still. Alas! how general is the failure here! May the Lord stir us up to covet not only the removal of the wicked from among us, but deliverance also from the dust of wickedness-the unholy effects of its presence.

Getting thus into conformity with the mind of Christ as to what is suited material for the house of God, we will be able to maintain the claims of divine holiness. As those who are co-builders with God we will maintain the true character of His dwelling-place. "Stones" and "mortar" of divine formation (that is, those in whom, by the power of the Spirit through the word of God, the Christian character is formed) will be the material which we will regard as alone suited for the construction of God's house. The thought underlying our work as builders "together with Him " will be, The '' temple of the Lord " is not to be defiled.

But suppose now after all this effort to remove the evil, and remedy the effect of its presence, the evil again breaks out, and it turns out that the trouble is not merely local or in some individuals, but in the fundamental construction of the assembly, what then is to be done? We are still dependent on the priestly activity of Christ. When the priest found the plague broke out again he was told he must "break down" the house and "carry " all the material of it "out of the city into an unclean place." An assembly manifestly wrongly constituted, characterized by evil, the plague of evil being not simply in individuals, but in the constitution of the assembly itself, has no title to be owned as an assembly of God. Submission to the priestly service of Christ, by which we come into conformity with Him in His thoughts about such an assembly, will lead us to disown it, as representing the house of God in the locality where it is. To those whose thoughts are formed by the mind of Christ it will be a profane thing, and to be treated as such.

But some one says, Where is there any scripture for judging or cutting off an assembly? I answer, here it is in Lev. 14:45. It may be said, Oh, that is an Old Testament scripture, and does not apply. Well, the Lord and the apostles again and again used Old Testament scriptures to enforce New Testament doctrine. Following their example I do not hesitate to use the above passage in the way I have done. But further, we are told that Old Testament Scripture "is profitable" for us, was "written for our admonition," and this shows that even what is written about leprosy in a house has some application which is true and good for the present time. If we are able to gather what the application is, then we may legitimately use the passage in enforcing the application. If the application is right according to the mind of the Spirit, then the passage applied is authoritative, and demands our submission as to what has upon it the stamp of divine authority. It will be said, perhaps, the cutting off of assemblies is not taught in the New Testament, and cannot there-fore be New Testament doctrine. But is it not taught in the New Testament? Does not the apostle tell us to follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of an unmixed (Greek) heart (2 Tim. 2:22)? If then the unmixed heart ceases to characterize an assembly; if, while professing to be an assembly of God, it is characterized by unholiness, and is thus condemned by the word of God, how can I be obedient to Scripture unless I judge it or cut it off ? Is my hand tied to evil because it is an assembly, instead of an individual? Must I own in an assembly evil I condemn in an individual? Is not such an assembly a vessel to dishonor from which I am to separate? It is scriptural . then to cut off assemblies, if they become characterized by a plague of evil-to treat them as profane.

There are yet other lessons to be noticed. Even necessary occupation with evil in an assembly is defiling."He that goeth into the house all the while " that it is under inspection defiles himself. From this defilement even the priest, it would seem, could not escape. It was defilement which lasted only till the even. Spiritually, when occupation with evil is over, and there, is return to the rest that returning occupation with the word of God gives, the defilement passes away. If going into the house while it was under inspection was defiling, how much more "lying" in it, or "eating" in it! The defilement in the two latter cases, however, was of a different character."Lying"and "eating"in the house would seem to express a certain measure of fellowship with what is at least suspicious. It suggests the thought of carelessness about evil, if not of open opposition to what is being done to bring it to light. How much of this there is. It is plain that here we have the symbols of improper conduct in connection with an evil that is being inquired into. To. clear one's self of this, the clothes must be washed. One's conduct in connection with an assembly that is under inspection needs to be brought into the light of the word of God, and its judgment of it submitted to. May we all have grace for it!

How all this instruction with regard to leprosy solemnizes the soul. God is plainly impressing on our minds that holiness becomes His presence. He would have His people in the constant sense of it Let us hear His appeal to us to care for and guard the holiness of His name. C. Crain

(To be continued.)