Our lot has been cast in that part of God's great plan of the ages which falls between Pentecost and the coming of Christ for His people -to this period belongs the Church or Assembly which is called the Body of Christ. That divinely formed organism includes every one now born of God; such are its members, members of Christ and of one another.

In Matt. 16, the Lord first spoke of His assembly as that which He would build. Then, consequent upon the Spirit's coming at Pentecost, we read, "The Lord added to the assembly daily" (Acts 2:47). Since then that work has continued, and the fact that "There is one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling" (Eph. 4:4) is the central truth of this entire period of grace in which we have our part.

This divine unity of all believers as baptized into one body by the one Spirit of whom all have been given to drink (1 Cor. 12:13) had its visible expression in "the assemblies of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33), during the days of the apostle. But soon after, this beautiful and perfectly formed vessel of testimony was marred by evil men who crept in as the apostles foretold. After a while that vessel became broken and fell to pieces so that the world no longer beheld a united assembly, but a divided state, an evil mixture of diverse elements. Spiritual power declined, and worldly influences soon destroyed the true character of the assembly as the temple and house of God. Today we stand surrounded by the wreckage of this whole visible order, a condition brought about by the subtlety of Satan, the evil of men, and unfaithfulness to the Lord on the part of His own people.

This state of things, however, has not touched the vital and ever abiding work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in forming and preserving the one body to which every believer belongs. And in such circumstances, faith has ever shown itself by attachment to that which is the ever abiding and unalterable purpose of God. His revealed mind for His people remains the same no matter how great the breakup and the breakdown of the visible testimony. So it was in the remnant days of Israel, and so it is to be with us in these the remnant days of Church history.

This teaches us a twofold lesson. Faith does not attempt to rebuild the broken, shattered vessel. It endeavors to act upon the truth which abides-truth which, it is true, the vessel should have continued to exhibit, but no longer does because of its present state. As acting upon the truth, faith seeks the realization of fellowship in the truth with those who are of one body. That body abides as a divinely wrought spiritual entity to be fully manifested in all its beauty of form and perfect unity in the day of coming glory when to God shall "be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the ages of ages." Faith, owning that the vessel cannot be restored now, will however seek fellowship as acting upon the truth of the Headship of Christ, the place and presence of the Holy Spirit, and in obedience to the Word- ever abiding realities.

For the present enjoyment of such fellowship, visible unity as set up at first is not necessary, but rather individual faithfulness to the truth, separation to the Lord, and walk with all those of kindred spirit (2 Tim. 2:14-22). That such will assemble together, and seek in every godly way to promote righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit as serving one another in love to mutual edification, is to be expected and desired. We are never to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." Such are not, nor ever will be, the broken, shattered vessel restored; but they may be and should be a united testimony in word and deed to what abides untouched by the ruin and failure which abounds.

If this be so, let us gather from the Word what should characterize the testimony of those who thus assemble together.

In a special way, from the days when declension and breakup began, the Lord's appeal has been to the individual. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies." To thus hear will attract to Him who is set before us at the opening of those addresses which close with that call to hear. All those thus attracted should find themselves together as drawn to a common Center-the Son of God. Such are the twos and threes gathered together to His name-the One who stands outside the door of Christendom with its loud Laodicean boast, yet in spiritual poverty as seen by "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness."

Those then who are attracted to Him and gather around Him, what are they to confess as the ground upon which they stand? Let their first concern be to have their practice together, and toward one another, conform to those moral and spiritual realities which subsist between Christ and all who are His. What are they as connected with the fellowship of saints?

For one, let us mention that, no matter how scattered and peeled and broken, there is one flock and one Shepherd who gives unto all His sheep eternal life-one life.

Then, for another, by reason of this blessed bond of life and nature accompanied with the indwelling Spirit, there is that oneness for which the Lord prayed:"And I do not demand for these only, but also for those who believe on Me through their word; that they may be all one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (John 17:20, 21). This oneness in the Divine Persons-"in Us"-is not that of an outward visible unity as seen even at first in the assembly, but oneness rooted in the possession of the same nature, life, and Spirit, the manifestation of which consists in showing before the world the same manner of life and mind as seen in Jesus the Son of God when here. The accomplishment of this in those who believe is the abiding witness to the world that the Father sent the Son.

Failure in the manifestation of this basic moral and spiritual oneness resulted in the shattering of that beautiful vessel of testimony formed by the Holy Spirit at the first so that visible unity ceased, and visibly there no longer appeared to be one body. But this oneness remains true no matter how great the breakdown of the established order and visibility of the assembly in unity. It may still be seen in our loving one another as He loved us, in the keeping of His commandments and His Word. This is moral in character and spiritual in power, and not the idea of a visible body as seen at the beginning, though of course such moral and spiritual features characterized it while it abode in first love. But spite of this failure, it is still true that the oneness of John 17 can be exhibited before the world, and should be in those who are now attracted to and gather together around "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness," supping with Him. It is true also that this should be accompanied with an abiding state of repentance in view of the ruin and failure which abounds, and in which we have to own our part, judging ourselves before the Lord. We cannot take too low a place in repentance before Him. It is part of that to which the Spirit calls us in such days. It is part of His word which we are called to keep, and when it is not our attitude we have missed His mind.

To this we add what most certainly is of intimate relation to it, the truth of one body and one Spirit. Those who are in the bond of the same nature, life, and Spirit with the Father and the Son are now members one of another and of Christ the Head in glory, being united to Him by the Holy Spirit. From this flows all those precious instructions and exhortations in the Pauline Epistles as to our relations together in the service of love whereby edification and growth in grace up to Christ is to be realized. This truth of the body is presented as of practical application to all our activities. Its moral and spiritual import is what is pressed throughout, rather than any ecclesiastical application made of chief concern in matters of discipline which have been forced to division after division, until those who at the first gave witness to the truth that "there is one body" have become a byword and a hissing. How the little foxes have spoiled our vines! May the Lord take them away, and make us truly fruitful for Himself in fellowship together as having the moral and spiritual features of the truth developed in us. This is that unity of the Spirit which we are to seek to realize in faith and simplicity in the uniting bond of peace. It can only be realized and kept by the practice of those moral characteristics given in Eph. 4:1-3. We have said that those to whom these things pertain, and who are in these days attracted to Christ and gathered together around Him, must of necessity assemble together. His word calls us to it. What now remains to those who thus gather together in assemblies, be it only two or three? In a word:The Lord in the midst as promised. The Spirit present for power and leading in all worship and service.

The Word as our guide to the mind of God, and the standard for all order and judgment among God's people. What then may we learn from the Word about the features of our fellowship as so gathered in assemblies? What we have already referred to is of basic importance. Without its maintenance in the Spirit's power all else must become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. It alone will deliver and preserve us from alienations in heart from which come schism and divided assemblies in connection with which so much of fleshly bitterness and strife arises, and often all in the name of "the one body!" But if what we have been considering is true then there exists a blessed and ever abiding spiritual link between every believer, every member of the body. If we recognize and act upon this must it not be reflected in the assemblies of all those gathered out to Christ's Name? Surely among them it is to find its practical display in that service of love to one another unto edification, encouragement and consolation, to the development of the mind and spirit of Christ our life and Head in glory. But this must mean that there is a mutual relation subsisting between all such assemblies, making for unity in various ways, all of which the Spirit of God must lead into by the Word. We may find this presented to us in the Corinthian epistles. Let us seek the light they afford for our fellowship together as gathered to Christ's name.

As gathered together unity is to subsist between all such because of that one Name upon which all call. "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all say the same thing, and that there be not among you divisions; but that ye be perfectly united in the same mind and in the same opinion" (1 Cor. 1:1-3 and 10).

Then there is to be unity because of that one fellowship into which all are called by God-"the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (ver. 9). There is to be unity in teaching, for the apostle declares he taught the same everywhere in every assembly (1 Cor. 4:17). Paul desired Timothy to remain in Ephesus that he might enjoin some not to teach other doctrines, nor to turn their minds to fables. There is to be unity in order "in all the assemblies" (1 Cor. 7:17). There is to be unity in custom as he declares in 1 Cor. 11:16. There is to be unity in state as we may say. "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33). There is to be unity in practice as intimated in 1 Cor. 16:1. Assemblies acted in unity as appointing a brother to special service (2 Cor. 8:18,19); and Titus with others are called "deputed messengers of assemblies, Christ's glory." There was unity in action. From Acts 15 we see that unity in practice throughout the assemblies was expected. Eph. 4 shows us unity of purpose as to all gift from the Head in glory, for all is with a view to the blessing of the whole. In Matt. 18 the Lord speaks of being in the midst of the two or three; in Rev. 1-3 He is seen walking in the midst of the assemblies. The recognition of both will give to the local assembly its proper character and responsibility, and also shows the abiding link which should order relation and action between all assemblies. Are not these the things which belong to fellowship in the truth, and which are to be practiced by all those who confess the truth which is our heritage?

As we study these things which pertain to God's people as gathered together to Christ's name, we can see how the local assembly has its place, and that all such are viewed as in a unity of fellowship, teaching, order, custom, and action. This should at once set aside any notion either of independency or division among "the assemblies of God" (1 Thess. 2:14; 2 Thess. 1:4). He surely has one order for all. And as being "the assemblies of Christ" (Rom. 16:11) there is one mind to pervade them-His mind (Phil. 2);and then as "the assemblies of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33), it is those who are such and walk according to their place that are to be in and welcomed to the fellowship we enjoy as gathered around our blessed Lord. Only wickedness, as His word defines it, and association with it should bar from that fellowship; and all that which we may find at variance with those features of unity to which His word calls us is surely to be dealt with by the exercise of those moral characters according to which we must ever model our diligent endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

Let us unitedly pray the Lord to stir all our hearts to freshly lay hold of, appreciate, and act according to the precious truth He has restored and preserved for His people even in these dark, evil days of Church-ruin and world-apostasy. J. Bloore