(Ed. note:This is the first of a series of three articles on Matt. 18:20 and the Lord’s Supper. All
three are based on lectures given at Bible Truth Hall, Nassau, Bahamas, April 1995.)

"Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and
him alone:if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then
take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church:but if he neglect to hear
the church, let him be to thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on
earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as
touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together [unto] My name, there am I in the midst of them.
Then came Peter to Him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive
him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times, but until
seventy times seven" (Matt. 18:15-22).

The power for believers to walk together in grace and truth is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think that is the basic truth that runs through this passage. We have in these verses broad
principles as to how God’s order or government in the assembly is to be carried out. These verses
have to do with the assembly’s gatherings together, the assembly’s corporate testimony to the Lord
as gathered unto His name.

What His Name Expresses

The name of the Lord Jesus Christ tells us who He is. Today, in our modern society, we do not
think too much about names and what they mean. But all through Scripture we are taught that
names are very important and have meaning. So the names and titles of the Lord Jesus Christ
express the whole truth about Himself. When we study our Bibles, it is not just to gain knowledge
from Scripture, but to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ. His name tells us who He is. His
name also tells us about all the work He has done. His name includes all the truth that we are
called upon to walk in as believers.

What His Name Expresses Is Needed

We need to read Matt. 18:20 in the context of verses 15-22 to understand the full truth of that
verse. If things come in to upset or to spoil fellowship and testimony in holiness and truth, then
we must bring in all the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ in order to judge what is wrong and to
discern what needs to be done. In this way, our walk together in grace and truth can be restored
to what it should be.

The Church Is a Collective Testimony to Christ

I believe that God’s great purpose for the Church on earth is to be a testimony to the Lord Jesus
Christ. This testimony is a collective testimony. One believer, by himself, cannot be a complete
testimony to Christ. Surely he, as an individual believer and one who trusts the Lord, can honor
the Lord in his life, serve the Lord, and bring glory to God. Each of us as individuals can do that
and should do that. But the whole testimony to Christ is the testimony of the whole Church on
earth. Indeed, if every believer on this earth were walking according to the truth of God and under
His authority, pleasing the Lord, doing the work of God by the leading of the Spirit, giving God
all the glory, then we would have on earth a perfect testimony to Christ. That is why we are here.
This is the purpose that God has for us as he leaves us on this earth.

Power Is Dependent on the Spiritual State of the Assembly

There is power expressed in Matt. 18:19. As we agree as touching any thing, and we ask the
Father, He will do it. But of course the setting of this is our walking together to please Him, to
glorify Him. No selfish request will be answered. Realization of the power of God depends upon
the spiritual state of the assembly as seeking to do the will of God in order to glorify the Son who
is Head over all things to the Church.

A Spirit of Grace Is Needed

How many times are we to forgive our brother? Countless times! I think the seventy times seven
is not a literal number to be recorded till we get to that point. No, it is a number which would
almost say, "As often as your brother offends you, forgive him." Our passage in Matthew 18 tells
us about seeking restoration of the offending one. And how often we ourselves need to be
restored. This spirit of grace, then, is what should characterize us as we seek to walk in the truth
that the Lord has committed to us to hold for Him.

Responsibility to Hold and Walk in the Truth

We have a great responsibility. Much truth God has revealed. Much truth we have learned. We
are responsible to the Lord to be faithful to Him in holding that truth and walking in it. What
privileges we have in Christ. We have responsibilities too. It should be a glad thing for us to carry
out whatever responsibility the Lord puts into our hands, to be faithful for Him. We should
consider it a privilege to be God’s servant. May the Lord put into our hearts as our motive to love
to do this for His name’s sake_the One who did so much for us, who continues to serve us from
the glory, who leads us, who keeps us in the path, who gives us power to keep us from failing.
We approach the throne of grace and get the help we need at just the time we need it. The Lord
will not cease to help us as long as we are on this earth. Then on that wonderful day when He
comes and takes us home so we can be with Him where He is, "we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). But until then, here we are, left on earth. We have had the truth
of Himself, of who He is, of His name, committed to us.
The Importance of Being Gathered Together

We can see then the importance of our being gathered together, and the strength and power that
we can derive from our fellowship together as the Lord works in our midst. We are not simply

individual Christians in this world, each of whom should be faithful to the Lord. We are a body
of believers joined together in an indissoluble relationship by the bond of God’s love that will
never be broken. What we experience here as members of the body of Christ, will become fully
appreciated by us when, in the glory, we shall be the bride of the Lamb. The relationship that
exists among us now according to God’s purpose will never cease to exist.

Gathered Together by the Power of the Spirit

We are in this world, then, to testify of Christ. Matt. 18:20 is the meat of this truth:"For where
[or wherever, that is, any place] two or three are gathered together [unto] My name." Let us look
at the two words "are gathered." My understanding is that this implies a power outside of
ourselves that produces in our hearts a desire to be gathered, and thus gathers us together. I am
sure we know what that power is. It is the Holy Spirit. He is the power working in us to gather
us together unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gathered Together unto the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Holy Spirit only gathers the believers together unto the name of the Lord Jesus. The work of
the Holy Spirit is to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us, to take all His glories and
reveal them, make them plain and clear so that we can understand these things as much as is
possible in weak and failing bodies and minds (John 16:13-15). Little by little we are learning, we
are growing. The Holy Spirit gathers us together unto the name of the One whom He glorifies as
He ministers to us. He gathers us unto the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, unto His name. It is not unto
Him, as it were, in person, because, in person, He is not on the earth. He is in the glory, a Man
at the right hand of God. In His absence we are gathered unto His name, and yet we have Him in
the midst.

Implications of Being Gathered unto His Name

What does it mean to be gathered together "unto His name"? Is it just that we are redeemed by His
blood and therefore Christians? Is it that we all profess, "I am a Christian"? I think it is much
more than this because it is what the Holy Spirit is doing, gathering those who are redeemed by
Christ unto His name. First, He is the Lord. Would it not then mean that to be gathered together
"unto His name" would be to acknowledge His authority over us as Lord? He is Head over all
things to the Church. In the testimony of the Church there are many aspects of service. We come
together to remember the Lord in His death for us. Scripture gives us an order of worship that is
from God. The Lord taught the woman at the well that we are to worship God in spirit and in
truth. The nature of our worship is spiritual because God is spirit. And we must worship Him
according to the truth that the Holy Spirit reveals concerning who God is. So in acknowledging
the Lord, we are glad to know what the Lord teaches us from His Word as to how we should
worship Him. God has His order of worship for us. It is acceptable because it is according to the
truth that He has given us. So we would acknowledge God’s order of worship.

The Spirit’s Leading Is to Be Followed in Service

The Holy Spirit guides us in our service_in the use of the gifts that Christ has given us_as well
as our worship. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences
of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God who worketh all in all" (1 Cor. 12:4-6).

These three verses show us that a person’s proper use of a spiritual gift is a demonstration of the
power of the Holy Spirit working through that person. There are different gifts but one Spirit.
These different gifts perform various services or ministries, as verse 5 says. And these various
services are to be carried out under the authority of the Lord. Then verse 6 tells us that there are
various operations, or things that are accomplished, through the exercise of one’s gift. But in
every case, it is the work of God that is accomplished in souls, whether the edifying of believers
or the salvation of the unsaved. These truths concerning the exercise of our spiritual gifts are very
important in connection with being gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall
discuss this in more detail later.

The Truth Concerning Christ Is to Be Preached

The name of the Son of God on earth is "Jesus". His name means "Jehovah Saviour". Another
name given to the Son of God as Man on earth is "Emmanuel," "God with us." There is no other
Saviour, there is no other salvation. If we are gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we will preach the truth concerning God’s salvation. We will not preach a salvation of works. We
will not preach a salvation that brings people under the bondage of law. I would suggest that where
error like that comes in, then believers are moving away from being gathered unto the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They are denying the revealed truth of Scripture that gives us the testimony
of Christ, who He is and what He has done and what He is doing. When the believers are truly
gathered together unto His name, the truth concerning Christ is going to be preached, taught, and
practiced_though perhaps imperfectly at times. In the practice of truth we are very imperfect, if
not outright failing sometimes. But the Lord comes in to recover, and He does.

Is the Truth of Matt. 18:20 Our Motive for Gathering?

When we meet together as believers in Christ, are we consciously gathered together unto the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we there for Him? Are we there to be part of the testimony to who
He is, and all the glory of His person, insomuch as we can do that according to the knowledge that
we have? Are we there because of His great salvation for us and our love for Him, and because
we want to be part of that testimony of Christ in this world? Some may be there because they were
brought up there, all their family is there, or the people they know best and like best are there. All
these are good things; I do not want to take away from any of that. But "what is the bottom line?"
as they say today in business. Why are you really gathered where you are? I trust that each one
of our readers truly desires to be gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

No matter what happens to any others, God forbid that there be a falling away from this precious
testimony. Sad to say, we do see a falling away, but those who seek to be gathered to the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ have nothing to boast in. If it is our deep desire to remain true to this
precious testimony, the Lord will hold us together. We are not going to hold ourselves together.

We are not going to stay together because we agree to. No no, no. If we are gathered together by
the Holy Spirit for the sake of Christ’s name and His testimony, then the Lord will guide us and
keep us together.

There are Special Blessings When Gathered unto His Name

Let us look now at the wonderful benefit and blessing of being gathered together unto the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ:"There am I in the midst of them." He is not simply speaking of the
presence of the Holy Spirit, or of the fact that the Spirit dwells in every individual believer. It
means much more than that. There is a special blessing that believers have as they are gathered
together in assembly corporately unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can and do have the
experience of the Spirit of God leading us corporately, collectively, resulting in blessing that far
exceeds that which might be experienced in meetings prearranged according to some human order.

The Remembrance Meeting

As gathered together unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believers remember the Lord on the
Lord’s day and wait for the Spirit of God to draw from hearts, as He is pleased to do, praise and
worship to the Father and His Son. What a blessing is experienced when the Holy Spirit is
permitted to have full control in orchestrating the various expressions of praise and worship from
whomever He wills. Those of us who are gathered in such a way have no reason to boast in such
activity. We are weak at best. But this is what the Lord would have us do. He will give us the
proof of His presence by the way He brings us blessing through the Spirit as we are yielded to
Him. Would that every remembrance meeting would happen this way. Would that each one came
with the eager anticipation of meeting the Lord there. Sometimes we may go to such meetings as
a matter of habit or routine or what is expected of us. And so we lose some of the preciousness
of it. Sometimes the meeting may turn out to be rather uninspired. This usually is evidence of
failure on the part of some or all to come in the proper spirit. But when we are gathered together
in expectation of meeting the Lord, really praising Him, thinking how we can honor Him, and
waiting on the Spirit to lead, the Spirit will lead, and it will be a most refreshing time.

When we have assembly meetings for ministry, we wait on the Lord to guide as to who should
speak and what he should say (1 Cor, 14:29). Very precious, wonderful times of ministry come
from waiting on the Lord, possibly with a period of quiet, letting Him put the ones of His
choosing on their feet to speak. On the other hand, when a brother seems to be in a great rush to
get up and say something because he has something he wants to say, the blessing may be wanting.
This happens at times and it can be rather discouraging. At best, we practice these things
imperfectly.

The same holds true in our assembly prayer meetings. We should only pray what the Spirit of God
lays on our hearts to pray for, not try to think of everything we should say and pray. There is
nothing wrong with repetition, brothers praying the same thing. But if we prayed according to how
we were burdened by the Lord, the prayer meetings would be much more powerful.

Value the Truth of Matt. 18:20 and Desire to Be a Testimony

Dear ones, as I think of this very important verse and all the truth that it contains, I think we
sometimes take things for granted. We sometimes miss the exactness of the way Scripture speaks
to us, and therefore we can miss a great deal of blessing. May our hearts be stirred up to engage
in a fresh reexamination of our ideas, our thoughts, our motives. Let us refrain from thinking of
what other Christians are doing in this regard. No, let us take this Scripture, and if what I have
said is the truth of it, let the truth of this Scripture search us out. Let us ask, "Is this where I am,"
and "Is this where I want to be?" May God help us to walk together in grace and truth, that which
came by Jesus Christ, that into which the Spirit of God will ever guide us. Then the name of
Christ will be the focus and the power of our testimony.