Gooding, David: 1 - Fellowship

It is nothing but a delight to be with you here, and it stirs in me some past deep memories. Particularly, it has been wonderful already to meet Dr. Hartmut, Hartmut Marion Easing, in whose home in Berlin I, as many others, used to stay overnight before we disappeared through the wall into the other side. Delightful also to meet Dieter and Helga Weidensdorfer, who on the other side, uh, entertained us in their homes. It almost makes me feel young again to see them here now, reviving those past memories. I look forward to getting to know many more of you, if the Lord so will, in these coming hours. Now, the conveners of the conference have decided that it would be a good thing this evening to refresh our memories by thinking on the topic of fellowship. And so I have four brief readings to read with you. If you please to turn to them, so it is good, but if not, just sit and listen, that is likewise good. The first of them comes from First Corinthians chapter one and verses four to nine. First Corinthians chapter one, verses four to nine. I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in him, in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you become behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end, that you'll be unreprovable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called, unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. And from that we go over to the first epistle by John. And again in chapter uh one. First John, chapter one and verses one to four. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld and our hands handled concerning the word of life. And the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you also, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yea, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. In these things we write that our joy may be fulfilled. Back once more to First Corinthians, and this time in chapter nine. Chapter nine. Beginning to read there in verse nineteen. For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews. To them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law. To them that are without law, as without law myself, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ. That I might gain them that are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak. I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof. But let's pause just a moment while I make a comment on the translation of that last phrase. That I may be a joint partaker thereof. If you have a modern version, it may well read, so that I may partake in the benefits of the gospel. Speaking personally, I do not think the Greek means that. It actually means, or appears to say, that I might be its, its referring to the gospel, its partner, fellow partaker. Just like Peter, when he caught a very large number of fish, signaled to his partners. They were joint partners with him in the work of fishing, and signaled them to come and join him in the work. So the gospel is out and abroad in this vast world, doing its glorious job. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. It's saving people still, mercifully. The opportunity is that we could become partners with the gospel and help it to save some people. You say, pardon, your enthusiasm is running away with you. No, it's not. I'm there, says Paul, and I do what I do that I may gain the more, and I do what I do if by any means I might save people. He's talking as a partner of God's glorious gospel. That's true fellowship, of course. And one final scripture, one Corinthians ten, verses fifteen to seventeen. I I speak. speak as to wise men. You judge what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that we who are many are one bread, one body. For we all partake of the one bread. God give us good understanding of his word. And now that we have read God's holy word, I give all of you who care so to do to listen from now on with your eyes shut. I have been reliably informed that some of you have been traveling many hours, and in this warm room, I fear that if you try to keep your eyes open, there will worse happen to you than the young man who sat in the window while Paul went on and on and on and on. So do feel free, you won't offend me or upset me if from now on I see you listening with your eyes shut. If you could manage not to snore, that would be helpful. So it is suggested to us that we refresh our minds this evening, thinking about fellowship. And we have read four scriptures, and from those four scriptures, I take these captions. First of all, one Corinthians one, the indescribable majesty of the fellowship into which God has called us. And from the, uh, first epistle of John, the sheer wonder of what it is that we share in this fellowship. For the unexaggerated statement is, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, and with our apostles and our fellow believers in Christ. This glorious fellowship then, what is it that we all share? Because it is good to get into our heads a basic idea about fellowship. It is not just some mystical, rather thin nothings, that, um, somehow we enjoy with some other person. Normally, fellowship means one person sharing with another person in something else. So it is in John's first epistle and chapter one. It's wonderful fellowship. We share with God, we share with Christ, we share with our fellow believers. What is it that we have in common, that we share? I put on it the title, the sheer wonder, as we shall discover eventually, in what we share. The third little passage that tells us of Paul's motivation as he went about his work for the Lord will bring home to us the eternal gain that is open to us to get, if we are prepared on our part to have fellowship, to be a partner with the gospel in its worldwide work of saving men and women for God. And finally, on the basis of one Corinthians ten, I call attention to the supernatural unity that is brought about in believers by this fellowship. This is not s- merely a human thing, not merely the enthusiasm of a club, not even a religious club, but a supernatural unity that is brought about in believers by this fellowship. So let us think first of all then from one Corinthians chapter one, the indescribable majesty of the fellowship into which God has called us. For God is faithful, says Paul, who has called you and us into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. We have constantly to guard, do we not, against the temptation to let those wonderful titles of our blessed Lord become just ordinary terms to us. Whereas, God help us to remember what they mean and who he is. He is the one through whom, in whom, and through whom, and for whom all things were made. He is the firstborn, says Colossians, of all creation in this sense, that in him the all things. He's not one of the all things. In him the all things, that is the universe, came into being. Now, of course, dear old Paul, as he sailed the Mediterranean when there were no clouds, which wasn't often, and looked up into the sky, so we're told could see about three thousand stars. And indeed, Isaiah the prophet is inspired of God to tell us from time to time to lift up our eyes and look at the stars. I hope you obey scripture and do it. What would Isaiah say now, I wonder? If he could see the photographs brought to us by the Hubble s- telescope, are not only billions of stars, but billions of galaxies. This Lord Jesus Christ, being Son of God, into whose fellowship we are brought, is the author of it. In him was conceived the idea of a universe. Through him as the agent was it all made. And if you should ask, what is it for? Then the answer is that it was made for Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we've been called into his fellowship. Does it even seem realistic to you? Or is this a little bit of Paul's enthusiasm run away with him? Indeed, it is not. The call comes from God. It is God who has called you into the fellowship of his dear son, and it is God that is going to provide the wherewithal all the way home until we are with him and like him forever. There is a lovely psalm in the Old Testament, Psalm forty five. You will know it well. It is written, so the scholars tell us, to celebrate the enthronement of a Judean king. So after a description of his military prowess, his arrows are sharp in the heart of his enemies. Then, as he is enthroned, Almighty God addresses him. Thy throne, O God, says God the Almighty, God the Father, addressing the Son. Did you notice that the Father calls him God? Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And we pause in the poetry to ask who these fellows of the king might be. In those far off days, at such an installation of a king, the king would be surrounded, of course, by the princes of the realm. And yet God has this one anointed with the oil of rejoicing above the princes of the realm, his fellows, the inspired poet says. That psalm was eventually translated into Greek. And being translated into Greek, it was eventually quoted by the writer to the Hebrews. As you'll see, and uh, he says as follows. Talking of God, God says of the Son, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. So here is the New Testament referring to our blessed Lord, enthroned by God, supreme among his fellows. And who are the fellows? The ancient Greek, i- in its translation of the Hebrew, used a Greek word, metochos, means someone who shares in something with somebody. It is used again in another connection, in chapter uh three. uh For we have become, says verse fourteen of chapter three, partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. Partakers of Christ? Well, it may be that that is the intended meaning, for we all have part in Christ who love the Lord. But if you look at the big Greek dictionaries of the New Testament, they will suggest the other possibility. For this is the very same word as was used in chapter one. God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy My fellows. fellows. Let it not offend you if I express my belief. I believe the princes of the ruling house that shall surround our blessed Lord when he is enthroned in his kingdom will be his redeemed people, such as you and me. All my brothers and sisters, if it be true, God help us to grasp it. Fellows of the Messiah. Companions of the king. You'll say, sorry, Mr. Preacher, but we don't agree with your translation. Oh, too bad for you. But then you'll say, never mind that. Mm, I have another one to aim at you. This is our Lord getting tired of their discussion at the Last Supper as as to who should be the best among them. Our Lord Lord turned the subject, and he says to them, I appoint to you a kingdom, as my Father appointed to me a kingdom, that you may eat and drink with me at my table in my kingdom. Metaphor. Oh, but what a magnificent metaphor. To be invited, my dear Christian friend, summoned into glory, bidden to sit down at the table of the king himself, one of his companions, to share the eating with him, so he says, and the drinking with him at his royal table eternally. God is faithful, who has called you into the fellowship of his son. You say they must have been an exceptional assembly there in Corinth to have things like that said about them. Well, they were exceptional, but not in your sense. They were exceptionally perverse. You could scarce think of a sin but what they didn't commit it. They were a boring crowd, I must say, for God forgive me if I am wrong, but they were really. The very first chapter, Paul has to start rebuking them for the strife in their assembly and the way they were dividing themselves. I am of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I am of Cephas, and my preacher is better than your preacher, and your preacher is as dull as ditchwater, and mine is so elegant, his name is Apollos, you see. How can you expect Greeks to come and listen to that Paul? Can't speak the, uh, proper Greek, he can't. And all that. And then they were pushing each other and persecuting each other to the law courts. There was shocking immorality among them, such as would shock Greeks, and Greeks took some shocking when it came to immorality. And then you see, they had some queer doctrines. They flattered themselves thinking they were great thinkers, some of them, and had decided that there was no such thing as a resurrection, apparently oblivious to the fact that if the resurrection is not true, if Christ is not risen, you're yet in your sins, there is no salvation. Full troubles. So much so that by the time Paul comes to the end of the second epistle to the Corinthians. He says, you better start examining yourselves, whether you be in the faith or not. Prove yourself. Don't you realize that Christ is in you? Unless, of course, you're not true believers at all and never have been. You are reprobate. What a wonder. That is now Paul starts to write to this assembly with all its manifold troubles, arguments, prideful rebellions. He changes the subject, refocuses their vision. Oh, if only these dear Corinthians could look away a little bit and get their eyes on the indescribable majesty of the fellowship into which they have been called. Their little petal- petty jealousies and proudful superiorities, their carelessness of living, their false teaching, dishonouring to Christ, would disappear, wouldn't they? We cannot run out of this world. And sometimes we are unduly engrossed with all the failures, not only of the world, but of the believers, that we lose the true focus of the majesty of the fellowship into which we're called. You say again, but is it realistic? Is talk like that really? It sounds excited. You say, is it really re- realistic? It's not really practical, is it? It is indeed practical, says Paul. Because, you see, God it is that called you... into his fellowship. And when I came to you, God confirmed my testimony. There I stood and I preached at you. And you were brought to repentance and faith, and then something happened, didn't it? The great miracle of the new birth and the entry of the Holy Spirit into their hearts as they believed, and with his presence, the sundry gifts of the Holy Spirit, so as to provide for their further learning and their further spiritual education. So that the believers in Corinth had not only the firm word of the apostle, which was true anyway, but as they believed it, they had the confirmation of God in their heart. And then, you see, Paul says, it is not merely that God has called you into the fellowship of his son, but God is determined to confirm you right to the end, unto the, as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is his unveiling. That is his appearing. Ah, it would be wonderful, wouldn't it, if he had introduced us into the fellowship of his son while his son walked our earth, dust stained and weary. That would be wonderful indeed. Oh, but listen, it's more than that. Get ready. Do get ready. For one of these days, who knows when it shall be, when the very heavens shall open, and God will unveil his son in all his splendiferous glory. And you and I must meet him. You know, John tells us, the Apostle John, I mean, in the course of relating the vision that was given him in the book of the Revelation, he relates how he came across an angel. Well, I don't know whether you've ever seen an angel, I haven't, but I'm told they excel in strength, you'll see. Their presence can be overwhelming. And when John saw this angel, his immediate reaction, he fell at his feet to worship him. And the angel said, John, get up, man. I'm merely a fellow servant like you are. I'm a servant of his majesty. And we shall see him. In all his majesty. How shall we bear it? And this is disadded. And when we see him, we shall be like him. Be careful how you treat that dear believer at your elbow, won't you? I know he and she can be a bit exasperating myself. I specialize in, uh, in being, uh, exasperating, you know, have a habit of doing it, you see. But if you could see her or him as they will be. Way above angels. Like the blessed Lord. Like him. If I could keep it in mind, it would temper a little bit my reactions, would it not? To my fellow believers. Oh, I don't feel worthy, you say. Well, you're not. You can settle that right now. You never will be. But God is determined, you see. He shall present you, he shall confirm you unto the end, that you may be unreprovable. That is without charge. No case against you proved. Oh, wonder of wonders. This is no license for us to sin. But oh, think of it. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect, when it is God who justifies? And supposing a charge were laid, and the evidence allowed to be cited, who would condemn. When all judgment is given to the Son, and that same Son gave himself for us, died for us, is risen again, is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us. It's realistic. This is God's idea for our future, and already is it beginning to happen, where we have been introduced into the fellowship of his son. You say, but then what have we in common? Difficult, isn't it? To have fellowship with people when you have nothing in common with them. I find that with the Queen. Well, I don't find it actually, but because I don't have anything in common. I am a li- in a little club that pays for her racehorses. But as usual, when she comes to Belfast, she doesn't bother to look me up. And I'm glad of it, you see. We don't have anything in common. How c- how is it realistic to talk of our having fellowship with Almighty God? And with his son Jesus Christ. What on earth have we in common? And John, in his first epistle, tells us. For he says that which was from the beginning. We declare to you. That which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld and our hands handled concerning the word of life. And the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you also, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yea, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We have fellowship. Remember what we said about fellowship? Fellowship is when two persons have something in common that they share. What is it that we share in this fellowship with the Father and with his Son, with the apostles and with our fellow believers? And the answer is this, that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. This is what we share. Now I must incur my enthusiasm and my statements, lest I go over the brink and say something I should not say. Well, first of all, listen to John. We're safe here. He said, do you know what we saw? We who witnessed the incarnation of our Lord. We saw it, you know. We handled it. We touched it. It was real. Yes, but what was it, John? It was that eternal life that was with the Father without beginning. The life that fed the love and heart of God from all eternity. That life. That was with the Father. And was manifested. You can almost sense the excitement coming out of the old quill that John was writing with, can't you? He's getting elderly, of course, and his hand shakes, but there's more than the handshake here, Josie. He's thinking back to the moment it dawned on them. The man who traveled in their boat. The man whom they saw multiplied the loaves and the fishes and raised Lazarus from the dead was none less than the only begotten Son, which was in the bosom of the Father. Electrifying is perhaps not the best word to use, is it? Fancy waking up to it? That you rub shoulders with God incarnate. And what we have seen and heard and beheld, we now write to you that you may have fellowship with us, with us apostles, that is. And surely our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son. Oh, thank God. God will never get tired of Christ. In all the infinity of his being. I'm not looking forward to dying, but I am looking forward to getting home. You know, I do fancy, if I may talk a little bit vulgarly, I do, I do fancy that Christ will yet have many things up his sleeve. What do you suppose you're going to do for all eternity? Now then. You say I'm going to sit there on my heavenly armchair, supposing there are such things, and uh, uh, you're going to sing all day long. Well, that's not bad. What, for all eternity, non-stop? Mm-hmm. What's God going to do, do you think? The Bible talks about the ages of the ages yet to come. If you say, why does, why did God invent this world? Well, he invented it for his pleasure, of course, and for his glory. And I say it without being crude, God doesn't have to work for a living. Why does he do all he does? Well, now I have to be very careful. The little boy in me says he does it for fun, but that wouldn't be a word to use of Almighty God, would it? What word would you think were better? Doesn't have to earn his living. He does it for the sheer joy of expressing himself through his dear son. And so he will do for all eternity. That life, never tired of Christ. And we shall not be tired either, shall we? Been brought into the fellowship of his dear son. To be enjoyed in heaven, but to be enjoyed now. And what are the conditions for enjoying, sharing this eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested. We share this life with God. What are its conditions for this, our fellowship with him? For John reminds us that God is light, and him is no darkness at all. Therefore, if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we're not telling the truth, but the very opposite. For if we would have fellowship with this God, then we must walk in the light. What does that mean? Does that appeal to you as saying that if you would have fellowship with God, you must behave yourself pretty well? Well, I'm sure you ought to. But listen to the provision that is made. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we've not sinned, we make God a liar. But you see, if we sin, if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin. And therefore, you see, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we do have this fellowship with the Father. And what about my sinning? The blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses me from all sin. This is God's realism. For making it possible for the likes of us, still imperfect, to have fellowship with him now, which means having and enjoying eternal life now. The condition, of course, is this. Not just if we come to the light. That's an important thing to do. But the condition goes further. If we not merely come to the light, if we walk in the light. There were some recorded in the Gospel of John and chapter eight who came to the light, professed to believe in the Lord Jesus, said the Lord Jesus, now if you continue in my word, then you will be really my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They said, excuse us, free from what? Well, he said, free from sinning, you see. Everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. They said, who asked you to come here talking to us like this? You've forgotten who you're talking to, aren't you? Get out! What had happened? They'd come to the light. It shone on them and exposed them. That is the natural reaction, isn't it? Listen to God's realistic provision, that we might have fellowship with him, that is, share that eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested to us. We must come and walk in the light. And when it exposes us, as it will do, not to run away, but to confess it. Isn't that what we're required to do before the Lord's Supper every week? To judge ourselves. These things I write to you that you do not sin. I'm not encouraging you to sin, says John. But if any men do sin, then we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but for the sins of the world, and holds back the wrath of God. What time we are brought to repentance. Of course, there's a duty. If thus we have found God's provision for walking in the light, sinners and failing and falling as we are. It's where we walk that's all the important thing, in the light. But then, of course, we have a corresponding duty. For the one who says, I abide in him, has a bounden duty, duty to walk even as he walked. That's how you walk. We start off with where we walk, in the light. And the blood of Christ is sufficient to keep us there. Then we have a duty to walk as he walked. That is the how we walk. I leave it there. We have thought about the indescribable majesty of the fellowship into which we have been called. Tried with you, by God's help and his word, to analyze what it is we have in common. Now, very briefly, to other kinds of fellowship. In one Corinthians chapter nine, Paul is explaining as best he can to the Corinthians what his motivation has been as he served the Lord and preached the gospel to them. It is notorious, and the Corinthians were somewhat upset, because Paul would not allow them to contribute to his expenses. He had a right to do it. If the Apostle Peter had come your way in those days, he not only would have expected you to maintain him, he'd have brought his wife with, and I don't know what she required. Uh, he would have brought his wife as well, you see, you'd have to maintain her too. Paul apparently didn't have a wife, but he wouldn't take the expenses for himself. And they drew all sorts of wrong conclusions from that. Some thought he wasn't a real apostle and didn't charge a fee, because in their estimation, the bigger preacher you were, the bigger fee you charged, of course. There are some still who hold that view. So Paul explains, uh, uh, what his motives were, you see. He says, now when it comes to the preaching of the gospel, there is a sense in which I'm not free. You see, a, a, a stewardship has been committed to me. God has appointed me. I cannot say no to him. I'm answerable to him. I'm not free. And yet he says, I found a way of being free, you know. I am. You'll say, what are you talking about now, Paul? Well, he says, you see, I'm free in this. As God's appointed servant, I could demand of the Corinthians to pay my expenses. God would approve of it. The Lord has laid it down that they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel. I could demand it. I choose not to demand it. And to serve without it. And in so doing, I'm free. I don't know if I could illustrate it to you by a common old garden illustration. Here I am, uh, you see, down, uh, on the, uh, springboard down at Port Rush in what is meant to be summer. I remember the first occasion I went there, it was summer, August, and we went into the sea to bathe with the sleet coming down and whirling around our ears. This was holiday in Port Stewart. How do you say? Well, here, can you imagine me? I'm standing on the springboard, not wanting to dive in, you see, knowing it to be very cold. So I'm standing there a dithering. I catch the sight of a couple of Irishmen coming up behind me, stealthily as they can, and if I'm not careful, they're going to push me in. Whether I want to go in or not, I shall be forced to go in. I say I'll beat them. I'm not an Englishman for nothing. I'll beat these Irishmen. Well, how will you beat them? Well, I dive in without they pushing me. Dived in of my own free will. No one made me do it. It was a free act. Good old Paul. I could demand that you pay my expenses, he says. I've freely chosen. You see, I like to do something free for the gospel's sake. And when it comes to all the cultural differences, Greeks and Jews with all their cultural f- uh, affairs, you'll see. Well, so long as it doesn't contradict God's word, I submit myself willingly to fit in with their culture as best I can, you'll see, without disobeying scripture, of course. I don't go to the Eskimos, and when they sit me down to whale meat, say, no, I couldn't pull, oh, horrible stuff, no, I wouldn't eat that. Really? They were offering you the best they had. Get it down, my brother, even if when they're not looking, you have to sic it up. Ambassador for Christ. I do all things. What for, Paul? That I may gain them all. And then he some- says something even more bold. If by any chance I might save some. Paul, aren't you exaggerating your part? Not really. You say, I want to become the gospel's partner, the gospel's associator, the gospel's fellow, working alongside the gospel. There's the gospel out there, going and saving multitudes yet, if not in Northern Ireland. I love to get alongside the gospel and gain some and save some. The magnificent privilege given to sinners like us to be associates with the gospel and share with the gospel in its work of saving people. My final point can be briefly stated. It comes in one Corinthians ten, uh where Paul says, do you see? I speak as to wise men, judge you what I say. We being many, are one bread, one body. For... the communion we have, the cup of blessing which we bless, it is not, is it not a fellowship, a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion, a fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that we who are many are one bread, one body, for we all partake of the one bread. The thing can be easily turned into a practical illustration. Suppose here we had a large loaf on a platter, and it was circulated amongst us all who sit here tonight, and each one of us took a part from that loaf, such that when the last person had taken the last part, the loaf had disappeared altogether, no loaf left. And in that moment, if I said to you, well, where is the loaf now? What would you say? Well, they are the loaf. There's a bit of the loaf in every one of them. Before they digest it, put it together, and you've got the loaf. But now see what's happened. They have a part of that same loaf in all of them. What then does it mean to partake of the body and the blood of Christ? Or to use John's phraseology in John chapter six, our Lord's own phraseology, to eat his flesh and drink his blood. It is that we receive Christ within us, is it not? His very life given for us. But more than that, not merely laid down, but the Savior coming to live in me. That's what it means to have fellowship in the blood and the body of Christ, is it not? I'm not yet the evidence for most of you, whether you would accept me as a sensible member of the body of Christ or not. To say, I must warn you that I am one. Because by God's infinite grace, I have received the Lord, and the Lord is in me. That I don't show him the more is a constant regret, but he's in me. You've received him and he's in you as well? Well, my dear good brother, we're one whether we want to be or not, you know. Are we not? We being many are one loaf, one bread, one. Oh, that Christians had always remembered it. So that we could sing truthfully the lovely words of J. G. Dick. Lord, we remember we are one with every saint that loves thy name. It's not a unity brought about by organization, though organization in this due place will help. It is a supernatural unity brought about by the living Christ in each one of his people. Oh, what fellowship. Oh, what joy divine, nestling in the everlasting arms. May God bless his word for his name's sake.