May I say, concerning the purpose of this ministry, that there is one object before us: the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full realization of God’s purpose in Him. This is not merely a time for preaching. It is a time for ministry, for spiritual exercise, for encouragement, and for applying ourselves to the Word of God.
Let us turn to the letter to the Hebrews. We shall take two passages:
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus.
— Hebrews 3:1
For we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end.
— Hebrews 3:14
We are going to spend a little time with one word: partakers. In Hebrews 3:1, it is translated, “partakers of a heavenly calling”; and in Hebrews 3:14, “partakers of Christ.”
This same word occurs in other places in the New Testament. It is translated in various ways: “fellows,” “partners,” and “companions.” In every case, it refers to a relationship.
I have looked carefully into this word, and I believe that its fullest meaning is conveyed by the word companions. Thus we may read:
Wherefore, holy brethren, companions of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus.
— Hebrews 3:1
And again:
For we are become companions of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end.
— Hebrews 3:14
These two statements give us the theme for these days: companions of Christ and companions of the heavenly calling.
The idea of companionship runs right through the Bible. Behind everything official in relation to the Lord, there is always something personal. God is seeking something more than outward service, position, or function. He is seeking fellowship with Himself.
Remember Abraham. Abraham was a great servant of the Lord, and he served the Lord faithfully. But the deepest thing said about Abraham was not that he was a servant. God called Abraham His friend.
But thou, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend.
— Isaiah 41:8
That is the thought of companionship with God. Abraham was the friend of God.
Then there was Moses, another great servant of the Lord. The Lord often spoke of Moses as “My servant Moses.” Yet there was something deeper than service in the relationship between God and Moses.
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.
— Exodus 33:11
There was a very beautiful and intimate relationship between God and Moses. Moses was, in reality, a companion of the Lord.
And what about David? There were many things that could be said about David, but the greatest thing said of him was this:
I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who shall do all My will.
— Acts 13:22
That is the meaning of companionship with the Lord: to be one whose heart is in fellowship with God’s heart.
When the Lord Jesus came into this world, He gathered disciples around Himself. They were called apostles because they were to be sent forth by Him. Yet the deepest thing in their relationship to Him was that they were His companions.
Ye are they that have continued with Me in My temptations.
— Luke 22:28
They were with Him in His life, His work, His sufferings, and His trials. Their relationship was not merely official. It was personal and spiritual.
The Lord Jesus spoke of His Church in terms of love. The Church of God was purchased with His own blood. Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. We need to recover this personal meaning of the Church: it is called to be the companion of Christ.
This is a heart relationship. It is not merely association with Christian things. It is to be His companion in life, in work, in suffering, and in glory.
Now we come to the purpose of this companionship. The Bible is one book. Behind all its stages, its movements, its symbols, its types, and its teachings, there is one governing purpose.
That purpose lies behind creation. It lies behind election. It lies behind the choosing of men and women by God. It lies behind all the movements of God in the Bible.
It lies behind the figures, the types, and the symbols of the Old Testament. It lies behind the great sections of the Old Testament: the priesthood, the kingship, and the prophetic ministry. Behind everything in the Old Testament lies one great purpose.
God is revealed in the Bible as a God of purpose, ever moving according to that purpose. What is that purpose? It is gathered up in God’s Son.
Whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.
— Hebrews 1:2
In all things, God has His Son in view. “All things” is a very comprehensive term. Everything is comprehended in this: God’s Son is the object of God’s purpose.
We are going to dwell much in this letter to the Hebrews. At the beginning of the letter, there is a great statement concerning all God’s past ways and methods. God spoke in many portions and in many ways through the prophets, but at the end of those times He has spoken in His Son.
All the past ways of God converge in the Son. The first two chapters of Hebrews bring before us the infinite greatness of God’s Son. He is above all others. He comprehends all else in the revelation of God.
God’s interest in His Son is brought before us right at the beginning. God’s purpose is altogether centered in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, because of the infinite greatness of the Son, holy brethren are called into companionship with Him. The heavenly calling is a calling into fellowship with God’s Son.
There are two great principles running through the Bible. The first is that God works ever, always, and only in relation to His Son.
The Bible contains a great many things: creation, election, men, women, nations, blessings, judgments, and many divine movements. Yet none of these things exists merely for itself.
God created all things for His Son. God chose men in relation to His Son. God uses things in relation to His Son. God blesses in relation to His Son, and God judges in relation to His Son.
If you want the blessing of the Lord, get alongside of the Lord Jesus. All the blessing of God is found in Him.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
— Ephesians 1:3
The Father never sees anything apart from the Lord Jesus. It is in Him that the blessing of God is found.
And if the Bible has much to say about divine judgment, judgment also is related to Christ. God keeps His eye fixed upon one object: His Son.
You may think of yourself as a very little person. But if you are rightly related to God’s Son, God looks upon you as very important. It is not your importance in yourself; it is the importance of His Son.
We have all had our school days. Some of us knew what it was to be pleased with our teachers, and some of us knew what it was to experience their displeasure.
I remember that schoolmasters were not mainly concerned with us personally. Their concern was that their objective should be realized in us. They wanted scholars who would pass examinations and reach the standard required.
Sometimes they were very pleased with me, and I thought, “What a good boy I am.” At other times, they were displeased, and I knew something about the judgment of the schoolmaster.
But it was not because they liked or disliked me. What they had in view was the end: the examination and the result. Everything was looked at in the light of that one object.
I do not like to call God a schoolmaster, but the principle is the same. God is looking at us in the light of His Son. His question is: “How does that man or that woman answer to My thought in My Son? How much of My Son is there in that man or that woman?”
That is a principle in God’s purpose.
The second principle is this: God is a God of power, and no one can prevent Him from realizing His purpose. His purpose will be accomplished. Yet He always retains men in a place of responsibility.
He never lets man off from responsibility.
God’s purpose in His Son is to be realized in humanity. Christ is not going to realize God’s purpose alone. He will not be glorified as one isolated individual. He is to have a corporate fullness.
Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
— Ephesians 1:23
Therefore, we return to our text:
Holy brethren, companions of a heavenly calling.
— Hebrews 3:1
For we are become companions of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end.
— Hebrews 3:14
There is a responsibility resting upon us. No book in the Bible emphasizes this responsibility more solemnly than Hebrews.
This letter is one of the most solemn letters in the Bible. The thing which governs all our consideration in these days is this: if God takes up a vessel in relation to His purpose, whether an individual, a company of people, or a nation, that vessel is responsible to respond to God’s will.
If that vessel does not respond to God’s purpose, God will set it aside and call others to take its place. God’s purpose will go on.
This is seen in the great issue concerning Israel.
God called Israel to be a vessel through which He would bring in His Son and realize His purpose. Israel was called in relation to God’s Son.
But when the Son came, Israel refused Him. In refusing the Son, they refused God’s purpose. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said:
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
— Matthew 21:43
Israel had been called to be a companion in the divine purpose. But Israel failed God. God did not abandon His purpose; He brought in others to take their place.
The same principle is seen in Judas. Judas was one of the twelve. He was called to be a companion of the Lord Jesus. Yet he betrayed the Son of God.
To be called into companionship with Christ and then to fail Him is a terrible thing. This is the warning of the letter to the Hebrews.
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?
— Hebrews 2:3
You can never understand the phrase “so great salvation” until you understand the meaning of being a companion of Christ. Is there anything greater than being called into fellowship with the Son of God?
When you consider all that God has purposed concerning His Son, and then recognize that you and I are called to share in that purpose, you see why it is indeed a great salvation.
The Lord Jesus chose His companions. He taught them, instructed them, and tested them. The question was not whether they would remain with Him when they received blessing. The question was whether they would remain with Him when fellowship involved suffering.
You can have plenty of companions if you give them everything they want. But when you can offer nothing but suffering, persecution, hardship, and opposition to their natural interests, then companionship is tested.
There came a time when many disciples went away and walked no more with Him.
Upon this many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.
— John 6:66
Companionship is tested. True fellowship with Christ is proved in the fires of difficulty and suffering.
The Lord is seeking those who will be His companions not only in the day of blessing, but also in the day of trial; not only in His glory, but also in His sufferings.
We must realize that Jesus is repeating Himself in a spiritual way in His Church. The book of Acts begins with the words:
The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.
— Acts 1:1
The implication is that Jesus had only begun to do and teach. He continues His work through His people. It is the same Jesus, doing the same kind of work and teaching the same things.
There is, however, a difference. During His earthly life, these things were illustrated in a temporal and outward way. Now the meaning of those things is spiritual. The reality is being worked out in us.
The same Jesus is continuing His work with you and with me. He is repeating His earthly life in a spiritual way in His companions.
Sometimes we may think how wonderful it would have been to live when Jesus was here on earth, to walk with Him in Galilee and Judea, and to be among His disciples.
But let me tell you: we have something far better now. Jesus is with us in a spiritual and eternal way. We are called to be companions of Christ in the heavenly calling.
The Lord is dealing with us in relation to things that are spiritual and eternal. It is good to care for people in temporal matters and to help them in this present life, but there is something far greater than that.
There is a heavenly calling. There is that which is eternal, that which will not pass away when the work of this present life is finished.
We are companions of Christ. That is only the foundation, but it is a great foundation. In these coming days, we shall build upon it.