“…Two or three…gathered…in My name, there am I in the midst”
How wonderful to think of the risen Lord, the Christ, the Son of the living God condescending to dwell with men and women! After all, our reputation is nothing to boast of. Rebels from the beginning, we’ve caused the Lord untold grief. But Matthew 18:20 assures us of our Saviour’s gracious intent to be among us when we gather in His name. As we look at the verse more closely, it may be helpful to consider three principles arising from the Lord’s words.
Fellowship
This involves a sharing of things in common. It might be as ordinary as a partnership in a business venture, as it was with Peter and his friends in the fishing business (Lk. 5:10). But these men, and others with them, were called to a greater venture and a wider fellowship when the Lord Jesus came along. Later on, Paul could speak of himself and his colleagues as “laborers together” in the work of the Lord. Titus and Philemon were among others in that first century fellowship.
On a broader level, Jewish believers at Pentecost entered into a wonderful new fellowship when they were “baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13) by the work of the Spirit of God. They, together with those who had been meeting in the upper room, “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship” (Acts 2:42). Not only were they taught the great truths of the faith once delivered to the saints, but they also gathered together to share in the breaking of bread and in prayers. They were drawn together by common values, and in their meeting together they expressed the unity that the Spirit had initiated at Pentecost. These believers were no longer a part of the Jewish community in Jerusalem, nor were the Christians at Troas or Corinth part of the Gentile community; they were now part of something new and wonderful!
These gatherings were the local manifestations of the universal Church that the Lord was building. “I will build My Church,” the Lord had declared, and it was these expressions of that Church that He had in view when He dealt with the realities facing believers wherever they associate with each other as a local assembly (Mt. 18:15-20). Wrong attitudes would undoubtedly be present; offenses would occur within the fellowship. Brother might sin against brother, and if the procedures the Lord put in place failed to achieve the desired result, they were to “tell it to the church.” Those gathered in the Lord’s name to hear the case could be assured of heaven’s validation of their decision and of the presence of the Lord in their midst.
Stewardship
Stewards were managers in a household or estate. Vine observes that stewards were “usually slaves or freedmen.” Their work was essentially the management of the affairs of their master, the householder, and it was his prestige and the grandeur of the estate that lent dignity and significance to their tasks. Their decisions were determined by the wishes of the owner, and it was in his name that they acted. In one sense, they had no will of their own. There is no finer example of one acting in the name of another than our Lord Jesus.
When David sent out ten young men on an errand to the house of Nabal, they went in David’s name. “And when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased” (1 Sam. 25:9). Their business was really David’s business, not theirs. When rebuffed, they simply brought the matter to David and left it for him to take appropriate action.
When the church met together to consider the issue of an unrepentant brother, the Scripture indicates that it was to be, as the Lord said, “in My name.” Their decision and action was not in their interest but the Lord’s. Paul directed the church in Corinth to deal with the sinning brother when they were “gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 5:4). All was to be done “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The church, even this Corinthian church with so many problems, was still the Lord’s concern.
H. L. Ellison points out that the Greek expression “in My name” in the papyri “means ‘to the account of’, ‘into the possession of ’, i.e., they meet as the conscious possession of Jesus.” Our Lord’s presence as we meet is a reminder that we meet in His name, as His stewards. We do not meet to carry out our agendas or to please ourselves. We are there to carry out His desires, exercise gifts He has entrusted to us, and achieve His purposes. We are there to please and glorify Him. The Father, too, has a proprietary interest in the affairs of this “household,” and the stewards could expect heaven to ratify their decisions and the Father to answer their concerted petitions.
Ownership
I once worked in the shipping room of a firm doing business across Canada. The normally relaxed atmosphere in our workplace was occasionally interrupted by the appearance of the owner of the firm in our midst. His presence in our midst, away from his usual place in his office above us, transformed the atmosphere of the room and considerably sharpened our focus! Personal experience confirms the sad truth that we have a tendency to gather together in the Lord’s name—for whatever purpose—in a nonchalant manner. We also may need to recall the Lord’s sure word, “there am I in the midst.” Ultimately we have to give account to Him in person. As we remind ourselves that the One who purchased the Church with His own blood is among us, it will encourage faithfulness in the exercise of our stewardship. How might our meetings differ if each of us was careful to consider the Lord’s presence each time we gather?
But the Lord’s presence among us is not meant only as a sobering thought. It is also both a privilege and a blessing. The presence of the Sovereign and Creator of the universe lends a significance and dignity to each church meeting that is known nowhere else on earth. What an incentive to meet! In spite of the shortcomings (perceived or otherwise) of our meetings, the Lord is there!
And there are other blessings as well. For example, the Lord is “in the midst” in yet another wonderful way as the Leader of the praises of the saints (cf. Heb. 2:12; Rom. 15:9). And knowing that He is among us speaks to us of His care, protection, and love for the Church. Do we thank Him for His attendance when we meet?
Our Lord’s presence in our midst is a spiritual reality, not a physical phenomenon. When Solomon with all his wisdom prayed at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, he voiced the enigma that confronts us all when we contemplate Christ in our midst: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” (1 Ki. 8:27).
David also pondered this when he wrote, “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” (Ps. 139:7). We too have to confess, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me” (v. 6)!
On the other hand, just because it is a spiritual presence does not make it any less real. Elisha’s servant was unable to see the “mountain…full of horses and chariots of fire” as the prophet saw them, until the prophet prayed, “Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see” (2 Ki. 6:17). We are equipped to “walk by faith” and we need to exercise our equipment. Appreciating Him in the midst requires an exercise of faith each time we meet.
Finally, if we believe the Lord regarding His remarkable promise—albeit a conditional one—in John 14:21, 23 guaranteeing His presence and the Father’s presence with us in an individual sense, can we believe Him for this in the corporate sense as well? If so, we note that the key in John 14 is obedience which springs from love. Our response to the reality of the presence of Christ in the midst will measure the genuineness of our love for the Lord. Charles Spurgeon’s lines seem appropriate:
If now, with eyes defiled and dim, We see the signs, but see not Him, O, may His love the scales displace, And bid us see Him face to face!