There is a divine 'Gatherer' who leads believers to the place chosen by God

Having established from the Scriptures that God's PLAN is to gather the people of God on the same ground, and that He has a PLACE where He would like to have His own together, Matthew 18:20 indicates that He has the POWER to do it. There is a divine Gatherer -- the Holy Spirit -- who leads believers exercised in this to the place of His choosing.

To whom else would the Lord entrust the task of gathering His people to His name besides the Spirit of God? Although the Spirit is not directly mentioned in this passage, it is clear that He is the divine Gatherer. This is seen from the words “are... gathered together”. The Lord did not say “where two or three gather together”, as erroneously appears in the NIV and other modern versions. “Are... gathered together” is passive voice and points to the fact that there is a gathering power outside the people themselves, which was involved in their gathering on that ground. This demonstrates that the divine gathering ground is not a voluntary association of believers. It is true that there must be willingness and personal exercise on the part of those who are gathered by the Spirit so that they may be found there in the place where Christ is in the midst, but ultimately it is He Himself who gathers.

I understand that the truth of the Spirit's work represented in the words “are... gathered together” has been greatly contested. Some try to tell us that this being the work of the Holy Spirit is something taught only by the more recent brothers, meaning by this that it is a new idea. Others seek to verify in the Greek text in an attempt to prove that it is not so. The truth is that the writings of C. H. Mackintosh, F. G. Patterson, J. A. Trench, H. Smith, and many others of the 20th century already taught that the words “are... gathered together” really refer to the work of the Holy Spirit. For example, Hamilton Smith wrote: “To use a simple illustration, I see a basket of fruit on the table. How did they get there? The fruits were gathered; they did not come together by their own effort.” The Greek word used for “gathered together” is “sunago”, which literally means “to bring together” and could be translated as “directed together”, and all this suggests a Gatherer. Strong's Greek dictionary defines the word “sunago” (#4863) as “to lead together” or “to collect”. Vine's Greek dictionary defines “sunago” as “to gather or bring together”.

1. N. Darby wrote: “He [Christ] is the only gathering center. Men may create

confederations among themselves, placing many things as the goal or object of their gatherings, but the communion of saints cannot be known unless every line converges toward the living Center [Christ]. The Holy Spirit does not gather the saints around mere opinions about what the church is, however true these may be, or about what the church was or could be on earth, but always gathers around that blessed Person, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matt. 18:20)”

Luke 22:7-10 supports the fact that there is a divine Gatherer. There it says: “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters”. The Spirit of God is seen here in the figure of “a man” carrying a pitcher of water. Often in the Scriptures the Spirit of God is seen as an anonymous man working behind the scenes. This is because it is not the aim of the Spirit of God to call attention to Himself (John 16:13-14), and this is the reason why He is not directly mentioned in Matthew 18:20. He does not take a place of prominence in Christianity, but works behind the scenes guiding exercised souls to that biblical ground where Christ is in the midst of those thus gathered. In this case He guided the disciples to the place chosen by the Lord, where they could be with Him for the supper. “Water” in the Scriptures often means the Word of God (Eph. 5:26). Thus we learn that the Spirit of God uses the principles of the Word of God to guide believers to the place chosen by the Lord.

Well-meaning men have sought to gather the people of God and have only caused problems. By ignoring the truth of gathering presented in the Scriptures, they have diverted Christians into denominational groups and sects and encouraged them to attend “the church of their choice.” The result is that believers have ended up scattered in a thousand directions. This is certainly not the work of the Holy Spirit.