The logical conclusion of the Scriptures

Let us now gather everything together and let the Scriptures give us the answer.

First, God would like all Christians to be together in one practical testimony, even if they were in many different localities on the face of the earth.

Second, God has a place and a way -- an ecclesiastical position or ground -- where He would like Christians to express this unity gathered for worship and ministry, and for administrative actions.

Third, there is a divine Gatherer (the Spirit of God) who exercises believers in these biblical principles of gathering and directs them to this place chosen by the Lord.

The only logical conclusion we can draw from these principles is that the Lord's presence (in the collective sense of the word, as we have been speaking -- Matthew 18:20) could only be in one place. If this is true, then the Lord could not be in all the places where Christians gather -- even if they had good intentions. It is quite simple: if the Lord guaranteed His presence in the many places where Christians gather, He would be condoning those false positions. W. Potter, respected for his teaching of the Scriptures, stated: “Suppose that today the Lord graced with His presence these different denominations. What would He be doing? He would be sanctioning that which is contrary to Himself. He could not do such a thing”.

Potter added: “It is not merely suggesting that the Lord is not among any other gathered brothers. He definitely is not”.

Now, this may sound extremely narrow and exclusive, but if you are honestly seeking the truth you will not want to argue with the Word of God. Remember that these things are not my ideas; they are the only fitting conclusion to which the Scriptures lead us. If you think the truth of gathering is too exclusive, let me ask: “How many ways are there for a person to be saved?”. One. What would you say about this? Would you say it is too narrow and exclusive? No, because it is the truth. The very nature of Christianity is exclusive; there is only one way to be born again, only one way to be justified, only one way to be reconciled, etc. All I can say is that we need to get used to the idea, for this is the position we assume by being Christians -- the entire Christian revelation of truth is exclusive by nature. We do not apologize for the truth -- it is what it is. Now, if we think that Christians who gather for worship and ministry in their many divisions were led to do so by the Spirit (as is the case in Matthew 18:20), then what we would truly be saying is that the Spirit of God is to blame for the divisions that dishonor Christ in the Christian testimony! If the Spirit of God led the various Christian groups to gather divided from one another, then He is the Author of all the divisions in Christendom! No Christian with a sound conscience would blame the Spirit of God for the sad and divided state of the church's testimony. Hamilton Smith wrote: “Is the Holy Spirit gathering all the divided and independent groups that seek to claim the promise of Matthew 18:20? To believe this necessarily implies placing on the Holy Spirit the blame for the deplorable divisions and independence that dishonor Christ. Are these multiple centers found in the professing church a result of the work of the ‘Spirit of truth’ who came to glorify Christ? Far be such a thought from us!”.

Someone might argue: “But you are teaching that there is only one right group of Christians, and that all others are wrong. It gives the impression that you are the only ones who are right!”. But wait a minute; I did not say that. What I am saying is that the Scriptures teach that there is a divine ground of gathering -- only one ecclesiastical position in this world that the Lord sanctions with His presence. I did not say that those with whom I have fellowship are on this ground, although I believe that the Spirit of God has guided us to this place. The truth of gathering is not about people, but about the fact that the Lord has a gathering center. There is always the danger of shifting the focus from the Lord in the midst to the people whom the Spirit of God has gathered there, and ending up saying that those people possess the Lord's table. This is a mistake; our focus should be on Christ at the center. Remember, our gathering is “to Him” (Heb 13:13).

God's way of producing unity among His people has always been to establish a point or center of gathering to which His people could go.

In Old Testament times the Lord had a place where His presence would be, to which His people should go (Deut 12:5-7); In New Testament times (Christians) He established a place where He is in the midst (Matt 18:20; 1 Cor 5:4), where the Spirit of God gathers the believers; In Millennial times He will also have a place where He will gather His saints of that period (Ps 50:5; Ezek 48:35).

In every dispensation the center is always the Lord Himself. By way of illustration, suppose there is a gigantic bicycle wheel with spokes, where the Lord is at the hub and each believer is seated on a spoke at the point where it meets the rim. In that position the believers would be at a certain distance from one another and from the Lord. But if each person slid along the spoke toward the hub, the closer they were to the hub, the closer the people would be to one another. Such is God's way of proceeding; He produces unity among His people by establishing a gathering point to which He gathers His people.

It is sad to admit, but among the gathered saints there may be some who have manifested an arrogant spirit, giving the impression that "we are the only right ones." This only proves that it is possible to be in a right position (ecclesiastically) but in a wrong condition (spiritually). As already mentioned, pride of position is one of the reasons why the Lord has reduced us numerically (Zeph. 3:10-11). But this does not change the fact that God has a gathering center; it only means that some of those who are in this center may be in a wrong condition.

God would like us to act according to our convictions, when guided by the Lord. "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind" (Rom. 14:5). As far as I am concerned, I believe the Lord is here in the midst, but I will not glory in being gathered at God's center, for that would be entirely outside a Christian spirit. Genuine grace and humility do not put people in the spotlight, as if they were something; those whom the Lord has gathered are nothing in themselves. It is not presumption or pride to believe the truth and act based on it. The name for this is faith.