From the Lord’s word in 18:20 we can realize that in the Lord’s intention He did not want to have big gatherings in the local church for practical help. Big gatherings can only be good for general teaching, but they cannot be good to give some practical help. It is nearly impossible to render any practical help in a big meeting. For this we need a gathering of just two or three believers. We need a small number for our meetings so that we can take care of everyone’s need practically.

In 18:20 the Lord did not speak of two or three meeting together but of two or three gathered together. The verb is not in the active voice but in the passive voice. The two or three do not meet together; they are gathered together. By whom are they gathered? They are gathered by the Lord. If we say that the two or three meet together, this meeting is initiated by those who meet. For two or three to be gathered together, however, indicates that someone is doing the gathering. These two or three are gathered by the unseen Lord because they love the Lord and are concerned for His members. The fact that the verb here is in the passive voice indicates that whenever we come together to meet we should not be the ones who take the initiative. Rather, it must be the Lord who takes the initiative. He gathers us. The meeting is initiated not by the meeting ones but by the unseen Lord who gathers them. The Lord initiates the meeting, motivating us and gathering us. This means that every time we meet our meeting should not be from us but from Him. Our meeting, therefore, is not initiated by anyone except the Lord Jesus. Every time we meet it should be He who gathers us together.

The Lord takes the initiative to gather us together into His name. The believers are gathered together not in the name but into the name. The proper translation of 18:20 is not that two or three are gathered together “in My name” but “into My name.” The Lord does not mean that we simply gather together in His name or meet in His name. To meet in His name is much different from being gathered together into His name. Because the name denotes the person, to be gathered together into the Lord’s name is to be gathered together into His person. We are gathered by the Lord Jesus into His name, into His person.

In order for someone to come into something he must come out of something. To be gathered into the name of the Lord means to be brought out of anything that is other than the Lord Himself. We need to be rescued by the Lord from so many occupying things and be gathered into His name, that is, into Himself as a living person. Especially we need to get out of the self. If we are to be gathered by the Lord Jesus into His name, we must get out of the self. If we remain in the self, we cannot be gathered into the name of the Lord. It is when we are gathered out of ourselves and out of all things other than the Lord and into Him that He is among us.

The most crucial thing in the believers’ meeting is to be gathered into the Lord’s name. Because we are the Lord’s and have been saved by His name, we should gather only into that name and meet in that name. We must not gather into and meet in any other name. In a locality we should meet by small numbers, and we should meet by being gathered into the Lord’s name. We need to be gathered out of so many things into His name, into His person.

Matthew 18:20 also tells us that where two or three are gathered into the Lord’s name He is in their midst. Because we have been rescued and brought into the Lord’s name, surely He is with us. Now when we are gathered into His name, we enjoy His presence in a special way. His presence brings us enlightenment, grace, supply, and all kinds of blessing.

In Matthew 18:15-20 we have a picture of a local church. A local church is an expression of the Body of Christ in a certain locality composed of saints who mainly meet in small groups. They meet in the way of having been rescued out of all earthly occupations into Christ Himself. Having been gathered into Christ, they meet in Him and have Him with them. Because they meet in Him with His presence, they surely have the authority of the kingdom of the heavens. They may exercise this authority to deal with the Devil and the demons behind, upon, and within a sinful, rebellious brother. This is the practice of the local church life revealed by the Lord Jesus to the first group of apostles.
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